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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 1
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UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
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FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY
HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE
;^o vufvce f>lCc.vto^i^ tf»i. vuotfv « re.pcctfuWy feblcateb.
BI-CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ALBANY.
HISTORY
COUNTY OF ALBANY,
N. Y.,
FROM 1609 TO 1886.
WITH PORTRAITS, BIOGRAPHIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
HOWELL. ^1 TEN NET.
ASSISTED BY
LOCAL WRITERS.
NEW YORK:
W. W. MUNSELL & CO., PUBLISHERS,
1886.
PREFACE.
00/^/5 volume is the zvork of fttany writers. It will therefore exhibit various characteristics
of style, and each writer will be responsible only for what he wrote, and the Editor-in-
Chief answers only for the outward form of expression, and not for the substaiice of the
narrative.
The publishers have shown no little perseverance in overcoming obstacles in the progress of
the work, and have spared no pains or. expense to secitre a valuable history for the subscribers
and the public.
An exhaustive history of Albany and its many thousands of citizens would need twenty
volumes of the size of this to include a full history of all the men, women and events that have
contributed both directly and indirectly to its history and present prosperity.
A Judicious selection of material has, therefore, been found necessary, and even some prun-
ing to make publication possible.
The issue of the zvork has been delayed beyond our hopes and expectations simply on account
of the immense labor in accumulating facts and reducing them to a connected narrative.
Not only was it necessary to embody here for tJie present generation the history of the past,
but also to present a pen picture of what Albany and Schenectady Counties are at the present time
for the benefit of future generations.
It has been the aim of the publishers to have given also biographies of some of the represent-
ative men of all professions, and a representative exiiibit of tlie various industries in the two
counties.
It is the hope of all concerned in the book that a vahiable contribution to the history of two
of the oldest counties in the State is mozv offered to the public.
PREFACE.
Cyc)HE part we have performed in the preparation of this History of the County and City of
Albany is indicated at the headings of the principal divisions and in the Table of Contents.
The labor involved in this planning, writing and editing is far greater than we had anticipated,
or than any but a careful historian can appreciate.
We have had valuable aid in special contributio?is from writers whose names are given; and
many others have contributed facts and suggestions which have been gratefully received.
We have sought for '■'■the truth of history'' from every source in our reach, and patiently
gathered what seemed best fitted to our purpose.
We could have made a smaller volume, but many facts and factors demanded recognition.
More easily we could have made a larger one, but duty to our worthy publishers icrged all
possible condensation.
We think all will notice with approval the strictly topical presentation and discussion of
our subjects. We have tried to make a book of facts, tvell selected, and well arranged. We have
sacrificed nothing to figures of speech or " words of learned length."
We commit this volume, with its excellencies and defects, to the friends who have encouraoed
us, and whom we have tried to please; and to no one with more confidence than to the honest and
faithful student of history, who will most readily appreciate zvhat is good and pardon what is
faulty in it.
^z^*^-^.^ Q^y^
Editor.
INDEX
HISTORY UK ALBANY COUNTY.
Table ok Contents.
I'AGE
I. Outline History of the State of New York
(edited by Prof. Jonathan Tenney) I-II
Chapter I. Discovery of New York. Indians of
the Five Nations I
Chapter II. New York under the Dutch. English
Governors to 1765 2
Chapter III. War with France and Commence-
ment of the Revolution 4
Chapter IV. Revolutionary Events in New York.
The State Government established 6
Chapter V. The War of 1812 between the United
States and Great Britain 7
Chapter VI. Internal Improvements. Constitu-
tional Amendments, Schools, Statistics 9
II. History qk the County of Albany (by
Prof. Jonathan Tenney) 12-432
Topography 12
Sand Surface 12
Geography: Hills, Islands, Ponds, Rivers, Hud-
son River 12
Geology : Soil 17
Mineralogy 18
Paleontology 19
Botany 21
Natural History: Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes,
Reptiles, Entomology 29
Meteorology: Tables of Rainfall and Tempera-
ture 32
Iroquois Indians: Indian Lands, the Indian Edu-
cation and Christianity. Indian Treaties,
Trade and other affairs, Indian Commissioners 34
Early Discovery: Verrazano, Henry Hudson and
his followers 42 ;
New Netherlands: the English Claim 44 i
The United New Netherlands Company 45
The Dutch West India Company 45
The Dutch Governors 46 [
The First Settlement 48 j
Rensselaerwy ck and Beverwyck 49
Stuyvesant and the English Conquest 67 !
Organization, Divisions and Boundary of the j
County... 6g [
Outline Sketches of the Towns of the County :
Berne, Bethlehem, Coeymans, Cohoes, Guil-
derland, Knox, New Scotland, Rensselaerville, !
Watervliet, Westerlo 72
History of the Board of Supervisors, by L. B.
Proctor 80-123
The Bench and Bar; or, I^gal History: Robert
Yates, Jolm Lansing, Jr., Abraham Van
Vechten, Johii V. Henry, John V. N. Yates,
Martin Van Buren, Benjamin F. Butler,
Greene C. Bronson, Marcus T. Reynolds,
Samuel Stevens, John C. Spencer, James
Edward, Azor Taber, Amos Dean, Henry G.
Wheaton, Nicholas Hill, Peter Cagger, Ira
Harris, Rufus W. Peckham, Lewis Benedict
and list of living lawyers, by L. B. Proctor. 123-154
Judges and other Court Officers 154
Biographies of Lawyers, with portraits, by L. B.
Pj-octor 155-202
Medicine in Albany County: Clu-onological
List of County Medical Society, Officers of
the Society, by Dr. F. C. Curtis 203-222
Introduction and Progress of Homoeopathy, by
Dr. H. M. Paine 222-230
Eclectic Medical Society 230
Female Physicians 230
Biographies of Physicians, with Portraits 231-241
Biographical Notes of some Physicians 241-247
History of Education: Dutch Colonial, English
Colonial, Higher and Professional, After the
Revolutionary War, County Superintendents,
Teachers' Institutes, Geological Survey, Re-
gents of the University, General Notes 248-269
Table of Villages, Post Offices, Railway .Sta-
/ tions. Distances, Local Names, etc 269
Mlistory of Population 271-276
Anti-Rentism, by Hon. A. J. Colvin 277-285
The Manor and the VanRensselaers: Attorneys,
Legal Points, Sketches of the Patroons, Hen-
drick Van Rensselaer Branch, Females 286-292
Land Patents, Settlements, Leases, Titles and
Boundaries 293-295
The Beaver and the Fur Trade 296-3CO
Slavery 300-303
Homicides, by Elisha Mack 304-309
Travel and Transportation 309-313
Railroads: Central, Hudson River, Albany and
Vermont, Boston and Albany, West Shore,
Susquehanna, Albany and Depots (see also
P- 676) 313-317
Express Business: American, National, Western,
Baggage. 317-322
Telegraph Business 322-324
Telephone and Messenger Service 325
Agriculture in Albany County 326
'* Farm Animals 329
" Horticulture, Floriculture and Rural
Literature 333
" New York State Agricultural Society 335
" Albany County Agricultural Society. 336
The Shakers 337-340
Temperance Work 340-344
Secret Temperance Orders: Sons of Temper-
ance, Temple of Honor, Good Templars. . . . 344-346
The Old Stadt Huys, or City Hall 346
Albany County Jails 347-349
" County Aims-House 349-352
" Penitentiary 352
County Legislative Officers: Senators, Assembly-
men ; also Treasurers 353-356
Journalists and Journalism, with Biographies:
Jesse Buel, Moses I. Cantine, William Cas-
sidy, Edwin Crosswell, Sherman Crosswell,
Hugh J. Hastings, Charles R. Webster, Thur-
low Weed, and other biographies with por-
traits 356-374
Albany County Press: Past, Present, Outside
^ of Albany 375-378
English Colonial Governors of New York 379-382
Colonial Military Affairs and Wars in Albany
County 382
King William's War 384
Queen Anne's War 386
King George's War 387
INDEX.
PAGE
Old French and Indian Wars 388
American Revolutionary Period : Militia of 1775
-76, Mayor and Common Council, Committee
of Safety, Colonial, Provincial and Continental
Assemblies, Continental Conventions 391-419
War of 1812 419-422
The War with Mexico 422
War of the Rebellion ( see also " Military
Organization " on pp. 709-718) 423-428
West Point Cadets 429
County Inspectors 429
Board of Charities: Its Work in Albany County,
by Mrs. E. L. Tenney 429-432
III. United States Buildings and Institutions
IN Albany County: U. S. Arsenal; Govern-
ment Building ; Albany Post Office; U. S.
Custom-House; U. S. Internal Revenue Office;
Steamboat Inspectors; U. S. Circuit Court;
U. S. District Court; U. S. Signal Service;
United States Officers, Natives or Residents
of Albany, by Prof Jonathan Tenney, Editor. 433-441
IV. State Buildings and Officers in Albany Co. :
Constitutional Conventions; Constitutional
Commission ; Public State Officers ; Governors'
Mansions in Albany; State Legislatures; Old
State Hall; Geological Hall; New State Hall;
The Old Capitol; The New Capitol; Stone-
work, by Prof. Jonathan Tenney, Editor. . .441-457
v. History of the City of Albany, Prof.
Jonatlian Tenney, Editor: Early History,
Settlement, Made a City, Natural Features,
Relations to the County, Situations, Names,
Boundaries and Changes, Square Miles, Rela-
tions to the River and the Sea 458-774
Municipal History and Charters 461-485
Navigation of the Hudson : Steamboats, Ferries,
Bridges Across the Hudson 485-496
Docks, Wharves and Basin of Albany, by Gen.
S. V. Talcott 496-503
Sewerage of Albany 503
Streets of Albany 504
Water Supply 512
Street Lighting 515
Public Parks 517
Street Railways 5 '9
^ire Department 519
^Erie Canal as related to Albany 523
Albany Insurance Companies 526
Banks and Bankers; Savings Banks; with Biogra-
phies of Bankers 527-555
Manufacturing Interests of Albany, with Biogra-
phies of Manufacturers 555-609
Commercial Interests of Albany 609-65 1
Albany Hotels 65 1
Public Halls 654
Police Department 654
Mayors of Albany: Biographical Sketches 657-666
Views in Albany about 1800. Illustrated 666
Old Houses and Landmarks. Illustrated 672
Churchyards and Cemeteries 674
Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad - .. 676
City Buildings : Old City Hall; New City Hall;
City Building 677
Schools and other Literary Institutions : Union
University ; Normal School ; Law School ;
Dudley Observatory; Albany Academy; Al-
bany Female Academy; Convent and Academy
of the Sacred Heart; St. Agnes' School; Chris-
tian Brothers' Academy ; Albany Business Col-
lege; Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle;
Industrial School; State Library; Albany Insti-
tute; Young Men's Association; Dana Natural
History Society; The Dickens Club; Public Ed-
ucation ; Lancaster School ; Public Schools ;
High School; Tables 679-699
Printers and Printing 699
Law Book Publishers 702
PAGE
Photography 702
The Albany Stage, by Henry P. Phelps 703
Dentistry 707
Centennial Celebration, July 22, 1786 709
Military Organizations. .Aided by Major McFar-
lane. Sergeant Wolfe, and others 709-718
Secret Orders: Free Masons; Odd Fellowship;
Knights of Pythias ^\%
Mutual Aid Societies 721
Political Clubs 721
Labor and Laborers 722
Colored People of Albany 725
St. Andrew's Society 726
St. George's Benevolent Society 726
Public Bath 727
Christian Work : City Tract and Missionary So-
ciety; Young Men's Christian Association; So-
ciety of St. Vincent de Paul; Orphan Asylum;
St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum; Orphans'
Home of St. Peter's Church; House of Shelter;
Home for the Friendless ; Home for Aged Men ;
Children's Friend Society ; Child's Hospital;
Women's Christian Temperance Society; Open
Door Mission; Hospital for Incurables; Wo-
men's Union Missionary Society ; Woman's Ex-
change; Women's Indian Association 727
The Albany Woman's Suffrage Society, by Miss
Kate Stoneman 735-737
Art and Artists, by Mrs. E. L. Tenney 737-739
Engraving 739
Architecture 739
Surveyors and Engineers 741
Music in Albany 742
Social Clubs and Sporting Associations 745
/Military Bands and Orchestra 748
^ Religious Institutions: Adventists ; Baptists ;
Catholic; Christian; Congregational; Episco-
pal; Evangelical; Hebrew; Liberal; Lutheran;
Methodists; Presbyterian; Quakers; Reformed;
Spiritualists; Unitarian; Universalist. Assisted
by Revs. C. A. Walworth, G. W. Dean, W.
W. Battershall, J. L. Reese, D. L. Schwartz, P.
P. Harrover, E. F. Gee, H. M. King, Max
Schlesenger, Hon. A. B. Pratt, M. McGowan,
Esq. , and others 749-774
Towns and Villages of Albany County, Rev.
George R. Howell, Editor:
(See, also. Outline Sketches in Table of Contents)
Berne, by Rev. Robert Doig 775-800
Bethlehem, by Jacob S. Markle 800-823
Coeymans, by Jacob S. Markle 824-840
Cohoes, by Rev. Wm. M. Johnson 949-974
Guilderland 840-869
Knox 869-889
New Scotland, by Jacob S. Markle 889-91 1
Rensselaerville, by Norman W. Faulke 911-921
Westerlo, by Jacob S. Markle 92 1-928
Watervliet, by Jacob S. Markle 929-949
West Troy, by V. J. Oothout 974-997
Green Island, by V. J. Oothout 994-997
GENERAL INDEX TO HISTORY OF ALBANY
COUNTY.
Agriculture. See County .
Albany, City of —
Architecture -,
Art and Artists !...!!!.!!'.!. 777
Assessors .gi
Basin, Docks and Wharves ] ^gg
Banks and Banking C27 c^s
Board of Contract and Apportionment ' A-i
" Equalization of Taxes .__\ ,16
Bonded Debt paid since 185 1 '" jQg
Bridges '^.'.'.".\'^^. 40;.
Budget, City and County
99, I02, 104, 106, 107, 108, 483
INDEX.
PAGE
Buildings, The City 677, 678
, " and Builders 587
^yCemeteries. See Churchyards.
Canal, The Erie 523
Chamberlain, The City 83, 478-482
Christian Work in 727
Charter, The General Provisions of 484
Churchyards and Cemeteries 674
Commercial Interests of 6og
Corporation, Executive Power of 481
" Counsel of the 482
Docks and Wharves 496-499
Engineer and Surveyor, The 483-5 1 2
Excise 100-102
Fees, Official. See Salaries
Ferries, The 489
Fire Alarm Telegraph 521
" Department 519
" Prevention of 485
" Hall, The 114-116
" History of. 458-461
Inspectors of Weights and Measures 484
" Steamboats 438
Insurance Companies 526
Lamps, Gas and Electric Lighting, Bureau of. , 512
Law School, The 680
Manufacturing Interests of 555
Marshal, The 484
Mayors of. The 83-126, 657-666
" Court, The 126
Municipal History of 461-485
Officers. See Officers.
Music in 742
Officers 477-480
" Appointed by Mayor 482
" Election of 485
" Fees and Salaries of 484
Pavements 509
Physicians of 483
Property, Private, taken for Public Use 484
Protective Patrol 527
Parks, Public 517
Receiver of Taxes 482
Salaries and Fees of Officers of 484
Schools and Literary Institutions 679
Sewerage of 503
Steamboat Inspectors 438
Steamboats 487
Street Commissioner 483
" Department 511
" Improvements. 512
" Lighting 515
" Railways 519
Streets of. 504
Superintendent of Poor-House 484
Taxes. See Budget.
** Board of Equalization of 1 16
" Table of Equalization of, 1872-73, 1883
103, 104, 106, 120
" Receiver of 482
" Rates of 122
Theatres in 703
Treasurer's Report 122
Town Boundaries, Alteration of. 84
Union of City and County Affairs 82
Valuation of, The Equalized 122
Views in, about 1800, Some 666
Water Supply 512
Weights and Measures, Inspector of 484
" " Sealer of 108
Ai.nANY County —
Agriculture in 326
Agricultural Literature in 333
' ' Society of 336
Aims-House 349-352
Amendments, Constitutional 9
Anti-Rentism in 277-285
Architecture in Albany 739
Art and Artists 737
Assembly, Meml)ers of, from 354
PAGE
Assessors 485
Attorney-General 442
Audits of, Publication of 106
Banks 485
" and Bankers 5^7
" designated for Deposit 483
" Savings 533
Basin, The Albany 499
Bath, Public 727
Beaver and Fur Trade, The 296-303
Bench and Bar of 123-203
Beverwyck and Rensselaerwyck 49-66
Birds of 29
Board of Canvassers 82
" Charities 429-432
" Finance 80-122
" Supervisors 80-123
Books of Records 115,122
Boundaries of. 292
Botany of 21-28
Bounty Fund 100
Budget 98, 99, 104, 108
Buildings 82, 86, 106
Sites of,The 82
Charities, Board of 429-432
Claims against the 86
Colonial Military Affairs and Wars in 383-390
Constitutional Conventions, in. State '. . . 441
Coroners 116, 119, 121
District Attorney 83, 84, 86, 117
Early Courts of ''. 1 23
Education, History of. 248-270
Entomology of 30
Express Business in 317
Farm Animals in 329
Farming in 326
Fishes of 30
Floriculture in 333
Geography of 12
Geology of 17
Hills 12
History of. The Early 80
" Board of Supervisors 80-122
" Bench and Bar of 1 23-203
Homicides in 304
Horticulture in 333
Indians in 34
" Lands in '. 36
" Education and Civilization in 37
Indian Treaties, Trades, etc 40
" Affairs, Commissioner of 41
Industries of, Special Officers connected with. . . 429
Islands of 13
>''^- • ;. ,■ • • ; 99. 347
Journalists and Journalism in 356-378
Judges, Salary of 103
Land, Surface of 12
Lands of, The Public 82
Land Patents, Settlements, I^eases, Titles, etc., 292-295
Legislative Officers from 353
Manor and Van Rensselaers, The 286-291
Medicine in, History of 203-247
Members of Assembly from 354
Meteorology of 32, 33
Mineralogy of 18
Natural History of 29
Newspapers Published. See Journalists, etc.
Officers, Public 442
Organization and Division of 6g
Overseers of the Poor. See Poor.
Paleontology of, The lo
Penitentiary, The 352
Population, History of 271-276
Ponds of 14
Press, The County yjr
Prominent Lawyers 128
Quadrupeds of 29
Railroads of 31-3
Rainfall of -33
Redistribution of \\n
INDEX.
I'AGE
Registry Laws 98
Rivers of 14
Salaries of Officials 84
School Commissioners 266
Senators, United States, from 353
Severe Punishments 125
Shakers in 337
Sheriff, The 156
Slavery in 300
Soil 18
Special Sessions 97
Superintendents in County Schools 265
Supervisors, The Board of, History of 80
" Members of, List of, 1818-84 87-92
" Powers of Local Legislation of. 85
" Proceedings of, 1861-84 92-123
" Salaries of 84, 85
" Sessions of, 86, 98, 99, 102-104, 106, 108,
109, 112, 116, 117, 120
" Standing Committees of 103
" Statutory and Legal History of . . . 82
State of New York: Its Buildings, Public Offices,
etc., in 441
Supreme Court 126
" under the First State Constitu-
tion 130
Surrogates 155
Taxes 117
" Receiver of 482
Teachers in, Early 265
Telegraph Business in 325
Telephone and Messenger Service 325
Temperature of 33
Temperance Work in 340-346
Topography of 12
Travel and Transportation in 309
Treasurer's Reports and Statements,
98, 99, loi, 105, 108, 113, 132, 355, 482
United States Officers, Public Buildings, and
other Institutions in 433
War Loan Bonds of 107
Watchman of Clerk's Office 115
Biographies of Physicians 241
Birds of the County 29
Board of Canvass 82
' ' Charities 426
" Contract and Appropriation 483
' ' Finance 482
" Equalization of Taxes 116
" Supervisors and the Penitentiary 83
Books of Record of County 115
Botany of the County 26
Boundaries 292
Buildings and Builders 587
" for the Insane 97
County 86
" Sites of 82
Bureau of Engineering and Surveying 512
" Lamps, Gas and Electric Lighting 512
" Street Improvements 512
Canal Commissioners 443
Canvassers, Board of , 82
Capitol, The Old 446
" " New 449
** Commissioners of 450
Centennial Celebration of 1786, The 709
Census, U. S., of 1790-1880, in County 276
Chamberlain, Tlie City 83, 478
Charitable Institutions—
Aged Men, Home for 432, 732
Albany Orphan Asylum 431, 729
" Guardian Society and Home for the
Friendless 43 1. 73 '
City Hospital 221,431
" " Homoeopathic Hospital 431
" " House of Shelter 731
" " .St. N'incenl's Fonialo Orphan 432, 729
PAGE
Babies' Nursery 43 1
Bath, The Public 727
Buildings for the Insane 97
Children's Friend Society 431, 732
Child's Hospital 222, 431, 732
City Homoeopathic Hospital 222
Female Orphan Asylum of St. Vincent. . . .431, 432, 729
Friendless, Home for the 431
Guardian Society and Home for the Friendless. 43 1, 731
Home for the Aged, Little Sisters of the Poor .431, 432
" Aged Men 432, 732
" the Friendless and Guardian Society. 431
" the Orphans of St. Peter's 432, 729, 730
Ho.spita], Albany City 221, 222, 431
" Alms-house 222
" Child's 222,431, 732
" Homceopathic and Dispensary . 105, 222, 229
" for Incurables 222, 734
" St. Peter's 221, 222,431
House of Shelter, The Albany 432, 731
Incurables, Hospital for. . . .- 222
Insane, Buildings for 97
Juvenile Delinquents 108
Little Sisters of the Poor 431, 432
Albany Babies' Nursery 431
Open Door Mission 432
Orphan Asylum, The Albany 431, 729
" " St. Vincent's Female 432
Home of St. Peter's Church 432, 729
Public Bath 727
St. Joseph's Industrial School 431
Shelter, House of, The Albany 432, 731
St. Peter's Church, Orphan Home of 432, 730
" Hospital 221, 222,431
St. Vincent de Paul, The Society of 728
St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum 432, 729
Charities, The Board of 429
Charter, The General Provisions of 484
Cholera Epidemic of 1832, The 214
Christian Work in Albany 727
Churches —
Adventists 745
Baptists 740
" First 749
" " African 750
" .Second " 750
'* Calvary 7C0
" Emanuel 750
" State Street 750
" Tabernacle 74Q
" Washington Avenue 750
, " " Street 750
VCatholic (Roman) Assumption, Church of the. .756,757
" " Holy Cross (German) 756
" " Immaculate Conception, Cath-
edral of 754
" Our Lady of Angels (German) . 756
" " Our Lady Help of Christians. . . 756
" Sacred Heart of Jesus, Parish of 757
" " St. Ann's yr5
" " St. John's •jr,
" " St. Joseph's 7i-r
" St. Mary's ^rn
" St. Patrick's ".'.'.'.'.'.".". 7c6
Congregational, First ] irg
" Second ' yrg
Evangelical '.'........ 762
" German Associated, Church of! .. 763
" First German Lutheran. . . •76-3
St. John's Cki
St. Paul's ifi
p.", Trinity v:.': i! ! ! i ! ; HI
Episcopal ' g
" All Saints, Cathedral of ih
" st.paui's :.:::;::■■ lio
;; «'-.pf«^'= 758
Trinity '^^
Grace ^g^
'• Holy Innocents. . . 76,
"<=1^'««' '.'.v.' '.'.'.'.'..'. 763
INDEX.
PAGE
Hebrew, Anshe Emeth 763
Bethel 763
" " Jacob 763
Liberal 763
" Albany Associated 764
Lutheran 763
" First German 763
Methodist Episcopal 764
" " Ferry Street 768
" " Hudson Street 768
" " Mission, The Open Door. . . 733
" " Open Door Mission 431
Presbyterian 768
' ' First 769
" Second 769
Third 769
" Fourth 769
" Fifth 769
" Sixth 769
" State Street 770
' ' United 770
' ' West End 770
Quakers 770
Reformed ' 770
" First 770
" Second 771
" Third 771
" Fourth 771
" Holland 771
Spiritualists 771
Universalists 772
Unitarian 772
Circuit Court United States 439
Citizens' Association of Albany 121
C ity Hall, The Rebuilding of 114
' ' Officers 477-479
' ' Physicians 483
Claims against the County 86
Clubs and Sporting Associations 745
Cohoes Jail 117
Colored People of. 725
Colonial Conferences 417
' ' Dutch Period 2-248
" English " 3-248
" Military AfTairs, Wars, etc 385
Commercial Interests of Albany 6og
Comptroller, The 97, 443
Congresses, State, Provincial and Continental 418
Constitutional Commissions 442
" Amendments 9
Contest over a Lawyer's Bill, 95
Contract and Apportionment Board 483
Convention, The Provincial 418
" " Constitutional 418
Corporation Counsel, The 481 482
Coroner, The 116, 119, 121
Courts —
Circuit 439
District, United States 439
First after the Revolution 129
" at Albany under the Constitution 130
Last Colonial at Albany 128
Mayor's I
Supreme, under first State Constitution 130
County Bounty Fund 100
Dentistry 707
Department, Fire, The 519
Draft, Objections to the 94
Discovery of New York i
" by Hudson 44
** by Verrazano 42
District Attorney of County, The 86, 117
Dudley Observatory, The 682
Dutch Colonial Period 248
" Governors, The 46
" West India Company 45
Early Courts of Albany County 123
" Legislative Acts 82
PACE
Early Teachers in Albany County 265
Education, History of 248
Educational —
Albany Academy 683
' ' Female Academy 685
' ' Institute 690
Business College 688
Christian Brothers' Academy 687
College Graduates 261
Dudley Observatory, The 682
Education, Higher and Professional 260
" Dutch and English Colonial 248
High School 697
Industrial School 688
" " St. Joseph's 432
Lancaster School 694
Law School 680
Libraries, Early 260
Normal School 266, 679
Private Education 258, 259
Public Ed ucation 694
" Schools 695
Regents of the University 267
Sacred Heart, Academy of 686
St. Agnes' School 687
St. Joseph's Industrial School 432
School Commissioners 266
Schools after the Revolution 263
State Superintendence 268
Teachers' Institutes 267
Elections 82, 1 1 7
Electors 440
English Governors 2
Engineer and Surveyor, The 483
" " State 443
Engraving 737
Entomology of the County 30
Excise 100
Express Business in County 317
Farm Animals in County 329
Farming in County 326
Ferries 489
Finance, Board of 482
" Department 519
Fire Alarm Telegraph 521
Fires, The Prevention of 485
First Settlement 48
Fishes of the County 30
Floriculture in County 333
France, War with 4
Freemasons 718
Funded Debt, The 315
Geography of County 12
Geology of the County 17
Geological Hall, The 445
" Survey of the State 267
Governors, The English 2, 379
'• Dutch 46
' ' Lieutenant, The 442
Governors' Mansions, The 443
Health, The State Board of 116
High School, The 697
Hills of the County 12
History of County, The Early 80
Homicides in County 304
HomcBopathy in County, Polemics of 228
Horticulture in County 333
Hospital, Albany 221
" St. Peter's 221
" Homoeopathic 229
House of Shelter, The 431
Hudson River, The ij
Hudson's Discovery of New York 44
Indians, Affairs, Commissioners of 41
" Education and Civilization of 37
" Fi\'e Nations i
INDEX.
PAGE
Indians, Iroquois, The 34
" Lands 36
" Trades, Treaties, etc 40
Inspector of Steamboats 484
" Weights and Measures 484
Insurance Companies of Albany 526
" Patrol 527
Internal Improvements 9
' ' Revenue 438
Iroquois Indians, The 34
Islands of County 13
Jails of County 99, 347
" Cohoes
Journalists and Journalism 35^-377
Judges, Salary of. 103
Knights of Pythias 720
Lieutenant-Governor 442
Land Surface of County '. 12
Lands of Albany County 82
" Patents, Titles, etc 292
Last Colonial Court at Albany 128
Lawyers of the Colonial Period, The 128
" in Albany in 1884, List of 152-154
Legal —
Albany County Bench and Bar, History of 123
Clerks 156
Courts, of Appeals 127
" of Common Pleas 126, 155
Early, The 123
" First Under Constitution 130
" First After Revolution 129
" Last Colonial 128
" Mayor's 126
." Probate 155
" Sessions 124, 158
-" Supreme 126
" " Under First State Constitution . 130
District Attorney 156
Judges and Other Court Officers 154
Grand Jurors. See Jurors.
" Oath of 127
Jurors, Drawing of io6
'-' Grand 77, 102
Legislative Officers from Albany County 353
Mansions, The Governors' 443
Marshal, The City 484
Manufactures —
Agricultural Machinery 573
Albany Saw Works 575
" Steam Trap Company 574
Bakers 562
Baking Powders 563
Beef, Mutton and Pork 563
Beer, Lager 556
Biscuit Works, The Larrabcc 563
Blinds, Sashes and. Doors 593
Boilers, Engines, etc 574
Boots and Shoes 605
Brass Works 594
Brewing 556
Brewers, List of 558
Brick 582
Brushes 606
Bureau of Engineering and Surveying 512
Butchering and Marketing 563
Car Wheels 575
Carriages, Sleighs and Trucks 593
Cigars 4°3
Coach Furnishing 581
Coffee and Rice Mills 564
Cooperage 594
Cork Works 600
Dentistry 707
Distilling 5^1
Doors, Blinds and Sashes 593
Drain Tiles 5^5
Dredges 581
Emery Wheels 581
Enameled Cloth 599
Engineers 521
Farming 430
Files and Rasps 575
Fur Goods 603
Furniture and Other House Supplies 599
Globe 600
Harness and Saddlery Goods, Trunks and Coach
Furnishings 581
Hats and Fur Goods 603
House Supplies 599
Ice Boxes 580
Iron Machines and Furnishings 574
" Ware 581
" Works 573
Japanned Ware 582
Labor and Laborers 722
Lager Beer 55^
Larrabee Biscuit Works, The 563
Lasts 597
Law Book Publishers 702
Leather and Findings 594
Lumber 607
Machinery, Agricultural 573
Maltsters and Brewers 5S6~S58
Manufacturing Interests of Albany. 555
Marble and Monumental Works 585
Milling 561
Nail Works 572
Nickel Works 582
Oil-cloth 599
Oils 566
Paper-Hangings 602
" Works 602
Pattern " 594
Photography 702
Piano Manufacture 600
Painting, Plain and Decorative 599
Pottery 587
Powders, Baking 563
Pork, Butchering 563
Printers and Printing 699
Saddlery rgi
Sashes and Blinds 593
Saw-Sets 580
" Works 575
School Furniture egg
Ship-building 6qo
Shirts, Collars and Cuffs 606
Silverware cS,2,
Sleighs and Trucl^s cg^
Snuff .....'.'...;.' 603
Soap and Candle-making c66
Special Officers Connected with the industries of
Albany County ^29
Spice and Coffee ^fi.
Spokes ......'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.".'.'.'.'.' 594
Stationery j jj
Steam Dyeing and Scouring ' ' . ' 607
" Trap Company, The Albany . . 1:74.
Stoves \ ;•;■ • ^'^
Table and Enameled Oil-cloths egg
Tobacco and Snuff .' . 60?
Tin Plate Goods and Japanned Ware. 1582
Townsend Furnace and Machine Shop.... C72
Towing Lines ' ' ' ^jj
Trucks ^^
Trmiks ^§^
Vinegar rkd
Wire Goods ' ^g
Wood Machinery. ^
" packingBoxes..:::.'.;::;:;;.;;:;:::: ^^
Mayors of Albany — ■''^
Abeel,John.. g g
Bancker, Evert g-ig
Banks, A, Bleecker 5^5
Barclay, John '."■.■.;■.:::;:: eei
Jieekman, John Jacob 552
INDEX.
PAGE
Bleecker, Charles E 665
' ' Jan Jaiise 658
" Johannes, Jr 659
" Rutger 660
Bloodgood, Francis 664
Coming, Erastus 661
Cuy ler, Abraham C 66 1
" Cornelius 661
" Johannes 660
De Peyster, Johannes 660
Dudley, Charles E 662
Douw, VolkertD 661
Hansen, Hans 660
" Hendrick 658
H^oUand, Edward 660
Humphreys, Friend 664
Jenkins, Elisha 662
Judson, Edmund L 665
Lansing, John, Jr 662
Livingston, Robert 659
Paige, John Keyes 664
I'armalee, William 665
Perry, Eh 665
Rathbone, Jared L 664
Ryckman, Albert 659
Sanders, Robert 661
Schuyler, Uavid 659
' ' Johannes 659
John, Jr 661
" Myndert 659
" Peter ' . 658
Spencer, Ambrose 662
Staats, Barent P 664
Swinburne, Dr. John 666
Taylor, John ... .' 665
Ten Broeck, Abraham 661
Dirck 661
Thacher, Geo. H 665
Townsend, Franklin 665
" John 66";
Van Brugh, Peter 658
Van Rennselaer, Philip S 662
Van Schaick, Sybrant G 661
Van Vechten, Teunis 664
Wessels, Dirck 658
Yates, Abraham 662
Medicine in Albany County, History of 206
Meteorology of the County, Tables of, etc 32-33
Mexican War, the 422
Military —
Cadets at West Point 429
Grand Army of the Republic 712
Independent Companies 713
Military Organizations 709
The Militia of 1775-76 401
Revolutionary War, After the 263
.Services of Albany Physicians 215
War Loan Bonds 105
" Proceedings of the War of 1862 93
Mineralogy of the County 18
Mortgages, Re-indexing 94
Music in Albany 742
Mutual Aid Societies 721
Natural History of the County 29
" " Society, The Dana 690
Navigation of Hudson River, Opening and Closing of,
164s -1 885 16
New Capitol 450
New Netherlands, The English Claim to 44
New York Discovery of. 1,42,44
Newspapers in County. See Journalists and Journalism.
'■'■ Temperance 341
" Published in Towns 378
Normal School, The State 266
New York State Library 688
Odd Fellowship 719
Officers City 478, 482,
PAGE
Officers Connected with Industries of Albany County,
Special. . . . ' 429
Organization and Division of County 69
Outline Sketches of Towns in County 72
Overseers of the Poor. See Poor.
Paleontology of County 19
Papers Published in Albany 375
" Official County, The 96,99,121
Parks, The Public 517
Pavements , 507
Penitentiary ^3)352
Physicians, Biographical Notes of 241
" The City 483
Pier, The 489
Polemics of Homeopathy in County 228
Police Force 107
Political Clubs - 721
Poor, Overseers of 83, 484
' ' Temporay Relief of 83
" House 43> 432
Population of County 273
Post Office, U. S 436
Private Property Taken for Public Uses 484
Property Assessed ^ 107
Provincial Assemblies and Conventions 418
Public Education 694
' ' Officers 442
" Schools 695
Quadrupeds of County 29
Railroads in County 313
Rainfall, Table of 33
Real Estate, Valuation of 121
Rebellion, War of, The 423
Receiver of Taxes 482
Records and Books the Public 122
Religious Institutions 749-774
Rensselaerwyck and Beverwyck 49
Reptiles of County 30
Revenue Office, The U. S. Internal 438
Revolution, Commencement of 4
'* Events of 6
' ' First Court after 129
Rivers 14
Savings Banks 533
Schools of the State g
Schools, the State Normal 269
" Commissioners in County 266
" Superintendents in County 265
Senators, U. S., from Albany County 356
Settlement of Albany, First 48
Sewerage 50^
.Shakers in Albany County 337
Signal Service, The U. S 439
Sinking Fund 472
Slavery in County 300
Sloop and Schooner Navigation 486
Societies —
Adelphi 746
Agricultural, The N. Y 335
Albany Bicycle Club 747
" Curling Club 746
" Citizens' Association 121
" Missionary and Tract 727
" Musical Association 744
" Philharmonic 74c
' ' Tennis Club 746
" Women's Exchange 734
" Women's Suffrage Society 73c
" Yacht Club 748
Apollo Singing ^Ar
Association, The Albany Musical 744
Sporting 745
Bands and Orchestras 748
Boat Club, The Mutual 747
Cascilia Singing Society, The 743
Canoe, The Mohican 748
INDEX.
PAGE
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle 688
Christian Temperance Union, The Missionary . . 733
Dana Natural History Society 690
Dickens' Club, The 691
Freemasons 7'^
Fort Orange Club 746
Gesang-Verein Eintracht 744
Good Templars, I O. of 345
Independent Order of Good Templars 345
Indian Association, The Albany Women's 734
Island Park Racing Association 745
Knights of Pythias 720
Military Bands and Orchestras 74^
Mohican Canoe Club 74^
Mozart, The 745
Musical Association, The Union 743
Mutual Aid Society 721
" Boat Club 747
New Harmonia 745
Nott, The John C, Association 747
Odd Fellows 719
Philharmonic, The Albany 745
Political Clubs 721
Racing Association, Island Park 745
The Ridgefield Club 747
Roller Skating Rinks 746
Secret Orders 718
Social Clubs 745
Society, Christian Friend 732
" Temperance 340-344
' ' Musical 745
Sons of Temperance 344
Sporting Association 745
St. Andrew's Society, The 726
St. George's Benevolent Society, The 726
St. Vincent De Paul 728
Suffrage Society, The Albany Women's 735
Temperance Society, The 340-344
" Sons of 344
' ' Secret Society of 344
Temple of Honor 345
Tennis Club, The Albany 746
Union Musical Association 743
Walnut Club, The 746
Women's Christian Temperance Union, The. . . . 733
Workingmen's Assembly I2i
Women's Union Missionary Society 734
" Exchange, The Albany 734
" Indian Association, The Albany 734
Suffrage ' 735
Young Men's Association 690
" " Christian Association 727
The Railroad 728
Stage, The Albany Theatrical 703
Steamboats 487
Superintendents in County Schools 265
Supervisors, Board of 80-123
State of New York —
Agricultural Society, The. . .- 335
Attorney-General 442
Board of Contract and Apportionment 483
" of Health 186
Buildings and Public Offices in Albany 441
Canal Commissioners 443
Capitol, The New 449
" " Commissioners of 449
" The Old 446
Comptroller 443
" Office of 97
Census, 1814 to 1880 276
Constitutional Conventions 441
" Commissions 418, 441, 442
Contest Concerning Clerk 97
Early Legislative Acts Relating to 82
Elections, Change of Time for Holding 82
Electors 440
Engineers 443
Geological Hall 445
' ' Survey, The 267
Governors' Mansions 443
I'AGE
Governors, The Lieutenant 442
Hall, The New .... 446
" The Old 444
" The Geological 445
Health, State Board of 116
Inspectors of Weights and Measures 484
Library of 688
Legislature 444
State of New York 441
Statistics of II
Mansions of Governors 443
Normal School, The First 266
Officers 442
Public Buildings 441
Railroads of 19
Provincial Congress of 418
Schools of 9
Secretary of 442
Treasurer of 1 13, 442
Superintendents 450
Surveyor-General 443
Supervisors, Board of County, 35, 80-85, 9^' 99' '°^' '°9
Surveyor-General, The 443
Surveyors and Engineers 443
Streets 504
" Commissioners of 483
" Department of 511
" Improvements 512
" Lighting 515
Taxation, Equalization of ic6
" Percentage of 98
" Receiver of 482
' ' State and County 117
Teachers, Early, in Albany County 265
Telegraph, The Fire Alarm 521
Temperature, Table of 33
Temperance Work in County 340
" Newspapers 341
Theatre, see Stage.
Topography of County 12
Towns or Albany County —
Berne, Outline Sketch of 72
Bethlehem, " ■ ' 73
Coeymans, " " 74,75
Cohoes, " " 75
Colonic, " " 76
Guilderland, " " 76
Knox, " " -j-j
New Scotland, " " 77
Rensselaerville, " " 78
Watervliet, " " yg
Westerlo, " " go
Town Boundaries, Alteration of %»
Townships, Cities, Incorporated Villages, \'illages
and Neighborhoods in County, List of 269, 276
Travel and Transportation — ' 309
Basin, The Albany .nq
Bridges across the Hudson 403
Canal, Erie: Its Relations to Albany 523
Docks, Wharves and Basin 406^ ^nq
Ferries '. ; ' ' ' ^gg
Hudson, The Navigation of 485
Navigation, Sloops and Schooners ' " 486
Pi'^r. The ; ^gg
Railways, The Albany r ;„
' ' Albany and Vermont 315
" Albany and Susquehanna ' ' 314
" Boston and Albany ^jr
" Depots -.,»
Street i'
West Shore '.'.'.'.'.'..'. -17
Sloops and Schooners, Navigation . . 486
Treasurer, County . 98, 101,10?, 105, 108, 1 13, I22,355V446,482
■''t<'^'<= 442
United States —
Buiklines, Public ,^^ ,-,[- ...
Courts, Circuit ... ''^^' '^"^^ ^41
" District :;;; ^^^
INDEX.
IX
Congress, Representatives from Alljany 440
Custom House 438
Electors, Presidential 440
Government Bnildings, see Buildings.
Inspectors of Steamboats 438
Internal Revenue Ufifice 438
Institutions in Albany County 433
Officers in Albany County 433, 439, 440
Post Office in Albany 436
Presidential Electors 440
Representatives in Congress 440
Revenue Office, Internal 438
Senators from Albany Comity 440
Signal Service 439
Steamboat Inspectors 438
Union of City and County Affairs 82
Valuation of Real Estate, Increased 121
Verrazano, Discovery by 44, 438
War with France 4
'* with Mexico 422
" of 1812 7,419,422
" of the Rebellion 423, 428
" *' Revolution 4, 391, 419
" King George's 387
" " William's 384
" Queen Anne's 386
" Old French and Indian 388, 390
Water Supply, The City 512
VIEWS.
Map of Albany and Schenectady Counties front.
Old English Church and Fort Frederick 392
Ground Plan of old Fort 394
(iovernment Building 435
(Geological Hall 445
New State Hall 446
The New Capitol 449
The Steamer Clermont 487
Plan of Albany, 1676 504
". 1695 5°5
*' Washington Park 517
State Street, looking East 666
The Wendell House 667
The Stephenson House 667
North Pearl and State Streets 668
" " Street, above Maiden Lane 668
" " " first view 669
" " " second view 670
Market Street, near State 670
" " first view 671
" " second view 671
Old Staats House 672
" Lansing House 672
Van Der Heyden Palace 673
Patroon's Mansion 673
Schuyler Mansion 674
Robert Yates' House 674
Lodge at Rural Cemetery 675
First Steam Passenger Train in America 677
City Hall 678
Old Normal School 679
New Normal School 680
Dudley Observatory 682
Albany Academy 683
Female Academy 686
St. Agnes' School 687
Lancaster School 695
Albany High School 698
Home for Aged Men 73^
The Old Dutch Church 749
St. Mary's Church 751
Old Dutch Pulpit 770
Colvin, J. J. Residence 838
PORTRAITS.
Appleton, William Facing page
Ames, Ezra "
Bancroft, Le Grand "
Boulware, J. R
Bacon, J. N
558
739
194
231
564
I'AGE
Belknap, G 636
Becker, A. W. . ..' ,. . 794
Baker, Cornelius V 795
Becker, Hiram 909
Burton, William 946
Cooper, J. S Facing page 200
Corning, Erastus, Sr " 535
Chase J. G '. " 644
Colvin, J. J ■' 838
Cornell, Latham " 948
Crounse, Henry P 864
Crounse, Frederick 865
Crary, Denison 885
Crounse, Hiram 910
Dawson, G Facing page 360
Davis, W. G 866
Davenport, S. B 886
Eaton, J. W Facing page 448
Emmett, J. K " 706
Edwards, Isaac 201
Fowler, A Facing page 233
Eraser, H.D " 626
Fuller, Aaron " 853
Frederick, S. V 867
Frink, Charles G 888
Gray, James A 601
Griggs, H 862
Harris, Ira Facing page 147
Harris, Hamilton " 162
Hale, Matthew " 173
Hand, Samuel " 179
Hunter, Gilbert " 608
Harper, Robert " 627
Hawkins, H. D " 628
Hunter, A. R " 643
Hinckel, F " 559
Hawe, Matthew 595
Helme, Thomas 868
Kinnear, Peter Facing page 597
Learned, W. L " 169
Lathrop, D. S " 576
Lefevre, Isaac " 641
Lundergan, John " 947
Moak, N. C " 176
Meegan, E. J " 188
Manning, Daniel *' 365
Munsell, Joel facing litle page
Mather, Joseph Facing page 491
McCredie, T •' 560
McGarvey, M " 569
McCarthy, T " 585
McKissick, Stuart " 632
Munson, S, L ** 606
Mead, M. N " 616
Merchant, Lansing " 628
Miles, N. B " 638
Meads, John " 639
McKown, James A 199
McGarvey, Charles M 570
Moore, James C 583
Manson, William 586
Mattoon, David 616
Moseley, Benjamin F 625
Nott, J. C Facing page 185
Northrup, J. N " 234
Osborn, J. H Facing page 629
Oliver, Robert K 590
Perry, Eli Facing page 545
Pumpelly, H " 549
Pettengill, M " 563
Perry, J. S " 571
Pohlman, H. N " 772
Parker, Amasa J 157
Paddock, William S 197
Parker, John N 588
Patten, James 821
Rossman, J. B Facing page 235
Roessle, T " 653
Read, M. H 550
Smith, H Facing page igi
INDEX.
PAGE
Swinburn, John Facing page 236
Shattuck J. A ". . " 589
Sumner, Alanson " 617
Scott, W. B •' 629
Stickney, Leantltr 5^5
Stephens, Thomas 591
Sawyer, William 649
Shaver, Peter 863 •
Schoonmakir, Peter 884
Tremain, Lyman Facing page 181
Tucker, L " 369
Thatcher, Gi.-o. H " 578
Thatcher,]. B " 580
Treadwell, G. C " 604
Thomson, Lemon " 617
Thomas, J., Jr " 645
Tower, F. U " 633
Tweddle, John 552
Tenney, Jonathan 692
Van Schaick, Tobias Facing page 400
Van Allen, A " 553
Vosburgh, Isaac W " 638
Ward, S. B " 238
Winne, Walter " 492
Whipple, Squire " 494
Wood, D. S " 574
Wickham, R " 592
White, Douglass L " 618
Whitney, W.M " 623
Weidman, D " 630
Winne, John L " 799
Willard, Sylvester D 240
Wilson, James A 630
Watson, Simeon 646
Woollett, William L 741
Wiltsic, Ambrose, Jr 796
Winne, Jurian 798
Wood, Thomas J 822
BIOGRAPHIES.
Abeel, John 658
Allen, Campbell 656
Ames, Ezra 737-739
Appleton, WiUi'am 558
Artcher, John 584
Bacon, Samuel N 564
Bailey, Francis E 656
" William Howard 241
Baker, Cornelius V 795
Ball, O. D 242
Bancker, Evert 658
Bancroft, Le Grand 194
Banks, A. Bleecker 666
Barclay, John 661
Barker, James F 242
Bartlett, Ezra A 242
Becker, Albertus W 794
" Hon. Hiram gog
Beekman, John Jacob 662
Belknap, Zebina 635, 636
Bendell, Herman 242
Benedict, Lewis 150-152
Benjamin, Samuel G. W 737
Bigelow, John Milton 242
Bingham, Reuben H 503
Blake, Adam 725
Blatner, Joseph H 242
Bleecker, Charles E 665
" Jan Jansc 658
" Johannes, Jr 659
" Kutger 660
Bloodgood, Francis ' 664
Boughton, George II 737
Bouhvare, Jeptha R 23 1 -233
Bradley, John E 698
Bronson, Greene C 139
Brown, Henry K 737
" Richard J 242
Buel, Jesse 356, 357
Burchard, Joseph J 919
PAGE
Burton, William 946
Butler, Benjamin F 137-139
Cagger, Peter 146, 147
Campbell, Hon. Geo 973
Cantine, Moses 1 357
Carpenter, Francis B 737
Chase, S. G 644
Classen, Frederick L 242
Cole, John Orton 655
Colvin, John J 838
Conklin, John Bliss . . 242
Cooper, John Tayler 200, 20[
Corning, Erastus, Jr 540-545
" Sr 535-538
Cornell, Latham 948
Crary, Denison 885
Croswell, Edwin 359
" Sherman 359
Crounse, Henry P 864
Frederick, M.D 865
" Hiram, M.D 910
Culver, Charles M 242
Curtis, Frederick C 243
Cuyler, Abraham C 661
" Cornelius 661
" Johannes 660
Davenport, S. B 886
Davis, Willard G 866
Dawson, George 360-364
Dean, Amos 143, 144
Delavan, John Savage 243
De Peyster, Johannes 660
De Witt, Simeon 741
Dix, Charles T 737
Doolittle, Edwin S 737
Douw, Volkert P 661
Dudley, Charles E 662
Durand, Asher B 738
Eaton, James W 448, 449
Edwards, Isaac 201
" James 142, 143
Elliott, Charles L 738
Emmett, Joseph K 706, 707
Fish, Frank H 243
Fleischman, David 243
Fowler, Amos 233-235
Eraser, Henry D 626
Frederick, Stephen V 867
Freeman, James E 738
" Daniel H 243
Frink, Charles G 888
Fryer, William J 621
Fuller, Aaron .* 853
Gansevoort, Peter 306, 307
Gay, Edward y-ig
Gorham, George E 243
Gray, James A 601
Gregory, Matthew gcj
Griggs, Hiram 862
Hailes, William 243
Hale, Matthew .. . 17-- 175
Hand, Samuel 170-181
Hansen, Harris ggQ
" Hendrick grg
Hankins, Horace D 628
Harper, Robert 627
Harris, Hamilton \. ... 162-164
" Ira , ., , .0
Hart,JamesM 7,8
" William '^°Q
Hartley, J.S ::::::;:::::::; It^
Hastings, Hugh J " ' ' ^A
Hawe, Matthew. . . ^^
Hayes, William N .'^ ....'!.'."! ! ." .' .' .' ' 244
Helme, Thomas ogo
Henry, John V '...'..! i'.!!! .'.'.■." wi \-\a
Hill, Nicholas. . . ^}' \\%
Hinckel, Frederick ...'. ' ^^' TZ,
Holland, Edward... fS^
Huested, Alfred B... "?°
244
INDEX.
PACE
Humphrey, Friend 664
Hunt, William M 738
Hunter, Andrew R 644
" Gilbert 607
Hunting, Nelson 244
Huntington, Daniel 738
Inman, Henry 738
Jenkins, Charles M 78
Jenkins, Elisha 662
Johnson, William H 726
Judson, Edmund L 665
Keegan, P. J 244
Kinnear, Peter 597
La Moure, Uriah B 244
Lansing Family 93 1
Lansing, John Jr 131, 132, 662
Lathrop, Daniel S 575-578
Learned, Billings P 533
Learned, William L 169-172
Lefevre, Isaac 64 1
Lewi, Maurice J 244
Livingston, Robert 659
Low, William H 738
Lundergan, John 947
Mack, Elisha 309, 656
Manning, Daniel 365-367
Manson, William 586
March, Henry 244
Macfarlane, Robert 607
Martin, Homer D 738
Mather, Joseph 491, 492
Mattoon, David 615
McAllister, John 244
McCarthy, Thomas 585
McCredie, Thomas 560
McGarvey, Charles M 569, 570
" Michael 569
McKissick, Stuart 632, 633
McKown, James A 199, 200
Mead, Melvin N 616
Meads, John 639
Meegan, Edward J 18S-191
Melius, W. B 114
Merchant, Lansing 628
Mereness, Henry E 244
Merrill, Cyrus S 244
ATilbank, William E 245
Miles, Noah B 638
Moak, Nathaniel C 176-178
Moore, Edward 245
" William 583
Morrill, Frederick D 245
Moseley, Benjamin F 625
Munsell, Joel . ". 367, 368
Munson, George S 245
" Samuel L 606
Murray, William H 245
Nellis, Theodore W 245
Nolan, Michael N 666
Northrop, Joseph N 234
Nott, John C 185-188
Olcott, Thomas W. . 530
Oliver, George W 656
Oliver, Robert K 5^9
Osborn, James H 629
Paddock, William S I97. 'qS
Page, William 738
Paige, John Keyes 664
Palmer, Erastus D 738
Walter S 738
Papen, George W 245
Parker, Amasa J 157-161
" John N 588
Parmalee, William 665
Patten, James 821
Peckham, Rufus W 148-150
Perry, Eli 545-549. 665
- Isaac G 456
" John S 570.571
" T. Kirkland 245
I'AGE
Pohlman, Henry N 772-774
Porter, Charles H 245
Pumpelly, Harmon 549, 550
Rathbone, Jared L 664
Read, Matthew H 550, 551
Reynolds, Marcus T 139, 140
" Porter L. F 246
Riley, Joseph W 246
Ritzman, Otlo 246
Roessle, Theophilus 653, 654
Rossman, John 1! 235
Ryckman, Albert 659
Sanders, Robert 661
Sawyer, William 648
Schoonmaker, Peter 884
Schuyler, David 659
" Johannes '. 659
John, Jr 658
" Hyndert 659
" Dr. Nicholas 205
Peter 658
Phihp 397
Scotl, William B 629
Shattuck, James A 589
Shaver, Peter 863
Shelvin, Dennis P 246
Skillicorn, John H 2^6
Smith, Henry 191-194
" S.L 739
Slingerland, William H 742
Snow, Norman L. 246
Spencer, Ambrose 662
" John C 141-144
Staats, Barent P 664
Starkweather, H. R 246
Steenburg, B. U 246
Stephens, Thomas 591
Stevens, Samuel 140, 141
Stevenson, James 663
Stickney, Leander 565
Stonehouse, John B 246
Stringer, Dr. Samuel 205
Sumner, Alanson 617
Swinburne, John 235-237, 666
Tabor, Azor 143
Taylor, John 665
Ten Brocck, Dirck 661
Tenney, Jonathan 691-694
Thacher, George H 578, 579, 665
JohnB 579.580
Thomas, John, Jr 645
Thompson, John 246
" Letron 617,618
Tower, Franklin D 633, 634
Townsend, Franklin D.. Jr 247, 633-635
" John 663
Treadwell, George C 604
Trego, Thomas M 247
Tremain, Lyman 181 -185
Tucker, Luther 36S-371
" Willis G 247
Tweddle, John 351-353
Twitchell, Asa W 739
Van Allen, Adam 553-555
Van Buren, Martin '35-'37
Van Broeck, Abraham 661
Van Brugh, Peter 658
Van der Veer, All^ert 247
Van Olinda, Gerrit (Death of) 97
Van Rensselaer, Philip S 662
Van Schaick, Sybrant G , 661
" Family of 400
" Tobias 400
Van Vechten, Abraham 132
" Teunis 664
Vosburgh, Isaac W 638
Ward, Samuel B 238, 239
Watson, Simeon 646
Webster, Charles R 371, 372
Weed, Thurlow 372-374
INDEX— CORRIGENDA .
PAGE
Weidman, Daniel 630-632
Wessels, Dirck 658
Wheaton, Henry G 144
Whipple, Squire 494, 495
White, Douglass L 618
" Isaac ; 622, 623
Whitney, W. M 623
Wickham, Richard 592
Wiles, Lemuel M 739
Willard, Dr. Elias 205
" Dr. Moses 205
" Sylvester D 240, 241
' ' James A 630
PAGE
Wilson, John 247
Winne, Walter 492
Wood, Darius S 574
Woodruff, Dr. Hunloke 206-208
Woolett, William L 740, 741
M 740.741
Wiltsie, Ambrose, Jr 796
Winne, Jurian 798
Wood, Thomas J 822
Whitbeck, Andrew W 931
Yates, Abraham, Jr 662
" John V.N 134,135
' • Robert 131
CORRIGENDA.
Inaccuracies in proof-reading, easily corrected by any in-
telligent reader, are not noted.
Page t. — The note at the bottom of the page, contradicting
the text, inserted without the knowledge of the writer,
is regarded by him as making statements not founded
on the best authority.
Page 2. — Omit the two last periods in Chapter II, first par-
agraph, beginning with "The Hudson River;" also,
the gratuitous note at the bottom of the page.
Page 14. — Last line, first column, read "2.61 feet" instead
of " 17^ feet; " and in the note, a little less than three
feet.
Page 41. — Under July, 1698, read "Hendrick Hansen" in-
stead of " House."
Page 43. — Last line save one, in first column, "probably"
should read "properly."
Page 73.— Line 11, from bottom of second column, read
"Joel" instead of "Jared L." Mayer, 1838-41. Also,
line 20, "Colonel Philip," of revolutionary fame, and
not "Mayor Phih'p, " had his seat at Cherry Hill. See
page 291.
Page 618. — Tabernacle in place Emmanuel.
Page 675. — First hne of note, read "Barnard" instead of
"Brainard."
Page 679. — David P. Page was first Principal of Albany
Normal School. The " Legislative Act " was passed
May 7, 1844.
Page 6gi. — Read "Academian" in place of "Academi-
cian."
Page 697.— In line 33, second column, read 1849, and
' ' Lod ge " in place of ' ' Lady's "
INDEX OF NAMES
MENTIONED IN THIS VOLUME.
Aarnout, 777; Abbey, 375, 701; Abbott, 77, 177, 341, 376,
406, 416, 419, 605, 703, 758, 870, 950, 971, 988; Abee), 41,
126, 154, 155, 254, 354, 658, 659; Abercrombie, 389; Able,
490; Ablett, 962; Abrahamse, 272; Abrams, 295, 936, 948,
975, 997; Abuniss, 769; Acker, 152, 721; Ackerman, 637,
716, 831; Acres, 621; Adams, 90, 98, 100, 102, 135, 156,
175, 2og, 211, 224, 257, 263, 344, 354, 355, 373, 395, 415,
419, 441, 474, 475, 479. 4*3. 485, 49'. 524, 533, 562, 568,
650, 655, 677, 690, 691, 781, 784, 788, 789, 792, 793, 810,
860, 874, 932, 951, 954, 956, 957, 960, 967, 968, 970, 973, 988,
996; Addington, 152; Adey, 971; Adgate, 354, 406, 413,
418; Adriensen, 294, 295; Adkins, 924; Adler, 789, 996;
Adsil, 612; Aernhout, 906; Aga-ssiz, 682; Agnew, 245;
Ahem, 308; Aiken, 957, 972; Ainsworlh, 425, 710, 711;
Aird, 959, 964; Aitken, 970, 971, 972; Albani, 744, 755;
Albaugh, 705; Albers, 717; Albcrse, 274; Albcrtsen, 489;
Albright, 152, 892, 899, 901, 905, 907; Alcolt, 494; Alden,
173, 266, 679, 749, 950, 956, 957, 958; Aldridge, 828;
Alerdice, 971; Alexander, 88, 112, 154, 211, 340, 474, 479,
500, 530, 531, 533, 534, 621, 677, 731, 793; Aley, 91, 92^
355, 912, 913, 916, 920; Alford, 424; Alison, 768; Allanson,
106, 429, 717; Allcott, 443; Allen, 5, 90, 137, 152 159, 173,
179, 211, 212, 384, 393, 394, 396, 406, 407, 421;, 474, 475,
477, 478, 485, 486, 521, 532, 655, 656, 671;, 680, 710, 725,
769, 8to, 812, 870, 871, 872, 874, 875, 880, 892, 895, 904,
907, 963, 987; Allerton, 937; Alston, 927; Alberson, 814,
817; Alvord, 639; Amber, 772; Amernian, 834; Ames, 529,
632, 708, 718, 737, 739, 764, 765, 772; Amherst, 389, 390,
400, 759; Ammenheauser, 587; Amsdell, 475,. 476, 479,519,
556, 557, 558, 550; Amsden, 987; Anable, 426, 427, 475,
592, 637; Andes, 7lo; Anderson, 103, 118, 180, 209, 304,
430, 639, 739, 812, 819, 881, 926, 980, 987; Andre, 7, 912-
A'?f'"'7«; 39, 152. 158, 175, 375, 376, 562, 613, 669, 830, 987,
9SS; Andnessen, 294; Andros, 3, 10, 272, 289, 292, 379,
380, 381, 383; Andrus, 694; Annesley, 737; Angus', 376*
426, 545; Anthicr, 378, 969, 970; Anthony, 243, 305, 306'
735; Anton, 450; Antwerp, 732; Appel, 252, 273, 291;':
Apple, 156, 841, 842, 844, 845, 851,891; Applebee, goo
907, 910, 914; Appleton, 558, 559, 708; Archambeault, 212,
214; Archibald, 963; Arey, 266, 679; Argou. 750, Aristotle
135; Arkell, 377; Arkles, 419, 782; Armitage, 962; Armour!
606; Armsby 210 211, 213, 219, 220, 221, 234, 236, 242
243, 244, 268, 498, 518, 737, 866; Armstrong, 355, 4io
519. 870, 871, 873, 874; Amis, 906; Arnold, 6, 7 , &, Val
395, 397, .399. 409, 534, 574; Artcher, 152, 156, 278, 279!
419. 583. 584. 585, 635. 732, 735, 782, 860, 895, 896, 910.
920, 923, 928, 942; Arthur, 80, 109, 266, 7CO, q/r 04,
985; Asbury, 765, 786, 834; Asher, 9,:; Ashley, V^-
Ashmead, 795 ; Aspmwall, 479, 597, 753; Astor 5^6
Atherley, 2.1; Atherton, 419; Atkins, 750, 924; Atkinson
969; Auchempo, 872; Auchempaugh, 870, 871, 872 871
875; Auchmuty. 261; Aud, 559; Aukus, 385; Aultman,
789; Austm, 92, 152, 474, 475, 480, 521, 527, 611, 684, 708
i',^,-s!V969. ' ^'' ''^= ^^'^^'"' ''^= ^^"-^'594;
Abbey, D. & S A., 375; Abbott & Crosby, 376; Abbott &
^62": U-i^hf'.''^';™'''- "•■ ^^ ^°- 957; Ada1^s& Sprang
562, Albiight&Stanwix, 152; Allerton, Duicher & Moore
delV Geo"'! T%f'''?r' 957; Ames & Co. 632rAm::
Annl,.S\wfJ'''°- }^- 556; Amsdell Brothers 559;
"^^li, ^i^o^S" '' ^"■' '''-■ ^™°''- ^°""^
INDEX OF NAMES.
Babbington, 347; Babbitt, 613, 964;Babcock, 89, 113, 115,
156, 210, 211, 214, 219, 355, 375, 474, 479, 535, 544, 584,
642, 652, 699, 743, 748, 761, 777, 780, 788, 789, 790, 792,
793. o'9. 926, 928, 960, 997; Babington, 156; Bachelder,
693; Bachelor, 832; Backer, 295; Backus, 345, 375, 500,
613, 650; Bacon, 168, 564, 565, 758, 936; Badclo, 785;
Badgeley, 625, 626; Badgley, 630; Bageley, 625, 626;
Bagley, 337, 621; Bagwell, 750; Bahler, 834; Bailey, 74,
156, 181, 198, 211, 212, 214, 219, 221, 241, 320, 399, 429,
438, 439. 440, 44i> 474> 629, 65s, 656, 771, 784, 788, 792,
844, 858, 956, 961, 963, 964, 968, 969 ; Bailley, 642; Bain,
88, 529, 637; Baird, 180; Baker, 152, 188, 212, 220, 226,
266, 311, 334, 383, 411, 424, 433, 526, 532, 534, 558, 621,
675, 691, 780, 793, 795, 796, 8oo, 820, 829, 879, 887, 907,
923. 924, 925. 926, 934, 969, 970, 973; Balch, 212, 219, 220,
221, 222, 242, 485, 711, 739, 772; Baldwin, 155, 409, 410,
4I3> 524. 564. 723, 950, 960, 977, 994; Balentine, 371, 375,
700, 765; Ball, 212, 219, 242, 283, 287, 304, 401, 427, 597,
716, 801, 802, 803, 805, 808, 809, 812, 813, 815, 816,
817, 818, 819, 820, 874, 972; Ballagh, 812, 880, 899, 900;
Ballantine, 560; Ballard, 188; Ballentine, 601; Ballock, 973;
Ballou, 605, 977; Balsom, 420; Bamuis, 839; Bamman,
652; Bancker, 41, 42, 349, 354, 464, 658,660; Bancroft,
•77, 192. 194. 195- 196, 396, 476, 478, 479. 533. 613;
Bandorf, 648; Bangor, 944: Banker, 154, 402, 841; Banks,
no, 151, 152, 354, 355, 426, 477, 479, 480, 485, 519, 522,
532, 626, 666, 6go, 702, 711; Bantam, 669; Bantliam, 599;
Banyar, 262, 523, 528, 679, 760; Baptist, 274, 288; Barber,
355. 358, 36S, 375, 632, 639, 722, 752, 819, 870, 879, 927,
963; Barbour, 700; Barckley, 91, 427, 840, 871, 872, 875,
880; Barclay, 39, 261, 274, 401, 403, 404, 406, 407, 412,
414, 415, 417, 661, 759, 760, 826,'829, 841, 845, 883;
Bardine, 179; Barent, 214, 671 ; Barentse, 385; Barentsen,
46; Barliydt, 476, 477, 478; Baricauiky, 907 ; Baricker,
406; Barker, 242, 354, 634; Barkley, 92, 870; Barlow, 154,
523,828,872; Barman, 305; Barnard, 169, 268, 354, 367,
375. 420, 440, 441, 532, 613, 691, 712, 934; Barnes, 377,
410, 439. 570, 592, 690, 691, 702, 705, 735, 736, 942; Barnet,
605; Barnett, 593, 987; Barney, 210, 213, 613; Barnum,
712; Barr, 179; Barrentse, 385; Barret, 407; Barrett, 152,
173, 186, 307, 308, 401, 704, 845, 846, 847; Barriiiger, ggi;
Barron, 129; Barrows, 855; Barry. 356, 620, 750, 751;
Barstow, 625; Bartlet, 987; Bartlett, 212, 214, 219. 242,
308, 566, 567, 734, 744, 771, 841, 963; Bartley, 102, Barton,
702, 854,855, 869,910; Bartow, 530, 531 ; Basset, 584; Basser,
919; Bassett, 520, 771, 996; Bassler, 89, 725, 801, 802, 804,
809, 810, 870, 871,872, 883, 911, 939, 940; Bassor, 919; Bastia-
ense, 273; Batclielder, 479, 527, 532, 533, 625, 711; Batchel-
le''.355. 592, 613; Batcher,870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 88i ; Batey,
879; Batterman, 76, 77, 88, 8g, 156, 562, 740, 816, 841, 844,
847, 848, 852, 860; Battersby, 353, 356, 564, 639; Battershali,
550,553, 760; Battin, 516; Bauchry, 891 ; Bauer, 7o8;Baumes,
785, 788, 793, 828, 829; Baxter, 768, 873, 874, 875; Bay,
129, 208, 209, 210, 213, 262, 354, 405, 406, 409, 648, 677,
768; Bayard, 291, 424, 754; B.iyen, 279; Bayeaux, 714,
715. 716; Bayley, 526,963; Bayn, 647; Bayo, 559; Beach,
168, 173, 183, 191, 376, 567, 996; Beak, 835; Beal, 310,
439, 618, 964; Beam, 402; Bean, 969; Beardslee, 6go ;
Beardsley, 90, 139, 149, 325, 342, 640, 924, 928, 983;
Beasley, 7,9; Beattie, g73; Beaudry, gg5; Beaver, 841;
Beck, 75, 208, 209, 210, 213, 215, 220, 221, 268, 3 6, 480,
513, 626, 632, 643, 665, 684, 685; Becker, 80, 93, 103, 104,
106, 118, 119, 127, 211,252,272,305,354,355,401,405,
678, 713. 777, 781. 784. 788, 790. 793. 794. 795. 800, 805,
806, 818, 836, 840, 841, 843, 846, 854, 855, S73, 882, goi,
907, 908, 909, 910, 911, gig, g23, 925, 926, 931, g6l, g87;
Becket, 47g, 480; Beckett, 211, 214, 218; Beckey, 156;
Beckwith, 80; Bedell, 152, 648, 83g, 982, 9g5, g74; Bedford,
220, 694; Beebe, gi, 634, 841, 846, 847, 848, 84g, 850,
870, 872, 977, g8g; Beeby, 410; Beechez-, 417, 5g2, 617,
716, 750, 882 ; Beecker, 252 ; Beekley, 154, Beeckman,
10. 75. 354, 401. 402, 403, 407. 412, 417. 46g;
Beekman, 126, I2g, 273, 333, 376, 620, 662, 671, 673, 832,
844, 870, 871; Beeman, 420; Been, 127; Beens, 420; Beers,
156, 544, 761; Begs, go7; Behan, 753; Belamy, go2. 915;
Belcher, 563; Belden, 180, 860; Belknap, 474, 635, 636, 995 ;
Bell, 212, 427, 428, 449, 474, 637, 715, 7g3, 809, 817, 847,
849, 850, 874, 875, 883, 969; Belle, 420; Bellctti, 743; Bel-
lini, 743; Bellomont, 3, 10, 274, 298, 299, 382, 385, 386,
659; Bellows, 152; Belmont, 618; Beman, 344, 914; Bemet,
625,923. 927; Bement,328, 32g, 330, 332, 333, 334; Bemerick,
968; Bemis, g67; Bencker, 379; Benckes, 40; Bendell, 2(i,
214, 216, 217, 439, 6gg; Bender, 89, go, g2, g4, g5, 96, 98,
99, 378. 474. 479. 480, 534, 613, 629, 650, 777, 789, 7g3,
800, 904, 905; Benedict, 150, (51, 152, 156, 355, 410, 438,
530, 613, 614, 621, 637, 675, 677, 712, 743, 962, 968; Ben-
jamin, 212, 227, 440, 737; Benn, 420; Benner, 448; Bennet,
694. 9^3; Bennett, 152, 307, 613, 632, 639, 787, 793, 900,
901, 904, 905, 925, 928; Bensen, 841; Bensing, 385;
Benscotten, 850; Benson, 91, 534, 645, 727; Bent, 566, 567;
Benthuysen., 494; Benller, 153; Bentley, 89, gr, g2,
96, 98, 152, 402, 438, 710, 744, 925, 928; Benton, 266, 269,
711, 958, g5g; Berger, 402, Beringer, 406, 703-4; Ber-
nard, 125, 575; Berrian, 257; Berry, 27g, 354; Best, 402;
Betts, 474, g8o; Bettys, 304, 393; Beune, g8o; Bever, 846:
Beyea, 420; Beyer, 841, 844, 848; Bichat, 707; Bicker,
8g4; Bicknell, 613; Biddle, 331; Biegler, 222, 223; Bierl,
754; Bigelow, 109, 210, 212, 213, 214, 220, 221, 242, 690;
Bigler, 325; Bilhaueser, 789; Bill, 93, 354, 642; Billsen;
945; Billson, 931; Billings, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119, 121,
177, 225, 226, 971, Bingham, 118, 286, 461, 474, 475, 476,
477. 478, 479. 480, 481, 485. 503. 5'2, 742, 848, 84g, 963,
967; Bininger,i7g; Binns,g67; Biofore, 308; Birch, 156, 230,
437, 626, 793; Bird, 923; Birdsall, 304, 558, 613, 640;
Birdseye, 169,952; Birley, 559; Birmingham, 475; Bishop,
43°, 743. 762, 765, 928; Bissell, 961, 982; Bissels, 50; Bis-
sikummer, 479, 652; Bizzee, 86g; Blachley, 883; Black,
305, 750; Blackburn, 635, 934; Blackel. 694; Blackball,
355; Biackman, 975, 982; Blade, 817, 818; Blaine, 174,
366, 973; Blair, iig, 5g7, 8og, 812, 848, 858, 8gg; Blais-
dell, 74, 211, 218, 426, 828, 82g, 833, 835, 839, 840; Blake,
620, 652, 704, 707, 717, 725, 730, 735; Blakeman, 650;
Blanchard, 137, 155, 156, 234, 424, 531, 572, 715, 716, 964;
Blassie, 712; Blatchtord, 996; Blatner, 212, 214, 242, 644;
Blayney, 768; Bleecker, 41, 42, 88, 126, 128, 155, 156,
267, 299, 401, 403, 405, 406, 408, 409, 411, 412,
413, 420, 440, 463, 465, 466, 477, 478, 493, 500,
524, 528, 533, 534, 568, 589, 621, 658, 659, 660, 662,
665, 671, 690, 944; Bleeckman, 400; Bleeker, 125,
138, 273, 341, 354, 385, 741, 974, 975; Blendell, 242;
Blessing, 331, 355, 420, 574, 634, 779, 841, 843, 848, 849,
851; Blinn, 964; Bliss, 229, gg5; Block, 44, 775; Block-
sidge, 599; Blodget, go, 835; Blodgett, 120, 784, 830, 832,
834, 83g, 8g6; Bloemaert, 50; Bloemart, 13; Bloemendall,
841; Blood, 154; Bloodgood, 200, 261, 279, 301, 327, 375,
376, 416, 429, 438, 486, 498, 500, 526, 528, 529, 663, 664,
665, 667, 714, 765; Bloomer, 785; Bloomindall, 841 ; Bloom-
ingdale, 420, 613, 621, 850, 852, 853, 859, 906; Boardless,
170; Boardman, 60, 61, 62, gi, 534, 600, 626, 743, 761, 76g,
g24, 946; Bochlonitz, 624; Bocking, 765; ]3ocks, 170;
Boehm, 743, 744, 745; Boer, 771; Bogardus, 41, 73, 90,
127, 253, 273, 295, 354, 380, 708, 809, 817, 841, 846, 847,
858, 871, 872, 873, 875, 879, 880, goi, go2, 905, 926, 939,
940, gg4, 995; Bogart, 204, 272, 337, 405, 406, 424, 485,
486, 500, 517, 768; Bogert, 408, 409; Bogue, 951, 957, 971,
972; Boice, 792, 899, 907, 924,; Bolster, 820; Bond, 627;
Bonday, 676; Bomiey. 73, 292, 734, 777; Bonsilate, 599;
Bonzey, 874; Boom, 420, 826; Boomhower, 843; Boork,
305; Booth, 118, iig, 526, 686, 704, 705, 789; Borghgaert,
124; Borghghardt, 254; Borghgherdt, 126; Borden, 568;
Bordwell, 637, Bork, 784, 808; Borst, 708; Bortell, 964;
Itorthwick, 911; Bortle, 102, 479; Bose, goi; Boss, 683,
6gi; Boitick, 716, 717; Bothrick, 643; Botsford, g82; Bott,
517, 691, 744; Bottom, 971; Bouck, 11, 158, 443, 817; Bou-
drias, 212, 214; Boughton, 266, 634, 736, 737, 739, 916;
Bouler, 882; Boulware, 112, 214, 218, 231, 232. 233, 476;
Bounds, 420; Bourgeois, 305; Bouton, 632, 728, 816, 817,
913, gi6, g28; Bouse, 892, 902; Bowditch, 567; Bowe, 112,
113, 115, 892; Bowers, 655; Bowman, 844, 845; Bowne,
159, 226; Boycc, 212; Boyd, 210, 212, 213, 214, 220, 221,
222, 375, 376, 377, 413, 500, 520, 534, 556, 558, 559, 579,
6u, 621, 640, 641, 677, 685, 688, 745, g45; Boyington,
749; Boyle, 154, 307, 474, 587; Braat, go8, g3r; Brace,
261, 835, g78; Brackley, 870; Bradley, 73, 78, 227, 268,
420, 440, 691, 697, 69S, 74g, 788, 8og, 810, 817, 820, g27;
Bradford, 3, 46, 648,683, 685, 771, 7g7, 956, 9S1; Brad-
bhaw, 41, 272; Bradstreet, 73, 390, 717, 780; Brad t, 42, 98,
336, 405, 420, 474, 479, 490, 525, 632, 970; Bradts, 327,
648, 776, 777. 778, 793. 8io, 81 [, 892, 894, goi, 902, 905,
906, 907, gio, g32; Brady, 120, 121, 183, 355, 480, 573,
INDEX OF NAMES.
645, 906, 977, 983, 994; Brainard, 438, 675, 694, 747; Bra-
man, 354, 355, 987, 993, 997; Brandenburg, 425, 711;
Bradford, 997 ; Brannigan, 65 1 ; Brandon, 702 ; Brandt, 36,
410; Branet, 973; Brant, 7, 396, 911, 917, 919; Brass, 152;
Brat, 272, 273; Brate, 711, 817, 892, go6, 910; Bratt, 272,
274, 413, 429, 520, 776; Brayton, 156, 474, 652, 793; Bra-
zee, 715, Breakey, 210; Breeckman, 379; Breed, 982; Bree-
man, 559; Brennan, 116, 152, 306, 477, 478, 485, 752;
Brenton, 694; Bresler, 112; Bretton, 635; Brewster, 98,
820, 936; Brice (Bries), 73, 95, 96, 273, 385, 402, 585, 814,
815, 987; Bridge, 564; Bridges, 582; Bridgeford, 450;
Bridgford, 517, 861, 952; Bridgeman, 731; Bridgman, 592;
750, 881, 900; Bries (Brice), 73, 95, 96, 273, 402, 385, 585, 655 ;
Bridgen, 155; Brigham, 355, 426, 518, 927; Briggs, 212, 308,
828, 830, 831, 832, 835, 839; Bright, 901; Brilleman, 479,
Brinchall, 562; Brinckerhoff, 550, 572, 611, 635, 671;
Brindle, 793; Brink, 410, 836, 940; Brinkerhoff, 540; Brin-
tall, 420; Brisbin, 9; Briselt, 634; Bristol, 345; Bristow,
743; Britton, 772, 906, 907, 987; Broadhurst, 156, 272;
Brock, 76, 420; BrockhoUes, 10, 379; Brockway, 492,
708, 951, 957, 962, 973; Brodhead, 43; Brodt, 841, 873;
Broeck, 855; Broecks, 583; Bromley, 304. 490, 652; Bronck,
295, 354, 406, 425, 438, 485; Bronk, 485, 681, 711,826,827,
829,834,839,870,871,872,939, 981; Bronson, 139, 145, 149.
154,170,210,680,686,749; Brook, 378; Brooks, 92, 160,
212, 225, 354, 532, 537, 642, 711, 782, 788, 793, 894, 971;
Brooksby, 586; Brother, 828; Brouck, 274; Brougham, 161;
Broughton, 426, Brouwer, 50, 826; Brower, 426, 468, 582;
Brown, 8, 77, 108, 109, 152, 210, 213, 219, 242, 279, 354,
371. 375. 394. 395. 398, 407, 412, 420, 474, 475. 498. 500.
526, 527, 544, 611, 643, 648, 672, 682, 690, 708, 716, 736,
737. 744. 753. 759. 760, 761, 762- 764. 782, 801, 802, 814,
841, 844, 846, 847, 870, 879, 881, 882, 911, 918, 923, 926.
945. 951. 9^. 9^'. 9^2, 968, 970, 977, 984, 988; Browne,
378, 442, 478, 479, 681, 716, 735; Brownell, 209, 420, 879;
Broyce, 911; Bruce, 91,438, 584, 613, 892, 985; Brumaghin,
307,479,533; Brummel, 725; Brundage, 785 ; Brunow, 377,
683; I5runysen, 295; Brust, 852, 853; Bryan, 424, 519, 529,
7to, 715; Bryant, 225, 582, 688; IBryce, 480, 481, 587;
Buchanan, 152, 160, 177, 192, 194, 196, 519, 559, 715, 785,
968, 970, 971; Buchar, 906; Bucher, 902; Buchler, 562;
Buck, 860, 879, 880, 987; Buckelew, 926; Buckingham, 216;
Buckley, 639; Buckmaster, 76; Buel, 90, 261, 268, 286,
323, 328, 329, 333, 335, 354, 356. 357. 370, 373. 375. 376,
378, 533, 534, 677, 700, 752; Buffingtoi), 212; Bulger, 306,
752, 793; Bulkley, 114, 152, 173, 268, 421, 575, 621; Bull,
'87, 334. 420, 836; Bullions, 684, 967; Bullock, 88, 211,
329, 532, 613, 684, 785, 788, 789, 793, 837, 866, 890, 894,
904,905,907,935,964; Bullsmg, 931; Bumford, 79,433;
Bumps, 911; Bundy, 873, 875, 879; Bunza, 872; Bunzer,
420; Bunzey, 420; Burbank, 210, 817; Burch, 479, 480, 665 ;
Burchard, 919, 926; Burdett, 442; Burdick, 377, 378, 702,
716, 843; Burdsall, 944; Buren, 213; Burger, 835, 960;
Burgess, 422, 637; Burgher, 924; Burgoyne, 6, 76, 80, 131,
206, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 416, 662, 674, 840, 922, 979;
Burhans, 354, 424. 425. 635, 787. 789. 792. 793. 794; Burk,
307. 749; Burke, 120, 181, 478, 480, 704, 729, 743, 749, 756;
Burleigh, 791; Burley, 335; Burlingame, 152,476,690,744,
875; Burnet, 4, 10, 382; Burnett, 422, 533,919; Burns, 304,
601, 602, 711, 743; Bumside, 234, 401, 895, 907; Burr, 132,
141, 261, 367, 440, 441, 674, 746, 934; Burrell, 558, 708;
Burrett, 926; Burrows, 188, 210, 974; Burst, 850; Burt,
211, 308, 426, 531, 556, 559; Burton, 88, 89, 210, 426, 566,
946, 947, 950, 951, 964, 967, 968, 969, 973; Bury, 760;
Bush, 244, 593, 690, 906, 927, 964, 966, 968, 973; Busham,
713; Bushmore, 900; Bushnell, 541; Buskins, 785; Busley,
605; Bussell, 793; Bussing. 777, 78r ; Bussey, 420; Butcher,
881; Butler, 36, 75, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 156, 219, 226,
268, 325, 341, 354, 359, 396, 410, 420, 440. 526, 568, 599,
691, 755, 971. 982; Butterfield, 319, 321, 322, 323, 782, 847,
879; Buyshe, 751, 843; Buzzee, 849, 850; Byers, 825;
Byron, 703, 728; Byrne, 92.
Babcock & Hopkins, 652; Babcock, Shannon & Co., 642;
Bacon & Stickney, 564, 565; Bacon, Stickney & Co., 564;
Backus & Whiting, 375; Bailley & Brooks, 642; Bailley &
Howard, 320; Baker & Son, C. V. , 334; Baker, Waldridge &
Halsted, 311; Ballentine & Co., Wm., 601; Ballentine &
Webster, 371,375; Bancroft &- Co., H. A., 613; Banks, Bros.,
702; Bantham, Bros., 599; Barter & Bennett, 632, 639;
Barber, John & Robert, 375; Barnes & Godfrey, 377; Bart-
lett. Bent & Co., 566; Batchelder & Sherman, 625; Bayn's
Sons, Benj., 647; Beach, Denio & Richards, 376; Becker &
Hilton, 854; Belcher & Larrabee, 563; Belknap &Son,Z., 636;
Bell & Ledger, 637; Bender, Martin & Thomas, 613; Bene-
dict & Co., Lewis, 687; Benedicts Roby, 637; Benedict
& Son, J., 613; Bernard & Co., F. J., 575: Birch & Co.,
Geo. A., 626; Birdsall, John & Geo., 558; Blackburn &
Jones, 635; Blair & Kinnear, 597; Bleecker, B. & J. G., 671 ;
Bloodgood & Van Schaick, 376; Boardman & Bro., G.
626; Boardman & Gray, 600-2; Bogart & Cuyler, 517;
Borden & Stowe, 568; Bouton & Gear, 632; Boyd & Co.,
613; Boyd & Bro., 559; Boyd & McCulloch, 558; Boyd &
McHinch, 621; Boyd, P. & John I., 621; Bridge & Davis, 564;
Briggs & Son, Wm. S., 830; Brockway & Kurtl, 957; Brower
& Son, S. D., 582; Bryant & Stratton, 688; Bull & Wilson,
334; Bullock & Co., 613; Bullock & Many, 613; Burdick
& Taylor, 377, 378, 702; Burton & Co., Wm., 946; Burton
& Vine, 626; Butterfield, Wasson & Co., 319, 321.
c
Cabot, 2; Cacknard, 420; Cady, 134, 140, 179, 345, 762,
969, 982; Cagger, 141, 146, 147, 173, 179, 185, 191, 197,
476, 477, 676, 729; Cahall, 358; Cahill, 485; Cain, 972;
Calder, 187, 427, 923, 924; Caldwell, 76, 92, 498, 500, 528,
603, 620, 621, 625, 684, 937; Caley, 841; Calhoun, 373,
644; Calkins, 967, 968, 970, 973; Call, 813; Callahan, 95,
336; Callanan, 266, 777, 780, 789, 792, 831, 837, 894;
Callans, 406; Callender, 612, 613; Callicot, 364, 377; Calve,
379; Calvin, 259, 613; Caly, 841; Camberling, 677; Cameron,
152,784, 850, 896, 963; Campbell, 152, 181, 210, 213, 260,
268, 305, 355, 415, 420, 429, 477, 583, 613, 620, 684, 685,
686, 694, 742, 750, 768, 771, 784, 847, 850, 851, 854, 875,
881, 935, 943, 951, 958, 959, 964, 969, 973, 984, 987;
Campion, 476, 477; Campston, 620; Canaday, 708, 818,
871; Canady, 870, 872; Canassatego, 38; Canier, 931;
Cannon, 989; Cantine, 357, 359; Cantwell, 634; Canull,
817; Capron, 118, 119, 534, 561, 666, 850, 945; Capson,
628; Carbine, 620; Carey, 98, lOO, 378, 480, 481, 485,
620, 626, 7go, 818, 830; Carhart, 266, 304, 420, 688,
780, 785, 832, 836, 860, 962 ; Carknard, 906, 907;
Carl, 926 ; Carleton, 6, 394, 395, 737 ; Carlin, 94, 306;
Carlisle, 480, 638; Carmichael, 438, 477, 675, 708; Car-
mody, 729, 759; Carnell, 688; Carney, 306; Carnisie, 125;
Carpenter, 226, 341, 377, 474, 476, 477, 478, 515, 699, 737,
741, 850, 907, 926, 968, 970; Carperse, 272; Carr, 231, 272,
305, 420, 475, 647, 648, 710, 717, 836, 905; Carrier, 564;
Carrigan, 958; Carroll, 94, 108, 109, 221, 226, 306, 342,
376, 420, 521, 556, 568, 613, 635, 674, 716, 737, 752, 837,
840, 845, 907, 960, 962; Carson, 376; Carstens, 272; Cars-
tense, 273; Carter, 180, 210, 213, 214, 321, 323, 375, 708,
950, 968, 969, 973; Cartier, 758; Carthy, 981; Cartwright,
69, 828, 927; Gary, 519, 613, 625, 644, 817, 951, 987, 988;
Case, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 475, 496, 534, 701, 788, 848,
851, 906, 941; Casey, 116, 118, 119, 120, I2i, 122, 478,
479. 635, 699, 790; Casler, 212; Caspers, 304; Casperse,
274; Gasman, 808; Cass, 152,841; Cassidy, 232, 306, 357,
358, 359. 365. 366, 375. 376, 377. 406, 441. 442. 474, 475,
517, 524, 525, 527, 564, 639, 676, 685, 690, 750, 751, 752,
757. 773. 841, 987; Castle, 813, 926; Caswell, 713, 831;
Caulknis, 985; Cavanaugh, 479; Cavart, 879, 880; Carver,
648; Caw, 92, 968; Celeste, 704; Center, 500, 526, 530,
605, 611, 621. 686, 926; Chace, 873; Chad wick, 420, 943,
950. 953. 956, 968, 969, 971, 972; Chamberlain, 95, 425,
482, 527, 533, 603, 677, 690, 711, 906, 935, 964; Chamber-
Im, 711; Chambers, 90, 211, 295, 304. 392, 620; Champion,
«72, 874; Chandler, 604, 621; Chanfrau, 705; Chapin, 211
214, 425. 53'. 602, 625, 652, 677, 684, 736; Chapman, 90,
92, 360, 534, 603, 611, 630, 632, 726. 737, 771, 785, 870,
871, 874, 879, 917, 975, 976, 977; Charles, 533, 574, 637,
052. 701, 750; Chase, 152, 564, 565, 604, 613, 644,
645, 690, 711, 841, 872, 881, 996; Chatfield, 335. 424; Chat-
terton, 785; Cheesbro, 90, 871, 872, 873, 874, 879, 880, 883,
907; Cheesebro, 420, 966, 967; Cheesebrough, 604, 860,
870, 900, 901; Cheesman, 765, 944; Cheever, 129, 155-
Cheney, 209, 318, 593; Chesbro, 972; Chesebro, 108, 109
III, 113, 115, 116, 355, 805, 806,860, 870, 879, 902;
Chester, 152, 198, 346, 439, 559, 686, 699, 769, 923, 947;
Chestnutt, 307; Chickering, 600; Child, 376; Childs 716
926; Chism, 355, 843, 845, 849, 869; Chittenden, 677^ 916
INDEX OF NAMES.
XV
926; Chrisler, 874; Chrittenden, gi, 156, 399, 410; Christian
566; Christie, 210, 902, 988; Chrysler, 872; Church, 98,
281, 307, 710, 772, 815; Churchill, 701, 703; ChoUar, 977;
Cirill, 840; Civil, 828, 833; Claese, 519; Claesse, 272;
Clancy, 860; Clafflin, 179; Clapp, 521, 648, 749; Clapper,
843, 906; Clark, 4, II, 90, 91, 116, 118, 173, 176, 177, 212,
373. 374, 375. 420, 426, 428, 442, 443, 491, 531, 568, 573,
oil, 613, 614, 617, 642, 647, 771, 778, 805, 820, 836, 844,
848, 901, 907, 915, 920, 926, 928, 934, 957, 960, 969, 970,
972; Clarke, 10, 42, 91, 210, 212, 377, 379, 382, 562, 621,
643, 700, 950, 963, 970, 971, 973; Clarkson, 385; Classen,
119, 121, 212, 242, 559; Claw, 127; Claxton, 375; Clay,
'3^. '7S> '92. 280, 365, 373, 715; Cleever, 757; Clement,
210, 412, 474, 499, 647, 835; Cleminshaw, 562; Cleveland,
II. 174. 175. 176, 178, 366, 367, 444, 457, 563, 592, 716,
717. 735. 911". Clickman, 870, 872, 881; Clifton, 704; Clin-
ton, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, II, 36, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 137, 141,
177, 262, 264, 266, 267, 268, 275, 291, 328, 339, 357, 373,
379, 387. 388, 396. 400. 403. 404. 405. 419. 443. 448, 500.
518, 523, 524, 644, 662, 663, 676, 677, 690, 704, 737, 803,
843, 844, 918; Clove, 3, 10, 46; Clow, 791, 817, 818, 879;
Clowe, 907; Clowes, 683, 700, 759, 760; Clough, 95; Cluet,
931,932; Cluett, 601; Clute, 77, 152,155,420,479,521,
522, 632, 634, 635, 639, 841, 843, 846, 869, 880, 882, 883,
934, 935. 939, 940, 943. 944, 950. 951. 958, 959. 96°. 968,
969, 972, 973, 984, 987, 988, 995; Clyckman, 870, 87 1;
Clymer, 220; Coats, 870, 985; Coates, 533, 806; Cobb, 212,
568, 997; Cobes, 156; Coburn, 819; Cockburn, 815;
Cocheris, 180; Cochoran, 205; Cochran, 76, 152, 679;
Cochrane, 163, 183, 266, 355, 426; Coe, 712; Coeler, 879;
Coeyman, 74. 292, 327, 824; Coffee, 613; Coffin, 154, 780,
814, 958; Coggswell, 2ig, 236; Cogswell, 210, 213, 533,
592, 748; Cohn, 152; Coit, i6g; Coke, 765; Colburn, 307,
376, 420, 613, 743, 771, 995; Colden, 4, 5, 10, 156, 293, 37g,
382, 392, 918; Cole (Koole), 160, 183, 194, 268. 307, 309,
375, 376, 402, 420, 421, 438, 474, 476, 477, 558, 601, 602,
655. 656, 657, 697, 699, 712, 714, 716, 719, 735, 736, 834,
835, 839, go6, 914, 926, 936, 995; Coleman, 102, 103, 355,
522, 527, 559. 995; Coles, 637; Coley, 677, 736, 749, 843;
Coligan, 987; Collier, 140, 212, 274, 601, 635, 704, 743, 744,
834, Colling, 329; Collins, 42, 124, 126, 127, 354, 355, 426,
429, 832, 914, 948, 951, 977, 980, 987, 988, 991; Colliton,
887; Columbus, 448; Colvard, 156, 354, 556, 913, 920;
Colve, 380; Colvin, 74, 75, 92, 152, 156, 265, 277,286,287,
291. 354, 742, 828, 830, 834, 838. 839, 840, 958; Colwell, 987;
Combs, 478, 716, 717; Comings, 164; Compton, 880. 898;
Comstock, 90, 175, 309, 359, 365, 375, 377, 438, 521, 655,
657; Conant, 700, 846; Conboy, 973; Conden, 817; Condict,
895; Condon, 104; Cone, 742; Coney, 93; Conger, 93, 94,
96, no, 112, 113, 115, 116, 355, 420, 802,817, 819, 892, 934;
Congdon, 781, 782; Connie, 354; Conklin, 242, 304, 526,
814, 913, 916; Conkling, 143, 362, 440, 621, 813; Conley,
152, 717; Conerogatchie, 300; Connell, gii; Connelly, 558,
996, gg7; Conner, 278, 425; Connick, 596; Connolly, 305;
Connor, 88, 8g, 120, 152, 705, g2o; Connors, 307; Conrad,
38; Conroy, 676, 686, 72g, 730, 753, 754, 755, 756, g6s;
Consaul, 940; Consaloe, 931; Converse, 832; Conyes, 920;
Conway, 116, 118, 152; Cook, 118, 142, 152, 170, 212, 214,
308, 373. 375. 477, 53°. 559. 594. 599. 625, 627, 684, 685,
716, 717, 727, 736, 744, 748, 817, 906, 915, 963, 98g, 995;
Cooke, 426, 619, 690; Cookingham, 226; Coole, gi i ; Cooley,
613. 736 748, 906. 982: Coon, 345, 713, 849, 919, 996;
Cooney, 860; Coonley, 635, 834; Coonleys, 832; Coons,
gio, 911; Cooper, 127, 129, 134, 152, 155, 156, 180, 185,
200, 201, 209, 442, 446, 500, 526, 567, 613, 699, 701, 732,
735. 760, 777, 781, 785, 799, 827, 841, goi, 911, 914, 942;
Coorn, 14; Coote, 379; Coper, 777; Copeland, 708, 832;
Copp. 319; Copper, 681; Corbitt, 962; Corcoran, 485;
Cordell, 307, 812, 941; Corlear, 385, 556; Corliss, 712, 713;
Combury, 4, 10, 254, 292, 382; Cornelisse, 273, 274, 385;
Cornelissen, 295, 6fi, 825; Cornell, n, 355, 361, 444, 450,
489, 519, 564, 793, 814, 817, 834, 926, 948; Corning, 2g, 74,
n6, 161, 268, 328, 329, 330, 331, 334, 342, 440, 441, 473,
474, 475, 476. 477, 480, 491, 514, 515, 519, 526, 527, 531,
532, 534, 535, 536, 537. 538, 539, S40, 54i. 542. 543, 544,
545, 567, 572, 591, 611, 636, 637, 643, 662, 664, 677, 678,
687, 690, 713,718, 729. 738. 745. 751. 761, 779. 79'. 934;
Cornwall, 184, 914; Cornwell, 42; Corry, 127, 128, 129,
g83, 990; Corstiaenssen, 2, 13, 44, 45; Corstiacnsen, 611,
775; Cortell, 91; Corwin, 926, 963; Cory, 210, 943, 997;
Cosby, 4, 10, 37g; Cosford, 765; Coss, 843, 86g; Costello,
307. 343. 491; Coster, 273, 519, 659; Costigan, 525; Cott,
gi2; Cotrell, 526, 533, 604, 634; Couchman, 813, 814, 915,
gi6, 919, 921; Coughtry. 785, 894, 902, 903; Coulson, 427,
766; Coup, 593; Countermine, 735, 770; Countryman, 114,
152, 153, 160; Courcelles,382; Couse, 785, 788, 793 ; Courtney,
156, 163, 164, 342, 343, 490, 570, 744, 877, 905; Courtright,
344; Covel, 406, 749; Covelens, 252; Covenhoven, 841;
Coveny, 971, 972; Covert, 437, 877, 9g2; Covill, 74; Cowan,
170; Cowell, 475; Cowen, 145. 149; Cower, 958; Cowper-
thwaite, 257; Cox, 222, 225, 226, 229, 329, 474, 475, 839, 977;
Coy, 210; Coyendell, 489; Coyle, 355, 756; Crab, 592;
Crabbe, 669; Craft, 477, 642; Cragiers, 935; Craig, 211,
213, 214, 218, 221, 425, 438, 439, 474, 477. 613, 614, 834,
861,970; Cram, 841; Cramer, 623, 940, 941, 989; Gramme,
843, 869; Crampton, 813; Crandall, 156, 227, 402, 420, 519,
928; Crane, 613, 620, 621, 640. 652, 690, 951; Crannell,
152, 637, 714, 735; Crary, 420, 817,870,871,872,873,874,
875,879,880,882,883,885,887; Cranse, 970; Cranston,
971; Crantz (Crounse), 401, 402; Craven, 102, 103, no,
113, 115, 116, 117, 119, 120; Craver, 788, 977; Craw, 744,
834; Crawford, 74, 154, 174, 213, 319, 355, 373, 553, 635,
786, 820, 894, 961, 973, 977, 980, 995; Crawley, 307;
Creble, 355, 792, 893, 902, 904. 90;, 910; Crehan, 527;
Cregier, 273, 931; Crippen, 266, 814; Cristtle, 971; Critten-
den" 268, 561, 686; Crocker, 91, 613, 789, 820, 911, 914,
926, 927, 996; Crofts, 622; Croysant, 580; Crol, 204, 271;
Crombie, 821; Cromwell, 226; Cronk, 828; Crook, 564, 633;
Crooke, 127; Crooks, 906, 987; Croorn, 54, 55; Cropsey,
739; Crosby, 90, 200, 210, 354, 376, 440, 594, 820, 982,
984; Crost, 972; Croswell, 358, 359, 374, 375, 531, 701;
Crothers, 212; Crounse, 90, 93. 210, 211. 212, 420, 425, 426,
811, 812, 840, 841, 843, 844. 846. 847, 848, 850, 851, 854,
855, 856, 857, 865, 869, 871, 872, 873 877, 879, 881, 882,
883, 887, 894, 900, 904, 905, 906, 907, 908, 910; Crousler,
899, 901; Crowe, 854; Cruikshank, 652; Crukshank, 376;
Crumb, 833; Crummy. 562; Cruttenden, 652; Cucchiarini,
756; Cuddy, 119, 120, 121; Cull, 521, 749; Cullen, 230, 613,
839, 997; Cullinan, 984; CuUings, 613, 895; Culvard, 804,
805; Culver, 213, 242, 804, 911, 916. 943, 997; Cumming,
632; Cummings, 306,605,769,777,781,817,977; Cunning-
ham, 474, 713, 983, 987; Curley, 747; Curran, 355, 802;
Curtis, 139, 203, 212, 214, 2ig, 221, 222, 243, 345, 378, 402,
604, 618, 8[ 1, 95g, 973,974, 980, g84; Curtin, 753; Curtius,
25i;Cu3hing,342;Cushman,5i9, 651, 705, 706, 971;; Cutchen,
8g5; Cutler, 98, 152, 324, 355, 593, 624, 725; Cutter, 744;
Cuyler, 41, 42, 90, III, 134, 156, 210, 261, 273, 342, 354,
364. 377- 385. 401. 403. 405, 406, 407, 409, 412, 413, 416,
418, 446, 467, 468, 477, 478, 480, 517, 521, 526, 527, 528,
620, 621. 658, 660, 661, 664, 67g, 708, 716, 744, 760, 934;
Cagger & Hand, 173, 179; Cagger, Porter & Hand, 179,
185; Cagger & Porter, 179; Calder & Son, W. D., 924;
Caldwell. Frasier & Co., 937; Calvin, Cooley & Co., 613;
Campbell & C'u-)e, 959, 960; Carlisle & Hill, 638; Carwell
& Carhart, 688; Carr & Clark, 647; Carro'l, J. H. &
Colburn, W. M., 376; Carroll, J. K. & McDonald.
D-, S57; Carrier, J. T., 564; Cary & Salisbury, 613;
Capron & Woolverton. 561; Chadwick & Cor, 956;
Chandler & Starr, 604, 621; Chapin & Co., D., 602; Charles
& Co., 574; Chase & Co., L. A., 564, 565; Chase & Co.,
S. G., 645; Chase & Delehanty, 152; C'hri-tlan & Bros., J.
M., 566; Churchill & Abbey, 700; Clark, Decker & Gardner,
805; Clark & Hale, 173; Clark & Holsapple, 957; Clark &
Van Alstyne, 4gi ; Clarke, Geo. W. & Thomas J. J., 377;
Claxton SBabcock, 375; Clement & Grose, 647; Cleminshaw
& Son, J. B , 562; Cleveland Bros, 563; Cluett & Sons,
601. 634; Coats & Smith, 806; Coffee, Biuce & Co., 613;
Coffin&Co., Wni. E., 958; Coleman &Bro., 557, 559; Coles
& Woodruff, 637; Collender & Mason, 613; Collin & Jones,
951; Conkling & Herring, 621; Cook & Son, Adam, 594;
Cook&Meutch, 559; Cook & Co., Wm., 625; Coolidge'
Pratt & Co., 556, 55g; Coonley & Waldron, 635; Corning &
Co., 637; CominiT, Horner & Winslow, 540; Corning &
Latham, 33 1 ; Corning & Norton, 567, 572; Corning & Walker,
(>i,6\ Cornini; & Winslow, 541 ; Cottrell & Leonard, 604, 634-
Cowen & Hill, 145; Crab& Doig, 5g2; Craft, Wilson & Co.,'
642; Cranston & Belden, gg?; Crawford & Livingston, 635;
Croswell & Co., H., 375; Croswell & Frany, 375; Croissant
&Bro.,58o; Crook& Co., Thos. P., 564; Crounce& Hilton,
854; Cullen & Jones, 613; Curtis & Co., 957, 959; Curtis,
Beals & Fearing, 618; Cushman & Co., P., 651 ; Cuyler,
Gansevoort & Co., 620; Cuyler & Henley, 377.
XVI
INDEX OF NAMES.
ID
Dailey, 907, 964, 987; Dalchen, 743; Dale, 694, 695;
Daley, 701; Daliba, 433; Dalton, 476, 612; Daly, 103, 104,
109, no. III, 112, 476, 478, 983; Damon, 814, 877; Damp,
307; Dana, 690, 691; Danaher, 738; Dane, 870, 879; Dan-
forth, 173, 179,920; Dane, 100; Dangler, 125; Danhauser,
439; Daniels, 567, 571, 881; Dankers, 297, 298, 327, 844;
Danks, 425; Dann, 985; Dans, 855; Dantz, 848; Dare, 918;
Daretha, 295; Darling, 769; Daucliy, 945; Davenport, 762,
870, 871, 873, 874, 884, 886, 887, 914; David, 417; David-
son, 91, 212, 334, 355, 489, 530, 533, 534, 537, 637, 65s,
788; Davis, 90, 92, 183, 184, 195, 212, 257, 308, 340, 354,
415, 425, 438, 494, 564, 600, 602, 613, 621, 628, 632, 642,
646, 648, 690, 711, 744, 769, 771, 780, 784, 787, 803, 812,
816, 817, 818, 830, 831, 832, 834, 839, 841, 843, 846, 851,
853, 858, 859, 860, 866, 869, 875, 920, 922, 973, 995; Daw,
967;' Dawson, 358, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 377, 392, 413,
426, 438, 480, 517, 519, 701, 702, 713, 960; Dawyer, 826;
Day, 152, 750, 788, 865, 907, go8; Dayton, 83, 89, 104, 106,
108, 109, no, III, 112, 210, 354, 527, 818, 844, 908, 913,
916, 920, 962, 991, 995, 997; Deacon, 989; Dean, 143, 144,
160, 169, 202, 220, 230, 341, 344, 376, 417, 438, 486, 675,
680, 681, 690, 762, 769, 972; Dearstyne, 485, 491; Dear-
born, 8; De Bakker, 295; De Baum, 940, 941; De Bow,
300; De Brouwer, 273; Ue Callieres, 383, 505; De Camp,
945; de Chaslellux, 674; De Chaumont, 335; Decker,
757, 805, 814, 854, go6; Derkerman, 744; De Decker,
46, 65, 301; Dederick, 573, 589, 728; De Forest, 90, 91,
273, 402, 420, 540, 613, 690, 841, 846, 893; De Freest,
401, 402, 407, 785, 843, 869; De Freist, 932; De Freisto, 412;
D'Foreest, 273; Degan, 479; Degarno, 621; De Graff, 211,
568, 677, 788, 849, 852, 855; De Grove, 639; De Haas, 932,
934, 939; De Heyden, 794; De Hinse, 205; De Hooges, 294;
De Hulter, 582; Deilz, 354, 801, 802, 804, 806, 808, 809,
812, 814, 815, 817, 8ig, 820, 822, 853, 855, 872, 917;
De la Barre, 3; de la Court, 288; De Laet, 13, 50; De La-
fayette, 797; Delahanty, 355, 638, 699, 973, 974; De Lain-
court, 497; De La Mater, 266; De Lamater, 209, 211,
907; Delamater, 219, 788, 915; De Lancey, 4, 155, 261,
379, 382, 388, 405, 413; De Lancy, 10, 128, 156, 392, 541;
Delaney, 968; Delano, 980; Delavan, 216, 225, 226, 243,
335. 341, 342, 375. 376. 439. 459. 500. 531. 652, 684, 729,
752; De La Vergne, 928; Delehanly, 98, 152, 474, 475,
476, 478, 479, 515, 519, 597; Delevan, 690; Dellius, 41, 272,
466, 659, 771; De Long, 96, 793, 830, 892, 893, 903, go6,
910; Delong, 98, 354, 852, 894; Delve, 996; De Maiollo,
I; De Marguerites, 705; Demarest, 809, 926, 939, 940; De
Marks, g35; Demerest, 899; De Meyer, 253; De Milt, 951;
Demgen, 789; Doming, 152; Dempsey, igo; Demers, 361;
Denaher, 152; Denbergh, 934; Denio, 159, 281, 282, 286,
287, 367, 375, 376, 934; Denison, 7 1 1, 801, 814, 8lg, 823,
870, 879; Dennian, 267; Dennick, 210, 788, 902, 907, 908;
Denier, 705; Dennison, 103, 104; Denniston, 525, 529, 620;
Denny, 704; Dcnonville, 3; De Norman, 73; Dent, 553;
Depew, 450; De Peyster, 42, 155, 379, 661; de Peysler,
660; Derboos, 926; Derby, 613; De Reamess, 8g2; de Rens,
51; de Rham, 445; De Ridder, 7g4; de Rochambeau, 674;
De Roseers, 973; Dermott, 982; Derveer, 214; De Sales,
752; De Salle, 729; Desmond, 308; DestiUator, 763; De
Tiere, 587; Develin, 983; Devendorf, 629; Devereaux, 526;
Devereux, 104, 106, 108, 914, 915, gi8, 919, 920; Devine,
igi; Devoe, 90, 92, 93, 401, 766, 809, 817, 820, 826, 841,
843, 847, 849, 906; Devol, 211, 235, 295, 86i; De Vries, 13,
53; Devyr, 376; De Wever, 273; Dewey, 176; De Witt, 44,
-152, 171, 26r, 267, 336, 440, 443, 446, 447, 523, 526, 527,
529. 531. 534, 613, 635, 735, 741. 761. 771, 772, 919; De
Wolf, 234, 450; Deyermand, 47g; Dexter, 89, 640, 647, 648,
667; Deyo, 726; De Zeng, 76; De Zouche, 212; Dibble,
gri; Dick, 42, 127; Dicker, 987; Dickey, 568, 571; Dicker-
man, 479, 481, 521, 706, 710, 717; Dickerson, 179; Dickin-
son, 163, g25, g75; Dickson, 210, 436, 517, 632, 716, 726,
740, 771, 788, 893, 904, go7, 924; Diedrick, 936; Diefen-
dorf, 811; Dieskau, 389; Dietz, 73, 401, 441, 55g, 597, 598,
723, 844; Dillenbeck, 613; Dillius, 39; Dillon, 47g; Ding-
man, 274, go6, go7; Dings, g4i, g45; Dingwell, 335; Din-
neford, 704; Dircks, 125; Dirkse, 272, 273; Disbroe, g7i;
Disbrow, g2, g3, 354, g23, g26, g28; Dix, 11, 178, 268, 26g,
354. 375. 376. 440. 442, 444. 448. 675, 6g2, 715, 737, 760,
g64; Dixon, 441, 585, 586, 587, g67, g68, 971,972,973;
Doane, 544, 687, 759, 760, 761, 762, 960, g6i; Dobler, 55g;
Dockstader, g68; Dodds, 425, 711; Dodge, 102, 103, 104,
605, 619, 937, 960, 962, 971; Dodworth, 744; Doelker, 731;
Doerscher, 934; Doherty, 626; Doig, 592, 800, 810; Dolan,
92, g87; Dollar, 841, 901, 903; Dom, 987; Domery, 655;
Domke, 789; Donahoe, 474, 479, 480; Doncaster, 521,
594, 972; Dongan, 10, 12, 69, 71, 72, 272, 289, 298, 379,
383. 458, 461. 463. 657. 987; Donge, 726; Dongon, 3; Don-
Ion, 968; Donlop, 556, 752; Donnelly, 147, 307; Donohue,
476, 987, g88; Donovan, 716; Doody, 98; Dooley, 98;
Doolittle, 197, 737, 915; Doran, 677, 729, 753, 756; Dore-
mus, 734; l^orman, 354, 831, 923, 928, 989; Dornett, 637;
Dorr, 155, 210, 440, 529, 603, 934; Dotey, 971; Dotter,
102, 103, 108; Doty, 354, 800, 806, 809, 820, 886, 951, 964;
Doubleday, 700; Dougherty, 656; Douglas, 841; Douglass,
230, 526, 532, 571, 611, 620, 637, 708; Douw, 40, 42, 128,
129, 155, 261, 273, 274, 337, 353, 385, 391, 399, 401, 405,
407, 411, 412, 413, 418, 469, 494, 528, 534, 572, 611, 620,
621, 632, 642, 660, 661, 679, 731, g45; Dover, 848; Dowd,
91; Dowdney, 761; Dowling, 565; Downey, 308; Downing,
152, 245, 333, 375, 747; Dows, 558, 644; Dox, 156, 340,
401, 438, 442; Doyle, 154, 568, 957, 968, 971, g73; Draeyer,
156, 380; Drake, 424, 550, 704, 752, gi2, 914; Draper, 152,
198, 346, 355, 6g"g; Drew, 48g, 705; Dreyer, 152; d'Rid-
der, 385; Drisius, 251; Drum, 924; Drumm, 843, 869;
Drummond, 789; Duane, 42, 130, 131, 354, 410, 523, 622;
Dubois, 413, 420, 940, 926, 988; Du Bois, 212, 230; Du-
buque, 620; Ducharne, 427; Dudley, 173, 354, 440, 524,
526, 529, 611, 662, 663, 677, 682, 732, 738, 751, 752; Duel,
817; Duell, 877; Duer, 131, 138, 142, 154, 267, 354, 359,
373, 760; Duff, igo; Duffan, 752; Duffy, 304, 376, 704,705,
750. 751. 970. 973. 977. 988; Dugan, 308, 638, 763; Dugas,
756, 757, 758; Dugast, 966; Dulin, 343; Dummer, 621, 637;
Dumont, 103, 8gg; Dunbar, 305, 760; Duncan, 354, g62,
g63, g64; Dunham, 613, 616, g77; Dunison, 402; Dunkel-
meyer, 2ii; Dunlap, 558, 703, g42, g45, 962; Dunlop,
go, 91, 260, 355, 559, 560, 694, 752, 977, 982, 991;
Dunmore, 5, 10; JJunn, 328, 332, 334, 621, 647, 651,
671, 686, 687; Dunnigan, 164, 306, 307; Dunphy, iig;
Dunsbach, 308, g35, g^S; Dunscomb, 613; Dupany, 305;
Durand, 58g, 737, 738; Duran, 738; Durant, 78, g2, 500,
526, 534, 611, 621, 632, 633, 63g, 650, 699, 744, 770, 913,
987, 997; Durfee, 850; Durfy, 820; Duryee, 27g; Dusen-
bury, 210, 613; Dutcher, 147, 613, 74g, 870, 871, g37, g84;
Duyster, 4g; Duyvepagh, 931; D'Wandeluer, 272; Dwight,
194, 266, 268, 321, 375, 376, 377, 430, 606, 639, 679, 716,
743, 803; Dwyer, 108, 109, 481, 485, 651, 717, 963, 997;
Dyckman, 46, 61, 62, 65, 297; Dyer, 92, 152, 266, 308,
817, 819, 820, 926, 977; Dyne, 406; Dyness, 306.
Dalton & Kihbe, 612; Davenport & Crowe, 854; Dav-
enport & Fredericks, 854; Davis & Bancroft, 195; Davis
& Center, 438; Davis & Co., R. C, 642; Davis & Craft,
642; Davis, Craft & Wilson, 642; Davis & Son, J. A., 600;
Davis & Van Vecliten, 195; Dawson & Co., 377; Dawson &
Lennox, 960; Dayton, Ball & Co., 597; Dederick Bros.,
589; Dederick & Co., P. K., 573; De Forrest, Patlen &
Co., 613; De Graff & Co., O. D., 568; Delehanty & Son,
M., 638; Denio, John & Richards, Seth, 375; De Witt &
Nephew, 613; De Witt & Spoor, 152; Dey, Wm., 646;
Dickson & Son, V. A., g24; Douw & Co., V. P., 642;
Dows & Gary, 644; Draper & Chester, 152, ig8; Drum &
Possom, g24; Duffy & Forrest, 704; Duffy, McCuUoch &
Angus, 376; Dunham & Co., J. W., 613; Dunn & Co., R.
G.,641, 671; Durant & Co., 632, 63g; Durant & Elmore,
63g; Durant & McKissick, 632; Durant, W. & C, 632.
Eadie, g23; Earl, 881, 882, 901, 905, 974; Earle, 159;
Earls, 841, 849; Earley, 91, g2, g3. 834; Early, 94; Easterly,
420,646; Eastman, 113, 115, 430, 643, 937; Easton, 16, 268,
394. 613, 614, 678, 690, 699, 861, 993; Eastwood, 963, 971,
972; Eaton, 152, 261, 267, 448, 449, 450, 498, 587, 613, 614,
728, 743, 800, 882, 9g5, gg6; Ebel, 562; Eberling, 763;
Ebert, 562; Eccles, g7i, 972; Ecclesine, 168; Eckhart, 907;
Ecker, 128, 152, 872, 875, 876, 923, 927; Ecob, 733, 769;
Eddington, 906; Eddy, 173, 523,960; Edgar, 9g6; Edgerton,
420, 740, g96; Edie, 896; Edmeston, 98, gg, 100, 211, 218,
613; Edmonds, 157, 158, 211, 281, 344, 708; Edson, 559,
690; Edward, 42, 78; Edwards, 141, 142, 143, 152, 170,
189, 201, 202, 203, 342, 533, 680, 681, 6gg, 834, gii, 912,
960; Egan, 951, g7o, g73; Egberts, 8g, 132, g5o, g56, 957',
INDEX OF NAMES.
XVII
961, 967, 968, 969; Egerton, 518, 519; Eggleston, 559;
Ehle, 621; Ehler, 573; Eidlitz, 450; Eights, 209, 213, 214,
267, 401, 407, 498, 620,669, 725, 946; Elbertsen, 295; Eld-
ridge, 567, 814; Elias, 621; Eliot, 39; Elis, 911; Elkins 13,
45, 458, 648, 706, 725, 775; Ellicott, 524; Elliott, 379,
429, 524. 737. 738; Ellis, 119, 372, 617, 650; Ellison, 249,
267, 759, 760, 765; Ellmaker, 950; Ellsworth, 425, 736,
Elmendorf, 73, 212, 420, 648, 669, 731, 771, 835; Elmore,
639; Elsass, 854; Ely, 835: Embury, 761; Emerich, 919;
Emerson, 752, 961; Emery, 474, 832, 903; Emmet, 132,
134, 135, 141, 592, 945; Emmelt, 706, 707; Emmons,
t8o, 220, 267, 333, 375; Emmott, 844; Emory, 218;
Emrick, 911; Enders, 034; Enearl, 950; Eneral, 971,
Engel; 652, 743, 805, 811, 818, 817, 820, 870; Engle-
hart, 91; English, 918; Ennis, 770, 941 ; Enos, 420; En-
sign, 951; Erdmann, 748, Ericsson, 541; Ermand, 77,
646, 690; Erskine, 193; Ertle, 754; Ertzberger, 420; Erwin,
305, 781,892, 901, 903, 905, 906,910, 911; Esleeck, 525;
Esselslyn, 406; Estes, 377; Estway, 7Si,'789; Evans, 237,
410, 427, 477, 526, 592, 645, 940, 967, 977, 982; Evart, 940;
Evarts, 148, 161, 175, 180, 191, 212, 287; Everett, 168,
682, 685, 750; Evers, 355, 474, 477, 478, 559; Everts, 948;
Evertse, 10, 379, 519; Everisen, 535, 633, 722; Evertson,
5'9. 535.980; Ewen, 190; Ewings, 190; Emrigs, 818; Ey-
tinge, 705.
Earing Bros., 562; Easton & Co., C. P , 613; Eaton &
Kirchney, 448; Kdson & Co., Cyrus, 559; Edwards &
Meads, 201; Edwards & Sturtevant, 189; Egberts & Bailey,
956; Eggleston & Mix, 559; Eidlilz, Richardson & Co., 450;
Ellis & Co., Edwin, 650; Elsacs & Phillev, 854; Ermaiid &
Co., 646; Evans & Bro., J. R., 645.
IF
Fabritius, 764; Faby, 479, 480; Fair, 450, 517; Fairbank,
235;Fairchild,i79,443; Fairman, 718; Fairlee, 804, 813,843,
854,873,874,877,940; Fakle, 716; Falardean, 973 ; Fal-
ardo, 154; Fales, 575; Falke, 632, 906; Fanner, 367; Fargo,
319, 321; Farguchee, 817; Fanning, 829; Farley, 419, 478,
479; Farlin, 677; Farmer, 448; Farnham, 420, 704, 752;
Farnsworth, 422, 480, 519, 709, 711; Farr, 343, 785; Far-
rell, 337, 477, 519, 639, 980; Farren, 152; Farrington, 911;
Fasoldt, 641; Fassett, 93, 613, 614, 685, 744; Faulk, 154,
914, 917, 918, 920; Faulke, 911; Faulkner, 704, 784, 960;
Faxton, 322, 323; Fay, 90, 210, 341, 713; Fayerweather,
605; Fayles, 476, 519, 712; Fearey, 605, 644; Fearing, 618;
Featherby, 639; Featherstonhaugh, 152, 153, 212, 214, 221,
973; Federick,92; Fegan, 212; Fellows, 92, 212, 399, 940, 972;
Felter, 92; Felthousen, 426; Feltman, 98, 99, loo, 102, 474,
641, 750; Fenn, 157; Fennelly, 212, 983, 997; Fenner, 278;
Fenton, 11, i6i, 216, 219,306,444, 753, 813; Fer, 426; Fergu-
son, 211, 739, 882, 906, 926, 971,972; Fero,94o; Feros, 935;
Ferrell, 972; Ferris, 616, 685, 686, 771, 914; Fessenden,
692, 744; Fetherly, 564, 841, 846, 847, 851; Fetter, 920;
Ffrance, 273; Fiddler, 558; Fidler, 556, 566; Field, 173,
558, 715, 996; Filkin, 802; Filkins, 171, 172, 230, 266,355,
361, 420, 425, 438, 712, 804, 808, 818, 819, 820, 823, 863;
Fillmore, 674, 715, 996; Finch, 230, 820, 854, 870, 871,
872, 873, 980; Fink, 91, 235, 518; Finley, 749; Finn, 106,
154, 521; Finneran, 755; Firman, 785; Fish, 11, 150, 210,
278, 420, 443, 603, 712, 728, 785, 925, 947; Fischer, 804,
809; Fisher, gr, 154, 301, 302, 584, 677, 704, 763,769,817,
835, 841, 900, 928, 960, 988; Fisk, 173, 213, 243; Fitch, 30,
156, 226, 410, 436, 448, 479, 711, 712, 788, 841, 853, 893,
900, 902, 906, 907, 910,911; Fitchett, 491,988,997; Fitts,i54;
Finney, 971; Fitzgerald, 100, 106, 638; Fitzpatrick, 109, 616,
754, 755, 973; Fitzsimmons, 478, 983; Flagen, 793; Flagg,
134,269,438,443,677, 708; Flagler, 103, 112, 113, 115,
210, 354, 742, 743, 781, 785, 892, 900, 905, 928; Flanagin,
987; Flanegan, 103; Fleischman, 213, 243, 740; Flems-
burgh, 817, 870, 871, 905, 906, 907; Fleming, 518; Fletcher,
3, 10, 253, 274, 379, 381, 385, 386, 410, 638, 906, 950, 963,
971, 972; Flinn, 632, 699; Flint, 406, 817, 964; Flodden,
825; Flood, 478; Floyd, 410, 424; Flud, 624; Flynn, 109,
no. III, 307, 479; Fodder, 972; Fogg, 613; Foland, 106,
478; Foley, 877; Folger, 175, 713; Foljamb, 75o;'Folsom,
613,688; Folts, 592; Fonda, 76, 209, 2ii, 354, 401, 402,
403, 406, 412, 413, 415, 523, 533, 534, 620, 647, 699, 855,
931, 932, 934, 935, 939, 940, 95°, 97°, 973, 985; Fonday,
931; Fondey, 479, 592, 637; Foot, 261, 265, 268, 685, 980;
Foote, 137, 143, 153; Forbes, 262; Forby, 420; Ford, 92,
216, 354, 437, 526, 621, 631, 646, 671, 749, 853, 897, 920,
922, 923, 924, 925, 926, 928, 975, 977; Forman, 987; For-
rest, 704, 705; Forsyth, 355, 421, 526, 544, 621, 761, 888,
981, 997; Forsythe, 500; Fort, 643, 812, 834,893,899,920,
935, 984, 989; Forth, 624; Foster, 158, 355, 430, 522, 527,
677, 749, 850, 945, 948, 967, 969, 980; Fotens, 605; Fowler,
88, 89, 211, 213, 233, 234, 526, 529, 531, 546,621,634,
681, 686, 687, 817, 850, 906, 956; Fox, 962, 989; Foy, 91,
116, 176; Fradenburgh, 765; Fradgley, 620; Fraley, 935;
Fraleigh, 935 ; Fraligh, 420; Francis, 306, 411; Frank, 562,
644; Franks, 474; Franklin, 38, 343, 392, 412, 436, 479,
674, 699, 718; Franquinet, 753; Frary, 375; Fraser, 626,
627, 647, 712, 977, 989, 992; Frasier, 785, 792; Frazer, 858,
98S; Frazier, 789, 937; Fredenburg, 210; Fredenburgh,
213, S32, 835; Fredenhall, 424; Fredenrich, 474, 521, 564;
Frederick, 93, 94, 95, 96, 100, 101, 102, 356, 362, ^64, 420,
425, 841, 843, 846, 848, 852, 855, 867, 869, 906; Fredericks,
840, 854; Fredericlcse, 272, 301, 463; Free, 519; Freeligh,
354; Freeman, 39, 209, 210, 213, 219, 221, 243, 439, 587,
605, 738, 880; Freemont, 217; PVeer, 932; Fredendall, 710,
850, 854; Freidenrich, 639; Freighley, 872; Freleigh, 80,
945; Freligh, 210, 934, 948; Frelinghuysen, 771; FreUie,
931; Fremont, 174; French, 91, 354, 500, 567, 599, 647,
788,838, 852, 855, 975; Frey, 763; Freydendall, 846, 847,
849, 851; Freylinghausen, 703; Friday, 785, 789, 792, 854;
Friedendall, 845; Friedlander, 424, 710; Friedmann, 763;
Friednichte, 748; Frisbee, 558; Frisbie, 354, 420, 422, 790;
Frisby, 354, 428, 700, 715, 916, 971; Frink, 91, 119, 120,
817, 870, 871, 872, 874, 881, 887, 888, 956, 957, 958, 976;
Froment, 564; Frontenac, 3, 390; Frosser, 788; Frothing-
ham, 74, 92, 103, 152, 425, 439, 648, 681, 748, 860; Frost,
613. 632, 941, 942, 964; fry, 76, 375, 611, 700, 722; Fryer,
90, 91, 367, 425, 526, 613, 614, 621, 840, 841, 843, 849, 859,
902; Fuhr, 420; Furbeck, 841, 892, 893, 906, 924; Fuller,
78, 90, 116, 118, 119, 120, 122, 354, 355, 420,438,450,
585, 729, 740, 838, 843, 848, 850, 853, 869, 892, 899, 901,
QIC, 912, 913, 916, 950, 951, 961, 968, 969, 973; Fullington,
872; Fulton, 15, 312, 363, 487, 749; Furman, 376; Futhier,
973; Fyne, 272.
Fairlie & Elsars, 854; Fassett <& Co., 613; Fassett, Son
& Co., 613; Fassett & Washburn, 613; Fearey & Son, J.,
644; Fearey & Sons, T., 605; Ferris & Armour, 606;
Fiddler & Taylor, 558, 566; Fish & Bro., J., 603; Fisher,
J. & G., 960; Fitchett & Smith, 49l;Fitzgerald & Son, E.,
638; Flud & Bochlowitz, 624; Fogg, Patten & Co., 613;
Fonda & Co., D. H., 647; Ford & Son, T. W., 631; Fort
& Son, P. v., 437, 643; Forth & Co., T. W., 624; Fraser,
Lockwood &Co., 647; Friel & Cosgro, 960; Frost & Dillen-
beck. A., 613; Friday & Sharp, 854; Fuller & Wheeler, 740;
Frink & Weston, 956.
G-
Gable, 467; Gafifers, 997; Gafney, 438; Gaffney, 685
971; Gage. 89, 90, 106, 613, 832, 836, 846, 870, 871, 872,
873. 874, 881, 882, 883; Gaige, 874; Gaines, 461, 759; Gale,
652, 924, 925, 928, 947, 973, 975, 989, 991; Gallager, 935;
Gallez, 100; Gallop, 910; Gallup, 73, 92, 120, 122, 152,
156, 354, 355, 420, 438, 441, 476, 477, 480, 485, 531'
613, 643, 788, 801, 804, 805, 814, 817, 818, 819, 820, 844
870, 871, 872, 874, 876, 879, 880, 888, 902, 937; Galpin, 375
376, 377; Gambell, 681;. Gamble, 718, 860, 896; Gan-
non, 93, 210, 651, 705; Gansevoort, 73, 126, 128, 129,
155, '56. 206, 210, 267 272, 292, 302, 391, 393, 396,
397> 399, 407, 409, 412, 414, 415, 416, 418, 421, 441,
471, 490, 513. 520, 523, 524, 526, 528, 556, 620, 652,
670, 675, 685, 844; Gansvoort, 6, 353, 354; Gansvort,
127. 129; Garbutt, 212; Gardenier, 273, 429; Gardiner,
88, 145, 544, 761, 834, 879, 920, 996; Gardineer, 742; Gar!
dinier, 402, 593; Gardner, 89, 140, 159, 273, 281, 294,
331, 354, 406, 420, 558, 621, 780, 805, 817, 845, 851, 869,
900, 901, 904, gio, 920, 995, 996; Garfield, 102, 167, 531,
963; Garitt, 854; Garner, 938, 952, 954, 955; Garnsey, 621;
Garrahan, 980; Garrett, 322, 626, 643, 750; Garretson, 74,
764, 833; Garrison, 786, 900; Garrity, 651; Gasbeck,' 92^
191; Gates, 6, 80, 268, 304, 394, 395, 397, 398, 399, 400,
414, 416, 650, 684, 744, 922, 979, 995; Gauff, 20S, 209;
Gaus, 108, 109, 147, 711, 712; Gavin, 861; Gavit, 739, 742,
744; Gavitt, 91; Gay, 604, 639, 738; Gaylor, I13, 115;
Gaylord, 333, 378, 720; Gazeley, 585; Geary, 92; Gebhard,
17; Gedney, 828, 832, 834, 839; Gee, 603; Geer, 116, 117,
INDEX.
Ii8, 119, 120, 611, 632; Gemp, 188; Genge, 995; Genore'
968; Geoghan, 212; Geoghegan, no, 210; George, 721;
Geough, 752; Gerling, 428; Gerome, 738; Gerritse, 42,
155, 252, 272, 273, 463; Gerritse, 385; Gerritsen, 49, 71,
73, 294, 295, 380, 460, 462, 465, 611, 779, 825; Gerritzey,
273; Gesler, 907; Getman, 997; Getty, 154, 980, 987, 989;
Gibbs, 234, 355; Gibbons, 209, 354, 355, 434, 435, 492, 524,
525, 635, 639, 677, 780, 832, 923, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928,
937. 974, 975. 976. 981, 992, 997; Gibson, 137, 306, 417,
544, 613, 647, 740, 761, 960; Gick, 587; Gifford, 8(7, 870,
871, 874, 883, 926; Gilbert, 129, 273, 378, 422, 474, 533,
631, 782, 812, 958, 980, 995, 996, 997; Giles, 964; Gil-
christ, 530, 598; Gildea, 973; Gilfret, 704; Gill, 53^, 556,
567, 621, 635, 964; Gillespie, 91, 476, 612, 618; Gillet, 420,
940; Gillice, 643; Gilligan, 211; Gilliland, 417; Gilman,
968, 971, 972, 987; Gilmartin, 307; Gilmore, 97[, 972; Gil-
mour, 618, 726: Gingrich, 988; Gips, 624; Giraty, 479;
Given, 156; Gladding, 509, 727; Glandorf, 254; Glass, 988,
995, 996; Glazier, 479; Gleason, 154, 420, 988; Glen, 42, 61,
29S. 354, 385, 410, 412, 418, 440, 523, 528. 661, 933, 936;
Glenn, 273, 407; Glick, 785; Gloeckner, 335, 599, 639;
Goddard, 665; Goddell, 995; Godfrey, 179, 377, 424, 531, 704,
710, 782. 935, 996; Godkin, 180; Godwin, 477; Godyn, 13,
50; Goelet, 132; Goeway, 521; Goewey, 226, 230, 231,557,
641; Goetz, 119, 120, 121; GofiF, 920, 063, 964, 971, 972;
GofFe, 647, 972; Goheen, 694; Golden, 108, 109, 474, 475,
476; Golding,2i2; Goldsmidt, 743; Goldwaite, 420; Gomph,
601, 635, 744; Gonsalus, 100, loi; Gooch, 961; Goodell,
963; Goodenough, 879; Goodhue, 787; Goodfellow, 84r,
844, 846, 852; Goodrich, 582,686; Goodwin, 152,371,477,
568, 575, 602; Goodyear, 441; Goold, 500, 531, 534, 593,
665, 676; Gorden, 237, 440; Gordon, 307, 354, 613, 749,
790, 901, 970; Gore, 936, 997; Gorham, 227, 243; Gorman,
355. 479, 480, 987; Gornay, 936; Gorsline, 688; Gorton,
934, 984; Gosman, 920; Colt, 354; Gouche, 305; Gough,
603; Gould, 120, 152, 150, 160, 164, 165, 169, 170, 177, 212,
476, 480, 493, 5S6, 532, '567, 621, 683, 698, 702, 758, 828,
928, 961, 972; Gourlay, 356, 6ig, 729, 730, 941; Gowey,
152, 636; Graef, 585; Grace, 958; Graham, 129, 134,
155, 226, 227, 289, 354, 677, 699, 8io, 935; Grandjean,
113, 115; Grant, 80, gi, no, 112, 113, 115, 210, 258,
302, 356, 390. 396, 460, 506, 533, 703, 715, 716, 717,
721, 778, 850, 907, 923, 962, 968, 972, 973; Grange,
401; Granger, 361, 559, 640; Grass, 876; Grathen, 817;
Gratwick, 613; Graveline, 112, 212; Graveret, 826; Graves,
562, 597, 716, 7'7; Gray, 74, 77, 220, 335, 424, 594,
600, 601, 602, 620, 650, 6go, 710, 7i8, 731, 733,
743. 749, 846, 850, 961, 964; Greeley, 375, 376, 686;
Green, 78, 210, 213, 214, 215, 337,. 420, 531, 785, 830, 831,
832. 834, 835, 836, 911, 914, 923, 926, g28, 975, 977; Greene,
89, 213, 394, 477, 491, 508, 532, 737, 972; Greenman, 322,
323, 562, 989; Greennay, 780; Greenwood, 727; Greer, 355,
603; Gregg, 99,995; Gregory, 152, 153, 210, 211, 429,
477. 530, 557. 558. 613, 637, 640, 651, 652, 714, 766, 832,
95'. 957. 961, 963. 968, gSr, 982, 983, 987; Gresser, 308;
Grey, 543, 727, 841, 844; Gridley, 281; GrifTen, 607, 702,
840, 928; Griffin, go, g2, 102, 1 16, 118, ng, 120, 210, 364,
377, 378, 424, 477, 521, 522, 708, 833, 834, 928, 952, g6o,
962, 969, 971, 973, 997; Griffing, 153; Griffith, 227, 341,
596, 754; Griggs, 77, 98, 100, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109,
154, 173, 283, 355, 849, 850, 854, 863, gr2, gi3, 973; Grin-
nell, 493; Grismer, 86i; Griswold, 540, 541, 613, 615, 647;
Groat, 844, 849, 879, 880, 931, 994; Groats, 840; Groenen-
dyke, 42, 156; Groesbeck, 969; Groosbeck, 793; Grosbeck,
42, 125, 213, 273, 289, 420, 526, 531, 620, 636, 669, 906, 931,
934. 935. 977; Grosbeek, 210, 526; Grogan, 106, 477, 997;
Grote, 846, 848, 906, 935; Groom, 477; Groot, 295,
401; Gros, 693; Grose, 647; Gross, 642; Grosvenor, 136;
Grounds, 941; Grover, 141; Groves, 113, 115, 116, ii8-
Grovesteen, 743; Grundhoeffer, 745; Grundy, 138; Grune-
wald, 172; Guest, 526; Guinan, n6, 638; Gulicli, 898;
Gulrick, 899; Gunnison, 835, 927, 989; Gurdon, 879; Gurr|
963; Guthrie, 153; Gutman, 153, 568, 655; Guy, 396, 587;
Gwynne, 961, 970; Gysberse, 272; Gysbertse, 273.
Galpin & Cole, 375; Galpin & Sturtevant, 376; Garner
& Co., 952, 954; Garrett & Beck, 626, 643; Gay & Quimby,
639; Gaylord & Tucker, 378; Gee & Van Slyke, 603; Gib-
bons & Burhans, 635; Gill & Campbell, 621; Gill, Cooper
& Co., 567; Gillespie, White & Co., 612, 618; Gilmour &
Co., 618; Gips & Co., E., 624; Goold & Co., James, 593;
Gott & Palmer, 554; Gould & Banks, 702; Gould & Co.'
Wm., 702; Gould, J. & T., 621; Gould & Olin, 170; Gour-
lay & Co., J., 6ig; Grace & Co., Horace, 958; Gratwick &
Fryer, 613; Gray & Sprague, 650; Graves, Ball & Co., 597;
Gregory & Heller, 957; Greene & Mather, 491; Greer &
Sons, 603; Gregory & Bain, 637; Gregory & Co., 637;
Griffin, M. & E., 377, 378, 702; Griffin & Co., R. M., 377,
378; Griswold, Mattoon & Co., 6f5; Groesbeck & Belknap,
635; Groesbeck, W. & C. W., 621.
Hackett, 704, 705, 748; Haden, 498; Hadley, 172, 197,
308, 629; Hagadorn, 103, 655, 731, 782, 911, 919; Haga-
man, 420, 643; Hagedorn,i2i; Hageman, 928; Hagen,
920; Hague, 750; Hahnemann, 223; Haight, 573, 901,
902, 903; Hailes, 212, 214, 220, 221, 243, 594, 727; Haines,
467, 601, 635, 923, 927, 928; Hair, 427; Hakes, 785, 964;
Hale, 6, 121, 153, 170, 173, 174, 175, 179, 212, 214, 318,
354, 399, 441, 442. 444, 446, 485, 486, 523, 528, 556, 558,
620, 680, 682, 685, 791; Halcott, 740; Halenbeck, 415,509,
834; Haliday, 812; Hall, 10, 18, 19, 21, 141, 153, 212, 267,
301, 310, 354, 442, 641, 648, 664, 676, 691, 712, 742, 785,
823, 848, 849, 881, 915, 944, 971, 977, 984, 991, 997; Hal-
lam, 703; Hallen, 154, Hallenbake, 305; Hallenbeck, 90, 91,
210, 213, 293, 532, 788, 818, 841, 843, 844, 848, 851, 853, 859,
869, 877, 887, 892, 8g9, 900, 905, 906, 907, 910, 920, 931; Hal-
lers, 902; Halley, 619, 732, 744, 769. 774, 941, 942; Halpen,
102,103; Halpin, 104, 153, 755; Halpine, 171, 172; Hals, 272;
Halsey, 874; Halstead, 832; Halsted, 3n; Ham, 153, 832,
877; Hamil, 977; Hamilton, 7, 8, 76, 88, 92, 131, 132, 133,
141. H7. '53, 207, 262, 277, 286, 304, 324, 354, 440, 527,
554, 602, 632, 674, 708, 851, g27, 963; Hamley, 686; Ham-
lin, 581; Hammer, 718; Hammersley, 239; Hammond, 143,
156, 2[o, 236, 237, 268, 375, 402, 613, 677, 729, 770, 785,
817, 8S0, 984; Hancock, 366, 616; Hand, 103, 153, 155,
173, 176, 179, 180, 181, 185, 210, 476, 613, 690, 835, 870,
871, 915; Handel, 743; Handl, 681; Handy, 897, 952;
Hane, 870, 871, 872; Haner, 304; Hanes, 832, 876, 881,
923, 924; Hanks, 976, 992; Hanlon, 585; Hanna, 307, 768;
Hannah, 155, 987; Hannan, 212: Hannay, 80, 102, 103,
104, 820, 922, 926, 927, g28; Hanney, 872; Hannum, 977;
Hansbrough, 231; Hanse, 272, 273, 385; Hansen, 4:, 42,
261, 410, 412, 490, 658, 660, 704, 750; Hanson, 38, 660;
Hanton, 970; Harbeck, 630; Harcourt, 96, 354, 475, 479,
677, 710, 7'6; Harden, 304; Hardenburgh, 858; Hardie,'
967; Hardin, '87,273,331,378, 990, 9g6, g97; Hardy, 4,
379, 389, 686, 687, g8o; Harens, 713; Harflinger, 562;
Hargrave, 557; Haring, 131; Harkley, 857, 874; Harlow,
2". 474. 565; Harmense, 272, 273, 462; Harmesen, 655;
Harmon, g5i, 962; gg7; Harmons, 466; Harmony, 952,
953; Harnden, 318, 319, 320, 321; Harney, 306; Harnett,
475; Harper, 153, 156, 355, 605, 627, 628; Harrigan, 479,
647. 7'3. 983; Harrington, 186, 187, 772, 847, 848, 993,
997; Harris, 103, 114, 147, 148, 153, 154, 155, 156, 160,
161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 197, igg, 209
217, 220, 234, 254, 268, 280, 342, 355, 364, 425, 429, 440,
t^'' J^°' \V" f°' 481, 485, 52', 534, 592, 595, 635, 646,
675, 680, 681, 697, 7", 745. 788, 828, 881; Harrison, i\i
137. '38, 142, 292, 554, 718, 950, 971; narrower, 340, 785-
Hart, 89, 212, 474, 501, 502, 526, 536, 620, 737, 758, T\a
^s«' ??^'.^°' ^^'' ^^5 *79, 906, 934, 977, 982, 974, 975!
988; Hartdegen, 744; Harte, 440; Hartgers, 295 ; Hartley,
738, 987; Hartline, g6; Hartman, 854; Hartnell, 639, 904-
Harlnett, 475, 564, 574; Hartsen, 520; Hartt, 626; Har-
tung, 164, 182, 187, 306; Hartwell, 343, 772, 926; Harvey,
926, gSo; Hascy, 477, 521, 613, 614; Hasely, 407, 717, 740-
Haskell, xoo, 108, 109, 212 337, 480, 564, 573, 7'6; Has!
key, »53; Haskins, 102, 108, 211, 214, 218, 480, 717- Hast
ings, 183, 364, 365, 376, 420, 475, 519, 521, 530, 531, 701
934, 964; Haswell, 156, 268, 354, 699, 777, 789, 792, 793,
794, 795, 870, 871, 872, 873, 876, 880, 989, 997; Hatch, 78
319, 911, 912; Hater, 385; Hathaway, 758, 813, 980, 982!
987; Hatt, 153 728; Haverley, n2, 870, 873, 874, 880'
Haverly, n8, 8^, 817, 8.8, 872, 883; liaven 962; iS-'
vens, 211, 244, 587, 716, 872, 877,996; Haverland; 80 92V
Hawe, 594, 595, 596, 597; Hawes, 328, 332, 632, 752'
Hawkins, 342, 628; Hawley, 153, 211, 243, 268, 376, 420
500, 516, 526, 614, 675, 679, 906, 928; Hawthorne, 179
749; Hay, 415, 802, 951, 964, 972, 973; Hayden, 113, u6,
118, 119, 120,512, 973, 987; Haydn, 743; Hayes, 153, 179
243, 287, egg, 734, 752, gog, 920; Haynes, 80, 212, 355, 420
INDEX.
787, 914, 926, 973; Hays, 212, 244, 677, 810, 814, 817, 906;
Hayward, 968, 988; Hazelius, 148, 772; Hazen, 341, 343,
375. 376. 439; Hazleton, 361, 420, 688, 829, 836; Headlam,
343, 685; Headlum, 613; Healey, 121, 212; Heamstreet,
950; Heath, 394 399, 850, 861, 957, 962, 972, 995,
Heck, 843, 857, 869; Heckendon, 934; Heathcote, 255;
Heckman, 770; Hecock, 987; Hedges, 712; Hedrick, iio;
Hedstrom, 925; Heemstraat, 940; Heeley, 729; Heenan,
187, 266; Hegemaii, 209; Hein, 850, 869; Heinmiller, 378;
Heller, 899; Hellenbeck, 892; Hellicar, 872; Helligus, 420;
Helme, 211, 217, 266, 848, 850, 853, 855, 868, 869; Helmer,
416, 620; Helmrick, 971; Helno, 77; Hemon, 877; Hemp-
stead, 156, 210, 213; Hemstrat, 931; Hemstreet, 770, 961;
Hetnstraat, 304; Hench, 602; Henderson, 306, 754, 840,
845, 846, 851, 895; Hendrick, 77, 334, 335, 533, 726, 777,
791; Hendricks, 366; Hendrikse, 272, 273, 658; Hendrick-
sen, 295; Hendrickson, 163, 322, 349, 665, 899, goi; Hen-
ley, 376, 377; Henly, 105, 377, 701; Hennessy, 764; Hen-
ningway, 643; Henratty, 687; Henrick, loi; Henry, 15,
90. 133. 134, 138, 200, 261, 262, 286, 3r9, 322, 354, 365,
399, 441, 443, 554, 620, 640, 650, 679, 683, 684, 686, 704,
742; Hepinsall, 526; Herb, 377; Herbert, 474; Herbertsen,
294; Herkimer, 6, 397; Hermance, 354, 567, 907; Hermans,
526, 567; Heron, 376, 705, 784, 911, 996; Herrick, 98, 117,
IS3- 156, 172. 353. 355. 477. 605, 634, 835, 880; Her-
ring, 526, 621; Herrmgton, 212; Hersberg, 153, 789;
Hertill, 764; Hertz, 599, 639; Hervey, 438; Hess, 153,438,
757, 780, 905, 911, 917, 921; Hessberg, 485; Heth, 705;
Heugh, 273; Heusted, 647; Hevenor, 153; Hewetson,
413 ; Hewitt, 850 ; Hewson, 307 ; Heyden, 115 272 ;
Heyliger, 673; Heywood, 153; Hickey, 747; Hickox, 335,
744; Hicks, 265, 599, 639, 789, 902, 980; Hidley, 601, 635,
743; Hifford, 308; Higgins, 113, 115, ir6, 156, 480, 676,
738, 906, 972, 989; Hilderbrant, 792; Hildreth, 139, 257;
Hill, ir, 140, 145, 146, 147, 153, 193, 197, 276, 287, 444,
478, 581, 613, 638, 651, 704, 736, 919, 970, 987, 988; Hiller,
967, 972, 973; Hillebrant, 274; Hillhouse, 80, 90, 97, 328,
332, 429, 675, 686, 936, 945, 948; Hilligas, 620; Hillis,
'53. 154. 980; Hills, 476, 477, 479, 480, 481, 4S5, 526,
935. 951. 957. 963. 969. 973. 987. 997; Hilson, 858;
Hilton, 92, 95, 127, 306, 330, 336, 337, 346, 582, 590, 592,
593, 714, 784, 790, 810, 811, 820, 840, 841, 843, 844, 848,
849, 850, 854, 867, 869, 873, 879, 880, 890, 904, 906; Hinck-
el, 557, 559, 560; Hinckle, 782; Hinckley, 80, 210, 213,
420, 817, 830, 831, 835, 923; Hinckcliff, 971; Hindman,
697; Hine, 708; Hines, 964, 995; Hinman, 74, 394, 914,
997; Hinley, 751; Hiscock, 160, 183, 307; Hitchcock, 89,
420, 813, 814, 840, 928, 951, 967, 968, 972, 980, 989; Hitt,
153, 485, 632, 716; Hoag, 278, 744; Hoagkirk, 401; Hoar,
161; Hobbs, 427; Hobart, 130, 131, 261; Hockridge, 987;
Hockwell, 338; Hockstrasser, 621, 670, 801, 802, 805, 810,
817, 818, 820, 876; Hodge, 562, 749; Hodgeman, 943;
Hodgsett, 716; Hodgson, 882, 968; Hoes, 902; Hoesem,
385; Hoey, 306; Hoff, 211, 217, 424; Hoffendahl, 223; Hoff-
man, II, 113, 115, 133, 140, 141, 170, 216, 358, 373, 376,
441, 442, 444, 450, 557, 567, 628, 641, 650, 681, 708,
■ 709, 717, 740, 760, 763, 938, 987; Hogan, 88, 272,
354, 401, 407, 478. 519. 655, 687, 716, 717, 742, 752,
792, 793, 799, 832, 833, 934; Hogeboom, 273, 286,
354; Hogel, 708; Hoghkerks, 582; Hoit, 212, 688, 997;
Holbrook, 188, 651, 728, 833, 972, 987; Holcomb, 354;
Holderness, 392; Holding, 748; Holdridge, 420, 819, 988;
Holie, 272; Holland, 41, 42, 156, 321, 348, 657, 660, 705,
760, 840, 997; Hollands, 154, 378, 983, 990; Hollenbeck,
355,921; Holler, 120; Holley, 524, 541; Holliday, 793,
§90,900,902, 904; Hollister, 913, 950; Holloway, 771;
Holly, 443; Holmes, 208, 340, 420", 585, 587, 669, 728, 770,
771. 785, 788, 828, 832, 834, 835, 836, 840, 843, 869, 900,
926, 927, 935, 964,988; Holsapple, 957, 963; Holstein, 376,
628; Holt 597; Home, 845, 846; Homer, 675, 982; Homes,
153,440; Hone, 677; Hood, 641; Hooftyling, 273 ; Hoofty-
lingh, 274; Hoogabome, 903 ; Hooges, 51; Hooghtind, 190;
Hoogkirk, 407 ; Hoogtaling, 777, 892; Hook, 964; Hooker,
376, 529, 604, 704, 740, 759, 764; Hooper, 712; Hoosett, 49;
Hooster, 903; Hoskins, 105, 607, 632, 648, 652, 690, 729,
977. 985; Horan, 480,987; Horer, 919; Home, 697; Hor-
nell, 665; Horner, 343, 537, 567, 637; Horrobin, 959; Hor-
rocks, 956, 971, 972; Horsey, 619; Horsford, 650; Horth,
642, 934; Horton, 226, 603, 703, 851; Hosford, 341, 376,
700; Hosmer, 638; Hotaling, no, 113, 114, 116, 118, 153,
156, 198, 306, 355, 428, 647, 785, 788, 789, 793, 800, 828,
829, 832, 849, 892, 894, 900, 902, 905, 907; Hotan, 841;
Hotchkiss, 550, 613; Hotchstrassee, 354; Houck, 100, 156,
652, 798, 872, 873, 892, 893, 894, 899, 901, 904, 906, 900;
Houghtaling, 210, 354, 415, 420, 702, 800, 827, 894, 910;
Houghton, 841, 873, 906, 952; Houlehan, 973; Hourigan,
153; Houce, 987; Mouse, 41, 154. 926, 968, 970, 973;
Houten, 46; Houseman, 593; Howard, 193, 320, 558, 560,
567, 726, 813, 841, 842, 972; Howarth, 971; Howe, 6, 205,
226, 375, 390, 429, 525, 581, 621, 697, 728, 841, 846, 900,
911, 960, 967, 973; Howell, 635, 736, 963, 964; Hewlett,
750; Hoxie, 478, 559, 566; Hoy, 582, 605; Uoystradt, 710;
Hoyt, 102, 103, 430, 478, 501, 502, 635, 699, 787, 861, 901,
963; Hoxie, 717; Hubbard, 154, 373, 527, 914, 918, 950,
968, 973, 980; Huberdeault, 757, 758; Hubbell, 613, 614,
801, 804, 838; Ilubbert, 764; Huber, 424, 477, 478, 574,
710, 716; Huddle=ton, 213, 256; Hudson, i, 29, 43, 44, 48,
154, 310, 371, 450, 458, 944; Huested, 211, 221, 244; Hufe-
land, 223; Huggins, 694; Hughes, 305, 308, 568, 571, 704,
748, 750, 754, 755, 788; Hughson, 613, 936; Hulbert, 74,
•53. '55. 424, 426, 429, 562, 769; Hull, 212, 399, 828, 829,
832,834, 835; Hulsapple, 977, 983; Hume, 963; Humphrey,
89, 209, 210, 213, 268, 354, 474, 524, 526, 531, 534, 637,
638, 664, 716, 750, 841, 960, 970; Hun, 116, 121, 153, 164,
209, 210, 211, 213, 215, 219, 220, 221, 222, 235, 247, 354,
401, 403, 429, 469, 671, 678, 6S0, 687, 790, 843; Hund, 968;
Hunderman, 781; Huner, 841; Hungerford, 100, 102, 153,
210, 355, 420, 615, 801, 812, 817, 819, 820, 841, 870, 871,
873; Hunt, II, 112, 113, 115, 319, 443, 541, 542, 613, 737,
738, 746, 832, 838; Hunter, 4, 37, 103, 206, 253, 274, 376,
379, 382, 387, 485, 531, 532, 584, 587, 607, 608, 613, 643,
644, 707, 728, 911; Hunting, 226, 244, 874, 879, 88i;
Huntingdon, 739, 769; Hurcombe, 377, 517; Hurdis, 90,
91, 599; Hurley, 751, 834; Hurlburt, 654, 664; Hurst, 329,
336, 474, 782, 793, 870, 871, 905; Husen, 869; Hussey, 632,
639, 716; Husted, 924, 996; Hmtes, 402; Hutman, 647;
Hutchings, 153; Hutchins, 375, 377; Hutchinson, 103, 231,
495. 589, 844, 846, 918, 920; Hutt, 320, 785; Hutton, 529,
621, 722, 940, 983; Huybertz, 273; Huyck, 420, 791, 829,
831. 832, 833, 839, 914, 916, 919, 928, 931; Hyatt, 474, 476,
477.498. 567. 597. 598- 599. 6'3. 704. 7"; Hyde, 109, 209,
213, 308, 379, 916, 927, 928, 995; Hydeman, 624; Hyed-
man, 928; Huylancl, 213; Hynes, 997; Hyndman, 88, 89,
928.
Hagaman & Co., W., 643; Hallenbeck & Bloomindale,
853; Haines & Bro., 601; Haines & Co., 635; Hale &
Bulkley, 173; Hale & Smith, 173; Hand & Babbitt,
613; Hand & Hale, 173, 179; Hand, Hale & Buckley,
173; Hand, Hale & Swartz, 173, 179; Hand, Hale,
Swartz & Fairchild, 173, 179; Hawer & Baker, 946;
Harris Brothers, 960; Harnden & Co., 319, 320, 321;
Hart & Hoyt, 501; Hart & Smith. 536; Hatch ;& Co.,
Geo., 319; Hawley & McNamara, 153; Hazen & Carson,
376; Hazen & Son, J. T., 340; Headlum & Son, W., 613;
Heermans, Rathbone & Co., 567; Hemingway & Co., H.
F., 643; Henry & Co., 319; Henry, McClallen & Henry,
620; Henry, Palmer & Newton, 554; Heron, Furmen &
Thornton, 376; Herrick & Freeman, 605; Herrick & Os-
borne, 634; Hickey, Downing & Curley, 747; Hill & Co.,
Thomas, 613; Hill, Cagger & Porter, 147, 173; Hill & San-
ford, 613; Higbie, Hammond & Co., 613; Hoffman & Potts,
567; Holbrook & Taylor, 987; Holt, J. & C. B., 597; Hor-
ner & Sparhawk, 637; Horrocks & Van Benthuysen, 956;
Hosford, E. & E., 650, 700; Hosford & Wait, 376; Hotal-
ing & Saxton, 647; Houck & Trenhard, 831; Howard &
Ryckman, 558, 560; Hubbell & Hill, 613; Hubbell & Keith,
838; Huber & Hartnett, 574; Hudson & Godwin, 371;
Hughson & Co., 613; Humphrey & Co., 637, 638; Hum-
phrey & Lansing, 638; Hunter & Hoffman, 376; Hunter &
Son, G., 613; Hutton, I. & G., 621; Huyck & Co., J. C,
791; Huyck & Dorman, 831; Huyck & Son, 831; Huyck
& Morris, 831; Huyck & Morris, J. L., 613; Hyatt & Co.,
597-
We, 745. 749 ; Ilishan, 562, 736, 763; Ilpendam, 295,
582; Ilsley, 743; Imbrie, 91, 788, 793; Imrie, 153, 562; In-
galls, 923, 924, 927, 928; Ingersoll, 934; Ingham, 212; In-
glis, 657; Ingoldsby, 4, lo, 41, 379, 385, 386, 387; Ingra-
ham, 211, 420, 647, 892, 894, 901, 908; Inman, 738; Irland,
936; Irons, 817; Isbell, 86i; Irvin, 307, 841; Irving, 673;
Ives, 629, 952; Izard, 8.
INDEX.
Jackson, 78, 137, 138, 174, 305, 373, 376, 413, 419. 426,
442, 443. 572, 585. 6(6, 715, 717, 725, 844, 849, 892, 895,
900, 906, 907, 972; Jacobs, 193, 319, 320, 326, 466, 654,
706; Jacobse, 272, 273, 462, 519; Jacobsen, 294, 295, 582;
Jacobson, 841, 844, 846, 847; Jacques, 330; Jaeger, 750;
Jagger, 780, 791 ; Jaques, 66, 327 ; James, 209, 214, 345, 375>
376, 430, 500,524,525,533, 534, 566,601, 602, 611, 620, 640,
686, 726, 737, 769, 770, 948; Janes, 354, 740, 780, 793, 825;
Jans, 658; Janse, 272, 273, 274, 385; Jansen, 51, 294, 295,
650, 825; Jardine, 712; Jarvis, 606, 792, 921; Jay, li, 130,
131, 133, 302, 420. 443, 444; Jaycox, 925; Jeffers, 120; Jeffer-
son, 135, 599, 703, 707, 835,987; Jeffrey, 744, 749; jencks,
657, 924, 928; Jenkins, 78, 133, 153, 267, 286, 287, 354, 355,
500, 525, 526, 528, 530, 621, 622, 662, 716, 790, 912, 913,
916, 968; Jenks, 88, 210, 305, 924, 928; Jennings, 186;
Jennison, 624; Jenny, 424; Jermain, 80, 116, 376, 519, 526,
534, 621, 632, 728, 732, 936, 942, 983; Jermein, 153; Jer-
vis, 677; Jessop, 467; Jessup, 416, 613; Jewell, 648; Jewett,
281, 843; Job, 621; Jochimse, 273; Jacobi, 763; Jogues,
750; Johnson, 4, 36, 39, 40, 41, 43, 75, 91, 92, 93, 118, 120,
135) i37> '53' '55' '59' '6°, 184, 209, 211, 230, 257, 261,
262, 268, 281, 305, 320, 321, 323, 345, 354, 359, 362, 375,
376, 388, 389. 392' 396, 399, 407, 410, 411, 414, 420, 443,
444, 474. 475' 476. 48°. 495. 5 '9. 53'. 57°. 601, 650, 655,
689, 690, 726, 743, 759, 761, 765, 771, 795, 828, 832, 835,
838, 839, 848, 855, 879, 882, 907, QIC, Q17, 942, 949, 938,
95'. 952, 955, 963. 964, 97'. 973. 9^4. 9^5; Johnston, 319,
324, 621, 951, 953, 956, 959, 961, 967, 968, 969, 971; Joice,
841; Jolly, 75, 780, 785, 789, 833, 839; Jolley, 336, 832,
834; Jones, 90, gl, 132, 182, 212, 226, 261, 262, 324, 427,
535. 572, 603, 613, 635, 647, 687, 699, 735, 749, 752, 780,
817, 882, 879, 899, 923, 924, 951, 958, 984, 987, 977;
Jordan, 160; Joris, 10; Jorise, 40; Joshlin, 420, 8u, 914;
Jost, 853; Joy, 341, 526; Joyce, 845; Judd, 78, 790, 895;
Judge, 474, 475, 476, 477, 485, 626; Judson, 89, 90, 156,
173, 180, 190, 474, 476, 477, 478, 479, 521, 526, 527, 532,
534. 546. 564. 613, 621, 665, 666, 675, 690, 912; Jump,
688, 733; June, 847; Jury, 273.
Jacobs & Procter, 654 ; James & Vail, 620 ; Johnston &
Reilly, 621, 624 ; Jones & Colvin, 838, 839 ; Jones & Co., 613;
Jones & Goynes, 960 ; Jones & Ryan, 958 ; Jones & Sons,
J. M., 992 ; Judson, Parsons & Haskell, 564.
Kahl, 562 ; Kaley, 843, S69 ; Kalm, 37, 300, 485, 496, 506,
512, 513, 611 ; Kampfer, 153, 557 ; Kanary, 102 ; Kane, 8g,
119, 120, 210, 309, 326, 509, 524, 621 ; Kane, 655, 657, 769,
929 ; Karslake, 613 ; Kash, 934 ; Kautz, 699 ; Kaut, goo ;
Kavanaugh, 98 ; Kay, 106, 108, 308 ; Kays, 906 ; Kian,
103, 476, 704, 996 ; Kearnan, 756 ; Kearney, 93, 279, 355,
356, 474. 476, S'9. 521, 557. 676; Keating, 717, ^5 ; Keay,
212 ; Keays, 109 ; Kee, 308 ; Keeble, 705 ; Keefer, 74, 94,
832, 839, 840; Keegan, 113, 115, 116, 118, 221, 244;
Keeler, 74, 89, 156, 189, 190,365, 438, 474, 479, 480, 611,
643, 651 ; Keenan, 970, 983, 987 ; Keenholts, 881, 901 ;
Keenholtz, 92, 94, 841, 847, 848, 849,870, 872, 873, 940;
Xeeley, 755 ; Keely, 754 ; Keep, 324 ; Keese, 760 ; Keeven,
426; Keiser, 716; Keith, 255, 642, 839; Kelchar, 635;
Kelcher, 699 ; Kelder, 841 ; Kelderhouse, 850 ; Keller, 828,
834. 839 ; Kelley, 103, 153, 355, 420, 439, 613, 614, 834,
987 ; Kellogg, 173, 493. 567. 744. 876, 959 ; Kelly, 98, 113,
305. 343. 344. 356, 587. 620, 626, 635, 699, 753, 754, 755,
812, 848, 849, 877, 969, 970, 987, 988 ; Kelsey, 589, 749,
914, 918, 985,989 ; Kelso, 92, 93 ; Kemble, 704; Kemmey,
797; Kemp, 601, 936; Kendall, 322; Kendrick, 92, 528,
530, 969 ; Kennard, 750 ; Kenneally, 102, 103, 424 ; Ken-
near, ic8 ; Kennedy, loi, iig, 120, 227, 305, 346, 356, 427,
475. 476, 477. 533. 567, 688, 771, 784, 973 ; Kenney, 963 ;
Kenny, 582 ; Kent, 136, 138, 154, 261, 267, 441, 686 ;
Kenyon, 613, 646, 761 ; Kernan, 175 ; Kershow, 899 ;
Kerslake, 993 ; Ketcham, 765, 854, 876 ; Ketchum, 558,
613, 873, 874, 940 ; Ketelheyn, 272, 273 ; Keltelhuyn, 295 ;
Kettletas, 768 ; Keveny, 964, 965, 973 ; Keyes, 269, 377,
699 ; Keys, 694 ; Kial, 750 ; Kibbe, 612 ; Kibbee, 480, 614 ;
Kidd, 14, 232, 356, 382, 438, 476, 477, 519, 550, 624, 731 ;
Kidney, 414, 417 ; Kieft, 2, 3, 10, 46, 47, 49, 54, 55, 67, 68,
271 ; Kiegan, 212 ; Kielyey, 92, 485 ; Kiernan, 491 ; Kier-
stede, 295 ; Kilboume, 212 ; Kilby, 989 ; Kilderhouse, 789 ;
Kilgour, 993 ; Killan, 3CT4 ; Kilmer, 179, 211, 792; Kim-
ball, 91, 153, 163, 424, 425, 480, 515, 744, 945 ; Kimberly,
977. 985. 986 ; Kimmey, 95, 96, 97, 336, 354, 777, 780, 785,
788, 790, 793,800, 837; King, II, 91, 123, 136, 142, 152,
153, 160, 261, 266, 267, 302, 306, 344, 410, 443, 444, 518,
519, 526, 527, 529, 546, 592, 603, 613, 621, 640. 675, 690,
715.716,750. 758. 817, 934, 972, 980; Kingsbury, 527,
593. 546, 691 ; Kingsley, 412, 424, 450, 479, 710, 715, 716 ;
Kinnear, 474, 594, 597, 598, 599, 726; Kmney, 310, 790,
985; Kip, 125, 153, 273, 735, 760, 870; Kipp, 871:
Kirchner, 108 ; Kirchney, 153, 448 ; Kirk, 556, 557, 558,
559, 632, 733, 769, 896, 947, 987 ; Kirkland, 36, 39, 77, 261,
384, 408, 892 ; Kirkpalrick, 106, ic8, IC9, 559 ; Kirtland,
479 ; Kissam, 784, 834, 894 ; Kisselburg, 364 ; Kitchner,
124 ; Klem, 756 ; Klien, 748 ; Kline, 962 ; Kloett, 932 ;
Klomp, 295 ; Kloek, 385, 854, 881 ; Knap, 402 ;
Knapp, 245, 320, 426, 556, 650, 730, 750, 928,
941; Knauff, 208, 209, 213; Kneeland, 764; Knell,
895 ; Knickerbacker, 406, 469, 989 ; Knickerbocker, 200,
213, 642, 645, 685 ; Kniffen, 926, 968 ; Knight, 589, 931 ;
Knights, 170 ; Knieskem, 801, 802, 809, 810, 812, 873, 880 ;
Kniskem, 817, 876 ; Knower, 440, 442, 500, 529, 531, 534,
621, 854, 952. 991, 997; Knowles, no, in, 112, 355, 868,
927, 928; Knowhon, 997; Knowlton, 211, 559, 623, 848 ;
Knott, 116, 957 ; Knox, 77,425 ; Koch, 745 ; Koecher, 708;
Koen, 777 ; Koeterer, 756; Koeymans, 611, 825,826, 827;
Konnings, 274 ; Koonz, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, IC9, 474, 624 ;
Koonze, 108 ; Kosciusko, 15 ; Koyman, 385 ; Koymans, 825 ;
Kossuth, 546, 547 ; Krank, 153, 427, 479, 716, 748 ; Kreis-
kem, 874 ; Kresser, 94, 95, 756 ; Kirchner, 559 ; Kriechke-
beeck, 46 ; Krien, 562 ; Krol, 46, 49 ; Krum, 862 ; Krumb-
holz, 153 ; Krutz, 613, 646 ; Kshinka, 103, 104, 153, 355 ;
Kuehn, 763 ; Kunholtz, 841 ; Kyte, 632, 753, 983, 984.
Kane Bros., 671 ; Kane, J. & A., 621 ; Kearney &
McQuade, 557 ; Kelchar & Wood, 635 ; Kelley & Co., J. B.,
613 ; Kellogg & Hale, 173 ; Ketchum, Scott & Simpson,
613 ; Ketchum & Sons, R., 613 ; Kenyon & Winne, 613 ;
King & Co., R. H., 621 ; Kingsbury & Whitehead, 593.
Labadie, 46, 295 ; Labagh, 809 ; Lacey, 210, 747, 759,
760 ; Lackey, 304 ; Lacy, 149, 534, 633, 726, 727 ; Ladd,
651 ; Ladu, 997 ; Ladue, 988 ; La Fayette, 751, 979 ; La-
fayette, 644, 652, 714; La Grand, 869; Lagrange, 212,
272, 894 ; La Grange, 403, 777, 841, 842, 843, 844, 845,
846, 847, 848, 849, 850, 859, 891, 905, 906, 907, 910 ; Lain-
court, 609, 612 ; Lainhart, 869, 843 ; Laird, 834 ; La Jeun-
esse, 744, 755 ; Lake, 430, 857, 872, 926 ; Lamb, 91, 92,
100, 102, 103, 153, 211, 394, 907, 923, 924, 925, 938, 956,
968, 980 ; Lambert, 273, 498, 928, 973 ; La Montague, 46,
69 ; La Monte, 624 ; L'Amoreaux, 129, 155, 526, 831, 832,
834. 839 ; Lamoreux, 420 ; La Mountain, 973 ; Lamoure,
212; La Moure, 91, 116, 119, 120, 214, 244; Lamphere,
892, 903 ; Lampman, 420 ; Lamprey, 140 ; Lanahan, 478, '
479. 5 '2, 596; Lancaster, 694; Landers, 188; Landolt,
242; Landon, 950, 968, 971, 972, 987; Landrum, 872;
Lane, 306, 977, 980 ; Lanehart, 841, 848, 849, 851, 997 ;
Lang, 371 ; Langdon, 490, 979 ; Lansing, 7, 42, 88, 89,
no, in, 112, 125, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 143, 153, 154,
155, 187, 207, 211, 212, 219, 220, 234, 236, 267, 268, 272,
273, 278, 283, 343, 354, 357, 401, 402, 403, 405, 406,
408, 409, 412, 413, 415, 416, 417, 418, 439, 441, 442, 447,
463, 465. 469. 479. 490, 498, 499. 520, 521, 523, 526, 527,
528, 531, 533. 534. 573. 575. 589. 624, 626, 638, 640, 661,
662, 664, 669, 671, 672, 683, 685, 690, 699, 710, 712, 728,
734. 735. 739. 784. 79'. 841, 879, 899, 900, 901, 905, 910,
93'. 932. 934' 935. 937. 938. 940, 943, 944, 945, 948, 950,
95'. 957. 961. 963. 967. 968, 969, 972, 973, 976, 983, 988,
996, 997 ; Lansingh, 155, 212, 354 ; Lanson, 832 ; Lapaugh
921, 925, 926, 928 ; Lapham, 613 ; La Porte, 756, 757,
758 ; Larabee, 331, 425, 563 ; Laraway, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98 ;
Larcora, 977 ; Larrison, 309 ; Lark, 632 ; Larkin, 156,
973 ; La Rose, 593 ; La Salle, 965, 966 ; Lasell, 968 ;
Lasch, 106, 108, 118, 119, 121, 651 ; Lascher, 212, 788, 792,
796, 800, 832, 834, 835, 840, 849 ; Latham, 331, 450, 476,
477, 521, 634, 923, 935 ; Lathrop, 208, 209, 438, 526, 527,
575. 576. 577. 578. 593. 630, 652, 690, 729, 901 ; Latta,
420, 903, 904, 906 ; Lattimer, 341 ; Lattimore, 725 ; Lau-
der, 573 ; LaiKr, 853 ; Laughlin, 478 ; Lause, 272, 274 ;
INDEX.
XXI
Lautman, 402 ; Lauton, 829 ; La Velenure, 751 ; Laven-
tall, 624, 676; Law, 169; Lawders, 308; l.awlcr, 603,
647 ; Lawlor, 705 ; Lawless, 91, 118 ; Lawrence, 261, 324,
726, 744, 820, 907, 955, 956, 977, 984, 989, 992, 997 ; Law-
renssen, 611; Lawson, 80, 153, 180, 685, 6qi, 765, 817,
819, 834, 903, 927 ; Lawton, 156, 828, 832, 839 ; Lawyer,
2IO, 420, 621, 860 ; Lay, 210, 854, 925, 927, 928 ; Layman,
920; Leach, 176; Leadings, 305; Leake, 357, 359, 406,
568, 641, 704, 745, 872 ; Learned, 103, 114, 153, 155, 169,
170, 171, 172, 181, 532, 533, 568, 680, 682, 685, 686, 68g,
699. 735. 976. 977 ; Leavy, 307 ; Le Boeuf, 736, 910, 969 ;
Le Breton, 625 ; Le Bron, 952 ; Leckey, 971 ; Le Coul-
teaux, 750, 751 ; Leddy, 305, 607; Lederer, 92; Ledger,
637 ; Leduce, 986 ; Lee, 6, 79, 176, 188, 337, 338, 339, 394,
411, 423.426, 532, 533, 543, 573, 690, 731, 818, 870, 871,
^73> 875, 911, 941, 973 ; Leenderse, 273 ; Lefevre, 641, 642 ;
Lefferts, 957, 960,972 ; Leffers, 971 ; Lefler, 8ii ; Le Galley,
716 ; LeGallez, 595, 717 ; Legget, 334, 793, 811, 820, 960 ;
I-e Grange, 199 ; Leh, 870, 871 ; Leik, 873 ; Leisler, 3, 10,
379. 381, 385. 448 ; Leland, 652, 654, 705, 716 ; Lehe,
877 ; Leiiiley, 861 ; Le Mair, 708 ; Ledrum, 887 ; Lenne-
backer, 354; Lennenbacker, 934; Lennox, 711, 892, 960,
973 ; Lent, 558 ; Leonard, 98, 210, 213, 526, 604, 634, 635,
640, 749. 772, 861, 910, 933, 962; LeRoy, 355, 951, 956,
967, 968, 969 ; Lesage, 756, 757, 758 ; Leslie, 93, 305, 376,
521, 8^0; Lester, 912, 913; Lervens, 272; Levy, 603;
Lewi, 118,211, 214, 244; Lewis, ti, 136, 179, 201, 212,
261, 372, 377, 395, 399, 420, 443, 447, 651, 699, 737, 739,
792, 943, 996 ; L' Hommedieu, 261, 336 ; Liddle, 355 ;
Liesler, 658 ; Lieverse, 950 ; Liew, 853 ; Lightbody, 641 ;
Lighlfoot, 476 ; Lighihall, 961 ; Liewis, 385 ; Lilentlial,
624 ; L-ncoln, 9, 78, 148, 210, 216, 239, 284, 374, 399, 423,
530. 541. SW. fSO. 715. 736, 737. 9". 912, 9'8.977 ; Lind,
546, 743 ; Lindon, 743 ; L'ndsay, 156, 345 ; Lindsley, 835,
895 ; Link, 967 ; Linn, 261, 771 ; Linter, 267, 881 ; Lipman,
624, 699 ; Liscomb, 566 ; Lisk, S32, 835 ; Lister, 928 ; Listen,
230 ; Litchfield, 153, 156, 354 ; Lilner, 30, 31, 32, 691, 731; ;
Litschoe, 62 ; Little, 80, 366, 557, 592, 702 ; I.ittlefield, 568,
690, 900, 997 ; Littlejohn, 742, 743 ; Littleton, 196 ; Liverse,
931 ; Livingston, 15, 42, 88, 89, 124, 125, 130, 131, 132,
136, 155, 156, 235, 261, 262, 273, 290, 312, 319, 320, 321,
323, 327. 335. 336, 354. 381. 385. 389. 394, 398, 399. 4o6,
407, 410, 411, 412, 416, 418, 420, 447, 463, 488, 523, 529,
574, 622, 635, 640, 643, 651, 659, 668, 677, 679, 738, 771,
808, 840, 841, 843, 846, 847, 848, 849, 851, 852, 861, 864,
890. 995 ; Lloyd, 5S1, 584, 593, 743, 744, 893, 894, 904,
907 ; Loam, 987; Loatwall, 420; Lobdell, 805, 923, 924,925,
975, 980, 982, 984, 989, 991, 993 ; Lochner, 643 ; Locke,
135 ; Lockhart, 205 ; Lockhead, g6i ; Lockley, 710; Lock-
row, 427,941 ; Lockwood, 212, 599, 647, 749, 769, 854, 879,
923, 924, 926, 991 ; Lideman, 829; Lodewick, 402 ; Lodge,
425, 715, 744; Loese, 272 ; Loew, 440; Loeteridge, 467 ;
Lomas, 79, 338, 378; Lomax, 763, 764; Lombard, 648 ;
Long, no, 153, 395,481, 4S5, 793, 820, 841, 892, 902, 906 ;
Longley, 961, 971 ; Loockermans, 295 ; Look (Luke), 401 ;
Lookermans, 54, 272, 273 ; Loomis, 158, 179, 526, 527, 700,
924, 987, 995 : Lord, 98, 103, IC4, 234, 613, 626, 650, 688,
710, 766, 772 ; Lorimer, 749 ; Lorman, 987 ; Losce, 212, 406,
613; Lossing, 92, 312; Lotridge, 490; Lott, 180; Loucks,
153, 632, 777, 785, 832, 892, 904, 9-6, 910, 927 ; Loudon,
389, 700, 936 ; Loughlin, 952 ; Loughran, 601 ; Louns-
bury, 819, 912 ; Lourenzen, 295 ; Love, 750 ; Lovelace, 3,
4, 10, 74, 252, 379, 380, 393, 825, 891 ; LovelancI, 612, 618;
Lovell, 640, 926 ; Loveridge, 309, 376, 655, 657 ; Lovett,
156, 421, 441, 526, 532, 534 ; Low, 104, 106, ic8, 209, 210,
213, 420, 507, 568, 737, 738, 848 ; Lowe, 354, 635, 848,
855; Lowenstein, 171, 172, 177, 308; Lowrey, 966, 973 ;
Lowenthal, 960; Lowry, 179; Loyd, 788; Lozier, 677;
Luby, 438, 479, 600 ; Lucas, 970 ; Lucase, 272, 273 ; Luce,
880 ; Luckey, 810, 987 ; Ludden, 378, 596, 754, 811, 817,
843, 854, 857, 86g, 876, 881 ; Luddy, 969 ; Ludington, 691;
Ludlow, 686, 768, 771 ; Ludrum, 873 ; Ludwic;, 712 ; Luke,
554. 777. 9°5. 9°6 ; Lundergan, 947, 997 ; Luscom, 344 ;
Lush, 91, 129, 155, 156, 353, 354, 413, 469, 513, 525, 526,
528, 6^0, 671, 672, 709, 752, 844, 944 ; Luther, 420, 474 ;
Luyck, 251 ; Lydius, 39, 154, 508, 673, 771 ; Lyell, 13 ;
Lyman, 98, 4'7, 522, 606, 686, 717, 740; Lynch, 90, 523,
635, 699; Lynd, 102, 567; Lynom, 116; Lyon, 136, 212,
213. 35&, 581, 599. 634. 639, 817, 879, 880, 970, 997 ; Lyons,
104, 109, 308, 480, 485.
Lansing & Co., J. T., 574 ; Lansing, A. & W., 153; La
Rose Man. Co., 593 ; Larrabee & Co., E. J., 563 ; Lawler
& Son, D.A., 603, 647 ; Lawson, L & J. M., 153 ; Lawton
& Willis, 839 ; Learned & Thacher, 568 ; Learned, Wilson
& Cook, 170 ; Le Gallez, A. & W., 595 ; Leonard & Young-
man, 635 ; Le Roy & Lamb, 956 ; Levy & Bro., S., 603 ;
Lipman & Co., H. W., 624; Litlle & Co., W. C, 702 ;
Livingston & Co., J. S., 643 ; Livingston, Crawford, Wells
& Co., 319 ; Livingston, Fargo & Co., 319, 321 ; Living-
ston & Shelvin, 574 ; Livingston, Wells & Co., 319, 321 ;
Lloyd & Co., S. H , 593 ; Lobdell & Sons, J. D., 993 ;
Loomis & Co., G. J., 700 ; Loser & Co., S., 613 ; Loucks &
Beck, 632 ; Louden, S. & J., 7C0 ; Low & Leake. 568 ;
Luther & Sons, G.W., 635.
Mabee, 928 ; Mabey, 923 ; Macaulay, 738 ; Mace, 813,
814; Maciarlane, 104, ic6, 108, 378, 607, 717, 718, 726;
MacGuire, 971 ; MacGregor, 212 ; Machin, 944 ; Mack, 304,
309, 345, 6c6, 656, 657 ; Mackay, 15 ; Mackessy, 153 ;
Mackey, 90, 92, 93, 914, 920, 928 ; MacNiven, 972 ;
Ma^omber, 648 ; MacNaughton, 664, 691 ; Madden, no,
996 ; Madison, 418 ; Maeder, 705 ; Magee, 402, 406, 764,
774 ; Magill, 850 ; Magoon, 650, 749 ; Magivny, 98, 100,
102, 920; Maguire, 212, 343, ,757; Mahan, 521, 621;
Maher, IC9, no, iii, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, n8, 119. 147,
355. 48c, 517, 534, 626, 637, 639, 678, 752, 784, 817 :
Mahoney, 751 ; Main, 521, 793, 850, 869; Maise, 613:
Major, 940 ; Malay, 305 ; Malcolm, 257 ; Malendy, 972 ;
Maley, 528, 671 ; Malindy, 971 ; Mallison, 925 ; Mallon,
308 ; Malone, 210; Maloy, 479, 657 ; Mallory, 414, 984 ;
Manaham, 137 ; Mancius, 156, 203, 207, 2c8, 2C9,
437. 438, 625, 626, 648, 667, 671 ; Mandeville, 268,
769; Mangael, 125; Mangan, 115, 116; Marshall,
562 ; Manier, 995 ; Manse, 125 ; Mansion, 981 ; Man-
son, 153. 479, 585, 586, 587 ; Maney, 567 ; Many, 879 ;
Mann, 213, 533, 621, 624, 677, 841, 846, 849,852, 857, 899,
900, 901, 004, 906 ; Manning, 69, 93, 156, 358, 365, 366,
367. 375. 377. 380. 480, 519, 531, 592, 907", 951 ; Many,
571,613; Marcella, 771; Marcelis, 273, 295, 498, 584;
Marcellus, 109; March, 164, 2c8, 210, 211, 213, 214, 215,
219, 220. 243, 244, 268, 726, 728, 866 ; Marcy, 11, 134, 149,
262, 268, 421, 440, 443, 686, 714, 715, 995 ; Marechal,
966; Mark, 979, 997 ; Markay, 210; Markes, 899 ; Markey,
305 ; Markle, 13, 21, 334, 343, 775, 824, 889, 890, 892, 899,
900, 901, 905, 906, 9 8, 921, 99, 935, 941 ; Marks, 490,
621 ; Markoe, 247 ; Marryatt, 618 ; Marselis, 413, 464, 485,
486, 512, 823, 873, 874 ; Marschalk, 659 ; Marsh, 156, 211,
641, 744, 747, 991 ; Marshall, 94, 95, 402, 412, 424, 559,
601, 710, 720, 761, 882, 962, 968, 979, 989 ; Marsham, 905,
906 ; Marston, 171 ; Martense, 273 ; Martin, go, 91, 102, 209,
210, 420, 476, 477, 480, 515, 516, 526, 527, 531, 532, 533,
534, 549, 574. 607, 632, 663, 666, 682, 6go, 716, 738, 76g,
770, 820, 83g, 852, 853, 890, 8g2, goo, 911, 924, 925, 928,
9S3 ; Martineau, 624 ; Martinse, 272 ; Martyn, g25 ; Maivin,
158, i6t, 171, 340, 500, 526, 530, 531, 532, 541, 544, 613,
621, 625, 687, 761 ; Mascraft, 752 ; Masselis, 272, 401, 405,
406 ; Mason, 520, 613, 684, 885, g32, g82 ; Maslen, 378,
410, 963. 967. 969, 970, 973 ; Masterson, ii6, 118 ; Mastin,
306 ; Mather, 76, 267, 416, 427, 4gi, 492, 526, 528, 575,
621, 626, 632, 937, 977, 98g, 997 ; Mathews, 42, 139, 153,
345, 424. 677, 686, 725, 760, 839; Mathias, 90, 91,
881, 893, 894, goi, go6, gii ; Mattice, 153, 613,
830, 817, 8i8, 820, gig ; Mattier, 613 ; Mattimore,
153, 211, 2i8, 474, 479, 635, 647, 676, 729 ; Mattise, 892 ;
Maltison, 981; Mattoon, 615, 616; Maude, 15, 513;
Maxled, 305 ; Maxstadt, 562 ; Maxwell, 640, 816, 973 ; May,
!0 ; Mayell, 88, 603, 620 ; Mayer, 438, 562, 742, 743, 772,
856 ; Mayham, 441 ; Mayhew, 188, 903 ; Maynard, 361,
9'53, 970 ; Mayo, 772 ; McAllister, 212, 244, 708, 988 ; Mc-
Alpine, 416, 443, 450, 514 ; McAneniy, 94 ; McAidle, 730,
753 ; McBain, 934 ; McBride, 91, 477, 626, 663, 890, 892 ;
McCabe, 587, 639, 713, 725, 764 ; McCaffery, 91 ; McCaf-
frey, 91, 669; McCall, 95. no, n2, 113, n5, 118, ng, 153,
266, 268, 475, 582, 584, 681, 699 ; McCallion, 983 ; Mc-
Cammen, 526, 527 ; McCammon, 601, 602, 635, 713 ; Mc-
Cann, 118, ng, 121, 163, 164, 306, 477, 47g. 480, 485,
587,717; McCardle, 424,676; McCarley, 74; McCarthy,
>2g, 235, 415, 42g, 562, 584, 585 ; McCarty, 75, 155, 306,
307, 354, 475. 476. 772, 817 ; McCauley, 173 ; McChesney,
667, 906 ; McClallen, 76, 442, 620 ; McClary, 102 ; Mc-
XXll
INDEX.
Clellan, 192, 207, 20a, 215, 236, 427, 547, 669, 713, 988 ;
McClelland, 209, 213, 235, 585, 736; McCloskey, 686, 729,
752. 753. 754, 755. 756, 9^4 ; McCluUen, 406 ; McClung,
406; McClure, 341, 526, 602, 647, 681, 731, 732, 735, 772,
891, 897, 941, 942 ; McClusky, 93 ; McCoUum, 476 ; Mc-
Comb, 523 ; McConnell, 708 ; McCoimick, 96, 98, 106, 109,
480, 592, 712, 777, 782, 800, 987 ; McCotter, 116, 307 ; Mc-
Coubry, 996 ; McCoughtry, 892, 895 ; McCoy, 340, 341, 343,
377. 568, 680 ; McCracken, 410, 787 ; McCreary, 960, 967,
972 ; McCredie, 556, 557, 560, 561, 726 ; McCrossin,
306 ; McCroy, 90 ; McCuUoch, 77, 266, 376, 427, 556, 558,
559, 892, 893, 894, 900, 902, 903, 906, 907, 910 ; McCul-
lough, 963, 971, 972 ; McCuUom, 940 ; MclJermoit, 96, 97,
424, 426, 710, 968, 973 ; McDonald, loi, no, 112,
165, 211, 266, 267, 308, 356, 375, 556, 614, 683, 699,
7CX3, 703, 712, 726, 768, 770, 789, 849, 874, 890 ; McDongal,
841, 971 ; McDonough, 8, 153, 355, 650, 754, 764 ; Mc-
DufEe, 156, 582, 607 ; McDuffle, 8g ; McDougai, 375, 393,
737 ; McDowell, 957 ; McEaton, 448 ; McElroy, 96, 334, 343,
364, 473, 519,526, 527,611, 685, 834, 903, 907 ; McEnroe,
306 ; McEvoy, 91, 490, 585 ; McEvers, 750 ; McEwan, 427,
480, 563, 564, 63s, 645, 710, 726, 744, 973 ; McEwen, 91, 156,
331, 352, 480, 522 , 648, 893, 894, 906 ; McFarland, 77, 425,
713 ; McFarlane, 377,711 ; McFalls, 911, 918; McGaghen,
920 ; McGangen,j6i3 ; McGarth, ic8, 983 ; McGarrah, 744;
McGarvey, 568, 69, 57o;'McGee, 972; McGeorge, 694;
McGeough, 756 McGill, 420, 793, 950 ; McGinn, 756 ;
McGinnes, 647 ; McGlashan, 376, 701 : McGowan, 120,
643 ; McGowen, 119, 343, 613 ; McGown, 305, 422 ; Mc-
Graw, 521, 643, 710, 755 ; McGregor, 76, 879 ; McGae, 9S,
477. ^37 ; McGuire, 92, 94, 305, 427, 428 ; McGuirk, 103,
104 ; McHaffie, 103, 104, 624 ; McHarg, 90, 95, 96, 153,
2IO, 474. 500. 526. 534, 611, 621, 699, 722, 777, 7S4, 785,
789, 793, 800, 904 ; McHugh, 596 ; Mclnnerney, 307 ; Mc-
intosh, 420, 637, 674, 817, 819, 967, 972 ; Mclntyre, 92, 93,
329, 440, 443, 472, 476, 480, 524, 675, 683, 716, 725, 726,
770, 987, 98S, ; Mcjimpsey, 683 ; McKean, 712 ; McKee,
75, 261, 378, 835, 836, 837, 841 ; McKelway, 239, 268, 364,
377; McKenna, 102, 153, 351, 480, 481, 485, 699; Mc-
Kenzie, 785, 905 ; McKeon, 640 ; McKeown, 640 ; Mc-
Kercher, 333, 376, 636 ; McKesson, 261 ; McKim, 592 ;
McKinley, 819 ; McKinney, 479 ; McKinny, 573 ; Mc-
Knight, 92, 474, 534, 556, 559, 560, 685, 690 ; McKissick,
632, 633, 699 ; McKoUock, 897 ; McKoun, 526 ; Mc-
Kown, 77, 88, 97, 103, 156, 199, 200, 211, 226, 268, 342,
354, 358. 425. 473. 501. 526, 546, 843, 846, 847, 848, 849,
86i, 869; McLachlan, 210, 220; iMcLaren, 192, 631 ; Mc-
Laughlin, 901, 905, 980; McLean, 154, 188, 211, 345, 640,
973. 977. 980, 997 ; McLure, 637 ; McLush, 558 ; Mc-
Loughlin, 559 ; McLuckey, 971 ; McMahon, 90, 91, 343 ; Mc-
Manenry, 996 ; McMichael, 179, 829, 839 ; McMickin, 92, 420;
McMillan, 266, 621 ; McMillan, 843, 892,900,902,903,987;
McMuUen, 90; McMuliin, 77; McMurdy, 211, 648; Mc-
Murray, 103, 586, 700, 726 ; McNab, 906 ; McNamara, 80,
153, 519, 559, 603, 628, 734, 835 ; McNary, 788, 836 ; Mc-
Naughton, 153, 210, 211, 213, 214, 220, 532, 534, 581, 592,
726, 731, 735, 758 ; McNeal, 308 ; McNierney, 596, 597,
754. 756, 757. 965, 966; McNiren, 970; McOmber, 594,
712 ; McOnly, 613 ; McPherson, 376, 626 ; McQuade, 476,
477. 479. 521, 522, 557. 564. 639. 7 12, 752 ; McRoberts,
708, 728 ; McSorley, 585 ; McTamany, 973 ; McWilliams,
902, 903; Meacham, 339, 601, 743; Mead, 90, 91, 153,211,
214, 480, 481, 613, 616, 617, 500, 544, 716, 784, 788, 793,
800, 832, 834, S49, 850, 892, 894, 900, 901, 904, 910, 980;
Meads, 639, 640, 671, 680, 685, 760, 761 ; Mee, 108, 522,'
716; Meech, 89, 90, 349, 705 ; Meed, 106, 116; Mergan,
121, 153, 188, 189, 190, 191, 478 ; Meeker, 962 ; Meersen,
295 ; Mees, 295 ; Megapolensis, 38, 203, 204, 205, 251, 750,
770, 771, 938, 949 ; Meigs, 677 ; Melcher, 320 ; Meley, 211 ;
Melgertse, 273 ; Melick, 527, 573, 581 ; Meline, 752 ;
Melius, 113, 115, 122, 736, 843; Menand, 334, 936;
Meneely, 522, 705, 734, 975, 977, 987, 991, 992 ; Mendels-
sohn, 743, 744 ; Menlsch, 559 ; Mercelis, 872 ; Merchanl,
155, 262, 529, 616, 628, 629, 667, 679, 683 ; Meredith, 962,
995; Mereness, 112, 212, 214, 244, 716; Merkel, 811 ;
Merket. S56 ; Merns, 755 ; Merriam, 997 ; Merrick, 743,
841 ; Merrifield, 630, 690, 782; Merriliew, 744, 817, 877 ;
Merrill, 212, 220, 221. 222, 244; Merriman, 425, 428, 711 ;
Merrington, 212 ; Menit, 834; Merrilt, 179, 450, 712, 975 ;
Merselis, 91, 809, 871 ; Merwin, 683, 765 ; Mesick, 420,
844, 848 ; Messenger, 337 ; Messer, ic6, 186, 306 ; Metcalf,
212, 433. 563 ; Metz, 647 ; Mey, 44, 45, 775, 776 ; Meyer,
102, 179, 345, 683 ; Meyers, 93, 341, 725 ; Michaelis, 221,
433 ; Mezick, 841 ; Michell, 524, 599 ; Michelsen, 294 ;
Michielse, 273 ; Middleman, goo ; Middlemas, 812, 8gg ;
Miggael, 364, 377, 378 ; Milbank, 226, 245, 793 ; Milbanks,
91 ; Milborne, 381 ; Miles, 179, 613, 637, 638 ; Milhau,236 ;
MiUens, 427 ; Miller, 8, 89, 91, 153, 156, 174, 213, 235,
373. 378, 4'32, 413- 416, 425. 430. 504. 505. 522, 526,
584, 602, 621, 625, 684, 736, 750, 764, 771, 772, 773, 778,
790, 797, 809, 812, 814, 817, 818, 837, 865, 881, 901, 906,
911, 928, 962, 964, 967, 969, 970, 972, 995, 996, 997 ; Mil-
liman, 988 ; Millington, 260 ; Millmon, 420 ; Mills, 153,
421, 477, 613, 728, 740, 985 ; Millspaugh, 890, 899, goo,
905 ; Miln, 25b, 759, 760 ; Milroy, 726; Milton, 915; Milwain,
C2, g3 ; Mincher, 962, 972 ; Miner, 153, 900 ; Mingeel, 273 ;
Mink, 521, 522, 907 ; Minne, 385 ; Minor, 690 ; Mintz, 763 ;
Minuit, 2, 10, 46, 47, 611; Mitchel, 683, 894, 900;
Mitchell, 154, 169, 213, 336, 354, 375, 420, 424,
524, 625, 744, 750, 973, 989; Mix, 156, 474, 519,521,
559, 592, 641 ; Moak, 153, 156, 172, 176, 177, 178, 192,
194, ig6, 681, 682, 788, 813, 814, 853, 892, 897, 899,
902, 905, 906, 907, 926 ; Moe, 934, 989 ; Moeller, 77, 811,
856, 881 ; Moench, 562 ; Moffat, 356, 477 ; Moffatt, 744 ;
Moir, 544, 6i2, 613, 618, 761; Molinard, 429; MoUoy,
655 ; Monckton, 4, 10, 379 ; Monell, 493 ; Money, 153 ;
Monier, 413 ; Monisette, 187 ; Monk, 969, 970 ; Monroe,
212, 664, 708, 744 ; Montagne, 204, 205 ; Montcalm, 4,
389 ; Monteath, 626, 630, 735, 745 ; Montignani, 153, 635,
726 ; Montgomerie, 4, 260, 379 ; Montgomery, 5, 394, 395,
396, 400, 412, 656 ; Montross, 835 ; Moon, 643 ; Mooney,
603 ; Moore, 5, 78, 90, 98, 109, no, 112, 113, 115, 119, 129,
15s, 211, 213, 214, 216, 219, 245, 262, 265, 306, 375, 382,
424, 427, 478, 479, 485, 490, 521, 582, 583, 584, 605, 612,
703, 717, 750. 758, 759. 814, 846, 912, 920, 923, 927, 937,
946, 949. 969, 972, 973. 982 ; Morange, 153, 341, 517, 597,
647, 729, 750, 752, ggo ; Mordecai, 433 ; More, 790, 913 ;
Morehead, 958, 959 ; Moreness, 8og ; Morey, 987 ; Morgan,
II, 113, 151, 160, 212, 236, 266, 269, 324, 325, 374, 399,
427, 444. 477. 612,. 613, 616, 655, 656, 697, 699, 715, 725,
738, 812, 851, 882, 932, 934, 945 ; Morgridge, 345 ; Moris,
973; Morrill, 213, 245, 699; Morris, I18, 119, 130, 131,
261, 330, 331, 412, 426, 427, 478, 494, 523, 575, 625, 636,
677. 699, 713. 925. 93'. 935 ; Morrison, 306, 307, 708, 834,
914, 921, 925, 950, 958, 959, 977, 994; Morrow, 212, 221,
322, 699, 770; Morse, 15, 322, 513, 738, 749, 924; Morton,
725 ; Mosely, 308, 624, 625 ; Moser, 214, 216 ; Mosher, 211.
220, 304, 355, 474, 690, 699, 777, 780, 785, 788, 789, 828,
832, 835, 843, 900, 906, 977, 980, 991 ; Moshier, 814;
Mosier, 813 : Moss, 427 ; Mott, 342, 735, g20, 927 ; Moul-
throp, 972 ; Moulton, 602, 657 ; Mounsey, 558 ; Mount,
427: Moussart, 50;. Mowers, 420; Mowry, 179, 533, 980;
Mozart, 743 ; Muckle, 266 ; Mudge, 911, 926, 961 ; Muhlen-
berg, 856; Muir, 420,937, 811; Mukle, 881 ; Mulcahy, 475,
476, 951 ; Mullord, 89, 640, 641, 675, 850, 913, 916, 920 ;
Mulhall, 476, 477, 478, 479 ; Mulholland, 424, 710; Mull,
305, 521, 522, 594, 736, 788, 800, 832, 836; Mullen, 676; Mul-
ligan, 477, 716, 717 ; Mullock, 755 ; MuUon, 485 ; Munger,
425 ; Munders, 869; Munro, 413, 759, 760; Munsell, 180,
207, 293, 342, 367, 368, 376, 377, 439, 547, 700, 701, 851 ;
Munson, 212, 221, 245, 602, 605, 606, 607, 747 ; Murdock,
704 ; Murphey, 566 ; Murphy, 90, 104, 109, i to, 1 18, 1 19,
153, 210, 211, 218, 307, 343, 355, 427, 458, 477, 480, 566,
589, 613, 648, 781, 834, 893, 894, 899, 901, 906, 907, 914,
915, 919, 921, 971, 972 ; Murray, no, 113, 115, 116, 117,
121, 153, 161, 192, 212, 214, 245, 246, 305, 307, 392, 480,
481, 666, 684, 685, 735, 744, 841, 844, 962 ; Mussey, 971 ;
Myers, 80, 153, 182, 211, 223, 420, 439, 474, 567, 613, 621,
784, 789, 809, 922, 923, 928, 961 ; Mygatt, 344, 928 ;
Myhan, 754 ; Mynders, 843 ; Mynderse, 221, 353, 354, 841,
843, 844, 845, 846, 849, 852, 854, 855 ; Mynderstsen, 49 ;
Mack & Co., 606 ; Mahar, J. & J., 621 ; Mancius & Le
Breton, 625.
Maney & Ward, 567 ; Mann, Waldman &Co.,62i ; Mann
& Witherwax, 852 ; Manson & True, 153 ; Many & Co.,
W. C, 571, 613 ; Marse & Bicknell, 613 ; Maree & Hoflman,
641 ; Marshall, James & Traver, 601, 602; Marshall &
Traver, 601 ; Marshall & Rapp, 559 : Marshall & Wendell,
601, 602 ; Martin & Frost, 632 ; Marvin & Co., A., 625 ;
Marvin & Co., R.,621 ; MatherBros,, 626, 632 ; Mather, E.
& W., 621 ; Mather& Co., Thos., 76 ; Mattice & Simons, 613;
Mattier & Simons, 613 ; Mattimore & Son, 635 ; Mattoon &
INDEX.
Robinson, 613, 615 ; McBride, John & VV. M., 626 ; McCaf-
frey & Holmes, 66g ; McCammon & Co., Wm., 602 ;
McClalland & Graef, 585 ; McClallen & McGregor, 76 ;
McClure&Co., 647 ; McClure & Co., 637 ; McCoy & Clark,
568 ; McCoy, Clark & Co., 568 ; McCoy & Quackenbcss,
568 ; McDonald & Sterry, 703 ; Mc Evoy & Moore, 490 ; Mc-
Gangan & McOnly, 613; McGowen & Co., M., 613; McGur &
O'Brien, 637; McHaffee & Co., L., 624; Mcintosh, E.G.
& W., 637 ; McKee & Springstead, 378, 837 ; McKinney &
Son, J., 573 ; McKnight & Son, J., 559 ; SicKown, J. V. H.
&J., 200; Mcl^ish & Birrell, 558; McMurray & Brooksby,
586 ; McMillan & Bagley, 621 ; McNamara & Mclaughlin,
559 ; McPherson & McKercher, 376 ; Mead, J. H. & F. A.,
639 ; Mead, Dunham & Co., 616 ; Mead, Myers & Bennett,
613; Meacham, J. & H., 601 ; Menand & Sons, L., 334;
Meneely & Co., 992; Meneely & Oothout, 992; Meneely,
E. A. & G. R., 992 ; Meneely & Son, Andrew, 992 ; Mer-
chant, L. & W., 629 ; Metz & Son, J., 647 ; Miller & Sherman,
837 ; Miles & Co., 613 ; Mills & Tower, 634; Moore & Callen-
der, 612 ; Moore & Hiller, 946 ; Moore & Zimmerman, 583 ;
Moore & Zimmerman, R. H. & J., 612 ; Morgan & Lapham,
616 ; Monteath, Bageley cS: Co., 626 ; Morris & Hilligas,
620 ; Morrison, Colwell & Page, 958 ; Moseley, J. E., 625 ;
Moseley & Van Gaasbeck, 624, 625 ; Moulton & Goodman,
602 ; Mulford & Wendell, 641 ; Mulford, Wendell & Co.,
641 ; Mullon & Sons, J., 647 ; Munsell & Co., 377 ; Mun-
sell & Sons, J., 700 ; Munson & Co., 605 ; Munson, Richard-
son & Co., 606 ; Murphey & Liscomb, 566 ; Mynduse &
Pangbum, 854.
Nack, 273; Nadeau, 116, 118, 119, 120; Nan, 125; Nanfan,
3, 5, 10, 299, 379 ; Nary, 973 ; Nash, 492 ; Naughton, 306;
Naugle, 613 ; Nasholds, 818, 873, 874 ; Nason, 897 ; Neef,
230, 771 ; Needer, 790 ; Neeper, 906 ; Neil, 635, 699, 768,
769, 957 ; Nellegar, 648, 741 ; Nelligan, 103 ; Nellis, 212,
245, 967 ; Nelson, 139, 145, 521, 613, 708, 787, 817, 926;
Nephews, 613 ; Ness, 272, 586 ; Neubauer, 756 ; Neuw-
komm, 743 ; Newbury, 420, 817 ; Newcomb, 100, loi,
153, 192, 210, 211, 214, 217, 427, 535, 708 ; Newdorf, 424 ;
Newland, 671, 743; Newman, 424, 519, 638, 641, 956;
Newsham, 520 ; Newton, 79, 89, 532, 554, 584, 632, 727,
935, 941 ; Nicholas, 768; Nichols, 73, 153, 613, 614,
633> 637> 7°5> 735> 74°> 753> 7^'' 9' 2. 913, 966 ;
Nicholson, 3, 10, 376, 379, 381, 387, 788 ; Nickerson, 321 ;
Nicol, 301, 412 ; Nicoll, 155, 261, 353, 354, 401, 407, 418,
777. 793 ; Nicolls, 3, 10, 68, 69, 252, 293, 379, 391, 661,
911, 918; Niell, 683, 684; Nienenhuysen, 758; Niew-
enhuysen, 771 ; Nihell, 706 ; Niles, 75, 78, 91, 155,
402, 708, 832, 835, 839, 916, 920, 938, 961 ; Niver, 153,
154, 346, 650, 744, 728, 784, 789, 793, 800, 839 ; Nixon,
399 ; Noble, 210, 343 ; Nodine, S29, 832, 834, 839 ;
Norethen, 756 ,757 ; Nolan, 110, 112, 116, 119, 120, 121,
190, 23S, 245, 355, 441, 476, 478, 479, 480, 557, 559, 626,
666, 678 : Noonan, 534, 753 ; Norman, 102 ; Norris, 42,
535> 831, '834, 931 ; North, 354, 523, 944, 951, 957, 960,
967; Northrop, 211, 234, 235, 420, 817, 819; Northrup,
169, 214, 475 ; Norton, 109, 153, 479, 485, 500, 526, 531,
534, 537. 539. 540. 567. 568, 571. 572. 604, 613, 637, 7^6,
762 ; Norwood, I20, 920, 921 ; Notrander, 765 ; Nott, 74,
78,95, 141, 153, 155, 185, 186, 187, 188, 198, 200, 262, 266,
268, 334, 335, 342, 355, 472, 479. 567, 655, 679, 716, 721,
747, 768, 793, 848, 879; Nouck, 911, 918, 919; Noxon,
210, 213, 256, 533, 788, 835, 936; Noyes, 245, 532,800, 948;
Nugent, 153,474, 476, 477, 694; Nutlall, 963; Numpler,
613 ; Nussbaum, 153, 655 ; Nuttall, 956 ; Nye, 644.
Neil & Harris, 635 ; Neil & McDowell, 959 ; Newbury &
Chapman, 855 ; Newman & Adams, 956 ; Newton & Co.,
584 ; Newton, Wm. & John, 632 ; Nichols & Mills, 613 ;
Norris & Bro., 837 ; Norton & Bentler, 153 ; North &
Doyle, 957 ; Norton & Co., 613 ; Norton & Corning, 540 ;
Nott & Co., 567 ; Nye & Blatner, 644.
983 ; O'Dea, ic6, 108 ; O'Donald, 877 ; G'Donnell, 210 ;
Ogden, 354, 436, 679. 698, 727, 740, 879 ; Ogilvie, 759, 760 ;
O'Gorman, 751 ; Ogsbury, 94, 840, 841, 843, 844, 846,
847, 848, 8.^9, 850 853, 854, 869 ; O'Halloran, 307 ;
O'Hara, 485, 512 ; O'Haire, 993, 997 ; O'Heany, 343 ;
O'Kane, 376 ; O'Keefe, 477 ; Olcott, 153, 188, 337,
376, 480, 516, 5:7, 519, 526, 529, 530, 531, 534,
S92, 640, 662, 669, 675, 680, 681, 803, 942, 989 ;
()'Leai-y, 106, 108, 211, 214, 218, 221, 424, 438, 479, 481,
485, 699 ; Olin, 169 ; O'Liiida, 154, 210, 213, 471 ; OHver,
127, 305. 464, 479. 534, 558, 567. 587, 589, 590. 655, 656,
690, 710, 711, 745, 74S, 785, 871, 900, 907, 908, 925 ;
Olmstead, 90, 91, 621,742,938, 950,951,952, 957,968;
Olmsted, 450 ; O'Malley, 153 ; Onderdonk, 88, 257, 760,
784, 800, 814, 870, 871, 872, 928, 931, 940, 950, 960, 969,
982 ; Onderkerck, 273 ; O'Neal, 906 ; O'Neil, 307, 967 ;
O'Neill, 753 ; Oothoudt, 155, 353, 354, 401, 418 ; Oothout,
•"72. 354. 412. 945. 974, 987. 99'. 993 ; Oppenheiro, 153 ;
Opply, 840 ; Orcutt, 587 ; Ordway, 612 ; Orelup, 870, 871,
962, 968, 971, 972 ; Orlop, 973 ; Orlops, 935 ; O'Kielly,
323 ; O'Rorke, 687 ; Orr, 98, 427, 475, 597, 790 ; Orton,
655 ; Oiborn, 306, 307, 333, 374, 375, 377, 378, 601, 629,
716, 719, 834, 854, 861 ; Osborne, 4, 10, 379, 474, 477, 562,
634, 714, 728, 996 ; Osgood, 581, 636 ; Osnam, 728 ; Ost,
987 ; Osterhout, 420, 806,811, 834, 835, F4g, 874, 888, 9C0,
940,950,971, 972; Ostrander, 354, 373,406, 408, 420, 785,
841, 844,846, 847, 848, 850, 854, 873, 874 ; Ostrom, 401,
686, 817, 935, 941, 943, 945 ; O'SuUivan, 154, 559 ; Otten-
haus, 756, 789; Oswald, 355, 977, 987, 991 ; Ouimet, 708 ;
Oulhout, 273, 931 ; Overbagh, 834 ; Owen, 104,624, 708,
763, 764, 956, 961, 962, 970, 973 ; Otis, 418 ; Ott, 573.
O'Bnen & Maher, 637 ; Ogden & Wright, 679, 740 ;
Ogsbury & Vanderpool, 854 ; Orr & Blair, 597 ; Osborn &
Taber, 854.
Pabst, 605, 789 ; Packard, 376, 377. 568, 650, 700, 701,
742, 743, 814, 934; Packer, 880; Paddock, 98, 112, 186,
197, 198, 420, 474, 476, 477, 479, 562, 604, 665, 675, 914,
961 ; Paff, 716; Page, 140, 266, 573, 621, 679, 728, 737,
738, 749, 860, 951, 958, 959 ; Paige, IC2, 153, 158, 179,
268, 440, 474, 475, 477, 478, 513, 531, 538, 664, 665, 809,
988 ; Pain, 975 ; Paine, 213, 222, 224, 225, 226 ; Pallat,
562 ; Palm, 856 ; Palmateer, 831 ; Palmer, 74, 78, 115, 116,
289, 307, 354, 408, 420, 532, 533, 534, 544, 554, 582, 599,
627, 6S7, 712, 737, 738, 758, 760, 761, 791, 797, 834, 835,
839, 914, 915, 919, 920, 972 ; Palneeter, 849 ; Pangborn,
420, 849, 910 ; Pangbutn, 621, 841, 843, 845, 854, 869,
892 ; Panhart, 817 ; Papen, 212, 245 ; Pardoe, 753 ; Paris,
844 ; Park, 187 ; Parke, 603 ; Parker, 93, 103, 106, 153,
154. 155. 157, 158, 159, 160, i6i, 173, 175, 176, 194, 26S,
272, 355, 420, 441, 463, 476, 477, 478, 532, 538, 545, 588,
589, 621, 6S0, 681, 686, 690, 701, 711, 712, 727, 753, 813,
861, 879, 918, 995 ; Parkhurst, 744 ; Parkman, I, 2 ; Parks,
962 ; Parmalee, 665 ; Parmele, 211 ; Parmelee, 155 ; Parr,
90, 116, 119, 153, 156, 355, 378, 521 ; Parrish, 819 ; Parrot,
4r6 ; Parsons, 377, 378, 424, 425, 474, 476, 477, 479, 563,
564, 589, 621, 645, 655, 657, 686, 701, 702, 715, 785, 956 ;
Partington, 338; Patchin, 529; Patin, i6t ; Patrick, 490,
963 ; Patridge, 980 ; Patten, 78, 89, 155, 265, 420, 613,
675, 731, 735. 803, 805, 806, 817, 818, 820, 821, 822 ;
Pattengill, 964; Patterson, 77, 91, 290, 291, 376, 625, 677,
750, 777, 785, 792, 793, 800, 881, 891, 892, 893, 903, 906 ;
Pattison, 345, 975 ; Pattkammer, 750 ; Patton, 98, 613,
879, 892, 894, 904, 910, 911 ; Paul, 560, 725, 750, 957 ;
Paulding, 7, 188 ; Payn, 91, 603, 748, 946 ; Payne, 210,
703, 762 ; Peabody, 535 ; Peacock, 687 ; Peale, 737 ; Peak,
977, 985; Pearce,' 210; Pearl, 849, 850, 852, 860, 906;
Pearse, 100, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 119, 402, 766, 784,
789, 800, 899, 900, 931, 934, 935, 941, 945, 964, 969 ;
Pearson, 367, 638, 667, 843 ; Peaslee, 220 ; Peasly, 256 ;
Peck, 21, 212, 267, 373, 691, 694, 903, 913, 923, 958, 961,
964, 971, 972 ; Peckham, 78, III, 114, 115, 148, 149, 152,
153, 155, 156, 163, 164, 170, 172, 175, 181, 183, 184, 193,
197, 226, 232, 429, 441, 480, 513, 517, 912, 927 ; Peddle,
750; Peel. 562 ; Peelan (Pylen), 13 ; Peelen, 51 ; Peers,
88, 752, 928 ; Peloubet, 926 ; Pelton, 906 ; Peltz, 153, 735,
834 ; Pemberton, 621, 625, 626 ; Penn, 70 ; Peimie, 153,
559, 595, 613 ; Penio, 944 ; Penniman, 566, 650, 951 ;
Pennock, 960, 964 ; Penrey, 749 : Penton, 827 ; Peoples,
xxiV
INDEX.
635 ; Pepper, 89 ; Pepson, 587 ; Perkins, 220, 266, 268,
572, 679, 691, 708 ; Perrigo, 997 ; Perry, 8, 78, 198, 210,
212, 214, 221, 245, 331, 340, 355, 421, 426, 440> 441. 457.
470. 474, 475. 476. 519. 526, 531. 532. 545. 546, 547. 548,
549, 550, 559, 564, 567, 568. 569, 570, 571. 572, 652, 665, 720,
75°. 779, 942. 992 ; Pester, 562 ; Peter, 621 ; Peters, 169,
213. 971. 973, 974; Petras, 940; Pettengill, 562, 563;
Pettier, 212, 973 ; Petlinger, 850 ; Pettis, 971 ; Pettit, 427,
477 ; Pfordt, 335 ; Phelps, 177, 190, 191, 306, 343, 445,
47«. 65s, 706, 739, 911, 918, 950 ; Philips, 742 ; PhiUips,
213, 307. 413. 425, 475, 526, 613, 629, 699, 817, 948, 981 ;
Phillipse, 272 ; Phillipsen, 295 ; Philley, 854 ; Phinner,
944 ; Phipps, 613 ; Phisterer, 710 ; Phoebus, 765 ; Pickett,
307; Pickney, 870; Pier, 420, 873, 874; Pierce, 149,279,356,
637, 9". 923. 957 ; Pierson, 268, 325, 335,35;, 424, 623;
Pieterse, 274, 659, 825, 891 ; Pielersen, 295, 658 ; Pike, 850;
Pilsbury, 352; Pinkerton 997; Pinney, 613, 925; Piston, 682;
Pitcher, 872, 873, 874, 926, 939, 940 ; Pitkin, 605, 759, 760;
Pitman, 784, 860; Pitt, 4; Pittinyer, 852 ; Pitts, 193, 948,
997 ; Pixley, 914; Place, 364, 420; Pladwell, 737, 906;
Planck, 51 ; Plank, 911, 919, 920 ; Plantz, 971 ; Plase, 127 ;
Piatt, 304, 310, 336, 341, 354, 420, 442, 526, 529, 533, 651,
732, 743. 844 ; Platto, 841 ; Platz, 972, 973 ; Plunket, 952 ;
Plympton, 686 ; Pohlman, 341, 764, 772, 773, 774 ; Poincel,
973 ; Poinier, 558 ; Polhemus, 301 ; Polk, 138, 158, 280 ;
Polland, 342 ; Polliuer, 378 ; Pomeroy, 227, 319, 321,
394, go6, 962 ; Fomfret, 211, 214, 216, 220, 426, 772, 788 ;
Pond, 378, 836 ; Pool, 785 ; Poole, 234 ; Poor, 399, 785 ;
Pope, 926 ; Porter, 90, 102, 146, 152, 155, 163, 179, 180,
185, 199, 211, 214, 217, 220, 232, 245, 439, 519, 523, 529,
531, 640, 642, 720, 772, 787, 987, 992, 995 ; Forth, 94 ;
Possing, 813 ; Pos.on, 8i8, 870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 880,
924 ; Post, 804, 817, 917 ; Potter, 154, 268, 355, 635, 675,
679, 681, 682, 759, 760, 761, 843, 915, 920, 961, 962, 982,
984, 985, 996 ; Foits, 533, 567, 568 ; Powell, 91, 100, 109,
266, 267, 376, 828, 831, 832, 834, 835, 839, 860, 887, 896,
903, 928; Powers, 104, 106, 108, no, 112, 113, 115, n8,
"9, 354. 378, 475. 476, 5'2, 704; Prseside, 753 ; Pratt,
100, 153, 188, 225, 226, 238, 261, 268, 355, 371, 410, 494,
500, 526, 534, 556, 559, 568, 621, 632, 691, 700, 715, 841,
847, 848, 851 ; Preisser, 757 ; Prentice, 73, 321, 328, 329,
333. 334, 341, 519, 531. 603, 604, 675, 681, 780, 782, 985 ;
Prentiss, 321 ; Frescott, 324, 513, 646, 691, 757 ; Frest, 95,
96, 97, 764 ; Preston, 226, 265, 676, 704, 705, 914, 915,
919, 924, 927 ; Pretty, 70, 156, 463 ; Prettyman, 740 ;
Prevost, 8 ; Price, 129, 354, 401, 403, 406, 407, 626, 642,
643, 701, 760, 877, 901; Priest, 210; Prime, 103, 106, 441 ;
Prince, 104, 333, 354, 573 ; Pringle, 923 ; Procter, 123 ;
Proctor, 328, 334, 654, 706 ; Proinst, 947 ; Prosser, 80,
645, 923, 927, 928 ; Prosseu?, 632 ; Proudfil, 262 ; Front,
850, 854, 855 ; Prouty, 702 ; Provoost, 156 ; Pruyn, 83, 89,
90. 91, 93. "6, 161, 179, 268, 273, 354, 355, 366, 401,
420, 426, 427, 430, 440, 442, 443, 450, 477, 479, 493, 519,
526, 527, 531, 534, 558, 573, 575, 589, 590, 599, 637, 638,
678, 690, 731, 732, 736, 760, 790, 931 ; Pryce, 892 ; Puffs,
625 ; PuUen, 319 ; Fulling, 532, 553 ; Pullman, 920 ;
Pulver, 829 ; Fumpelly, 443, 526, 534, 549, 550, 760, 968,
969 ; Puiington, 917 ; Purple, 212 ; Purvis, 677 ; Putnam,
89. 394, 635, 728, 740, 753, 759, 813, 829, 926, 931 ;
Pye, 304; Pynes, 113, 115, u6 ; Packard & Co., IS. O.,
376. 377 ; Packard & Conant, 700 ; Packard, Hoffman &
White, 650 ; Packard & Van Benthuysen, 701 ; Packer,
Prentice & Co., 604; Paddock, Draper & Chester, 198;
Paddock, S.& W.S., 198 ; Page & Son, Isaiah, 573 ; Page
& Sons, E., 958 ; Page & Sill, 573 ; Palmer & Co., L.M.,
627 ; Parker & Baker, 621 ; Parker & Countryman, 153, 160 ;
Parsons & Co., J. H., 956 ; Parsons & Griffin, 377 ; Patten,
M. & J., 821 ; Payn's Sons, Benj., 603 ; Peckham & Tre-
main, 164 ; Feele & Co., A. G., 958 ; Pemberton Bros., 626 ;
Pemberton & Mitchell, 625 ; Pennie & Wolfinger, 613 ; Perry
& Co., 571 ; Ferry, Treadwell & Norton. 568 ; Pettengill &
Metcalf, 563 ; Phillips & Dunscomb, 613 ; Phillips & Elsacs
& Warner, 854 ; Pistor & Marlins, 682 ; PoUiner C. G. & A.,
378 ; Pomeroy & Co., 319, 320, 321 ; Porter & Frazee, 992 •
Powell & Co., C. F., 376 ; Pratt & Doubleday, 700 ; Pratt &
Durant, 621 ; Pratt & Treadwell, 568 ; Prentice, Finn & Co.,
603 ; Prentice, Packer & Co., 603 ; Price & Knickerbocker,
642 ; Price & Weatherhead, 626 ; Proseus & Rowley, 632 ;
Pruyn & Gadner, 621 ; Pruyn & Hvatt, 599 ; Pruyn & 1 .an-
sing. 373, 589 ; Pruyn & 01mstead,'62I ; Pniyn & Son, L.,
637 ; Pruyn, Wilson & Vosbur-h, 636, 638 ; Pull?n & Co.,
320 ; Pullen & Copp, 319 ; PuUen.Virgil & Co., 320, 321 ;
Putnam & Hoyt, 635.
Quackenbos, 523, 639, 931 ; Quackenbosh, 220; Quack-
enboss, 128, 129, 273, 354, 406, 440, 568 ; Quackebosse,
272 ; Quackenbush, 88, 89, 91, 155, 198, 210, 213, 215,
333, 344. 378. 4°'. 4°6. 409. 412, 446, 447, 613, 662,
665, 652, 690, 725, 841, 8.13, 844, 845, 848, 849, 851,
869, 964 ; Quay, 266, 428, 872, 873, 874, 876, 879,
887, 888 ; Quayle, 739 ; Queen, 304 ; Quimby, 639 ; Quincy,
877 ; Quin, 474, 478 ; Quinn, 441, 475, 478, 557.559, ^47.
666, 699, 717, 751, 983 ; Quinton, 734 ; Quirk, ic6 ; Quit-
man, 772.
Quay B. & M., 559 ; Quinn & Nolan, 559.
Raby, 92 ; Radcliff, 91, 92, 210, 261 ; Radcliffe, 94 ; Rad-
ley, 582, 893, 894, 902 ; Radliff, 892 ; Rafferty, 635, 980 ,
Rahill, log; Rain, 971, 972, 973 ; Raleigh, 729; Kalyea,
848 ; Rambant, 749 ; Ramier, 91 1 ; Ramsay, 337, 777, 845,
846, 925 ; Ramsey, 77, 153, 177, 412, 429, 474, 628, 841,
892, 906, 911 ; Randall, 195, 266, 269, 780, 914; Randel,
225, 226 ; Randolph, 136, 137 ; Rankin, 153, 717, 956 ;
Ranney, 934, 976; Raimy, 977; Ransom, 474,517,5^3,
567, 568, 574, 615, 671, 791 ; Rapine, 603 ; Rapp, 559 ;
Rapson, 987; Rascone, 911; Ratcliffe, 273; Ratecliffe,
464 ; Rath, 975, 983 ; Rathbone, 73, 153, 171, 236, 334, 421,
426, 443, 516, 521, 526, 531, 567, 568, 571, 589, 592, 621,
625, 613, 614, 632, 641, 664, 686, 687, 710, 713, 720, 782 ;
Rausier, 918: Rawdon, 739; Rawle, 850; Rawls, 551;
Ray, 132, 9:6, 967; Raymond, 940; Raynsford, JOg, 626,
662, 841, 892, 893, 897, go2, 903, 904, 905 ; Rayensford,
109, no, 112, 113, 115, 337, 354; Reab, 620; Read, 80,
427,440, 533, 550,551; Reagles, 860; Reamer, 98, gg,
817, 853, 854, 872, 874, g40, 973 ; Reardon, 153 ; Reary,
no ; Rearey, 951 ; Rector, 91, 305 ; Redell, 782 ; Redden,
92, 987 ; Redfield, 474 ; Redinbergh, 127 ; Redmond, 968 ;
Redway, 624 ; Reed, 153, 226, 424, 601, 635, 664, 717,
743, 761, 855, 964; Reedy, 120; Reely, 877 ; Ree.=e, 220,
555. 761 ; Reeves, 749 ; Regna, g28 ; Rehan, 705 ; Reid,
77, 78, 89, 345, 355, 521, 819, 867, 89Z, 893, 894, 902,
905,906,910,920; Reiley, 113, 115, 116, 118, 119, 153,
353. 443. 587, 621, 624,632, 991; Reily, 286,980; Rei-
mann, 164; Reinhart, Ic6, 108, 211, 8c8, 817, 849, 850,
877 ; Reis, 744 ; Reiss, 789 ; Relyea, 420, 642, 785, 841,
843, 844, 845, 847, 850, 859, 894, 906 ; Remer, 640 ; Rem-
ington, 995, 996; Remmert, 744; Remsen, 938, 951, 952;
Reneault, 757 ; Renehan, 755 ; Rennick, 961 ; Reno, 717 ;
Rennselaer, 42, 126, 257, 7C9, 890; Requa, 113, 115, 116,
118, 119, 120; Retelheyen, 273; Reusior, 912; Revere,
425 ; Reyckersen, 295 ; Reynolds, 91, 94, 95, 101,
112, no, 120, 139, 140, 141, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149,
15°. 153. 163, 197, 211, 214, 218, 226, 246, 287, 342,
378. 441. 475. 476, 533, 699, 7". 782, 923, 924, 928,
941 ; Rhaligan, 113, 115 ; Rhein, 708, 709 ; Rhein-
hart, 810 ; Rheinmann, 306 ; Rhinehart, 420, 818 ;
Rhoade.s, 147 ; Rhoda, gii ; Rhodes, 961, g8o ; Rice, \o,ti
91.92. 93. 266, 268, 311, 320, 324, 425, 426, 428, 450, 474,
475. 4;8, 499, 519. 527, 531. 647, 690, 696, 704, 747, 765,
942, g78 ; Richards, 375, 376, 613, 645, 768, g77, 991 ;
Richardson, 154, 232,450, 606, 635, 677, g34, 975, 989, 995;
Richie, 750 ; Richies, 931 ; Richmond, 120, 235, 366, 973 ;
Richter, 872; Richtmeyer, 641 ; Rickerson, 915 ; Rickett,
907; Rider, 88, 89, 254, 919, 920, 932; Ridgway, 638;
Ried, 904 ; Riedesel, 397 ; Rietz, 743 ; Riggles, 841 ;
Riley, 32, 154, 213, 246, 304, 476, 655, 977, 997 ; Rimmey,
780 ; Rmg, 494 ; Ripley, 882 ; Riter, 870 ; Kitrmann, 212,
246 ; Rivets, 831,835 ; Rivinburg, 914 ; Roach, 873, 876 ;
Roark, 118, 119 ; Robb, 624, 835, 837, 840, 967 ; Robbins,
861, 972, 976 ; Robert's, 161, 376, 420, 532, 604, 613, 641,
708 ; Robertson II, 211, 214, 216, 355, 356, 375, 379, 558,
613, 690, 699, 880, 894, 926 ; Robichaux, 750 ; Robison,
528; Robins, 634, 831, 923, 928; Robinson, ii, 77, 155,
177, 180, 188, 227, 305, 358, 420, 444, 528, 535, 556, 615,
620, 703, 712, 725, 742, 839, 846, 852, 853, 883, 977, 980,
989, 994, 997 ; Roby, 637 ; Rochefort, 359; Rochester, 373;
Rock, 480, 635 ; Rockefeller, 897, 920 ; Rockenstire, 934 ;
Rockman, 714; Rockwell, 118, 210, 213, 975 ; Rockwood,
INDEX.
880 ; Rodgers, 153, 211, 267, 426, 475, 476, 477, 478, 7C0,
879, 996 ; Roe, 850, 983 ; Roelantsen, 249 ; Roessle, 592,
652, 653, 654 ; RofF, 304, 620, 943, 94t ; Rofts 935 ;
Rogers, 156, 169, 231, 413, 424, 427, 475, 476, 613, 626,
652, 664, 691, 712, 771, 862, 901, 958, 961, 977, 987 ; Rolls,
648 ; Roman, 854 ; Romain, 375 ; Romame, 376, 613 ;
Romeyn, 240, 262, 267, 594, 669, 700, 768, 898, 899;
Rommey, 701 ; Ronan, 153, 355, 522, 647, 713 ; Roof,
983 ; Rooker, 364, 378 ; Rooney, 108, 481, 485, 643 ; Roor-
bach, 408 ; Roosa, 207 ; Roosevelt, 165 ; Root, 138, 234,
373. 53'. 538, 558, 613, 956, 957, 967, 968, 973; Rose, 96, 335,
345, 735, 964, 995; Rosecrantz (Rosenkranz, Ruskrantz,
Rosekranz, Rosenkrans), 90, 103, 282, 354, 617, 784, 820,
928 ; Roseboom, 41, 126, 273, 302, 385, 403, 408, 410, 416,
661, 777, 931 ; Rosendale, 103, 153, 179,477,478,479, 519,
599 ; Rosensiein, 223 ; Rosenlhal, 480 ; Rosie, 272 ; Ross,
118, 613, 614, 973 ; Rossini, 743 ; Rossiter, 805, 811 ; Ross-
mann, 210, 213, 235, 648 ; Roswell, 919 ; Rouchel,
213, 231 ; Rounce, 963 ; Round, 963 ; Rouker, 837 ;
Rouse, 492 ; Rousseau, 993 ; Row, 833; Rowe, 92, 112,
"3. 556, 708, 712, 792, 893, 894, 9C6 ; Rowland, 541,
641, 726 ; Rowan, 716 ; Rowley, 410, 632 ; Roy, 538, 988,
989, 991, 997 ; Rube, 846 ; Ruby, 934, 936 ; Rudd, 114,
153, 163, 690 ; Ruddee, 726, 761 ; Ruger, 186 ; Rugtr, 324,
708, 746 ; Ruggles, 280, 281 ; Ruleson, 212 ; Rundejl, 926,
928, 935 ; Rushmore, 902, 905, Q07 ; Runkle, 153, 943 ;
Rusk, 210 ; Ruland, 928 ; Ruso, 153, 699 ; Russel, 526, 621,
870, 879, 894, 903 ; Russell, 153, 213, 221, 268, 471, 474,
500, 531, 527, 533, 534, 546, 564, 601, 6u, 621, 632, 646,
647, 648, 677, 686, 713, 714, 740, 742, 743, 762, 769. 788,
821, 880, 945 ; Russ, 638 ; Rust, 273 ; Rutger, 262, 413 ;
Rutgers, 659 ; Rutgersen, 73 ; Rutherford, 42, 708 ; Ruyck-
man, 463, 659, 683 ; Ryall, 894, 906 ; Ryan, 116, 429, 755,
958 ; Rycker, 272, 789 ; Ryersen, 73 ; Rykman, 277, 385,
526, 527, 531, 556, 558, 560 ; Rykse, 273.
Raflferty & Co., T. C. 635 ; Rankin & Featlierstonhaugh,
153 ; Ransom, E. D., 574 ; Ransom & Co., S. H., 567, 568;
Ransom & Rathbone, 567 ; Rathbone & Co., 567; Rathbone,
& Co., Wm., 632 ; Rathbone & Gallup, 613 ; Rathbone, J.
& J- F-i 334 ; Rathbone & Kennedy, 567 ; Rathbone &
Lefevre, 641 ; Rathbone, Sard & Co., 521, 567, 589 ; Rath-
bun & Co., 613 ; Rawdon & Balch, 739 ; Read & Rawls,
551 ; Read & Son, M. H., 551 ; Reed & Co., 855 ; Reynolds
& Woodruff, 147 , Rice & Baker, 311 ; Ridgway & Russ,
638 ; Rielly & Bro., J. T., 632 ; Robb & Carroll, 837 ;
Roberts & James, 376 ; Robertson & Edmeston, 613 ; Rob-
ertson, J. & A., 375 ; Robinson & Hale, 620 ; Rock &
Casey, 635 ; Roessle, Son & Co., T., 652, 654 ; Rogers &
Callender, 613 ; Romaine & Co., J. P., 613 ; Roman & Co.,
854 ; Rooney & Co., James, 643 ; Root & Sons, J. G., 956 ;
Root & Youngs, 613 ; Roseboom & Co., 620 ; Ross &
Colburn, 613 ; Ross & Crocker, 613 ; Ross & Karslake, 613;
Rosseau & Eaton, 993 ; Rosseau & Harrington, 993 ; Ros-
siter, Settle & Taylor, 805 ; Roy & Co., 991 ; Royalton &
Co., James, 991 ; Russell, T. & J. & E., 646 ; Russell,
Thos. & Joseph, 621.
s
Schiffer, 632 ; SchiSerdetker, 102, 355 '; Schill, 230 ;
Scliimerer, 557 ; Schindler, 559 ; Schlenk, 763 ; Schles-
inger, 763 ; Schneider, 479 ; Schnellar, 342 ; Schneller,
729, 753. 755; Schnellendrussler, 771; Schneyder, 808;
Schoellkopf, 605 ; Schoepflle, 831 ; Schotield, 213 ; Schoe-
newolf, 744 ; Schoolcraft, 17, 265, 354, 441, 474, 531, 782,
843, 845, 846, 847, 850, 869 ; Schoonmaker, 88, 96, 98, 100,
102, 103, 104, 278, 355, 420, 790, 800, ScQ, 810, 812, 829,
832, 839, 870, 871, 872, 873, 874, 879, 882, 883, 884, 887,
888, 911, 961, 972 ; Schixjnhoven, 272, 354, 716, 841 ;
Schreiber, 745, 748 ; Schreiver, 308 ; Schrimpton, 975 ;
Schrodt, 480, 557 ; Sohultes, 809 ; Schultz, 568 ; Schurr,
100, 427, 479, 713 ; Schurlz, 402 ; Schutter, 213 ; Schuyler,
4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13. 41, 42, 61, 73. 80, 88, 89, 91, 124, 125,
126, 131, 133, 154. 155. 205, 206, 213, 257, 258, 259,
262, 267, 272, 273, 288, 290, 291, 292, 295, 302, 310, 331,
344, 353, 354, 379, 380, 385. 386, 387, 388, 389. 39°, 39'.
393. 394, 395. 39^, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 406,
408, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 418, 420, 440, 443, 444,
463, 465, 466, 469, 474, 477, 489, 490, 491, 507. 5°9, 5 '9,
520, 523, 524, 527, 528, 533, 657. 658, 659, 660, 6'. I, 664,
674, 679, 766, 777, 808, 844, 891, 931, 934, 936, 943, 945,
974, 975, 976, 981, 982, 984, 985, 989, 990, 993, 997 ;
Schwartz, 564, 763, 789, 970 ; Schwikhardt, 989 ; Scofield,
839 ; Scoon, 21 r ; Scott, 8, 15, 90, 91, 93, 116, 130, 154,
261, 278, 374, 401, 420, 422, 478, 532, 613, 626, 629,
630, 677, 714, 715, 717, 737, 791, 849, 853, 870,
871, 905, 9^6, 920, 927, 928, 957, 970 ; Scottson, 726 ;
Sedam, 691 ; Sedgwick, 556, 684, 769 ; See, 771, 777, 796 ;
Seerles, 304 ; Seeley, 102, 769 ; Seelman, 154 ; Seger, 144,
212, 354, 403, 777, 788, 844, 845, 846, 891, 892, 893, 901,
903, 904, 906 ; Segers, 73 ; Segsbee, 781 ; Seib, 308 ; Sel-
kiik, 210, 593, 761, 784, 789, 800, 833 ; Selden, 282 ; Selt-
Pagh, 127 ; Scovel, 742 ; Scovell, 420, 625 ; Scoville,
987 ; Scrafford, 119, 120, 420, 810, 841, 842, 843, 849, 869 ;
Scrapper, 841, 846; Scribner, 879; Scully, 102, 118, iig,
121, 308; Scutt, 906, 910, 911 ; Seabrid,^e, 75, 834, 835 ;
Seabury, 179, 819, 872, 874, 882 ; Seaport, 969, 970, 973,
974; Sear, 436; -Searle, 771 ; S.'arles, 477, 831 ; Searls,
355, 832 ; Scars, 645, 653, 896 ; Secor, 812, 876, 877, 881 ;
Seney, 758 ; Senderling, 774 ; Sennett, 343 ; Sf.nrick, 478,
479, 599, 699 ; Serls, 91 ; Ssrvis, 744 ; Sessions, 972 ; Settle,
89, 354, 639, 790, 803, 834, 805, 808, 809, 820, 817, 870,
871, 877, 879 : Severson, 420, 710, 840, 841, 844, 848, 849,
854, 899, 959 ; Sevant, 408 ; Sever, 402 ; Severance, 96, 98 ;
Sewall, 210, 342 ; Seward, 11, 140, 142, 182, 278, 320, 373,
443, 444, 554, 596, 70i, 714, 743, 816 ; Sewertse, 273 ; Sex-
ton, 344, 911, 962 ; Seymour, II, 88, 92, 94, 180, 182, 215,
220, 354, 420, 422, 438, 443, 526, 527, 531, 650, 958, 969,
992, 995 ; Shackeford, 960 ; Shadbolt, 420 ; Shafer, 92, 156,
266, 278, 354, 420, 788, 793, 810, ?II, 812, 817, 819, 820,
823. 900 ; Shaffer, 425, t)05 ; Shagnon, 788 ; Shaler, 428 ;
ShaneJley, 102 ; Shankland, 521 ; Shanklin, 713 ; Shanks,
211 ; Shanky, 41 ; Shannahan, 983 ; Shannon, 427, 642,
951, 961 ; Sharp, 304, 402, 420, 656, 7C4, 841, 847, 848,
849, 854, 931, 996 ; Sharts, 376 ; Shattuck, no, ill, 587,
589, 632, 716; Shaver, go. 441, 841, 842, 844, 845, 846,
847,848,962,972; Shaw, 89, 90, 93, 156, 210, 234, 266,
336, 354, 402, 481, 593, 650, 6S4, 712, 841, 963, 970 ; Shay,
912, 914 ; Shear, 74, 88, 89, 92, 93, 94, 96, 98, 99, 100,
loi, 102, 103, 119, 266, 354, 568, 829, 830, 832, 835, 839,
906, 907 ; Sheehan, 475, 754, 958, 985 ; Shehan, 6.6 ;
Sheldon, 210, 213, 526, 532, 621, 812, 951 ; Shelley, 643;
Slielvin, 246 ; Shepard, 88, 89, 90, 154, 195, 355, 426, 429,
4.38, 476, 498, 533, 611, 624, 640, 690; Shepardson, 413;
Shepherd, 305, 338, 344, 413, 589 ; Shepley, 992 ; Sheriff,
156, 21 r ; Sherlock, 103; Sherloyn, 273; Sheridan, 739,
752; Sherman, 75, 378, 531, 534, 613, 617, 619, 625, 644,
716, 827, 828, 830, 832, 836, 837, 961 ; Sherrill, 443 ;
Sherwin, 177, 190, 191, 743 ; Sherwood, 159, 691, 744,
926, 995 ; Shetlers, 127 ; Shevelin, 119, 574 ; Shield, 603 ;
Shields, 989 ; Shiland, 2n, 212, 214, 997 ; Shirley, 4, 205,
389; Shneider, 743; Shoemaker, 605, 911, 987; Shofner,
811 ; Shotwell, 500 ; Shook, 849 ; Short, 861 ; Shorts, 714,
Shoudy, 841, 847 ; Shouts, 420 ; Shover, 850 ; Showers,
926 ; Shrimpton, 985 ; Shufelt, 877 ; Shultes, 355, 801,
802, 806, 80S, 812, 813, 817, 818, 819, 887 ; ShurtleiT,
354 ; Shutt, 274 ; Shutte, 252 ; Shuttle, go ; Silibinck, 295 ;
Sible, 793 ; Sickels, 154 ; Sickler, 475 ; Sickles, 74, gi,
354. 427. 681, 682, 788, 790, 834, 836, goo, 935 ; Sid-
ney, 413 ; Siegrist, 763 ; Sigsbee, go, 211, 785, 812, 84g,
850,892,902; Sigsby, 879; Sigourney, 941 ; Silcox, 971 ;
Sill, 88, 89, 92, 103, 129, 354, 476, 532, 533, 573, 781,
793, 812, 946, 961, g68 ; Silleck, 321 ; Silliman, 378,
447, 52f', 567. 946, 951. 975, 963. 9^4, 9^7, 969, 980;
Silvester, 405, 407, 418, 440 ; Simmons, 89, 104, 106,
1C9, no, 112, 113, n5, 478, 479, 647, 755, 772, 784,
785, 803,805, 806, 818, 894, 90i,go3, g57, 958, 961, 968,
985 ; Simons, 479, 613, 645. 817, 877, 935, 972 ; Simp-
son, 420, 474, 546, 587, 793, 951, 967, 968; Simpkins,
926; Simms, 958, 968, 969; Sims, 211, 304; Sinclair,
558, 9i;2 ; Siiikle, 420 ; Sisim, 849 ; Sisson, 266, 819 ; Sis-
ton, 156; Sisterly, 841, 842, 843, 848; Siver, 841, 847,
848, 850 ; Siverson, 846 ; Sixby, 841 ; Skeels, 862 ; Skiff,
223; .Skillicorn, n8, 119, 213, 246, 587; Skillings, 613;
Skillnian, 784; Skinner, 90, 373, 421, 574, 650,652,700,
708, 722, 727, 870, 879, 911 ; Slack, 613, 625, 797 ; Slacks,
613 ; .Slade, 90, 91, 793, 820, 920, 925 ; Slater, 179,953 :
Slattery, 324 ; Slauson, 899, 900, 923 ; Slavin, 968 ; Slaw-
son, 344, 345, 558 ; Sieicher, 377 ; Sleight, 369 ; Slicht,
714 ; Slingerland (Slingerlant), 74, 92, 93, 104, 108,
"3, 115, 273, 3c6, 320, 327, 330, 336, 354, 355,
401, 471, 52c, 554, 555, 6n, 626, 655, 742, 777, 781,
INDEX.
784, 78s, 790. 793. 845, 848, 849, 852, 894, 899, 928,
828, 83s, 839, 841, 891, 892, 893, 900, 90s, 906, 907,
910, 926, 927, 961 ; Sloan, 8g, 90, 420 ; Slocum, 736,
812, 880, 963 ; Sloughter, 3, 10, 253, 379, 381, 384, 385 ;
Sluyter, 297, 298, 327 ; Sly, 321 ; Smallie, 427 ; Small-
iiig, 971 ; Smart, 726 ; Smith, 10, 40, 44, 75, 88, 91, 99,
106, no, 112, 114, 120, 131, 132, 138, 141, 154, 156,
170, 171, 173, 177, 184, 188, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195,
196, 211, 276, 231, 260, 261, 268, 3C0, 305, 306, 308,
325. 333. 338, 341, 342. 354. 355. 36'. 375. 376,
379. 392. 397. 420, 426, 429. 475. 477. 480, 481,
491, 500, 527, 531, 533, 535, 536, 561, 574,
584, 587, 602, 604, 6ri, 613, 621, 625, 639, 642, 648, 651,
666, 681, 682,685, 690, 694, 704, 705, 716, 717, 736, 739,
725, 726, 750, 752, 753, 758, 761, 768, 772, 782, 806, 813,
817, 820, 835, 841, 844, 846, 849, 850, 851, 864, 874, 892,
899, 900, 905, 906, 907, 911, 913, 914, 919, 923, 925, 926,
928, 956, 959, 968, 969, 971, 972, 973, 982, 985, 987, 988,
991, 992, 997 ; Smyth, 174, 180, 212, 361, 362, 438, 535,
547. 559' 575 ! Snedeker, 159 ; Snell, 907 ; Snider, 402 ;
Sniveley, 150, 200, 760, 763 ; Snodgrass, 963 ; Snooks, 305 ;
Snow, 212, 214, 217, 221, 246, 485 ; Snyder, 266, 282, 304,
351. 355,420, 480, 558, 626, 656, 719, 793, 8ig, 828, 831,
841, 842, 854, 855, 870, 871, 872, 873, 880, 915, 928 ; Solo-
mon, 292, 603 ; Sommer, 856, 880, 881 ; Son, 763 ; Soop,
777. 788, 781, 790, 791, 792, 800 ; Sotham, 330 ; Sothern,
705; Southard, 828, goi, 910; Southwick, 91, 156, 267,
328, 333. 358, 367. 368, 369. 375. 376, 419, 438, 5 9- 69°,
700, 704, 714, 813, 814; Spaarbeck, 841 ; Spafford, 76,264,
447 ; Spalding, 210, 213, 841, 845 ; Spanwick, 962 ; Spar-
hawk, 637; Spauldmg, ii;4, 648, 788, 835, 844, 923, 925,
928, 972; Spawn, 91, 613, 785, 789, 817, S49, «52, 855,
860 ; Speir, 154, 612 ; Spelman, 624 ; Spellman, 716 ;
Spence, 970 ; Spencer, 90, 92, 133, 136, 138, 141, 142, 145,
147, '54, 197, 211, 261, 265, 267, 268, 269, 321, 335, 357,
373. 394. 410. 421, 440. 441, 447, 472, 500, 534, 535, 536,
564, 567, 611,621,637, 640, 662, 663, 664, 688, 760, 872,
873, 934, 971, 972, 973 ; Spensley, 734 ; Spies, 763 ; Spindler,
789 ; Spoffbrd, 375 ; Spohn, 744 ; Spooner, 384, 762 ; Spoor,
152, 154, 273, 420, 680, 681, 682, 841 ; Spoore, 940, 945 ;
Spor, 960 ; Sporburg, 746 ; Spore, 904, 910 ; Spose, 900 ;
Sprague, 311, 334, 367, 3/5, 628, 650, 675, 705, 742, 764,
766, 769, 841, 907, 960 ; Sprang, 562; Spriggs, 191 ; Spring-
stead, 154, 163, 210, 426, 427, 833, 834, 837 ; Springs'.eed,
89, 224, 225, 226, 355, 648, 788 ; Springsted, 793, 828, 832,
833, 892; Spur, 852"; Squier, 367, 440; Squire, 375, 1:35,
785, 852 ; Staats (Staets), 41, 83, 88, 89, 90, 94, 95, 96, 97,
98, ICO, 154, 164, 204, 210, 211, 213, 214, 218, 272, 295,
301, 327, 342, 354, 385, 400, 401, 402, 407, 412, 413, 462,
474, 477, 478. 490, 526, 582, 6n, 621, 640, 664, 688, 717,
725, 8co, 826, 905, 911, 968; Stackhouse, 112, 120,
426, 589; Stackman, 119, 120, 121; Stacpole, 711 ;
Stafford, 526, 529, 567, 621, 818, 848, 849, 850, 854, 869,
870, 874, 877 ; Standish, 173, 648 ; Stanford, 440, 459, 934,
935, 940, 945; Stanley, 174, 338, 341, 996 ; Stanton, 75, 80,
90, 154, 441, 530, 532, 611, 621, 625, 664, 690, 735, 745,
769, 813, 814, 835, 844, 921, 924, 925, 926, 927, 928, 969 ;
Stannix, 152, 154, 490, 583 ; Stansbuiy 768 ; Stantial, 995;
Stalker, 817, 877, 892, 901, 906 ; Staples, 613 ; Starin, 734;
Stalk, 6, 393, 396, 398, 405, 621, 624 ; Starkey, 760 ; Slarks,
573, 962 ; Starkweather, 112, 113, 115, 116, 212, 222, 246,
798, 879 ; Starling, 304 ; Starr, 134. 354, 604, 621 ; Stead,
812; Steadman, 516 ; Steams, 209, 213, 686, 985 ; Sted-
man, 80, 154, 592, 605, 936 ; Stebbins, 765. 960; Steel, 88;
Steele, 154,158, '59. 37i, 372, 532, 581, 602, 603, 637, 650,
690, 729, 731, 739, 858, 940; Steenberg, 211, 212, 214,
246, 950 ; Sleenbergh, 943, 962, 997 ; Steenburgh, 971; Steers,
849, 931, 941 ; Steigleman, 1 10 ; Stein, 14, 54, 55, 566 ; Stein-
art, 211; Steinhart, 475; Stenkle, 420; Stephen, 292;
Stephens, 75, 154, 354, 587, 591, 699, 828, 830, 831, 870, 871,
872, 873, 874 ; Stephenson, 156, 413, 528, 712, 726 ; Sterling.
233 ; Stern, 154, 712 ; Sterne, 180, 844 ; Stemburg, 871 ;
Sternburgh, 870 ; Sterry, 703 ; Stevens, 140, 141, 143, 144^
147, 154, 201, 211, 214, 217, 220, 262, 342, 407, 439, 632,
643. 672, 727, 728, 743, 872, 874, 877, 911, 971 ; Steves,
764, 967 ; Slevense, 273 ; Stevenson, 126, 179, 514, 516,
526, 527, 572, 626, 640, 663, 667, 760 ; Stewart, 102, 109,
373, 477, 528, 592, 621, 725, 914, 927, 937, 938, 977, 988 ;
Stickney, 564, 565, 566, 735 ; Stiles, 154, 781, 782, 831 ;
Stillnian, 212, 900; StiUwell, 354, 526, 530, 611 ; Stiner,
806, 807, 817, 873, 874, 877 ; Stinson, 154, 211, 321, 420,
478 ; St. John, 744, 820, qoi, p22, 924, 925, 927, 928 ;
Stobel, 774 ; Stock, 562 ; Stockmg, 761 ; Stockwin, 727 ;
Stoddard, 80, 922, 972 ; Stokes, 183, 184, 753 ; Stone, 319,
354, 367, 373, 375, 376, 377, 420, 525, 605, 701, 704, 916,
969 ; Stonehouse, 212, 214, 246, 710, 744 ; Stoneman, 736 ;
Stoner, 902 ; Stool, 402 ; Storer, 923 ; Storke, 325 ; Storrs,
882 ; Story, 164, 355, 557, 808 ; Stouppe, 259 ; Stover, 665,
962 ; Stow, 969 ; Siowe, 568, 737 ; Strain, 279 ; Strang,
304 ; Strasser, 603 ; Strattier, 901 ; Stratton, 688, 758 ;
Street, 375, 376, 675, 705 ; Stremple, 713 ; Strevell (Strevel),
77, 94, 116, 118, 122, 156, 814, 817, 820, 832, 843, 869 ;
Strickland, 582 ; Stringer, 205, 207, 405, 406, 408,
409, 648, 672, 718, 760 ; Stringham, 817 : Strong,
154, 369, 425, 533, 538, 570, 621, 742, 934, 945,
973, 961, 983, 984, 995 ; Stryker, 154, 425, 812 ;
Stuart, 91, 312, 478, 596, 635, 676, 925, 926 ; Stumpf, 306 ;
Sturges, 266, 871 ; Sturtevant, 154, 189, 376, 474, 476, 477,
870, 873, 874 ; Stuben, 674 ; Stutz, 793 ; Stuyvesant, 3, 10,
13, 46, 47, 48, 49, 55, 56, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69,
71, 77, 251, 271, 288, 297 ; Styles, 210; Sukles, 712; Sul-
livan, 7, 92, 112, 113, 115, 188, 206, 226, 305, 379,394,476,
477, 573, 748 ; Sully, 737 ; Suppes, 744 ; Summer, 355 ;
Sumner. 474, 519, 521, 613,617, 726 ; Sunderlin, 355 ; Sun-
derland, 286 ; Surrington, 750 ; Sutherland, 964 ; Sutliff,
92 ; Sulfa, 788 ; Suydam, 989 ; Swan, 77, 750, 870, 871,
872, 874, 882, 892, 934; Swart (Swartt), 63, 156, 211, 252,
354, 407, 418, 761, 788, 870, 872, 882 ; Swarthout, 819 ;
Swartwout, 420, 677, gio, 923, 926, 927, 928, 987 ; Swart-
out, 973 ; Swartz, 103, 173, 179 ; Swatling, 972, 997 ;
Swayne, 174 ; Sweat, 911 ; Sweet, 78, 171, 188, 331, 443,
582, 781 ; Swertteger, 416; Svveny, ggi ; Swift, 355, 424,
710, go2, go3 ; Swinburne, 116, 117, 164, 190, 210, 213,
214, 219, 220, 222, 23s, 236, 237, 238, 242, 245, 441, 480,
481, 666, 690; Switcher, 851 ; Swits, 226, 403 ; Switzer,
900; Swope, 857 ; Swerckhammer, 8il ; Sykes, 621 ; Syl-
vester, 128, 129, 135, 412, 948; Symington, 433 ; Sage
& Co., H. W., 613 ; Satterley, E. R. & E., 626 ; Sands, A.
B. & D., 648 ; Sands & Son, 854, 855 ; Sanders, B. & J. B.,
650 ; Sanders & Co., B. B., 632, 639 ; Sanford & Page,
621 ; Saul, Keith & Ward, 642 ; Saxe Bros., 613 ; Sayles,
J. & E. M., 625; Schiffer & Co., 632; Schwartz & Co.,
George, 564 ; Scott & Son, John, 957 ; Scovill, N. & C,
625 ; Selkirk & Gardinier, 593 ; Seward & William, 373 ;
Shaw & Bennett, 593 ; Shaw & Rose, 593 ; Shear, Packard
& Co., 568 ; Sheehan, James & Ryan, 958 ; Sheldon &
Sykes, 621 ; Shepard & Boyd, 640 ; Shepley & Smith,
992 ; Sliei-man, S. H. & E.J., 378, 837 ; Shoemaker & Pabst,
605 ; Shield &: Son, 603 ; SiUiman & Miller, 378 ; Sim-
mons & Co., D., 958 ; Simmons & Page, 958 ; Sinclair &
Walsh, 558; Simons & Griswold, 613 ; Simons & Richards,6i3 ;
Skillings & Whitney Bros., 613 ; Skinner & Co., E.W., 372,
650 ; Slack, J. & R. F., 625 ; Slacks & Davis, 613 ; Sleight &
Tucker, 369 ; Slingerland & Son, H. H., 626 ; Smith & Bro.,
613 ; Smith & Bancroft, 177 ; Smith, Bancroft &Moak, 177,
192, 196 ; Smith, Cary & Moseley, 625 ; Smith & Co., 613 ;
Smith & Co., A., g5g ; Smith, Covert & Co., 437 ; Smith,
Craig & Co., 613 ; Smith & Co., J. S., 340 ; Smith, Moak &
Buchanan, 177, 192, 194 ; .Smith, Story & Co., 621 ; Smith
& Wood, 632 ; Smyth & Walkee, 557, 559 ; Snyder & Front,
854 ; ^pawn & Son, E., 852, 855 ; Spelman, B.R.& R.I,.,
624 ; Spencer & Co., John, 536, 637 ; Spencer, Daniels & Co.,
567 ; Spencer, Stafford & Co., 637 ; Stafford, R. F. & E. E.,
647 ; Stafford, J. & S., 621 ; Staples & Van Allen, 613 ; Stark
& Co., B., 621, 624 ; Starks & Pruyn, 573 ; Steele & Co.,
D., 650 ; Steele & Durrie, 650 ; Steele & King, 603 ; Steele
& Warren, 637 ; Stein & Co., 566 ; Stevens & Cagger, 141,
147 ; Stevens & Sons, James, 6^3 ; Stevenson, Douw & Ten-
Eyck, 572 ; Stewart & Townsend, 663 ; Stone & Co., 377 ;
Stone & Henley, 376, 377 ; Story Bros., 557 ; Story, Russell &
Co., 621 ; Strasser & Co., M., 603; Strickland & Co., R., 582;
Stringer & Bay, 648; Strong & Co., A.M., 621 ; Strong,
Russell & Lawyer, 621 ; Strong, Whitney & Co., 621 ; Sulli-
van & Ehler, 573 ; Sumner & Co., 613 ; Sumner & Hasey,
613.
T
Taaffe, 603; Taber, 286, 342, 354, 621, 801, 817, 854,
870, 879, 882 ; Tabor, 143, 144, 210, 211, 971, 972, 973 ;
Taintor, 330 ; Talbot ; Talcott, 138, 139, 267, 433, 443, 406,
613, 732, 942, 988 ; Talleyrand, 751 ; Tallmadge, 525, 639 ;
INDEX.
XXVll
Talmadge, 906 ; Talmage, 787, 940 ; Tallman, 613, 914 ;
Tails, 879 ; Tanbert, 743 ; Taney, 138 ; Tanner, 103, 154,
377, 601, 915, 920; Tappan, 18:1, 982; Tarbell, 426; Tar-
panny, 870 ; Tarpenny, 844, 871 ; Tatlock, 572, 759, 760 ;
Tasler, 676 ; Tayler, 155, 200, 267, 354, 418, 419, 442, 5C0,
513. 523. 5251 528, 529, 759, 660, 844, 892, 944, 989 ; Tay-
lor, 90, 91, 94, 103, 129, 138, 142, 185, 209, 227, 341, 342,
365- 376, 377. 378. 406, 408, 416, 422, 446, 459, 474, 476,
477, 514, 521. 526. 527. S31.532, 533. 534, 546, 556, 557, 558,
SS9. 566, 581. 6ii, 621, 624, 635, 650, 665, 675, 702, 705,
714. 71S. 716, 726, 728, 759, 760, 777, 813, 814, 817, 820,
823, 860, 881, 885, 891, 892, 894, 901, 904, 905, 906,
937, 940, 944, 972, 982, 984, 986, 988, 991, 977 ; Teachout,
963, 973 ; Teals, 834 ; Teats, 813, 928 ; Tebbutt, 103,
104, 477, 647 ; Teeple, 914 ; Teeter, 916 ; Teeven,
305 ; Tefft, 212, 829; Teller, 125, 156, 272, 295, 334, 354,
648, 891 ; Templar, 905 ; Temple, 422, 498, 514, 624;
Templeton, 533, 534. 605, 690, 699, 728 ; Ten IJrock,
42, 385 ; Ten Broeck, 125, 129, 155, 261, 262, 277,
290, 292, 353, 354, 356, 385, 391, 399, 400, 401,
403, 405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 411, 412, 418,
429, 440, 444, 467, 485, 486, 490, 523, 528, 658, 660, 661,
669, 679, 846, 906, 941, 944: Ten Eyck, 42, 74, 75, 76, 88,
89, 90, 91, 92, 103, 104, iu6, 125, 126, 128, 129, 155, 156,
212, 219, 261, 273, 322, 323, 336, 353, 354, 401, 405, 407,
408, 409, 410, 412, 413, 415, 416, 418, 420, 424, 440, 474,
475, 476, 477, 478, 480, 513, 515, 519, 524, 528, 531, 534,
564, 566, 572, 611, 621, 630, 635, 660, 6t)i, 671, bgi, 692,
693, 694, 70!, 702, 777, 780, 784, 785, 789, 792, 793, 794,
826, 827, 828, 829, 832, 833, 836, 839, 936, 944, 952, 958,
971, 984; Tennant, 717, 768 ; Tenney, 248, 269, 271, 286,
391, 433, 441, 458, 656, 690, 733 ; Termouth, 677 ; Ter-
penning, 875, 872 ; Terrell, 364, 712 ; Terry, 744, 756,
899, 964, 966, 968 ; Terwilisjer, 892, 894 ; Terwilliger, 450,
712, 099; Tessier, no; Teunisse, 272, 273, 274, 385;
Teunissen, 294 ; Terrise, 273 ; Terrisse, 273 ; Thacher, 93,
95, 100, 154, 173, 180, 189, 206, 207, 354, 426, 474, 477,
478, 479 532, 533, 575, 577, 578, 579, 580, 639, 665, 666,
745, 753 ; Thalhimer, 977 ; Thatcher, 738 ; Thayer, 100,
266, 344, 345, 450, 751, 772, 928, 985; Thibeault, 757;
Thieroff, 854; Thiers, 308; Theyer, 101 ; Thomas, 116,
226, 304, 333, 377, 378, 394, 532, 534, 563, 564, 567, 614,
621, 634, 642, 645, 646, 652, 676, 715, 716, 843 ; Thom-
asse, 272, 385 ; Thompson, 154, 213, 246, 261, 267, 305,
307, 341, 354, 368, 378, 418, 420, 424, 429, 440, 447, 477,
527, 567, 571. 634, 650, 652, 669, 683, 691, 694, 732, 735,
737, 801, 816, 828, 942, 957, 960, 963, 987, 997 ; Thomson,
476, 477, 613, 614, 617, 618, 735 ; Thorburn, 90, 334 ;
Thorn, 870, 871, 951, 952, 955, 956, 968, 969, 973 ;
Thome, 611, 8r3 ; Thornton, 98, 376, 480, 485; Thorp,
311; Thorpe, 531, 705; Throop, 11, 443, 677, 735;
Thumb, 705 ; Thurston, 155 ; Tibbetts, 708, 710, 975 ;
Tibits, 420; Tibbitts, 545, 993 ; Tibbutt, 120 ; Tice, 485 :
Ticknor, 606 ; Tiercks, 273 ; Tiernan, no; Tierney, 988 ;
Tietz, 601, 635 ; Tiglie, 355 ; Tigner, 920; Tilden, II, 145,
170, 173, 180, 366, 444, 717, 799 ; Tillinghast, 519, 527,
532, 557, 592, 6ii ; Tillman, 402; Tillotson, 528; Tim-
mer, 870 ; Timnard, 977 ; Timon, 755 ; Tinker, 402, 694 ;
Tinkham, 632, 643 ; Tinklepaugh, 266 ; Tinslar, 980 ;
Tisdall, 977 ; Titcomb, 691 ; Titus, 535, 916 ; Todd, 436,
744, 870,877, 879 ; Toedt, 744 ; Tols, 870, 871 ; Tomassen,
295, 611 ; Tombley, 770 ; Tomlmson, 425 ; Tompkins, i, 8,
136, 142, 154, 262, 290, 291, 304, 329, 356, 420, 439, 441,
442, 443, 545, 785, 789, 792, 831, 832, 834, 836, 839, 840,
893, 906, 916, 920, 924, 928 ; Tomlinson, 711 ; Tompson,
200, 687, 892 ; Toom, 301 ; Topp, 725 ; Torrance, 154 ;
Torrence, 995, 996, 997 ; Torrey, 967 ; Terry, 970 ; Tor-
ren, 744 ; Totten, 841, 845, 851 ; Tottie, 987 ; Tower,
562, 632, 633, 634, 86l, 882 ; Town, 569 ; Towner, 613,
614; Townsend, 90, 91, 209, 211, 212, 213, 214, 220, 247,
268, 335, 355, 424, 426, 438, 439, 49°. 500, 513, 514, 518,
524, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 533, 534, 544, 567, 572,
573, 574, 599, 601, 621, 640, 663, 064, 665, 677, 690, 699,
710, 716, 733, 734, 735, .750, 7&I, 877, 887, 942, 982 ;
Traber, 841, 842, 844, 845 ; Tracey, 154, 210, 426, 475,
476, 519, 534, 559, 651, 676, 686, 699, 729, 753, 756;
Tracy, 268, 361, 441, 442, 474, 493, 561, 625, 626, 960,
988 ; Trainor, 307 ; Trask, 535 ; Traver, 74, 90, 211, 60 (,
6:12, 708, 743, 74+, 832, 987 ; Travis, 951, 962, 967, 969,
971 ; Treadwell, 78, 90, 102, 261, 354, 427, 527, 567, 568,
570, 571, 581, 604, 605, 634, 699, 713, 728, 743, 744, 750,
844, 912, 915, 920, 921 ; Treanor, 378, 990, 997 ; Treat,
210, 416; Tredwell, 354; Trego, 212, 247 ; Tremain, 103,
III. 149, 152, 154, 163, 164, 167, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185,
191, 194, 232, 355, 426, 428, 443, 479, 690, 733, 760, 911,
916, 940, 963, 964; Tremper, 637, 710 ; Trenchard, 831 ;
Treskatis, 211; Trico, 46; Triger, 716; Trimble,
654, 705, 997; Tripler, 236; Tripp, 926;
Troop, 442; Trotter, 210,500, 620, 621; Troup, 138;
Trowbridge, 498, 516, 559, 632, 923, 927, 934, 987 ;
Truax, 156, 401, 420, 818, 840, 841, 845, 846, 847, 851,
870, 871, 872, 888, 931, 933, 945 ; True, 153, 154 ; Prull,
967,970; Trumbull, 376, 395, 411, 714, 738; Trunipp,
750; Tryon, 5, 10, II, 275, 379, 382, 403; Tubbs, 960,
962; 968, 970; Tuck, 820, 823; Tucker, 212, 214, 220,
221, 247. 333. 359. 369, 370, 371, 375, 378, 544, 680, 761,
948, 984 ; Tuder, 41 ; Tuffs, 154, 479, 530, 611, 621 ; Tal-
ler, 813, 814; Tulley, 210; TuUy, 234; Tupper, 677;
Turk, 156, 273, 420 ; Turner, 129, 104, 305, 402, 420, 648,
814, 819, 823, 906, 925, 943, 946 ; Tuttle, 95, 188, 266,336,
793. 785, 789 ; Tweddle, 337, 440, 443, 532, 551, 552,
553. 559. 991 ; Tweed, 160 ; Twiller, 10 ; Twing, 982 ;
Twist, 977 ; Twitchell, 74, 737, 739 ; Tygert, 843, 852,
853, 86o, 869 ; Tyler, 90, 142, 156, 354, 613, 805, 813, 817,
818, 879, 88o, 977 ; Tymese, 273 ; Tymerson, 931, 963,
972. 973 ; Tyse, 273 ; Tyssen, 49 ; Taaffe & Gough, 003,
Tater & Marks, 621 ; Tallmadge & Co., 639 ; Tallman
& Co., J., 613 ; Tanner & Son, R. W., 6oi ; Taylor Br.is.,
937 ; Taylor, Hamlin & Co., 581 ; Taylor & Sons, J., 559,
621 ; Taylor & Waterman, 624; Tayson, Wendell & Co.,
581 ; Ten Eyck & Brinkerhoff, 635 ; Ten Eyck & Co., 621 ;
Ten Eyck & Co., W. J., 958 ; I'en Eyck & Parker, 621 ;
Thacher & Co., 568, 575 ; Thacher & Co., G. H., 575 ;
Thacher, Lathrop & Co., 575 ; Thomas & Co., W. G., 613 ;
Thomas, Lowe & Potts, 635 ; Thomas & Potts, 567 ;
Thomas cS: Wells, 567 ; Thompson & Co., 320, 321 ;
Thomson & Co., L., 613, 617 ; Thomson & Hyatt, 613 ;
Thomson & Lefferts, 957, 960; Thorne & Sons, R. P.,
641; Thorp & Sprague, 311; Torrence, Merriam & Co.,
997 ; Tonner & Co., J. O., 613 ; Tonner & Son, B. A., 613;
Townsend & Blessing, 574 ; Townsend & Jackson, 572 ;
Townsend, I. & [., 572 ; Townsend, J. & I., 663 ; Tracey
& Cooper, 154 ; Tracey & Son, J., 559 ; Tracey, Woolverton
& Wilson, 625, 626 ; Treadwell & Co., 604, 634 ; Treadwell
& Co., G.C., 604 ; Treadwell & Perry ; 567, 568 ; Treanor
& Hardin, 378, 990 ; Trotter & Tuffs, 621 ; Tubbs &
Humphreys, 91:9 ; Tubbs & Seberson, 959 ; Tucker, G. M. &
Son, L., 333, i7i, 378 ; Tucker, L. H. & G. M., 333, 378 ;
Turner Brothers, 648 ; Turner & Powers, 378 ; Tygert &
Martin, 853.
TJ
Ubsdell, Pierson & Co., 621, 623 ; Ubsdell, 623 ; Udell,
89, 793, 926 ; Ufford & Latham, 993 ; Uline, 211, 324, 325,
522; Uldrick, 931 -; UUman, 212, 214; Underbill, 47;
Unholtz, 763 ; Upfold, 204, 209, 694, 765 ; Upham, 950,
968 ; Upjohn, 759, 961 ; Upson, 268, 769, 774 ; Uran, 420 ;
Urquhart, 753 ; Usher, 345 ; Utter, 829.
Vail, 325, 566, 620, 844, 975 ; Valentine, 268, 376 ; Val-
kenburgh, 90, 321, 624 ; Valks, 892 ; Valois, 970 ; Vaughn,
985 ; Van Acerman, 843 ; Van Aden, 274 ; Van Aecklen, 295 ;
Van Aerden, 77 ; Van Aernden, 870 ; Van Aernam, 308,
401, 406, 840, 842, 844, 846, 847, 849, 851, 943 ; Van Aiken,
420 ; Vanakers, 914-; Van Ale, 463 ; Van Aken, 869; Van
Alen, 254; Van Allen, 91, 213, 221, 334, 335, 356,401,
407, 413, 415, 516, 521, 527, 533, 553, 554, 555,. 581, 6n,
741, 777. 778, 784, 789. 800, 826, 829, 835, 853, 879, 880,
892,894,905,976; Van Alstyne, 114, 126, 154, 155, 187,
210, 212, 213, 238, 254, 354, 402, 406, 412, 415, 441, 491,
531. 637, 714, 835, 840, 879, 906, 907, 975, 997 ; Van Attan,
910 ; Van Atten, 899, 900, 906 ; Van Arnum, 841, 845, 931,
962, 975, 976, 977 ; Van Arsdale, 812 ; Van Auken, 90, 94,
95. 355. 793. 841, 842, 843, 846, 848, 849, 851, 859, 871,
872, 873, 881, 883, 850, 854, 869, 900, 904, 905, 938, 950,
952, 968, 969; Van Antwerp, 156, 210, 413, 420, 426,
429, 478, 480, 517, 519, 529, 534, 832, 942 ; Van Baal,
891 ; Van Beaumont, 288; Van Benson, 911 ; Van Ben-
thusan, ii6, 791 ; Van Benthuysen, 375, 49c, 494, 529,
XXVI 11
INDEX.
699, 700, 701, 935, 938, 954, 956, 970 ; Van Ben-
sci-oten (Van Benbcroten), 854, 855, 873, 874, 877 ;
Van Bergen, 273, 4C6, 413. 777 ; Van Buren, 413, 415, 841 ;
Van Broeckelen, 51 ; Van Brugge, 46, 57, 62 ; Van Brugh,
41, 42, 272, 289, 658 ; Van Buren, 11, 75, 125, 127, 132,
135. 137. 142, 149. 158, 159. 210, 267, 268, 342, 358, 359,
368, 373, 401, 402, 412, 429, 439, 440, 442, 443, 647, 663,
658, 714, 728, 738, 752, 780, 785, 961 ; Van Bylel, 288 ;
Vance, 358, 376, 714 ; Van Campehondt, 966 ; VanCorlaer,
272, 556 ; Van Cleeck, 842 ; Van Corllandt, 261, 288,
289, 662 ; Van Cott, 180, 793 ; Van Courlland, 399 ;
Van Curler, 51, 53, 55, 295, 590; Van Daalston,
829 ; Van Dalston, 832 ; Van Dalssen, 832 ; Van
Dam, 4, 10, 273, 379, 658 ; Van Decar (Van Der-
kee), 870, 879, 882, 985 ; Vandenberg, 620 ; Van De-
mark, 972 ; Vandenberg, 491, 582 ; Van Denmark, 210 ;
Vanderbelt, 543, 900 ; Vanderbilt, 317, 489, 526, 527, 566 ;
Vander Bergh (Van Der Ber^^h, Vanderberg), 401, 402, 412,
420, 777, 846, 849, 899, 907, 931, 932, 934, 935, 940, 962,
993 ; Vander Bogaert, 46 ; Vander Cook, 104, 970 ; Van-
der Donck (Van der Donk), 52, 53, 55, 73, 250, 949 ;
Van Doren, 771 ; Van Dervort, 971 ; Vander Heyde,
272 ; Vanderheyden (Vander Heyden, Van Derheyden),
90, 402, 464, 528, 620, 673, 793, 978, 979, 980; Van-
derhoop, 425 ; Vander Huygens, 54, 55 ; Van Derlip
(Vanderlip), 425, 613, 900 ; Vanderpoel (Van der Poel, Van-
derpool. Van Der Poel, Van Der Poell), 91, 154, 164, 173,
211, 212, 213, 214, 220, 247, 301, 401, 402, 406, 4T2, 415,
420, 444, 477, 614, 788, 832, 841, 842, 847, 848, 849, 851,
854, 858, 902, 910 ; Van derUythof, 272 ; Vanderveer (Van
der Veer, Van Der Veer), 74, 211, 214, 217, 220, 221, 242,
245, 247, 481, 485, 926 ; Van Derwerkeii, 304, 950, 960,
961, 970, 997; Vanderwilliger, 777; Van Der Zee
(Van Deizee, Vanderzee), 89, 90, 91, 103, 104, 119,
IM, 227, 266, 272, 355, 401, 415, 420, 777, 785,
788, 790, 792, 793, 794, 8co. 829, 832, 893, 90s,
934, 939; Van Driessen, 39, 660, 771; Van Deusen,
209, 308, 416, 812, 817, f<20 ; Van Dusen, 127, 213,
';82, 777, 837, 894, 906,931 ; Van Duser, 156 ; Van Duzen,
89, 163 ; Van Dyck, 42, 62, 273, 354, 380, 409, 411, 413,
414, 440, 620, 701, 828, gli, 946; Van Dyke, 358,
376, 916, 917, 919, 934 ; Van Eckkelen, 252, 253 ;
Van Embden, 295 ; Van Eps, 658 ; Van El(en, 355, 899 ;
Van Fleet, 860 ; Van Gaaslweck (Van Gaasbeck), 426, 437.
624, 625 ; Van Guysling, 837, 934 ; Van Hagen, 4O2 ; Van
Hart, 782 ; Van Heusen, 566, 637, 652, 701, 735, 841, 843,
848, 858 ; Van Hoese, 272, 273 ; Van Hoesen, 295, 307,
475, 476, 479, 594 ; Van Hook, 809 ; Van Home, 261 ;
Van Husen, 622 ; Van Huysen, 78, 553, 787, 894, 898, 899,
903 ; Van Ingen, 88, 354, 441, 486, 526, 527, 528 ; Van
iCeuren, 926 ; Van Kleeck, 156, 809, 841, 846 ; Van Liew,
8og ; Van I^euven, 80, 924, 928 ; Van Leyden, 295 ; Van
Loon, 274, 406, 567 ; Van Namn, 708 ; Van Natta, 873,
874 ; Van Nattan, 910 ; Van Munickendam, 51 ; Van Ness
(Vanness, Van Nes), 89, 129, 135, 136, 273, 295, 354, 380,
385, 414, 582 ; Van Nest, 841 ; Van Nostrand, 533 ; Van
Olinda (Van O'Linda, Van Olinde), 93, 94, 95, 97, 213, 272,
376, 420, 422, 899, 904, 905, 931, 932, 935, 936, 939, 940,
950; Van Orden, 354; Van Ostrand, 777; Van Fallen,
304, 354, 587, 840, 841, 842, 844, 845, 846, 851, 987 ; Van
Petten, 273 ; Van Reath, 904 ; Van Rensselaer (Van
Renslaer), 8, 14, 37, 41, 42, 47, 49, 50, 52, 55, 62, 65, 66,
69, 72. 73. 74. 76. 77. 129, 136, 138, 154, 15s, 200, 2IO,
221, 261, 267, 268, 271, 273, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282,
287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 310, 328, 329,
334, 335. 353. 354, 355, 385. 39'. 394, 399, 40i, 402, 403,
407, 408, 410, 412, 413, 416, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 429,
438, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 446, 447, 462, 466, 469, 491,
497, 498, 513, 523, 524, 526, 527, 528, 532, 534, 613, 621,
629, 631, 656, 658, 659, 661, 662, 667, 674, 675, 676,
677, 679, 683, 684, 694, 714, 715, 718, 735, 752, 758, 760,
762, 780, 782, 783, 796, 810, 825, 826, 838, 842, 844, 845,
897. 899, 9'>. 915. 924, 926, 932. 933. 936. 938, 943. 944.
95°. 951. 952. 964, 974, 990. 993 ; Van Sante,
403 ; Van Santford, 448, 479, 613, 614, 637 ;
Van Sanlvoord, 621, 645, 834, 899, 900, 950;
Van Santvoordt, 405, 406, 408, 409 ; Van Schaack, 125,
128, 436 463, 892, 893, S94, goi, 903 ; Van Schaaik, 407,
826 ; Van Schack, 465, 467 ; Van Schaick, 89, 90, 124, 129,
155, 156. 273. 274, 294, 353, 355. 375, 376, 390, 391, 397,
398, 399, 400, 402, 406, 409, 410, 413, 414, 415, 524, 526,
528, 620, 621, 661, 841, 944, .950 ; Van Schelluyne, 69,
288, 403 ; Van Schie, 771 ; Van Schlechtenhorst, 288 ; Van
Schoik, 843 ; Van Schoendenwoert, 659 ; Van Schoonhoven,
355, 523. 95°. 989 ; Van Schwaick, 528 ; Van Slechtenhorst,
55, 56, 57. 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 380, 658, 931 ; Van Slyjk,
273. 355 : Van Slyke, 126, 212, 214, 220, 424, 603, 647,
771 ; Van Sleenterg, 159, 211, 218; Van Tienhoven, 62,
250 ; Van Toper, 467 ; Van Twiller, 2, 46, 47, 55, 59. 67,
288 ; Van Valkenburgh, 200, 325, 355, 402, 526, 6r3, 840,
841, 842, 843, 847, 848, 901, 948 ; Van Vechten, 88, 131,
132. 133. '36, 138. 154. 156, 195. 266, 267, 273, 286, 353,
355. 393. 399. 4': 6, 44°. 44i, 443, 444, 5°°. 502. 519. 526,
S28, 620, 650, 664, 671, 686, 687, 752, 838, 926, 932, 945,
952, 961, 969 ; Van Veghten, 401, 407, 409, 410, 412 ; Van
Vorst, 162, 163, 272, 345, 690; Van Vranken, 212, 214,
402, 412, 417, 931, 935, 940, 945 ; Van Wagenen, 809 ;
Van Wagner, 343 ; Van Waggoner, 841, 842, 849 ;
Van Waggden, 385 ; Van W^eely, 47 ; Van Wely, 55,
288 ; Van Wey, 273 ; Van Wie, 91, 154, 401, 780, 781,
785, 792, 8cc, 817, 841, 843, 869, 894, 901, 906, 944;
Van Will, 777 ; Van Woert, 180, 401, 626 ; Van Wormer,
534, 568, 569, 570, 587, 840, 842, 846, 849, 904 ; Van
Wyck, 310; Van Yansen, 254; Van Zandt, 80, 89, 90,
91, 92, 210, 305, 355, 426, 528, 612, 845, 846, 892, 899,
901, 906, 907, 934. 982 ; Varick, 137 ; Vasser, 533 ;
Vaughn, 402 ; Vedder, 186, 420, S09, 880, 891, 910, 934,
945 ; Veider, 209, 353, 355, 401, 402, 412, 415, 702, 837,
841, 842, 844, 8^5, 846, 847, 848, 849, 855, 894, 898, 900 ;
Veghls, 124 ; Vellencure, 966 ; Verbeck, 272, 295 ; Ver-
beeck, 288 ; Verbrugge, 658 ; Verdi, 228, 229 ; Verhulst,
10, 46 ; Vermilye (Vermilyea), 771, 85o, 969, 970 ; Vetnon,
704, 705 ; Verplanck, 75, 88, 125, 156, 273, 355, 463 ; Ver-
plank, 74, 520, 659, 708, 826, 829, 830, 831, 832, 834, 836,
839, 844, 928, 931 ; Verraline, 862 ; Verrazano, i, 42, 43 ;
Verrazzano, 458 ; Ver Vanger, 614; Vescher, 406 ; Vibbaid,
489.533; Vicher, 973; Viele, 211, 337, 429, 532, 624,
637, 688, 728, 732, 735, 942, 994, 995, 996 ; Viets, 209, 213 ;
Viggers, 480 ; Viller, 708 ; Villeroy, 273; Vincent, 378;
417, 688, 832, 836, 924 ; Vine, 91, 626, 841, 842, 846, 847,
849, 850 ; Vinegar, 566 ; Vinhagen, 273 ; Vint, 737 ; Vin-
ton, 424 ; Virgil, 319, 320, 321 ; Visbeck, 273; Vischer
(Vislier), 129, 156, 302, 355 ; (Visscher), 401, 403,
405, 406, 410, 414, 415, 416, 417, 424, 425, 465,
469, 499, 673, 715, 750, 931, 972 ; Viselaer, 272 ;
\onda, 272, 273; Vonner, 380; Von PuUhammer, Voor-
hees (Voorhuyse), 102, 118, 119, 154, 212, 401, 439, 784, 894,
902, 908 ; Vores, 895 ; Vose, 568, 613 ; Vosburgh, 125, 127,
154, 273, 355, 402, 440, 521, 636, 637, 63S, 716, 717, 850 ;
Vrooman (Vroman), 90, 154, 2C9, 355, 410, 418, 647, 704,
777, 779, 784. 792, 795, 832, 834, 839, 841, 844, 845, 848,
849, 872, 891, 906, 928, 945, 986.
Van Aemam & Steiner, 854 ; Van Allen & Henry,
554 ; Van Alstyne & Son, 637 ; Van Aimes & Chase, 634 ;
Van Benschoten & Warner, 854, 855 ; Van Benthuysen &
Co., 701 ; Van Benthuysen & Wood, 375, 700, 701 ; Van
Bonghee & Son, 924 ; Van Buren, 647 ; Vance & Wendell,
376; Van Gaasbeck & Co., A. B., 624; Van Heusen &
Charles, 325, 637, 701 ; Van Rensselaer & Co., 613 ; Van
Santford & Anable, 637 ; Van Santford & Co., A., 645 ;
Van Santford & Eaton, 448, 613 ; Van Schaick & Co., J."
B., 376 ; Van Slyke & Co., 603, 647 ; Van Valkenburgh &
Co., J. B., 613 ; Van Valkenburgh & Co., S.M., 624 ; Van
Wormer & Co., J., 569 ; Van Wormer & McGarrey, 568,
569; Van Wormer & Sons, C, 587: Virgil & Rice,
320 ; Vose & Co., 568 ; Vroman & Co., S., 647.
Waas, 743 ; Wachbum, 923 ; Wachter, 652 ; Wacker-
hagen, 581, 772, 811 ; Wade, 80, 154, 210, 211, 664, 681,
935 ; Wademan, 785, 872, 902, 910 ; Wadhams, 154, 671,
728, 729, 753, 754, 757 ; Wadsworth, 182, 493, 524, 971 ;
Wager, 378, 934, 950, 957, 964, 967, 970, 989, 995 ;
Wagoner, 154, 401, 584, 763, 772, 780, 785, 817, 832, 841,
842, 846, 847, 849, 850, 893, 907, 908 ; Whalen, 476 ; Waine,
329, 613 ; Waite, 178, 355, 376, 521 ; Wait, 170, 558, 742,
920 ; Wakeman, 957, 992 ; Watbeck, 400 ; Walch, 754, 834
944 ; Walden, 631, 803, 804, 805 ; Waldman, 519, 621 ■
Waldo, 226 ; Waldiidge, 311 ; Waldron, 355, 635, 829 832'
833. 840, 842, 846, 847, 848, 863, 914, 961 ; Walford, 681',
884 ; Walker, 77, 375, 421, 429, 477, 526, 529, 530, 557,
INDEX.
559, 6ii, 621, 626, 632, 636, 637, 643, 647, 663, 742,
842, 847, 848, 849, 850, 851, 871, 882, 960 ; Wallace, 90,
91, 154, 226, 376, 424, 596, 787, 974 ; Wallack, 704 ; Wal-
len, 600 ; Waller, 210, 213 ; Walley, 785, 793 ; Walls, 305 ;
Walsh, 100, 154, 304, 425, 477, 524, 526, 528, 558, 587,
621, 639, 664, 672, 754, 755, 757, 987 ; Walshe, 154 ;
Walters, 186, 599 ; Wallon, 683 ; Waltmeyer, 393 ; Wal-
worth, 341, 592, 677, 680, 753 ; Wandell, 901, 977, 979,
980, 984, 986; Wands, 77, 89, 92, 94, 104, 211, 212, 788,
789, 793, 855, 892, 893. 894, 902, 903, 904, 905 ; Waoler-
hagen, 573 ; Ward, 90, 103, 106, 116, 154, 212, 216, 220,
221, 223, 224, 238, 239, 284, 342, 344, 365, 394, 448, 476,
481, 485, 500, 567, 613, 642, 677, 690, 691, 710, 819, 841,
841, 842, 848, 854, 924, 926, 928, 985 ; Warden, 689, 988 ;
Wardwell, 657 ; Warford, 154, 980, 987 ; Warmg, 331, 812 ;
Warker, 526 ; Warmington, 426, 782 ; Warner, 5, 89, 92,
93. 98, 233. 3''6, 394. 399. 4°!. 420, 527, 602, 713, 750,
801, 804, 809, 810, 811, 813, 814, 817, 819, 854, 855, 872,
873, 879, 881 ; Warnck, 872, 873, 874, 875^ S79, 900, 901 ;
Warring, 159 ; Wairen, 205, 210, 213, 214, 336, 342, 420,
477, 553. 558, 613, 637, 705, 742, 743, 788, 790, 875, 893,
954, 906, 963, I 75, 990 : Warrington, 426 ; Warl, 7; Wash-
burn, 154, 535. 587, 613, 621, 634, 749, 927, 980, 989, 995 ;
Washington, 290, 304, 394, 396, 400, 405, 418, 429 ; Wasler,
706 ; Wasserbach, 211 ; Wasson, 92, 319, 321, 333, 376, 378,
438, 4S0, 513, 568, 574, 729 ; Waterbury, 154, 266, 641,
679, 680, 914, 916, 926, 935 ; Waterman, 156, 479, 485,
592, 624, 632, (339, 699, 732, 735, 934, 936, 942, 945, 957,
966, 967, 974, 977 ; Waters, 414, 671, 777, 781, 880; Wat-
icins, 735 ; Watson, 9, 76, 78, 88, 155, 281, 300, 310, 355,
507, 509, 523, 524, 528, 535, 592, 599, 624, 639. 646, 694,
760, 810, 817, 850, 88i, 913, 916, 920, 970; Watt, 77;
Watts, 262, 523, 719, 962; Way, 519, 874, 945; Way-
land, 749 ; Waugh, 993, 997 ; Wayne, 292, 597, 598,
607, 893, 894, 902, 904, 906 ; Weatherby, 635 ; Weather-
head, 626; Weatherwax, 321, 527, 854, 935 ; Weaver, 98,
ICO, loi, 102, 103, u8, 345, 479, 592, 612, 728, 841, 842,
844, 847, 850, 906, 924, 931, 944, 982 ; Webb, 500, 516,
531. 545. 55«. 571. 621, 637, 718, 743, 749, 764, 970;
Weber, no, 120, 559, 743, 973 ; Webber, 706 ; Webster, 209,
220, 318, 335, 34c, 358, 367, 371, 372, 375, 376, 419, 448, 500,
533. 534. 567, 611, 650, 667, 692, 695, 700, 702, 944, 981 ;
Wedell62I ; Weddin, 751 ; Weed, 142, 144, 356, 358, 359,
361, 372. 373. 374. 376, 377, 37«, 421, 424. 425. 5^1.
529, 589, 596, 617 ; Weed, 679, 687, 701, 702, 704, 743, 768,
806, 860; Weeden, 926 ; Weeks, 995 ; Weems, 4, 386 ; Weld-
man, 72, 212, 526, 621, 630, 631, 632, 801, 802, 804,
805, 808, 809,810, 813,814,818,820,823, 9C6, 923,927,
961, 968, 970 ; Weiger, 402 ; Weir, 586, 737, 968 ; Weise,
I, 43 ; Weiser, 38 ; Weitzel, 842, 851, 870 ; Welch, 90, 92,
191, 211, 334, 342, 613, 638, 650, 675, 749, 750, 941, 988 ;
Weld, 539; Weller, 568; Welles, 281; Wellington, 210,
562 ; Wells, 134, 154, 318, 319, 320, 321, 323, 337,
355, 359. 566, 567, 705, 719, 785, 940, 961, 962 ; Welton,
769 ; Wemp, 295, 348 ; Wemple, 93, 108, IC9, 156, 475,
477, 478, 529, 728. 793. 800, 901 ; Wendel, 273, 385 ;
Wendell, 41, 42, 107, in, 112, 113, 125, 133, 154, 155,
209, 213, 267, 272, 325, 355, 356, 358, 370, 377, 401, 403,
405, 406, 407, 409, 410, 412, 415, 440, 442, 462, 466, 471,
474, 491, 517, 531, 532, 581, 601, 602, 603, 620, 621, 635,
640, 641, 653, 654, 659, 667, 671, 675, 709, 722, 932, 940;
Wendt, 643 ; Wentz, 677 ; Wenz, 643 ; Wenlen, 420 ,
Werles, 744 ; Werner, 378, 736, 820, 872, 874, 880 ;
Wessel, 273; Wcssells, 386, 464, 658, 659; Wessels, 41,
274, 385, 462, 463; West, 355, 441, 657, 812, 817, 820,
911, 920; Westbrook, 165, 190; Wcstcott, 599, 962,
963 ; Westerlo. 79, 80, 262, 267, 290, 441, 524, 679,
771, 921, 939; Weslervelt, 211, 784, 800, 834; West-
fall, 784, 788, 810, 817, 842, 843, 869, 899, 906,
956, 957, 958 ; Weston, 172, 308 ; Wetherbee, 791 ;
Westveer, 900, 926 ; Wetzel, 512 ; Wetzell, 344, 773 ; Wha
len, 476, 478, 305 ; Wharlon, 640, 648 ; Wlieaton, 138,
'144, 145, 149, 156, 197, 342, 355, 440, 923, 926 ; Wheeler,
92, 96, 98, ICO, loi, 102, 103, 210, 239, 273, 321, 346, 355,
441, 573, 600, 602, 652, 708, 740, 906, 928, 971, 972, 974,
977, 989; Wheelock, 39, 40, 188, 679; Whelan, 751;
Whelpley, 89, 91 ; Whetsell, 841 ; Whipple, 73, 355, 399,
494, 495, 496, 513, 613, 802, 805, 810, 817, 818, 823, 849,
870, 872, 873, 877, 882 ; Whilcr, 908 ; Whitbeck, 88, 90,
91, 92, 93, 266, 355, 572, 708, 709, 826, 827, 828, 832,
835, 839, 840 ; Whitcomb, 604 ; White, 90, 91, 92, 103,
104, 209, 212, 235, 321, 345, 378, 4c6, 409, 412, 416, 420,
474. 521, 531, 533. 534. 557. 559. 5^5, 592, 611, 612, 614,
618, 619, 621, 622, 623, 624, 635, 642, 650, 685, 699, 732,
752, 788, 805, 817, 818, 820, 842, 847, 849, 861, 870, 871,
872, 873, 879, 906, 907, 912, 914, 915, 918, 938, 944, 948,
951, 952, 957, 960, 962, 964, 968, 969, 970, 971, 987, 997 ;
Whitehall, 973 ; Whitehead, 593, 791, 825 ; Whiteman,
1 18, 485, 828 ; Whiteside, 355 ; Whitfield, 996 ; Whiting,
355, 375. 563 ; Whitlesey, 373 ; Whitlock, 613, 614 ; Whit-
man, ic6, 109, 116; Whitmore, 154; Whitney, 429, 438,
549, 621, 623, 624, 708, 718, 742, 744, 996; Whittaker,
338 ; Whittingham, 762 ; Whittle, 335 ; Whittlesy, 142 ;
Whitty, 92, 93, 98 ; Whitwell, 972, 973 ; Wilbor, 377 ;
Wickham, 587, 592, 593, 831, 834, 928 ; Wickes, 53, 93,
210, 279, 916, 952 ; Wickoff, 952 ; Widdman, 716 ; Wider-
hofer, 244 ; Widdow, 272 ; Widmer, 905 ; Wiedman, 626 ;
Wilbeck, 907, 989 ; Wilber, 872 ; Wilbore, 841, 844 ;
Wilbur, 211, 219, 230, 613, 623, 873, 874 ; Wilcox, 89, 346,
402, 545, 625, 755, 817, 962 ; Wild, 19, 533, 952, 953, 968 ;
Wilda, 420; Wilday, 817; Wilder, 526, 611, 621, 719,
870, 871, 955, 963 ; Wiles, 474, 475, 739, 744 ; Wiley, 112,
"3, "5, 355, 564, 639 ; Wilgns, 977, 989 ; Wilkes, 92, 93,
136, 793 ; Wilkins, 92, 842, 848, 849 ; Wilkinson, 8, 154,
343, 421, 57,2, 701, 946, 951, 960; Wilks, 420; Willard,
179, 205, 209, 211, 213, 214, 215, 236, 266, 441, 526, 571,
655, 729, 813, 820. 971, 988 ; Wilier, 127 ; Willes, 88, 89, 355,
556, 685, 789, 804, 817, 818 ; Willett, 6, 355, 396, 397, 603,
671, 708 ; Williams, 7, 88, 121, 136, 148, 156, 209, 213, 215,
273. 355. 373. 3**9. 4oi, 407. 414, 420, 527. 532, 534, 537, 589,
603, 604, 613, 621, 636, 639, 641, 691, 699, 702, 715. 725,
734. 744, 750. 764, 769. 785. 800, 802, 833, 847, 848, S70,
871, 872, 873, 874, 877, 879, 880, 882, 886, 912, 934, 956,
958, 960, 962, 967, 969, 970, 972, 973, 977, 989, 991 ; Wil-
liamson, 406, 428, 559, 586, 772, 870, 871, 872, 873, 938 ;
Willinglon, 213 ; Willis, 784, 828, 834, 835, 839 ; Williscon,
913 ; Willsey, 803, 822, 817, 8iS, 835, 907 ; Wilson, 170,
210, 211, 214, 230, 247, 304, 305, 306, 333, 334, 343, 376,
420, 424, 474, 475, 477. 521. 526, 527, 532, 557, 577, 582,
600, 613, 620, 625, 626, 630, 634, 636, 638, 641, 642, 673,
690, 694, 699, 715, 730, 759, 760, 784, 817, 839, 849, 855,
879, 907, 926, 934, 96a, 967, 989 ; Wiltsie, 211, 777, 780, 785,
789, 792, 796, 797, 800, 829, 832, 835, 837, 839, 910, 911,
924, 928 ; Wimple, 92 ; Winans, 914, 919, 969 ; Winants,
88, 744 ; Winantsc, 463 ; Winegar, 882, 924, 926 ; Wingar,
914 ; Wing, 2C9, 213, 214, 215, 240, 355, 533, 626, 640,
645 ; Wingate, 843 ; Wink, 743 ; Winne, 42, 74, 93, 94,
119, 120, 127, 156, 210, 211, 212, 272, 273, 336, 355,
401, 416, 437, 477, 486, 492, 500, 526, 528, 534, 553, 613,
621, 634, 677, 690, 708, 709, 714, 732, 735, 769, 777, 781,
784, 785, 793, 793, 797, 798, 799, 800, 812, 817, 840,
841, 842, 843, 847, 874, 892, 893, 9DI, 905, 906,
9'2, 931, 933, 934, 945, 952, 981, 984, 987, 995 ;
Winslow, 46, 389, 537, 540, 541, 572, 637, 648 ; Winston,
80, 903, 904, 906, 910, 923, 925, 926 ; Winterbum, 574 ; Win-
thtop, 381, 385, 657 ; Wise, 120, 626, 627, 763 ; Wiswall,
975, 989, 991 ; Witbeck, 74, 154, 173, 211, 283, 401, 402,
797, 829, 830, 831, 832, 834, 835, 836, 905, 922, 928, 932,
934, 935, 939, 94"-, 95', 948, 975, 977, 987, 992, 997;
Witherwax, 843, 852, 869 ; Withford, 847 ; Witlock, 615 ;
Witmarsh, 987 ; Witsen, 775 ; Witter, 8i8, 854, 870, 871,
872, 873, 874, 879, 880, 881, 883 ; Witters, 91 ; Woglom,
272; Wolcott, 489; Wolcutt, 42; Wolenman, 643; Wolf,
632, 840 ; Wolfe, 154, 708, 716, 746,834 ; Wolfenden, 750;
Wolford, 91, 92, 152, 155, 355, 818, 841, 870, 871, 874, 913,
937 ; Wolfinger, 613 ; Wolverton, 516 ; Wood, 90, 109, 118,
119, 120, 154, 212, 268, 308, 323, 341, 342, 343, 355, 375,
370, 377, 439. 440, 441, 513, 53'. 544, 559, 573. 574. 584,
621, 626, 632, 635, 684, 687, 6q2, 699, 700, 701, 703, 708,
734. 735. 737, 758, 761, 769, 790, 79'. 793. 801, 804, 806,
808, 810, 817, 822, 823, 842, 848, 849, 861, 872, 874, 881,
894, 934. 906. 913, 924, 957, 962, 972, 980, 984, 987, 996, 997;
Woodbury, 901 ; Woodford, 448 ; Woodhall, 425, 710, 711 ;
Woodi-uff, 147, 206, 207, 2og, 213, 477, 637, 665, 668,
768 ; Woods, 156,355; 981; Woodward, 209, 212, 231,
234, 376, 581 ; Woodworth, 134, 261, 267, 406, 413, 416, 443,
524, 526, 843, 844 ; Wool, 8, 420, 421, 422, 715 ; Wool-
cotl, 399 ; Wooley, 336, 474, 475, 744, 941 ; Woolford (see
Wolford) ; WooUctt, 728, 740, 741, 997 ; Woolworth, 266,
268, 679 ; Woolverton, 561, 605, 623, 625, 626 ; Wooster,
89, io6, 108, 109, 1 10, 112, 394, 533, 570, 592, 599, 632,
639, 724, 735, 740, 923, 928 ; Worcester, 744 ; Wor-
INDEX.
den, 212, 541, 938; Wordsworth, 443, 738; Wormer,
777, 810, 842, 844, 848, 850, 851, 90Z ; Worth, 8,
207, 421, 422, 433, 508, 529, 714, 941 ; Worthen,
952, Worthington, 690, 982 ; Wright, 11, 21, 91, 112, 154,
ISS. 159. 211, 282, 339, 358, 385, 427, 443, 499, 516, 531,
581, 584, 632, 639, 640, 642, 647, 679, 698, 722, 740, 763,
764, 785, 812, 816, 817, 820, 850, 854, 863, 894, 901, 903,
905, 906, 925, 963 ; Wurmer, 841 ; Wurts, 330 ; Wyatt,
733 ; Wyckoff', 209, 211, 342, 343, 622, 771, 938, 951, 961,
g8i, 983, 984'; Wygant, 322, 385; Wylie, 642, 726;
Wyman, 834 ; Wynant, 940 ; Wyncoop, 54, 641 ; Wyngar,
790.
Waine & Andrews, 613 ; Walker & Pratl, 632 ; Walker &
Williams, 960 ; Walsh & Co., D., 621 ; Walsh, J. H. & E.
A., 587 ; Walsh & Son, W. E., 634 ; Ward & Derby, 613 ;
Ward & Sons, J. C, 613 ; Wardell & Bordwell, 637 ; War-
ner & Hooker, 376 ; Warren Bros., 990 ; Warren & Sons,
613; Warren, Wilbur & Co., 613; Washburn &Knower, 621;
Waterbury & Jones, 647 ; Waterman & Bennett, 632 ; \Vater-
man & Son, J., 639 ; Weaver & Co., W. H., 612 ; Webb &
Co., H. & C, 636 ; Webb & Dummer, 621, 636 ; Webster,
C. R. & G., 372, 375, 650 ; -Webster & Skinner, 372, 373
700; Webster & Wood, 376 ; Weed, Becker & Co., 806
Weed, Dawson & Co., 377 ; Weed & Parsons, 701 ; Weed
Parsons & Co., 378, 701 ; Weller, Goodwin & Adams, 568
Wells, Butterfield & Co., 319 ; Wells & Co., 319, 321
Wendell & Co., C. E., 601, 635 ; Wendell & Co., Wm.
640 ; Wendell & Fellham, 641 ; Wendell & Jenkins, 621
Wendell & Trotter, 620 ; Wendell & Roberts, 641 ; Wenz &
Co., J., 643 ; Wheaton, Doolittle & Hadley, 197 ; Wheeler
& Bromley, 652 ; Wheeler, Melick & Co., 573 ; White &
Co., 612, 618 ; White & Co., D. & L., 612, 618 ; While, J.
J. & E.M., 623 ; While, Ljveland & Co., 612, 618 ; White
& Moir, 612, 618; White, Olmstead & Co., 951 ; While &
Sons, J., 621, 623, 624 ; While & Sons, J. G., 557 ; White-
head & Bro., 837 ; Whiting, Backus & Whiting, 375 ; Whit-
lock & Fassett, 614 ; Whitney & Co., W. M., 621, 624 ; Wick
& Strong, 602 ; Wiedman & Kelly, 626 ; Wilbur cS: Co., 623 ;
Wilbur & Son, N. R., 613 ; Wilder, Hastings & Co., 621 ;
Wiley & Bro., 639; Williams & Co., C. P., 613 ; Williams,
Parke & Co., 603 ; Williams, Ryan & James, 958 ; Wil-
liamson & Sons, J., 559 ; Wilson & Badgley, 630 ; Wilson
& Co., 557 ; Wilson & Co., M. E., 960 ; Wilson & Gross,
642 ; Wilson, Lansing & Co., 626 ; Wilson & Monteath, 626,
630 ; Wilson, Rathbnne & Chapin, 625 ; Wilson & Son, J.,
641 ; Wilson & Son, J. & S., 376, 6oo ; Wilson, Thorburn &
Keller, 334 ; Wing Sons & Co., A., 626, 645 ; Winne &
Co., 492 ; Winne & Gamsey, 621 ; Winslow & Co., 572 ;
Winslow, Griswold & HoUey, 541 ; Witbeck & Jones, 992 ;
Wolenman & Lochner, 643 ; Wood & Acres, 621 ; Wood,
Pierce & Co., 957 ; Wood & Co., D. S., 559 ; Wood, J. S.
& B., 377 ; Woodward & Hill, 581 ; Woodward & Packard,
376; Woolverton & Co., 605 ; Woolverlon & Co., G. A.,
623 ; Wooster & Co., B. W., 639 ; Wooster & Co., F., 632 ;
Wright & Anderson, 639 ; Wright & Co., N., 581 ; Wyn-
gaard, 252 ; Wynkoop, 129, 491, 620.
Yagger, 837 ; Yates, 7, II, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132,
)J4, 154, 155, 156, 210, 212, 213, 262, 267, 269, 272, 353,
355. 368, 39°. 397> 401, 403. 405. 406, 407, 408, 409, 410,
411, 412, 413, 415, 418, 436, 437, 438, 440, 442, 446, 467,
468, 469, 472, 473, 497, 524, 528, 529, 534, 640, 662, 665,
669, 674, 677, 679, 704, 709, 718, 750, 763, 771, 944, 961,
985, 994 ; Yeardsley, 427, 935 ; Yerks, 643 ; Yetts, 125 ;
Young, II, 109, no, 112, 113, 115, 116, 142, 150, 154, 156,
210, 211, 214, 'zi8, 266, 269, 274, 280, 323, 355, 373, 406,
411, 413, 433, 443> 464, 474, 524> £26, 527, 533, 534, 613,
621, 667, 674, 677, 704, 712, 729, 743, 747, 769, 802, 816,
852, 879, 880, 881, 892, 893, 899, 900, 905, 911, 912, 919,
931, 980; Younger, 562 ; Youngs, 848, 874, 915 ; Young-
love, 355, 937, 938, 951, 952, 967, 968 ; Youngman, 635,
728.
Yates & Mclntyre, 472 ; Young & Ehle, 621 ; Younglove
& Co., T. G , 937 ; Yuck & Norris, 837.
z
Zandl, 810 ; Zea, 855 ; 7^h, 103, 104, 801, 802, 804, 805,
809, 810, 811, 812, 817, 820, 879; Zeigler, 828; Zeil-
man, 712 ; Zeiser, 716 ; Zeller, 652 ; Zimmerman, 355, 479,
583, 612, 716 ; Zinger, 4 ; Zinck, 906.
SCHENECTADY COUNTY, N. Y.
ALBANY COUNTY, N. Y.
OUTLINE HISTORY
STATE OF NEV/ YORK
REVISED AND CORRECTED BY PROF. JONATHAN TENNEY, PH.D.
CHAPTER I.
DISCOVERY OF NEW YORK THE INDIANS OF THE FIVE
NATIONS.
IN 1524, John de Verazzano, a Florentine naviga-
tor in the service of Francis I. of France, made
a voyage to the North American coast, and, as is
beheved from the account which he gave, entered
the harbor of New York. No colonies were plant-
ed ; no results followed ; and the voyage was
almost forgotten.
Though discoveries and settlements were made
by the French north from this point, and colonies
were planted by the English farther to the south, it
is not known that New York was again visited by
Europeans till 1609,* when the Dutch East India
Company sent Henry Hudson, an Englishman
by birth, on a voyage of discovery, in a vessel
called the Half Moon. He reached the coast of
Maine, sailed thence to. Cape Cod, then south-
westerly to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay ; then,
coasting northward, he entered Delaware Bay, on
the 28th of August. From thence he proceeded
northward, and on the 3d of September, I609,
* And yet there is abundant evidence from the older French, Spanish
and Italian writers of the frequent visits of French traders to that part
of America lying between the northeastern part of Florida and the
coast of Newfoundland, and even up the Hudson River to Cohoes
Falls. This view is confirmed by the map of Visconte de Maiollo of
Genoa, in 1527, where the territory above named is clearly shown by a
boundary line and the arms of France, with the name of Francesca
designating it, and capes and headlands all along the coast indicated
and named : by the map of Gerard Mercator, made in Duisburg in 1569,
where the Hudson River is shown to the north of the junction of the
Mohawk: and by the map in the " Cosmographie Universelle" of
Andre Thcvet, printed in Paris in 1575, where the Hudson River is
shown as in the map of Mercator above mentioned. The very name
of this section of the country, Norumbega, is doubtless of French
origin, being a corruption of " L'anorme berge," "the great rock
ledpe, or escarpment," now called the Palisades. For these facts and
for an examination of the maps mentioned, I am greatly indebted to the
late work of Mr. A. J. Weise, entitled, " Discoveries of America to
G. R. H.
anchored in New York Bay. On the 12 th he en-
tered the river that bears his name, and proceeded
slowly up to a point just above the present site of
the City of Hudson ; thence he sent a boat's crew
to explore farther up, which probably passed above
Albany. September 23d he set sail down the
river, and started on his return to Europe, Oc-
tober 4th.
In 1609 Samuel Champlain, a French navigator,
sailed up the St. Lawrence, explored its tributaries,
and on the 4th of Jul)', in thatj'ear, discovered the
lake which bears his name.
At the time of the discovery of New York by the
whites, the southern and eastern portions were in-
habited by the Mohegan Indians ; while that por-
tion west from the Hudson River was occupied by
five confederate tribes, afterwards named by the
English the Five Nations, by the French the
Iroquois, and by themselves called Hodenosaunee
— people of the Long House. The Long House
formed by this confederacy extended east and west
through the State, having, at its eastern portal, the
Mohawks, and at its western the Senecas ; while
between them dwelt the Oneidas, Onondagas, and
Cayugas ; and, after 17 14, a sixth nation, the
Tuscaroras, southeast from Oneida Lake. Of
these Indians, Parkman says that at the commence-
ment of the seventeenth centur}-, " in the region
now forming the State of New York, a power was
rising to a ferocious vitality, which, but for the
presence of Europeans, would probably have sub-
jected, absorbed, or exterminated every other In-
dian community east of the Mississippi and north
of the Ohio."
"The Iroquois was the Indian of Indians. A
thorough savage, yet a finished and developed
savage, he is. perhaps, an example of the highest
elevation which man can reach without emerging
from his primitive condition of the hunter. A geo-
graphical position, commanding, on the one hand,
2
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
the portal of the great lakes, and, on the other,
the sources of the streams flowing both to the
Atlantic and the Mississippi, gave the ambitious
and aggressive confederates advantages which they
perfectly understood and by which they profited to
the utmost. Patient and politic as they were fe-
rocious, they were not only the conquerors of their
own race, but the powerful allies and the dreaded foes
of the French and English colonies ; flattered and
caressed by both, yet too sagacious to give them -
selves without reserve to either. Their organiza-
tion and their history evince their intrinsic superior-
ity. Even their traditionary lore, amid its wild
puerilities, shows at times the stamp of an energy
and force in striking contrast with the flimsy crea-
tions of Algonquin fancy. That the Iroquois,
left under their own institutions, would ever have
developed a civilization of their own, I do not be-
lieve."
These institutions were not only characteristic
and curious, but almost unique. Without sharing
Morgan's almost fanatical admiration for them, or
echoing the praises which Parkman lavishes on
them, it may be truly said that their wonderful and
cohesive confederation furnished a model worthy to
be copied by civiHzed nations ; while, so long as
they were uncontaminated by the vices of ci\iliza-
tion, they possessed, with all their savagery, many
noble traits of character, which would adorn any
people in their public, social, or domestic rela-
tions.
They made themselves the dreaded masters of all
their neighbors east of the Mississippi, and carried
their victorious arms far to the north, the south
and the easL Their dominance is thus eloquently
pictured in Street's " Frontenac " :
" The fierce Adirondacs had fled from their wrath,
The Hurons been swept from their merciless p ith ;
Around, the Ottawas, like leaves, had been strewn.
And the lake of the Eries struck silent and lone.
The Lenape, lords once of valley and hill.
Made women, bent low at their conqueror's will.
By the far Mississippi the Illini shrank
When the trail of the Tortoise was seen on the bank ;
On the hills of New England the Pequod turned pale
When the howl of the Wolf swelled at night on the gale ;
And the Cherokee shook in his green, smiling bowers.
When the foot of the Bear stamped his carpet of flowers."
It will hereafter be seen that the Iroquois acted
an important part in the early history of the
State.
Space will not permit a description of their
league, or confederation, a sketch of their tribal re-
lations, and their religious, social, and domestic
customs, or a history of their warlike achievements.
Nor is it necessary. Every one has heard or read
the story.
CHAPTER II.
NEW YORK UNDER THE DUTCH ENGLISH GOVERNORS
TO 1765.
IN 1 6 10, another vessel was sent from Holland to
trade with the natives. Soon after others fol-
lowed. A small fort and a few rude buildings
were erected at the southern extremity of Manhat-
tan Island, in 161 2, and the place was named New
Amsterdam. In 16 14. the Stales General of Hol-
land granted a charter to the merchants engaged in
these expeditions, under the title of United New
Netherlands Company, giving exclusive privileges
of trade for four years. The Hudson River had
been ascended by Hendrick Corstiaenssen, and
in 1623 a fort and trading house were erected on
the east bank of the river about fifteen leagues above
Manhattan Island, called Fort Nassau. This was
the first of four forts built by the Dutch on the
Hudson River, all of which were erected in the
same year.*
In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was
chartered, and in 1623, a small fort was built near
the Hudson River, in what is now the City ot
Albany, called Fort Orange, and traders were sent
to occupy and to carry on traffic in furs and peltry
with the Indians. In 1626, Peter Minuit, as direc-
tor-general of the province, arri\ed with other set-
tlers, and purchased the island of Manhattan from
the Indians for trinkets valued at about I24. In
1629, the Company offered grants and privileges
to patroons who should found settlements in the
province of New Netherlands of fifty or more
adults. Several availed themselves of this offer.
In 1632, Minuit was recalled and Wouter Van
Twiller appointed in his place. During his ad-
ministration a controversy concerning jurisdiction
was commenced between the Dutch and the Eng-
lish. The latter claimed the country on the ground
of prior discovery by Cabot and the grant of James
I. covering the territory.
In 1638, the weak and rapacious Van Twiller
was succeeded in the government of the colony by
William Kieft. Hostilities, long and merciless,
occurred with the Indians, for which the rash and
* ITie first Dutch traders on their arrival at the present site of
Albany, found the remains of a fort or chateau on Castle Island, took
measuremenis of it (which are recorded on an old map in the New
York State Library) and called it Fort Nassau, but they at that time
built no fort there. The old fort on Castle Island, which suggested the
name for the island itself, was undoubtedly the relic of a previous oc-
cupation by the French as a tradng port. The name of Fort Orange,
a fort on the mainland at the foot of Slate Street, Albany, was on
September i, 1673, changed to Fort Nassau, and the name of the settle-
ment Beverwyck to Willemstadt- G R H
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
cruel Kieft was deservedly censured. He was re-
called, and succeeded by the sturdy and honest
Peter Stuyvesant, in 1647. Controversy concern-
ing jurisdiction and general disorders troubled
his administration, till, ■ in 1 664, Charles II. of
England, regardless of the claims of the Dutch,
granted to his brother, the Duke of York and
Albany, afterwards James II., the whole country
from the Connecticut to the Delaware, including
the entire Dutch possessions. A fleet was sent
under Col. Richard Nicollsbythe Duke, to enforce
his claim, and on the 3d of September, 1664, the
provirice was surrendered without bloodshed, and
the government of New Netherlands passed into
the hands of the English.
Col. Nicolls at once assumed the functions of
governor ; the name New Amsterdam was changed
to New York, and Fort Orange to Albany ; laws
for the government of the province were prescribed,
and courts for their administration established. In
1668, the unpopular Nicolls resigned, and was suc-
ceeded by the odious Col. Francis Lovelace. Eng-
land soon became involved in a war with Holland.
July 30, 1673, ^6w York surrendered to the Dutch
without resistance. Capt. Anthony Colve became
Dutch governor ; but on the conclusion of peace
between" the two powers, February 9, 1674, the
province, by treaty, reverted to the English. A
new patent was issued to James, confirming the
first, and Sir Edmund Andros was commissioned
governor. The despotic agent of a despotic ruler,
he was unpopular, and became involved in diffi-
culties with the neighboring colonies. He was re-
called, and Thomas Dongan, his successor, ar-
rived August, 1683. October 17th of the same
year, the first Colonial Assembly was convened ;
many needed reforms were instituted, counties were
erected, and better times appeared to have dawned.
The most important act of this Assembly was the
adoption of a charter of liberties and privileges, or
bill of rights. The hopes thus raised were soon
disappointed. On the accession of James II. to
the English throne, in 1685, he refused confirma-
tion of the privileges which had been granted while
he was Duke of York, prohibited the Assembly,
forbade the establishment of a printing press in ihe
colony, and filled the principal offices in the prov-
ince with partisan Roman Catholics. During
Dongan's administration, a war broke out between
the Iroquois and the French. The country of the
former had been invaded by De la Barre and M.
Denonville successively ; and, in retaliation, the Iro-
quois, twelve hundred strong, fell upon the French
on the south side of the island of Montreal,
" burned their houses, sacked their plantations,
and put to the sword all the men, women and chil-
dren without the skirts of the town. A thousand
French were slain in this invasion, and twenty-six
were carried into captivity and burned alive." The
French yielded their claim to the territory south of
Lake Ontario, and peace returned.
In 1688, New York was placed in the same
jurisdiction with New England ; the liberal Dongan
was recalled, and Francis Nicholson temporarily
succeeded him. The arbitrary and foolish King
James II. abdicated in 1688, and in 1689 William
and Mary ascended the English throne. Sir Ed-
mund Andros was seized at Boston, and the
popular Jacob Leisler held the fort at New York,
awaiting the policy of the new sovereigns. During
the two years of Leisler's control, the French and
English made a descent on Schenectady, February
8, 1690, and massacred about sixty of the inhabit-
"ants. The danger by which they were threatened
induced all the people, many of whom were op-
posed to Leisler — to submit to his authority for the
time. On the arrival, in March, 1691, of Col.
Sloughter, who had been commissioned governor,
Leisler was unfairly tried by a special commission,
and unjustly sentenced to death. The governor
refused to sign his death warrant, until over-per-
suaded while intoxicated. Leisler was murdered
by his enemies before the governor had recovered
from his intoxication. Sloughter died after a weak
administration of only a few months.
In August, 1692, Benjamin Fletcher arrived with
a commission as governor. He was narrow, violent,
avaricious and bigoted, and his administration was
a continual exhibition of these qualities.
During his time, the Episcopal Church became
the religion of the province, as the Dutch Reformed
had previously been. In 1696, Wm. Bradford es-
tablished the first printing-office in New York.
Bold piracies, reaching into the very harbor
of the city, crippled the commercial inter-
ests. The war with France raged, and the French
and Indians under Count Frontenac invaded the
country of the Iroquois, killing and taking prison-
ers. The Indians retaliated by hostile incursions
among their enemies, but the peace of Ryswick,
between France and England, in 1697, terminated
these hostilities.
Gov. Fletcher was succeeded in 1698 by Richard,
Earl of Bellomont. He died in 1701, leaving a
name honored for integrity, capacity and sympathy
with the people. In his time the, citizenship and
estate of the Leisler family were restored, and piracy
was checked. John Nanfan succeeded him till the
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
arrival of the next governor, Lord Cornbury, in
1702. The administration of this governor was
chiefly distinguished for reUgious intolerance, dis-
honesty and licentiousness — the -worst governor
under the English regime. He was succeeded, in
1708, by Lord Lovelace, who soon died. Under
Lieut. -Gov. Ingoldsby, who administered the gov-
ernment after his death, an unsuccessful expedition
against Canada was undertaken, and he was re-
moved. June 14, 1710, Gov. Robert Hunter ar-
rived. In 171 1, another disastrous expedition
against Canada was made ; but in 1713, the treaty
of Utrecht terminated the war between England
and France. In 1 7 1 9, Hunter returned to England,
in failing health, and Peter Schuyler was governor,
ad interim, till the arrival of William Burnet in
1720. On the accession of George II. the accom-
plished Burnet was transferred to the government
of Massachusetts, succeeded, in 1728, by John
Montgomerie, who died in 1731. Rip Van Dam,
by virtue of seniority in the council, was his suc-
cessor, till William Cosby, the next governor, be-
gan, in 1732, an administration memorable for its
arbitrary proceedings and tumult, rather than for
striking or important events. The libel trial of
Zenger was in his term.. Cosby died in 1736, and
was succeeded by George Clark, senior counselor
after Van Dam. Clark was commissioned lieutenant
governor in the following October. During his
term, the "negro plot" and the disfranchisement
of the Jews were leading matters. An antagonism
had been growing during some time between the
democratic and the aristocratic parties in the col-
onies. Clark, at first, sought to conciliate both,
but in the end had the confidence of neither, and
his retirement, on the arrival of his successor, Ad-
miral George Clinton, in 1743, was little regretted.
The administration of Governor Clinton was
characterized by a continual conflict with the peo-
ple, represented in the provincial Assembly. Un-
able by repeated prorogations and dissolutions to
coerce them into submission, he resigned after an
administration of ten years, and was succeeded, in
1753, by Sir Danvers Osborne. After an adminis-
tration of a few days he committed suicide by hang-
ing, deranged, probably because of the embarrass-
ment by which he was surrounded and domestic
grief. He was succeeded by Lieut. -Gov. James
De Lancey, till the arrival, in 1755, of Sir Charles
Hardy, who. though nominally governor, surren-
dered the duties of the office into the hands of De
Lancey. Gov. Hardy resigned in 1757, and De
Lancey became governor. He died in 1760, and
Cadwallader Colden, president of the council, took
charge of the government until October, 1761,
when Gen. Robert Monckton assumed the guber-
natorial functions ; but on the 13th of the follow-
ing month he left the administration of affairs in the
hands of Colden, and went on an expedition against
Martinique. Colden's administration continued
till 1765.
CHAPTER in.
WAR WITH FRANCE AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE
REVOLUTION.
AS early as 1722, a trading post was established at
Oswego by Gov. Burnet, with the view of
establishing others farther west on the lakes, and se-
curing the trade of the western Indians. To inter-
cept this, and secure this trade for themselves, the
French established a post and erected a fort at Ni-
agara, with the design of extending a chain of
military posts to the Ohio River, and thus limiting
the English trade.
In March, 1744, war was declared between
France and England, in which the colonies of New
York and New England participated. During its
continuance the country north from Albany was
frequently ravaged by parties of French and In-
dians. Saratoga was burned, and nearly all the in-
habitants either killed or made prisoners, and the
village of Hoosic taken.
In 1746, an unsuccessful expedition against
Canada was undertaken, for which the colony of
New York furnished sixteen hundred men. Peace
was concluded at Aix La Chapelle in 1748, and a
period of nominal tranquillity followed, though the
frontier was desolated by savage parties, encouraged
by the French.
In i755>with the view of checking their en-
croachments, four expeditions were sent against
them, two of which were in the colony of New
York. One of them, that against Niagara, under
Gov. William Shirley, was unsuccessful ; and the
other, against Crown Point, under Sir Wm. John-
son, achieved only a partial success.
It was not till 1756 that the English ministry
aroused from its imbecility and formally declared
war. In the campaign of 1756, the English and
colonial forces met with no success, but the two
forts at Oswego were lost, with 1,600 prisoners and
much war material. The campaign of 1757 was
equally unsuccessful and disastrous. Fort William
Henry, on Lake George, with 3,000 men, fell into
the hands of the French under Montcalm.
On the accession of William Pitt to the head of
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
the British ministry, in 1758, new energy was in-
fused into its measures, and a fresh impulse given
to the colonies. Success soon turned in favor of
the English, and, with few exceptions, continued
till Canada was subdued. Louisburg surrendered
in 1758; Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara and
Quebec fell in 1759 ; and Montreal, Detroit, Mich-
ilimackinac and all other Canadian posts in 1 760.
The French power in America was ended. A
great obstacle to the prosperity of New York was
removed by the conquest of Canada. There were
no further hostile incursions of French and Indians
into its territory. The treaty of peace was signed
in 1763.
During many years the government of Great
Britain had attempted to make encroachments on
what the colonists regarded as their rights, but
without complete success. The taxation of the
people without their consent was sought to be ac-
complished in some insidious manner, and was
steadfastly and watchfully guarded against by the
colonists through their representatives in the
colonial Assembly. In 1765, the notorious Stamp
Act was passed, and its enforcement in the City of
New York and elsewhere attempted. It was re-
sisted by the populace ; the efiBgy of Gov. Colden,
who was charged with its execution, was hanged
and burned in the streets, and a quantity of the
stamped paper was seized and consumed in a bon-
fire.
Through the influence of London merchants,
whose colonial trade suffered by reason of the act,
the odious law was repealed in 1766 ; but its re-
peal was followed by a declaration by Parliament
of the right " to bind the colonies in all cases what-
soever." Troops were quartered in New York
City, for the purpose of enforcing the laws that
Parliament might enact. Collisions occurred be-
tween these troops and the people, and the As-
sembly refused appropriations for their support.
Parliament declared the legislative powers of the
Assembly annulled until compliance with the de-
mands of the government. In June, 1767, a bill
was enacted by Parliament imposing duties on tea
and certain other articles imported into the colonies.
This was followed by a revival of the non-importa-
tion agreement that had previously been entered
into by the colonists, and again the interests of the
English merchants procured the repeal of all these
duties, except that on tea.
Sir Henry Moore succeeded Gov. Colden in
1765, and his administration continued till his
death, in 1769, when the government again de-
volved on Cadwallader Colden. Between the
soldiers and the Sons of Liberty animosities con-
tinued to exist. On the 1 8th of January, 1 770, a
collision between patriot citizens and the soldiery
occurred at Golden Hill, in New York City, in
which several of the citizens were wounded.
In October, 1770, Lord Dunmore superseded
Colden. In 1771, he was transferred to Virginia,
and succeeded in New York by William Tryon.
The non-importation agreement was continued
so far as related to tea, and the East India Com-
pany suffered severely in consequence. Deter-
mined to maintain the assumed right of taxation,
the British government remitted to the company
the export duty on tea shipped to the colonies, and
demanded 3d. per pound to be paid in America.
Regardless of this appeal to their cupidity, the
people made such demonstrations of resistance that
the consignees in New York resigned, and when
an attempt was made to land a quantity of tea
clandestinely, it was thrown overboard by the
vigilance committee, April 22, 1774, as it had been
done in Boston on the i6th of the previous De-
cember. It is hardly necessary to say that the op-
pressive acts of the King and Parliament met with
as firm resistance in the other colonies as in New
York. The battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775,
was the signal for a general rush to arms through-
out all the colonies. The first Continental Con-
gress met September 5, 1774.
In New York City the arms in the arsenals were
seized and distributed among the people, and a
provisional government for the city was organized.
Ticonderoga was seized on the loth of May, 1775,
by Vermont and Connecticut patriots under Col.
Ethan Allen, and two days later. Crown Point was
taken by Seth Warner. Thus the command of
Lake Champlain was secured.
The adjourned Continental Congress, with five
members from New York, assembled in Phila-
delphia on the loth of May. The Provincial Con-
gress assembled in New York April 20th and May
22d.
It authorized the raising of two regiments, en-
couraged the making of powder and muskets,
projected forts, and appointed a Committee of
Safety.
In the autumn an armament was collected by
Gen. Philip Schuyler, at Ticonderoga, and an ex-
pedition went against Canada, under Gen. Richard
Montgomery, who fell at Quebec, December 31,
1775. The forls at Chambly, St. Johns and
Montreal were taken, and Quebec was assaulted ;
but the colonial forc<5 was finally repulsed by over-
whelming numbers, and driven out of Canada,
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
after much brave fighting and heroic endurance,
in the summer of 1776.
CHAPTER IV.
REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS IN NEW YORK THE STATE
GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED.
WASHINGTON, by appointment of Congress,
took command of the Continental army
July 3, 1775, at Cambridge, Mass. Early in 1776,
Gen. Charles Lee, vpith a force of twelve hundred
men, occupied the City of New York against Sir
Henry Clinton. On the 25th June, General Howe,
who had previously evacuated Boston and sailed
for Halifax, appeared off Sandy Hook with his
army, where he was soon afterwards joined by his
brother, Admiral Howe, with a force of British
regulars and Hessians, and Clinton, on his return
from an unsuccessful attack on Charleston, making
an aggregate force of about 30,000 men.
The Provincial Congress of New York adjourned
to White Plains, where it convened on the 9th of
July, and ratified the Declaration of Independence
by the Continental Congress, made July 4, 1776.
On the 2 2d of August, a British force landed on
Long Island, and on the 27th a battle was fought,
resulting in the defeat of the Americans, who, on
the night of the 29th, favored by a thick fog, re-
treated to New York. We have not space to tell
the horrible story of the New York prisons and
prison-ships, nor of the barbarian execution of
Nathan Hale. The plan had been formed to cap-
ture New York, ascend the Hudson, effect a junc-
tion with a force from Canada under Gen. Carleton,
and thus cut off communication between the pa-
triots of New England and those of the middle and
southern colonies ; but the precautions of Wash-
ington and the failure of Carleton frustrated the
plan.
On the 15 th of September, Gen. Howe took pos-
session of New York, and the Americans retreated
to Harlem Heights. Gen. Howe sought to gain
their rear, but Washington's movements frustrated
his designs. On the 28th of October, was fought
the battle of White Plains. Fort Washington and
Fort Lee were taken by the British in November.
Opposed to Gen. Carleton at the north was Gen.
Gates, who abandoned Crown Point and concen-
trated his forces at Ticonderoga. A small squadron
was formed and placed on Lake Champlain under
command of Arnold in August An action took
place in October between this squadron and the
fleet which Carleton had prepared at St. Johns, in
which the Americans were defeated and fell back
on Ticonderoga. Not deeming it prudent to at-
tack them there. Gen. Carleton withdrew to Canada.
The whole affair reflected credit on American skill
and bravery in naval contest.
On the 2 1 St of April, 1777, the first State Con-
stitution was adopted at Kingston, and under it
George Clinton was elected governor.
The principal object of the British in the cam-
paign of 1777, was to carry out the cherished design
of separating the eastern from the southern colonies
by controlling the Hudson River and Lake Cham-
plain. Gen. Burgoyne, who had superseded Gen.
Carleton, was to force his way from Canada, and
meet Sir Henry Clinton at Albany, while Col. St.
Leger was to ascend the St. Lawrence, and, with a
force of loyalists and Indians, sweep through the
Mohawk valley from Oswego and Rome, and join
them at the same city.
In June, Burgoyne moved on Ticonderoga,
which Gen. St. Clair evacuated on July 5th. The
American army retreated to Fort Edward. At
Bennington, the Americans, under Gen. John
Stark, achieved a splendid victory over a detach-
ment of the enemy under Col. Baum, on the 17th
of August.
Col. St. Leger invested Fort Schuyler, situated
where now is the village of Rome. Gen. Gans-
voort was in command of the fort, called later Fort
Stanwix, to whose relief Gen. Herkimer was sent
Under him was fought, August 5th, the fierce bat-
tle of Oriskany against Tories and Indians from the
forces of St Leger. The bravery of Marinus Wil-
lett and Gen. Arnold saved the fort and led St
Leger to withdraw on the 2 2d of August.
Gen. Philip Schuyler," in command of the north-
ern army, continued his retreat before Burgoyne,
until he reached Van Schaick's Island, at the
mouth of the Mohawk, where he threw up in-
trenchments and awaited the approach of the
enemy. Here he was superseded by Gen. Gates,
who advanced his forces to Bemis Heights, in
Stillwater, where were fought the desperate and de-
cisive battles of the 19th of September and 7th of
October, and Burgoyne was forced to surrender, on
the 1 7th of October, his whole army and military
equipage.
While operations were in progress in the vicinity
of Saratoga Sir Henry Clinton sought to make a
diversion in favor of Burgoyne. He proceeded up
the Hudson, captured Forts Montgomery and
Clinton, devastated the settlements along the banks
of the river, burnt Kingston, and, on learning of
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
the surrender of Burgoyne, returned to New York.
In the campaigns of 1778 and 1779, '^^ ^^O' ™"
portant operations were carried on in New York.
The Indians of the Six Nations (except some of the
Oneidas and a few others) were induced by the
Tories to carry on against the Americans their
savage and cruel warfare, and devastation, slaughter
and massacres were the result. To arrest these
depredations Gen. John Sullivan, in the summer of
1779, with an army of 3,000 men, ascended the
Susquehanna to Tioga Point, where he was joined
by Gen. James Clinton with a thousand men.
With these forces they penetrated the country of
the savages, destroyed their towns, and laid waste
their cornfields and orchards, all through Western
New York. Though not subdued by this punish-
ment, they were so crippled that their inroads were
less frequent and destructive.
During the years 1780 and 1781, the Mohawk
valley was the scene of devastation by the savages
of the Six Nations, particularly the Mohawks, under
their celebrated chief Brant. The oft-told tales of
massacre at Wyoming, Cherry Valley, Minnisink,
Cobleskill, and other peaceful homes along the
Susquehanna, Mohawk, Schoharie and Delaware
valle3's, require no repetition. Aside from these.
New York was not the scene of important hostile
operations. The year 1780 was made memorable
by the treason of Arnold. This brave and daring
officer had, for some irregularities in Philadelphia
in 1778, been court-martialed and sentenced to be
reprimanded by the commander-in-chief He ap-
parently acquiesced in the sentence, but his pride
was deeply wounded, and he thirsted for revenge.
He solicited and obtained command of West Point,
and entered into negotiations with Sir Henry Clin-
ton for the delivery of that fortress into the hands
of the British. In the course of these negotiations
Major John Andre, of the British army, met Gen.
Arnold on the banks of the Hudson. In attempt-
ing to return he was captured, about thirty miles
from New York, by three militiamen, named John
Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart,
who refused his offered bribes, and delivered him
to their commander. He was tried, condemned,
and executed as a spy, October 2, 1 780.
The Revolutionary War virtually closed with the
surrender of Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown
on the 19th of October, 1781. A treaty of peace
was entered into on the 3d of September, 1783,
and on the 25th of November in the same year the
British trojops evacuated New York. Washington
laid down his command in December.
After the United States had achieved their inde-
pendence, it was early perceived that the confeder-
ation, which had been established for a particular
purpose, lacked that cohesive force which was re-
quisite for an effectual national government.
Measures were accordingly instituted, first for a re-
vision of the Articles of Confederation, but, finally,
the formation of a national Constitution was deter-
mined on ; and such Constitution was formed by
the Convention in Philadelphia, in 1787. Hamil-
ton, Yates and Lansing were the delegates from
New York. After its adoption by the requisite
number of States, it was ratified in Convention by
the State of New York, on the 26th of July, 1788,
by a vote of 30 to 27, and seven not voting.
The difficulties arising out of the conflicting
claims of New York and New Hampshire to the
territory now comprising Vermont, since 1763,
which had been held in partial abeyance during
the Revolutionary struggle, were finally settled by
the admission of the disputed territory into the
Union, in 1790, under the name of Vermont, as
the fourteenth State.
By reason of indefiniteness and confusion in the
original grants, Massachusetts made valid claim
upon a portion of the territory of New York. This
claim was settled by the cession to Massachusetts-
ofall rights, except that of political sovereignty, over
about one-fourth of the State. The largest tract of
these lands, embracing what has been known as
the Genessee country, was sold by Massachusetts
for the sum of one million dollars.
CHAPTER V.
THE WAR OF 1 01 2 BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES
AND GREAT BRITAIN.
EARLY in the present century difficulties arose
between this country and Great Britain con-
cerning the rights of neutrals on the seas, and the
alleged aggressions of the British became a subject
of bitter animosity.
The English government claimed the right to
search American vessels and impress into iis ser-
vice such of their crews as it chose to regard as
British subjects. Claiming that the vindication of
the national honor demanded it, war Mas declared
by the United States on the 19th of June, 181 2.
To this measure there was a strong opposition,
both in New England and New York. Party spirit
ran very high. War crippled commerce and every
industry, and cost money and men. To carry it
on, an invasion of Canada was determined on.
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
and forces were collected in the vicinity of Platts-
burg, on Lake Champlain, under Gen. Henry
Dearborn, and at Lewiston, on the Niagara River,
under Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer. A naval
force was fitted up on the lakes, and Commodore
Chauncey was placed in command of it. Unsuc-
cessful attempts were made by the British fleet on
Sackeit's Harbor and Ogdensburg. The British
vessel Caledonia was captured at the foot of Lake
Erie. An attack was made on the heights at
Queenstown, on the Canadian side of the Niagara ;
and though at first the Americans were successful,
they were finally compelled to retreat.
Early in the spring of 1813, a successful expe-
dition to Canada was made from Ogdensburg. In
retaliation, an attack was made on that place, some
stores were taken, several vessels destroyed, and
the property of citizens injured. In April, a suc-
cessful expedition was sent by Gen. Dearborn
against York, now Toronto. In May, the British
were driven from Fort George, on the Niagara
River, near Lake Ontario, and the enemy's post on
that frontier was evacuated. Sackett's Harbor was
attacked by the British, who were repulsed. An
unsuccessful attack was also made by them on the
village of Black Rock.
The brilliant victory of Commodore Oliver H.
Perry, on Lake Erie, was achieved on the loth of
September, 18 13. The operations on Lake On-
tario were less decisive. Late in the autumn, an
unsuccessful attempt was made to invade Canada
under Gen. Wilkinson. The American generals
Izard and Hampton were repulsed near the border
of Franklin Count). In December the British
took Fort Niagara, and massacred a large part of
the garrison, and even hospital patients. Lewis-
ton was burned, and the villages of Youngstown,
Manchester, Schlosser and the Indian village of
Tuscarora were devastated by the enemy. The
villages of Black Rock and Buffalo were also
burned, and thus the desolation of the Niagara
frontier was completed.
Early in 1814, an attempt was made by the Brit-
ish to capture some military stores at Oswego
Falls, but without success. On the 3d of July,
1814, Fort Erie was taken by the Americans, and
on the 25th a battle was fought at Lundy's Lane.
In August, Fort Erie was besieged by the British,
who were compelled to retire. Scott, Wool,
Brown, Miller and other American commanders
showed remarkable skill and bravery in these bat-
tles ; but many noble lives were lost and little
gained in compensation.
The plan of a dismemberment of the Union, by
possessing Lake Champlain and the Hudson River
and capturing New York, was again formed. It
was hoped that discontent- and opposition to the
war in New England, and possibly in New York,
might lead to the conclusion of a separate peace
with these States. The people, however, were fully
aroused, and the defenses of New York were
strengthened and strongly garrisoned. An invasion
was undertaken from Canada, and a descent was
made upon Plattsburg by an army of 11,000 men
under Sir George Prevost. A severe engagement,
on the nth of September compelled him to retire
with great loss. The British fleet, under Commo-
dore Downie, was on the same day captured on
Lake Champlain by Commodore McDonough. No
further invasion of the New York frontier took
place. On the 24th of December, 1814, a treaty
of peace was concluded at Ghent. The cruel war
was ended, and the Union was made stronger.
Daniel D. Tompkins was the great war governor,
and was left almost single-handed to protect our
northern frontier. New England, excepting Ver-
mont, being filled with discontents. No State
suffered more than New York, or gained more b_v
the return of peace.
No other serious interruption of the peaceful
relations between this countrj' and England has
occurred. Some infractions of the neutrality laws
have been attempted on the Canadian frontier, the
chief of which took place during the Canadian re-
bellion, commonly known as the "Patriot war,"
in 1837-38.
What were known as the ' ' anti-rent disturb-
ances," growing out of the manorial claims, com-
menced as early as 1839, and were not terminated
till 1846. Laws were enacted to modify the pro-
cess of collecting rents and to extend the time for
"re-entry" on lands where rents were in arrears,
and quiet was finally restored.
The annexation of Texas to the United States
led to hostilities between Mexico and this nation,
and on the nth of May, 1846, Congress declared
that, by the acts of the Mexicans, war existed be-
tween the two nations. The Americans were vic-
torious in all important engagements with the
Mexican army, and the part taken by the troops
from the State of New York, under Generals Worth
and \^'ool, was conspicuous and highly creditable
to their valor.
From time to time, the Legislature enacted laws
concerning slavery, down to the jear 18 19. A law
passed in 1799 provided for the gradual extinction
of slavery in the State. In 1817 a further act
was passed decreeing that there should be no slav-
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
9
ery in the State after the 4th of July, 1827. Ten
thousand slaves were set free by this act, and the
dark stain was wiped out.
The recognition of slavery in the Territories of
the United States was earnestly resisted during
many years, and the controversy finally resulted in
a gigantic civil war. On the election of Abraham
Lincoln to the Presidenc)', in i860, on the platform
of avowed hostility to the extension of slavery,
and the failure to effect a compromise by which the
institution should be recognized or tolerated in
any of the Territories, the Southern States deter-
mined to secede from the Union and establish a
separate government. The attack by the Confede-
rates, as these States styled themselves, on Fort
Sumter, was the first overt act of the Rebellion,
and its occurrence, in April, 1861, was the com-
mencement of active hostilities. Before the dose
of that year the State of New York had placed in
the field one hundred and fifteen regiments.
In July, 1863, during the execution of a draft
ordered by Congress, an alarming riot occurred in
the City of New York. The police were unable to
check its progress, and during several days the city
was convulsed with lawlessness, rapine and murder.
The outbreak was finally quelled by military force,
but not until a large amount of property had been
destroyed and many lives sacrificed. The war
was prolonged till April, 1865, when it terminated
with the complete success of the Union arms and
dispersion of the rebel army. This State had done
its part in this great struggle.
CHAPTER VI.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMEND-
MENTS SCHOOLS STATISTICS.
IN 1791, the Legislature ordered an exploration
and survey to ascertain the most eligible meth-
od of removing obstructions from the Mohawk and
Hudson Rivers, with a view to improve their navi-
gation by the construction of canals. In 1792,
two companies were incorporated, styled the North-
ern and Western Inland Lock Navigation Com-
panies, for the purpose of facilitating navigation by
connecting Lake Ontario with the Mohawk and
Lake Champlain with the Hudson by canals.
Among the prime movers were Gen. Schuyler and
Elkanah Watson.
In 1 8 ID, a provision was made by the Legislature
" for exploring the route of an inland navigation
from Hudson's River to Lake Ontario and Lake
Erie. " It was at first proposed to solicit aid from
the general government to carry out this work; but
in 181 2, a commission reported to the Legislature
that sound policy demanded that this should be
done by the State. War with Great Britain inter-
rupted the project.
On the termination of the war the project was
revived; and notwithstanding the formidable char-
acter of the undertaking, and the difficulties in its
way, through the untiring energy and perseverance
of De Witt Clinton, an act prepared by him was
passed in April, 18 17, authorizing the construction
of the work. This — the Erie Canal — was com-
menced on the 4th of July in that year, and on the
26th of October, 1825, the first flotilla of boats left
Buffalo for New York. Its departure was commu-
nicated to New York in one hour and twenty min-
utes by the discharge of cannon stationed within
■ hearing of each other. This was then regarded as
a rapid transmission of intelligence.
The first railroad in the State, between Albany
and Schenectady, was chartered in 1826, and
completed in 1831. Other roads through the cen-
tral portion of the State were soon constructed,
and railroad connection between the great lakes
and Hudson River established. In 1851, these
different roads were consolidated into the present
immense New York Central Railroad; and, subse-
quently, connection was made by the Hudson
River Railroad, with the City of New York. In
1833, the New York and Erie Railway was com-
menced, and completed in 1852. The enlarge-
ment of the Erie Canal to its present capacity was
commenced in 1835 and completed in 1862.
These constitute the main avenues of travel and
transportation through the State, between its eastern
and western extremities. Connecting routes in
every direction have come into existence, and the
facilities for transportation and travel in this State
are not excelled by those of any other. It is hardly
necessary to call attention to the telegraph lines
that ramify through all parts of the State.
It has already been stated that a State Constitu-
tion was adopted in 1777. Several amendments
to this Constitution were adopted in the Convention
of 1 82 1, and the new Constitution was adopted in
1822, at a popular election held for that purpose,
by a large majority in a vote of 116,919.
On the I St of June, 1846, another constitutional
convention met at Albany, which continued in
session more .than four months. The amendments
adopted by that body were ratified by the people
in the following November, by a majority of more
than 20,000 votes.
10
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
In June, 1867, another constitutional conven-
tion assembled. The amended Constitution framed
by this convention, submitted to the people in No-
vember, 1869, resulted in its rejection, except the
article making changes in the judiciary, by a ma-
jority of more than 66,000. The judiciary article
was accepted by a small majority.
In 1872, a commission of thirty-two persons was
appointed to propose to the Legislature amend-
ments to the Constitution. In 1873 several im-
portant amendments were recommended, and rati-
fied at the election in 1874. It is a notable fact
that, as changes have been made in the Constitu-
tion of the State, the elective franchise has been
extended.
In 1784, a law was enacted incorporating the
Regents of the University of New York. They
were entrusted with the higher education of the
State, as imparted or to be imparted in colleges
and academies. The first academies incorporated
by them were Erasmus Hall of Flatbush, and
Clinton Hall of Easthampton, both on Long
Island, and both incorporated November 20, 1787.
In their report for 1793, they called attention to the
importance of instituting a Common School System.
At different times, from 1787 to 1795, Gov. Clin-
ton called the attention of the Legislature to the
same subject. In the latter year, an act was passed
appropriating $50,000 annually, for five years, for
the encouragement of schools. In 1805, after
attention had repeatedly been called to the subject
by the different governors, the Legislature passed
an act laying the foundation of the present com-
mon school fund. In 181 2, the common school
system was adopted, comprising substantially the
features of the system as it existed up to 1840. In
1854, a Department of Public Instruction was
established, and Victor M. Rice made the first
Superintendent. Under his administration of nine
years. Normal Schools were established, County
Supervision and Teachers' Institutes made more
efficient, the odious rate bill was abolished, and
other improvements inaugurated, which lay at the
foundation of all that has since been done under
our grand school system.
The State Agricultural Society, which has been
productive of such great benefit, was organized
at a convention in Albany in 1832. It was reor-
ganized in 1 84 1, and measures were adopted for
raising funds and holding annual fairs.
In 1836, the Legislature ordered a scientific
survey of the State for the purpose of developing
a knowledge of its geology, mineralogy and nat-
ural history. The published reports of this survey
are of very great value. To Prof James Hall is
chiefly due this great work.
The following list of the Governors, Lieutenant
Governors and Presidents of the Council who have
administered the Government of the Colony and
of the State of New York from 1629 to the present
time, will be found convenient for reference :
Under THE Dutch. — Directors General — Adriaen
Joris, 1623 ; Cornells Jacobsen May, 1624 ; Willem
Verhulst, 1625; Peter Minuit, 1626; The Coun-
cil, 1632; Wouter Van Twiller, 1633; William
Kieft, 1638 ; Peter Stuyvesant, 1647.
Under the English. — Colonial Governors, etc.,
1664-73 — Richard Nicolls, 1664; Col. Francis
Lovelace, 1667.
Under the Dutch again, 1673. — Cornells Ev-
ertse, Jr., Jacob Benckes, and Council of War,
August 19; Anthony Colve, September 19, 1673.
Under THE English. — Colonial Governors, etc —
Major Edmund Andros, 1674; Anthony Brock-
holies (Commander-in-Chief), 1677; Sir Edmund
Andros, 1678; Anthony Brockholles, 1681 ; Col.
Thomas Dongan, 1682; Sir Edmund Andros,
August II, 1685; Francis Nicholson (Lieutenant
Governor), October 9, 1688; Jacob Leisler,
1689; Col. Henry Sloughter, March 19, 1691 ;
Major Richard Ingoldsby, July 26, 1691 ; Col.
Benj. Fletcher (Commander-in-Chiei), 1692 ;
Richard, Earl of Bellomont, 1688 ; John Nanfan
(Lieutenant Governor), 1699; Earl of Bellomont,
1700; William Smith (eldest Councillor), 1701 ;
John Nanfan (Lieutenant Governor), 1701 ; Lord
Cornbur}-, 1702; John, Lord Lovelace, 1708;
Peter Schujder (President), May 6, Richard In-
goldsby (Lieutenant Governor), May 9, and Peter
Schuvler, May 25, and Richard Ingoldsby (Lieu-
tenant Governor), June I, 1709; Gerardus Beeck-
man, April 10; Brigadier Robert Hunter, June
14, 1710; Peter Schuyler (President), 1719;
William Burnet, 1720; John Montgomerie, 1728 ;
Rip Van Dam (President), 1 73 1 ; Col. Wm. Cosb)-,
1732; Geo. Clarke (President), 1736; Admiral
Geo. Clinton, 1743 ; Sir Danvers Osborne, Octo-
ber 10, and James De Lancey (Lieutenant Gov-
ernor), October 12, 1753; Sir Charles Hardy,
1755; James De Lancey (Lieutenant Governor),
1757; Cadwallader Colden (President), 1760;
Major-General Robert Monckton, October 26, and
Cadwallader Colden (Lieutenant Governor), No-
vember 18, 176 1 ; Major General Robert Monck-
ton, 1762; Cadwallader Colden, 1763; Sir Henry
Moore, 1765; Cadwallader Colden, 1769; John,
Earl of Dunmore, 1770; WiUiam Tryon, 1771 ;
Cadwallader Colden (Lieutenant Governor), 1774 ;
OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
11
William Tryon, 1775; James Robertson, 1780;
Andrew Elliot (Lieutenant Governor), 1783.
Governors of the State: George Clinton, 1777;
John Ja}', 1795 ; George Clinton, iSoi ; Morgan
Lewis, 1804 ; Daniel D. Tompkins, 1807; D^
Witt Clinton, 1817; Joseph C.Yates, 1822; De
Witt Clinton, 1824; Martin Van Buren, 1828
Enos T. Throop, 1830; William L. Marcy, 1832
William H. Seward, 1838; William C. Bouck
1842; Silas Wright, 1844; John Young, 1846
Hamilton Fish, 1848; Washington Hunt, 1850
Horatio Seymour, 1852 ; Myron H. Clark, 1854
John A. King, 1856; Edwin D.Morgan, 1858
Horatio Seymour, 1862; Reuben E. Fenton
1864; John T. Hoffman, 1868; John A. Dix^
1872 ; Samuel J. Tilden, 1874 ; Lucius Robinson,
1876; Alonzo B. Cornell, 1880; Grover Cleve-
land, 1883; David B. Hill, 1885.
The population of the colony and State of New
York was, in 1698, 18,067; 1703. 20,665; 1723,
40,564; i73i> 50,824; 1737, 60,437; 1746,
61,589; 1749, 73.348; 1756, 96,790; 1771,
163,337; 1790,340,120; iSoo, 586,756; 1810,
959,049; 1820, 1,372,812; 1830, 1,918,608;
1840, 2,428,921; 1850,3,097,394; i860, 3,880,-
735; 1870,4,382,759; 1880, 5,084,173-
Of the total population there were in 1790,
21,324 slaves; in 1800, 33,343; 1810, 15,017;
1820, 10,088; 1830, 75; 1840, 4.
»-«<5«2^ — ■
HISTORY
OF THE
COUNTY OF ALBANY
WRITTEN AND EDITED BY
PROF. JONATHAN TENNEY, PH.D.
TOPOGRAPHY.
THE County of Albany, one of the original ten
counties of the present State of New York,
bears the name of the Scotch title of the Duke of
York and Albany, afterwards King James II. of
England. It was incorporated under Gov. Thomas
Dongan, November i, 1683, and confirmed
October i, 1691. It is situated on the west bank
of the Hudson River, about 165 miles from its
sources in the Adirondacks, and 168 miles from
its mouth at the Atiantic Ocean, reckoning from the
Mohawk. It lies at the head of tide w-ater, and
of sloop and steamboat navigation. Its latitude is
between 42" 23' and 42° 49'N. Its longitude is
between 2" 40' and 3" 15' E. from Washington, and
1 5' and 20' W. from New York Cit)'. Its extent,
east and west, is about 25 miles ; north and south,
22 miles. It has an area of about 544 square miles,
or 348,160 acres. Its northern and southern
boundaries are nearly parallel, and its western
boundary, throughout its whole extent, is under-
stood to run equidistant from the course of the
Hudson River in all its windings.
LAND SURFACi:.
The land surface of the county is strikingly diver-
sified. Alluvial flats, varying from about a quarter
of a mile to one mile in breadth, lie along the Hud-
son, from which hills arise, by slopes now gentle,
now abrupt, to an elevation of from 100 to 200 feet.
From these extend undulating plains, varied by
fields of sand and cla}', small marshes and ravines
made by the waterwa3'S, until the foot of the
Helderbergs is reached on the west, making a total
rise of from 400 to 800 feet above the tides. Then
come these Helderberg hills, rising from 300 to
1,000 feet higher, and often forming a precipitous
wall of 100 feet or more. There are no isolated
peaks to these hills. Beyond, sloping gradually
toward the west and south, are irregular and rocky
plateaus in the towns of Berne and Rensselaerville.
Along the Mohawk the land istroken and rugged.
Rocky ridges, deep gullies and hills and plains of
clay and sand, are abundant throughout the county.
The highest elevation in the county is at the
place called the "Helderberg Station ' of the
United States Coast Survey, a location which
ought to have a more distinctive name. Its sum-
mit is 1,823 feet above sea level. It lies in- the
town of New Scotland. The Helderberg Hills
are a leading feature of the count}-, whether we
consider their prominence, their geological struc-
ture, or their relation to soil and climate. Their
' ' romantic wooded rock scenery, dark caverns,
sprayey waterfalls, varied landscape and accessible
mountain grandeur render them of interest to the
artist, author, student, poet, tourist and rusiicator,"
says Colvin.
GEOGRAPHY.
Hills. — The name Helderberg signifies Clear
Mountain. Its hills and ranges connect with
the Catskills, of which they are outlying spurs.
They are a continuation of the Allegany Moun-
tains, running northerly across our county,
and a part of the great Appalachian system to
which belong the Adirondacks, the Green Moun-
tains and the White Hills. No description of
these hills so graphic as that written by Verplanck
Colvin, of Albany, and published in Harper's
"Monthly Magazine," for October, 1869, has yet
been seen or read. He tells you of their dark, gra)-
cliffs, their fearful overhanging precipices, their
rock -filled gorges, their gloomy recesses untrodden
by man, their dripping rocks, their domes and
dark intricate caverns, their waterfalls that drop
into caves, and, after subterranean flow, appear
again as tributaries to larger streams ; of their
sequestered dens, once the resort of 'savage beasts
and more savage Indians and Tories ; of the Indian
trail and Indian ladder; of shell-covered cHffs and
limestone rocks charged with fossils that tell us
GEOGRAPHY.
ly
that once they formed beds of the old ocean. As-
cending the summits, he shows you the sutured
plateaus and the splendid scene in the widespread
panorama of field and forest and distant hills
around you.
The learned Sir Charles Lyell, of England, visited
this region and viewed its varied wonders with
amazement, and spoke of them as a new world,
forgotten by men of science, abounding in
striking peculiarities worthy of close stud}-.
Dr. Markle remembers his remark that the
"Helderbergs are a key to the geology of North
America. "
Recently they are much visited, and are becoming
a favorite summer resort to the weary student and
the tired and stifled denizens of the city, as well as
to the appreciative lover of nature. Better facilities
for access to them, and pleasant homes upon their
slopes and summits, are now provided.
There are other hills in the county that ' ' have
a local habitation and a name," as Cedar Hill, in
Bethlehem; Mossy and Gedney Hills, in Coeymans ;
Grippy and Irish Hills, in Berne ; Sittles Hill, in
Knox ; Bennett's, Mount Pleasant and Copeland's
Hills, in New Scotland — all spurs or elevations of
the Helderbergs.
Islands. — In the acts establishing the river
boundary of Albany County all islands in the Hud-
son that are nearest the western shore are included
in our county of Albany. There are several of
these, some of which are of considerable importance.
Of these Van Rensselaer's or Westerlo Island is the
largest, containing about 1 60 acres of fertile land,
adapted to garden culture, producing fine crops in
favorable seasons. The northern part is occupied
by extensive iron works. Its lower grounds are
subject to the heavy floods. In May, 1833, it was
occupied by eleven farms, which were overflowed,
causing a damage of $6,000 to the crops. It is
recorded, in October, 1850, that it had been
flooded eight times that year. Historicall)', this is
our oldest island. To say nothing of the tra-
ditionary occupation by Spanish or French adven-
turers, at an earher date, which, if true, is of little
importance, as they left no name and no trace in
our history, we are certain that Hendrick Corstiaen-
sen, in 16 14, with his companions, occupied the
island, under the patronage of the United New
Netherlands Company, for the purpose of trading
in furs, and remained until the spring floods
destroyed their works. Then they removed further
down on elevated grounds, near the mouth of the
Normanskill. It is said that they erected a stockade
as a defense against the Indians, with whom they
carried on a profitable trade. This fortification was
about 50 feet square, surrounded by a moat 18
feet wide, defended by 1 1 stone guns and 2 can-
non, and garrisoned by 1 2 men under Jacob
Jacobsen Elkins, who succeeded Corstiaen.ssen.
The name of Kasteel or Castle Island was taken.
It is called by this name by many early writers, and
in the later reports and papers of Gov. Stuyvesant.
In 1639, it was visited by De Vries, who found it
occupied by Brandt Pylen, or Peelan, under lease
from the patroon and his co-partners, Godyn,
Bloemart, and De Laet. It was well stocked and
successfully farmed. Indians were fishing around
its shores. The island has been spoken of at
various times as Welysburg, Van Der Donk's, Mar-
tin Gerritsen's, Sweaton's and Boyd's Island, prob-
ably from its leading occupants. It belongs to the
town of Bethlehem. On the Coast Survey maps it
is written as Westerlo Island — a preferable name, as
the name of Van Rensselaer was, long ago, given
to the island opposite Albany and belonging to Rens-
selaer Count)-, upon which are situated the Boston
and Albany Railroad shops.
Near the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson
are Haver Island, on which, as tradition tells us,
was Moenemines Castle, once an important Mo-
hawk village ; Van Schaick's Island, on which
Gen. Schuyler, in 1777, retreating from Burgoyne's
advancing march, stationed his army behind in-
trenchments, hoping to stay the progress of the
British army towards Albany at that point ; and
Whale Island, now covered with sand and water,
and interesting only as the stranding place of that
" monster of the deep, " which wandered up the
river in 1646, hoping, no doubt, to find a passage
to Greenland this way, but instead meeting his
death, losing his blubber, greasing the river, and
creating a great stench for miles around, by his
atmospheric cremation.
Green Island, directly opposite Troy, is a village,
incorporated October 14, 1853, and May 12, 1869.
It is the seat of extensive manufactures, producing
railroad cars, stoves, sash and blinds, etc. It also
has the repair shops of the Rens. and Sar. Railroad,
foundry and machine shops, malleable iron works
and many mechanic shops. It is connected with
Troy by a bridge 1680 feet long, and by street cars
with Cohoes, Troy, W. Troy and Albany. It has
five or six churches, railroad stations of the New
York Central and Rens. and Sar. Railroads,
and village schools. It was once called Tibbett's
Island.
Pleasure Island, a short distance above Albany,
is a summer resort, having a race-ground and
14
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
other attractions for sporting men and pleasure-
seekers.
Beeren Island (Beeren Eylandt), or Bear's
Island, in the Hudson, about 1 1 miles below
Albany, belongs to the town of Coeymans, and lies
near the shore, a little southeast of the village. Its
area is about two acres,its northern aspect being an
abrupt rocky promontory, from which it gradually
slopes to its southern terminus. Its soil was
never adapted to agriculture ; trees and a thin
growth of grass cover it in patches ; it has been
a good place for fishing. Claimed by the patroon,
it was chosen early as a fine place for fortifications
to keep off intruders upon his lands, his timber,
his trade and his home. Accordingly, in 1643, 3.
fort, named Rensselaer Stein, was erected, defended
by mounted cannon and a garrison, and placed in
charge of Nicholas Coorn as wachtmeister. Each
skipper, on passing the island, was to lower his
flag in acknowledgment of the rights of the patroon
and pay a tribute of five stivers. This caused bit-
ter but bloodless contention for a time between the
officers of the patroon and of the West India Com-
pany. This company denied the exclusive claim to
the navigation of the river made by Van Rensselaer.
The fort and the controversy ceased when the Eng-
hsh came in possession in 1664. Dim histor3' tells
us of its occupancy, at one time, by a few Indian
hunters ; at another, b}' the Coeymans family as a
defense against the Indians ; at another, as a
quarantine station for vessels coming up from New
York City ; at another, by hunters digging for the
hidden treasure of Capt. Kidd. For a generation
past it has been a favorite resort for Sabbath-school
and other picnic excursions. For this purpose it
is well adapted by location, neatness and fine
accommodations.
Other islands in the Hudson, belonging to
Albany Count}-, that have a name, beginning
southerly and coming up the river, are Shad and
and Schermerhorn — the latter called sometimes
Neifer — Wooden and Poplar, opposite Coeymans ;
Sill's or Van ^^'oert, Bear, Beacon or Bisby, Cab-
bage or Jolly, Marsh and Bogart's, opposite Beih-
lehem ; Lower Patroon, Patroon, Cuyler, Hill-
house or Glen, and Breaker, opposite Watervliet.
On the Mohawk, above the Cohoes F'alls, are
Fonda and Cobble islands.
Ponds. — The ponds or lakes of the county are
few and small. In Rensselaerville are two small
ponds, dignified by the name of Big and Little
Lake ; Werner's Lake in Berne ; Thompson's in
Berne and Knox ; Lawson's in New Scotland, and
Coeymans. Tivoli Lake is one of the sources of
the water supply of Albany, lying in what is now
Watervliet, at the north of the city. Deer Pond
also is in Watervliet.
The lakes Werner and Thompson, on the hills,
are becoming places of delightful resort in summer,
for which ample accommodations are made.
Rivers. — The notable rivers that water the county
are the Hudson, the Mohawk, the Catskill, the
Schoharie and the Normanskill. To these all other
streams are tributary. Indeed, all the others and
their supplies find their way to the Atlantic through
the Hudson.
1 he streams in the county take the arbitrary
designation of river, creek, kill or brook. The
direct tributaries of the Hudson are Catskill,
Coeymans, Haana-Krois, Vlamans, Normans,
Beaver, Rutten, Foxen, Patroon, Ralger, Ceme-
tery, Dry and Mohawk. Those of the Mohawk
are the Schoharie, Lisha's, Town and Donkers.
Of the Catskill, Eight-Mile, Ten-Mile, Scrub,
Fox and Wilbur. Of the Schoharie, Beaver
Dam, Foxen and Switz. Of Normanskill, Vly
or Fly, Bozen or Boza, Honger, Wildhause and
Krum. Other sub-tributaries are the Swart or
Black, Oneskethau, Basic, Hockatock, Mill, El-
der, Spruyts, Provost, Steinhook, Pitchtaway,
Wolf, Fl}', Bethlehem or Mud, and several smaller
brooks. The Beaver or Buttermilk, Rutten and
Foxen Kills, in Albany, are used now mostly for
sewer drainage.
Most of the streams which run into the Hudson
have worn deep gullies in the sand and clay. Some
of these are a hundred feet in depth and extend
nearly to the river flats. In the western part of
the county the streams generally flow through
narrow ravines bordered by steep banks. Most of
the streams are very rapid and subject to extremes,
rising rapidly during a powerful rain and as rapidly
falling. The spring melting of the winter snows
fills the charinels; the summer drought reduces
them to very low water. There are a few natural
falls upon several of these kills or creeks, and
facilities for increasing greatly their hydraulic
power. Vly Kill has a remarkable cascade of 60
feet, and another of 40 feet is in the Oneskethau.
But, except at the mouth of the Normanskill
and at Cohoes, on the Mohawk, little is done
with the water power, except the erection of a
few grain and saw mills for local accommoda-
tion. With enterprise and money they might be-
come agents in adding \'astly to the productive in-
dustry of the county. As contributing to an abun-
dant water supply for man and beast, irrigation to
GEOGRAPHY.
15
the lands and diversity to our scenery, they can-
not be too highly valued.
Hudson River. — In many respects the Hudson
is one of the most important and interesting rivers
in the world. It was first made known to the
civilized world by Henry Hudson, in 1609, he hav-
ing entered it and proceeded by ship and boat,
probably nearly to the mouth of the Mohawk, and
spent most of the month of September, in that year,
upon its waters. From its sources in Essex and
Hamilton counties, among our northern moun-
tains, to its mouth at Sandy Hook, its length is
about 325 miles. Its head branches are the small
streams of Adirondack, Boreas, Indian, Schroon,
and the larger Sacandaga. Its eastern tributaries,
besides many smaller streams, are the Battenkill,
Hoosac, Kinderhook, Claverack, Roeliff Jansen,
Wappinger, Fishkill and Croton ; its western, the
Mohawk, Normanskill, Catskill, Esopus, Rondout
and Murderer's, and numerous other little creeks
and brooks. While these streams increase the vol-
ume of the majestic river, the allu\'ion which they
carry down form obstructions to navigation in the
shape of bars and flats of sand and deposits of mud,
especially for some thirty miles below the sprouts
of the Mohawk. The most remarkable of these
are the Overslaugh and Winne's bar, in this county,
opposite Bethlehem. Many devices, much labor,
and heavy expense have been emplo}-ed for their
removal, with only temporary success. As long as
water runs the difficulty will remain, although
money and toil lessen it. The destruction of the
northern forests, unless speedily arrested, must
sensibly lessen the water supply of this noble
stream, impairing its navigation and damaging
every interest in every city and town upon its
borders.
Among the names known to ha^^e been given
this river are Cohatatea, by the Iroquois ; Maha-
ganeghtuc and Shatemuc, by the Mohegans ; Great
River, by Hudson and his crew ; River of the
Mountain; North River, to distinguish it from
the Delaware, called South River by the early
Dutch ; also, Mauritius or Maurice, in honor of
Prince Maurice of Netherlands ; Manhattes ; and
Hudson, given ver}' appropriately by the early
English, and readily adopted by all people.
Baker's and Glen's Falls, in the upper part, are
the only rapids of note. The course of the stream
is southerly, with only slight curves, and its surface
is generally smooth. The elevation above the sea
at Albany is only i']\ feet.* The tidal influence is
* The fall of the river from Albanv to New York is a little over
three ieet. G. R. H.
noticed at Albany, although the tide proper can
hardly be said to flow so far. The mean tide here
is 2.46 above that at Governor's Island. The river,
in fact, is an estuary or long arm of the sea, as far
up as the Mohawk. The narrows at the High-
lands, 53 miles from New York City, making a
pass of about 16 miles, present scenery picturesque,
grand and exciting. A steamboat ride the whole
length of its navigable channel presents a continu-
ous scene of surpassing beauty and sublimit)'. It
is the classic river of our young country, conse-
crated by the fascinating pages of Irving, Paulding,
Cooper, and Lossing, the fine touches of the
Harts, Cole and other artists, and the verse of
many a local poet. Its waters and its banks are
associated with some of the most interesting events
of our history, connected with our early discoveries
and settlements, the arts of peace and the arts of
war. Eminent scholars, writers, philanthropists
and patriots have dwelt near its shores, now conse-
crated by their monuments and the memories of
their deeds.
Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, in 1797, assisted
by Nisbet, an Englishman, experimented in build-
ing a steamboat to navigate the Hudson. He was
ridiculed as a visionary humbug when he applied,
in 1798, for Legislative aid, but failed in his object
when he could not navigate his boat of 30 tons, four
miles per hour. It was upon the Hudson that
Robert Fulton, encouraged by Livingston, though
ridiculed by many, first placed his steamer, the
Clermont. September 4, 1807, at 7 a. m., he left
New York for Albany, which he reached the next
day at about 1 1 p. m. This was the beginning of
steamboat navigation on the Hudson.
On the banks of the Hudson dwelt Henry and
Morse, inventors of the telegraph. Here is New-
burgh, once the headquarters of 'Washington ; and
here West Point, pregnant with thrilling historic
events, where repose the dust of Kosciusko, Win-
field Scott, and many others of our nation's patriots.
Here is the school-house of our army officers. At
every step along its shores, the traveler— be he
scholar, student of history, artist, poet, lover of
his country, lover of arts, or lover of nature — finds
something to instruct, delight and inspire.
Pleasant villages and flourishing cities charm the
traveler sailing down the stream to New York,
which owes much of its marvelous commercial
prosperity to the river which, for many years, was
almost its only channel for bringing into its marts
the rich products of the North and the West
through the Champjain and Erie Canals. And it
may as truly be said of Albany and Troy, that the)'
16
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
are the gift of the Hudson, as it was said by them
of old, that Egypt was the gift of the Nile. Of the
commercial and economical relations of Albany
county to this river the reader will see in other
parts of this history.
Maude, traveling here in 1800, writes : "The
Hudson is one of the finest rivers in America, and
superior to them all in romantic and sublime scen-
ery."
Says Charles Mackay, in 1858 : " I found abun-
dant reason to agree with the most enthusiastic ot
Americans that no river in Europe, unless it be
the Clyde, surpasses the Hudson in natural beauty,
and that the Rhine itself, deprived of its ruined
castles, could not stand a comparison with this
splendid stream."
The opening and closing of the navigation of the
Hudson River at Albany each year, so far as the
dates can be found, is here tabulated from the best
authorities.
Closed.
1645 . .
1786..
1787..
1788..
1789.
1790..
I79I..
1792..
1793 •■
'794..
1795 ■•
1796.,
1797..
1798-
1799.,
1800.
I80I.
1802.
1803.
1804.
1805.
1806.
1807.
1808.
1809.
I8I0.
I8II.
I8I2.
I8I3.
I8I4.
I8I5.
I8I6.
18I7.
I8I8.
I8I9.
1820.
I82I.
1822.
Nov. 24.
Opened.
.Mar. 23.
.Feb.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Jan.
.Jan.
.Nuv.
Nov.
. Nov .
.Jan.
.Jan.
.Feb.
3, Dec. 8 Mar. 27.
8 Mar. 17.
12 Mar. 6.
26 Mar. 17.
12
22
28
26
23
3 Feb. 28.
3, Dec. 16
.Jan. 12, Dec. 13 Apr. 6.
.Jan.
.Dec.
.Jan.
.Dec.
• Jan.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec.
.Dec
.Dec.
.Nov
Dec.
.Dec.
9 Feb. 20.
II Apr. 8.
4 Mar. 10.
9
19, Dec. 14
20
21
22 Mar. 12.
10
2
16
7 Apr. 3.
14 Mar. 25.
13 Apr. 3.
• 13 Mar. 25.
13 Mar. 15.
24 Mar. 15.
Closed.
1823 Dec. 16,.
1824 Jan. s...
1825 Dec. 13..
1826 Dec. 13..
1827 Nov. 25 ,
1828 Dec. 23.,
1829 Jan. 14. .
1830 Dec. 25. .
1831 Dec. 6...
1832 Dec. 21. .
1833 Dec. 13..
1834 Dec. 15..
1835 Nov. 30.,
1836 Dec. 7...
1837 Dec. 14..
1838 Nov. 25.,
1839 Nov. 18. .
1840 Nov. 5...
1841 Nov. 19.
1842 Nov. 28.,
1843 Dec. 10. .
1844 Dec. 17. .
1845 Dec. 3...
1846 Dec. 14. .
1847 Dec. 25..
1848 Dec. 27. ,
1849 Dec. 26. .
1850 Dec. 17.
1851 Dec. 14..
1852 Dec. 23..
1853 Dec. 2t. .
1854 Dec. 8...
185s Dec. 20. .
1856 Dec. 14. .
1857 Dec. 27..
1858 Dec. 17..
1859 Dec. 10. .
i860 Dec. 14..
l86i Dec. 23.
1862 Dec. 19.
1863 Dec. II.
1864 Dec. 12.
1865 Dec. 16.
1866 Dec. 15.
1867 Dec. 8..
1868 Dec. 5..
I869 Dec. 9...
1870 Dec. 17.
1871 Nov. 29.
1872 Dec. g. .
1873 Nov. 22. ,
1874 Dec. 12.
1875 Nov. 29.
1876 Dec. 2. .
1877 Dec. 31.
1878 Dec. 20.
1879 Dec. 20.
1880 Nov. 25.
1881 Jan. 2..
1882 Dec. 4..
1883 Dec. 15.
1884 .
Opened.
.Mar. 24.
..Mar. 3.
. .Mar. 6.
..Feb. 25.
, .Mar. 20.
.Feb. 8.
.Apr. I.
, .Mar. 15.
..Mar. 15.
..Mar. 25.
..Mar. 21.
..Feb. 25.
.Mar. 25.
.Apr. 4.
. . Mar. 27.
.Mar. 19.
..Mar. 25.
..Feb. 25.
. . Mar. 24.
..Feb. 4.
..Apr. 13.
..Mar. 18.
.Feb. 24.
..Mar. 18.
..Apr. 7.
. Mar. 22.
.Mar. 19.
. . Mar. 10.
.Feb. 25.
..Mar. 28.
. .Mar. 23.
.Mar. 17.
, .Mar. 27.
..Apr. II.
..Feb. 27.
. .Mar. 20.
..Mar. 13.
..Mar. 6.
. . Mar. 5.
.Apr. 4.
..Apr. 3.
, . Mar. 1 1 .
. .Mar. 22.
. . Mar. 20.
. . Mar. 26.
. .Mar. 24.
..Apr. 5.
, . Mar. 31.
. .Mar. 12.
..Apr. 7.
.Apr. 16.
. . Mar. 19.
. .Apr. 13.
. .Apr. I.
. . Mar. 30.
. .Mar. 14.
..Apr. 4.
. .Mar. 5.
. .Mar. 21.
..Mar. 8.
. .Mar. 29.
. .Mar. 27.
GEOLOGY.
17
GEOLOGY.
The geology of the county is included in the
" Helderberg Division," belonging to the upper
Silurian system, and comprising nearly all the
rocks of the "New York system," from the
Utica slate to the corniferous limestone. It em-
braces rocks varied in mineralogical character,
chemical composition, and abounding in fossil
remains. It contains subordinate beds of clay and
silicious grits. In consequence of these rocks
being so well developed in the Helderberg hills,
forming a natural group, the term of "Helder-
berg Division " is used to designate them.
The limestone in which the fossils occur is
usually a gray, but in some places a reddish
crystalline stone. The fossils are a cr)'stalline
carbonate of lime, and are so numerous that they
attract the attention of the observer when tra\eling
along the road.
The Delthyn's shaly limestone is one of the
thickest and most extensive members of the
Helderberg Division. This rock is well developed
and is frequently quarried as a building stone.
The stone fences and roadsides often exhibit
the remains of ancient life. This is well exposed
on the road from New Salem to Clarksville. The
middle subdivision is a slaty limestone, and contains
fossils of many varieties washed clean by the rains
and ready for the collector. These again are nu-
merous in the vicinity of Clarksville and near
New Salem.
The lower subdivision is a mass of slaty-argillo-
silicious limestone, and may be seen one mile
north and northwest of Clarksville.
The Onondaga limestone and Schoharie grit are,
also, found about Clarksville, and contain many
fossils. The argillaceous and shaly rocks are nu-
merous on the summits of hills.
The lowest rock is the Utica slate cropping out
on the Hudson, Normans Kill and Mohawk.
Above this are the graywackes and shales of the
Hudson River group, which appear in the valleys
of many streams, and apparently underlie a part of
the county.
The rocks of the Erie division occupy in the
aggregate a thickness of several hundred, probably
two thousand feet. The division that is worked
for economical purpo.ses is a strata of flagging
stone which is from seven hundred to one thou-
sand feet above the Helderberg limestone series.
This stone is extensively quarried for flagging
and building purposes in the southeast part of
Berne and in Coeymans. The red rocks which
form the base of the Helderbergs, probably be-
long to the Medina sandstone series, sometimes
confounded with the red shales of the Onondaga
salt group. Next in order above this, and forming
the first terrace of the mountains, is the water line
group, from 50 to 200 feet thick, and furnishing
both water and quicklime. Next in order is the
penlamerus limestone, 50 feet in thickness, of im-
pure gray and black limestone, mixed with slate
and shale, well developed in Berne and Bethlehem.
0\'erlying this is the Catskill limestone, from 50 to
180 feet in thickness, consisting of thick com-
i pact masses of limestone, alternating with thin
layers of shale. This, also, is used for building
j purposes and lime.
The Oriskany sandstone next appears in a stra-
tum two feet thick, well exposed in Berne, Knox
' and Bethlehem, followed by the cauda-galli grit,
from 50 to 60 feet thick. This last has a fine grit
I and resembles black or gray slates, but crumbles
upon exposure to the air. The Onondaga and
coniferous limestones next appear, the latter form-
ing the summits of mountains. These rocks
furnish excellent building material, and a superior
quality of lime. Above the rocks, in the east part
of the county, are deposits of drift, consisting of
sand, gravel and clay. The high lands west of the
Cit\- of Albany are covered to the depth of forty feet
with sand, which rest upon a bed of clay estimated
to be one hundred feet deep. These clay beds
extend into several of the adjoining townships.
In this drift are sometimes found beds of bog ore,
chalybeate and sulphureted springs. In the lime-
stone regions are caves, sink-holes and subter-
ranean water-courses.
Clay forms the subsoil, or exists at a great
depth below the gravel and sand beds which form
the plains and elevations.
There are two kinds, the blue and the gray.
They are almost uniform by associadon, the blue
lying below the gray. These clajs may be used
to improve the soil, for the manufacture and glaz-
ing of stone ware, and for brick and tile, of which
many millions are made at Albany.
The geological formations of Albany County are
given by J. G. Gebhard as follows :
Hamilton, Marcellus, Corniferous, Onondaga,
Schoharie grit, Cauda-galli grit, Oriskany sand-
stone, Upper Pentamerus, Delthyn's shale, Penta-
merus Galeatus, Tentaculite, Water limestone, Co-
raline, Pyritous slate, Hudson River sandstone.
The following, abridged from the pen of Henry
R. Schoolcraft, a native of this county, in regard
to its geology, is worthy a place here.
The most prominent feature of the county is the
18
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
range of the Helderbergs, an offshoot of the Cats-
kill Mountains. This highest range divides the
county into twc general levels of unequal width,
characterized as being above or lelow that elevation.
The lower level is distinguished for its diluvial and
drift deposits of arable layers, clays, sands, anal-
ogic pebbles and boulders. The rock strata, as
generally denoted bj' geologists, and more parti-
cularly described by Prof James Hall, are, begin-
ning at the apex of the Helderberg, chertz lime-
stone, neutral colored sandstones, fossiliferous
limestone, graywacke, sedimentary, horizontal
slate, or graywacke slate and argilite.
The City of Albany rests upon the edges and
top of the terraceous blue clays, and their asso-
ciated sand strata. This terraceous clay is covered
with a mantle or plateau of diluvial sand, which
extends northwestwardly from the Hudson to the
Valley of the Mohawk.
This mantle of sand rests, throughout its entire
extent, upon the terraceous blue capitoline clay.
Rains and atmospheric moisture speedily sink
through it, until arrested by its impervious alumin-
ous basis, by which it finds an outlet on the sur-
face of these clay beds into the nearest streams.
It is by the union of several of the outlets of
these spring gorges of the pine plains, that the
Honger Kill is formed. Small in its volume, it
flows with sufficient force to sink its channel
through the deep clay stratum, and enter its recip-
ient, the Normans Kill, through the boulder and
pebble drift. Feeble as the action of the stream is,
it has been sufficient to reveal a formation of red
sandstone, which, apparentlv, underlies the mider
Helderberg series of graywacke and slates, and the
upper series of fossiliferous limestone, and its su-
perimposed porous and marly horizontal new
sandstones.
This disclosure was made in a depressed part of
the Honger Kill Valley. The rock, in colors and
grain, resembles the Piedmont or Haverstraw sand-
stones of the lower Hudson. The localities of
these observations are at the now deca3'ed manu-
facturing village of Hamilton, within about a mile
from the entrance of the stream into the Normans
Kill. The deepest cutting into the geological col-
umn of the county is made by this Tawasentha.
This stream in its western fork, the Bozen Kill,
originates on the Helderberg range. In passing
through the series of newer sandstones, lime-
stones and graywackes, it lays bare the succession
of rocks, and hurries with a rapid channel to its
junction with the Black Creek and the Tiergaca, or
northeast branch. Reinforced by these tributaries,-
it sweeps its way through the alluvial coverings to
the Hudson. In its progress it sinks its level
quite through the graywackes and deeply into the
Tawasentha slate. At the rapids, in passing
through Guilderland, this rock stands in perpen-
dicular facades, from 80 to nearly 120 feet high.
The stream finally enters the Hudson, two miles
south of the City of Albany, near the ancient Iro-
quois cemetery of Tawasentha.
The cuttings of the Normans Kill and the con-
struction of railroads reveal the Hamilton group at
these points.
Soil. — The soil of any territory in its primitive
state, before the hand of culti\ation has transformed
it, is determined by its geology, vegetation, mois-
ture and temperature.
The soil upon the intervals is a rich alluvial
loam, used largely for garden purposes. In Water-
vliet, Albany, and the eastern parts of Guilderland
and Bethlehem, it consists largely of sand, with
strips of clay along the banks of the streams. This
combination of soil is well adapted for the growth
of some grains and grass . The belt of land lying
between the sandy region and the foot of the Hel-
derbergs is principally a clay and gravelly loam,
receiving the drainage from the limestone hills,
which renders the soil very productive. Upon the
Helderbergs the soil is colder, consisting of alter-
nate layers of clay, slate and gravel, with a subsoil
of tenacious clay or hardpan. Some portions are
stony, wet and cold. These are not very produc-
tive. Some of these lands are favorable for grazing.
On the Mohawk the land is uneven and natur-
ally sterile. Most of the soil in the county is sus-
ceptible of culture, and has within its limits the
material needed to make it productive. The facts
relating to its husbandry and productions will ap-
pear under the head of Agriculture.
MINERALOGY.
Among the minerals of the count}', as given
by Mather and Beck, are bog iron ore in a few
localities ; snowy gypsum along the Helderbergs
and in Coeymans ; marl beds of some extent in
Bethlehem and Coeymans; calcareous spar on
the banks of the Normans Kill, in a cavern a
few miles from Albany, also in the town of
Knox and in the McCullough quarries of New
Scotland. Epsom salts have been found in small
quantities in the form of efiBorescences in Coey-
mans, on the east face of the Helderberg, and in
the townships of Bethlehem and Guilderland.
Rock and quartz crystals are picked up in several
localities. These minerals are of very little value •
PALEONTOLOGY.
19
but the county is rich in geological formations,
as appears elsewhere.
The mineral springs of the county comprise the
following : Acidulous, saline, chalybeate waters,
near Boyd's brewery, Albany, were found in a slate
strata after boring 300 feet below tide ; another
sulphurous spring was found by boring 100 feet ;
also a carbureted gas spring — both in the same
vicinity. Sulphurous springs have been found at
Wendell's Hollow, near the city ; at Coeyman's
Landing ; near McKown's, in Guilderland ; in
Watervliet, near Van Rensselaer's, and in Rensse-
laerville. White sulphur springs exist in Berne,
and on the farm of James Hendrick, in New Scot-
land. The mineral springs issue from the slate
rocks of the Hudson group. The white sulphur
springs especially are visited by invahds.
PALEONTOLOGY.
The Cohoes mastodon is the most remarkable
of the ancient fossils in this count}'. The fol-
lowing notes in regard to it are taken from the
' ' Notes and Observations" of Dr. James Hall,
our citizen geologist, whose fame in the fields of
science makes him a citizen of the world of
scholars :
In the month of September, 1866, the workmen
engaged in excavations for the foundations of a
new mill to be erected by the "Harmony Mills
Company of Cohoes, N. Y. , " discovered the lower
jaw of a mastodon, with a single foot bone, resting
upon a projection of rocks between two depres-
sions or concave walls of small pot-holes, in the
margin of what afterwards proved to be a large pot-
hole.
At this time the excavation had been carried on
to the depth of about twenty-five feet from the
original surface.
The discovery of a jaw with a single bone in
such a position naturally led to the inference that
the other parts of the skeleton would be found at
the bottom of the pot-hole, could it ever be
reached, and the progress of the excavation was
watched with great interest. In the bottom of this
cavity, lying upon a bed of clay, broken slate,
gravel and water-worn pebbles, and covered
with river ooze and vegetable soil, lay the principal
parts of the mastodon skeleton. The first parts
uncovered were the bones of the hind legs, with a
portion of the pelvis. The head, with tusks un-
broken and undisturbed, was directed to the east-
ward and partially inclined against the sloping
walls. The vertebra, with exceptions, the ribs in
part, one fore limb and scapula followed, the pos-
terior parts lying more to the westward and south-
westward, but all in juxtaposition. The absence
of the lower and some of the larger limb bones
was obvious, and but for these we might have sup-
posed that the entire skeleton had been drifted in-
to this pot-hole and covered with river ooze and
peaty soil. On further examination other bones
were discovered thirty or forty feet distant, and at
a somewhat lower level than the main part of the
skeleton, but still above the gravel. Expecting to
find some, at least, of the remaining bones, efforts
were made to remove all the peaty earth and loose
materials, but this was not fully accomplished.
At a later date, some time in February, 1867,
during excavations upon another part of the
ground outside of the mill, a small pot-hole was
opened in which were found bones of the right fore
leg and foot. This point is more than sixty feet to
the southwest of the place where the principal
bones of the skeleton were found, and at least
twenty feet higher.
All the parts of the skeleton found at the differ-
ent points designated were presented to the State
Cabinet of Natural History by Alfred Wild, Esq. ,
President of the Harmony Mills Company, and
have been mounted in their proper position. The
missing bones were modeled from opposite cor-
responding parts or from adjacent ones, and after-
wards cast in plaster-of-Paris. In some instances
recourse was had to the Warren mastodon skele-
ton, of which careful examinations and comparisons
were made.
In the following spring and summer a careful
survey of the Cohoes FaUs and the surrounding
country was made, mainly with a view of deter-
mining the relations of the pot-holes, in which the
mastodon remains were found, to those of the river
bed and adjacent valley. From this survey it was
clearly ascertained that the large and deep pot-holes
were entirely outside the present river channel ;
that all the pot-holes existing within limits over-
flowed by the present Mohawk River are shallow
basins. We therefore began to distinguish them
as ancient and modern, and, with few exceptions,
above the falls all those of the river bed seem to be
of modern origin.
We have, by these observations, determined that
the water of the present river, neither above, below
nor at the falls, produces pot-holes of the character
of those in which the mastodon bones were found.
In the bottom of all the ancient pot-holes there
is a considerable space occupied b}' gravel and
pebbles, which are chiefly or almost wholly of hard
quartzite, a partially metamorphic condition of the
20
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Potsdam sandstone. Turning to the northward,
we find large exposures of the sandstone or quartz-
ite, from which these pebbles might have been de-
rived, had there been the means of transporting
them.
The breaking down of these rocks, and the
transport is usually attributed to the action of ice,
and the rounding of these into pebbles is due to
the action of water. The agency which trans-
ported the quartz pebbles of the Mohawk valley
was doubtless the same as that which transported
the remains of the mastodon found in the pot-holes
at Cohoes. I do not believe that any of the mas-
todon remains which we find are of animals that
wandered into swamps or sought their food in such
localities, and thus became mired.
Returning to the consideration of the geo-
graphical and geological surroundings of the
Cohoes mastodon, we find the following condi-
tions : The Mohawk River, having an easterly direc-
tion, makes a bend toward the northward after
leaving Schenectady ; at Crescent it turns abruptly
to the southeast, uniting with the Hudson River
below Waterford, and at a point ten miles above
Albany. The Cohoes Falls is on the Mohawk,
about one mile above its junction with the Hudson
River. The area to the southward is covered by
drift and estuary deposits in the order of boulder-
clay- and gravel below, above which is an evenly
stratified clay, graduating into a loam, and finally
to a fine yellow sand, which covers much of the
area between Albany and Schenectady.
The relation of the clay and gra\'el are often
seen in excavations ; they are often found resting
upon a boulder-clay, or a mixture of clay and
gravel, the whole covering an extremely uneven
surface of slate rock, as is often seen along the
Hudson and at a few points along the Normans
Kill.
Throughout all parts of the river bed and chan-
nel we search in vain for evidence of pot-holes of
the character of those described as containing peb-
bles of quartzite, and in which the remains of the
mastodon were found. These ancient pot-holes
are of all dimensions, from one foot to fifty feet in
depth and diameter.
The pot-holes of the river bed exhibit all stages
of formation and obliteration. The shales of the
Hudson River Group present everywhere a surface
quite rough in detail, though even and regular in
its general features. An insensible gradation may
be seen above the crest of the fall, from irregular
hollows, bounded by sharp fractures of slate, to
deep, rounded, smoothed pot-holes. Upon the
plateau below the fall the few remaining pot-holes
are filled nearly to the brim by gravel and mud.
The typical form of these pot-holes is a cylinder,
with rounded bottom and rounded brim. The
type is modified by the enlargement of the mouth,
by expansions and constrictions in the shaft, and
other irregularities. The interior surfaces are
rounded, smoothed and even polished, especially
at the bottom. In my examination I saw nothing
to controvert the theory that they were formed by
the grinding action of stones moved by water.
The rock over which the Mohawk flows, from
the Cohoes Company's dam to the Hudson, is of
very uniform character.
Excavation has revealed in Cohoes and vicinity
a number of pot-holes found anterior to the pres-
ent gorge of the Mohawk. The great difference
between the pot-holes of the shore and of the river
bed appears to be that of size. Half of those dis-
covered on the eastern shore outrank the largest of
the modern. The mastodon pot-hole was probed
to a depth greater than the river bed can show.
The gravel from the ancient pot-holes is all well
rounded, while the modern ones contain many
boulders that are but partly so.
The water makes no clear leap in Cohoes Falls ;
for a distance of 400 feet the descent is 14 feet on
a gradual plane, and from the crest to the base, on
a curved slope, 57 feet. Above Cohoes town the
bed rock of the -west shore is, to a large extent,
hidden by the hills of drift and a terrace of clay.
On the east side, an area nearly a mile broad and
two miles long shows the bed rock, covered by a
thin clay soil derived from the decomposition of
the rock itself. This area is elevated about 175
feet above the water of the Hudson. Its eastern
boundary is a line of drift hills and terrace. The
latter is of clay, covered by sand, and extends some
distance up that river. The drift hills frequently
rise above the level of the terrace.
The rock plateau below Cohoes Falls is the base
line for sections near the falls ; it is 61 feet above
tidewater. The upper level of the Cohoes Com-
pany's race is 94 feet above plateau and 188 above
tide; cliff near the falls, 115 feet above plateau,
and 176 feet above tide; plateau west of Albany,
225 feet above tide ; top of gravel hill near " Pa-
troon's, " about 225 feet above tide. Gravel banks :
At the Patroon's a remarkable incliried bed of clay
lies under and over gravel in the following order :
Soil, slightly sorted gravel, red clay, blue clay,
stratified, coarse and fine sand, with rarely lenticu-
lar beds of coarse gravel. These gravel banks ex-
tend nearly to Cohoes, The coarser materials of
BOTANY.
31
the gravel hills near Albany are chiefly of the con-
glomerate of the Hudson River Group and con-
glomerates and jaspers of the Quebec Group.
Massive quartz, white or yellow (Potsdam ?), is
commonly met with, and, in some hills near the
Mohawk, seem even to predominate. They are
the best worn of all the pebbles, but the boulders
generally are not so well rounded as those turned
by pot-holes.
The numerous fossil shells referred to under the
head of "Geology," in connection with the rock
formations, properly come under this head. They
all have a specific name which we cannot repeat
here. They may be often seen in the flagstones
that cover our city sidewalks, and the rough stones
in the roadside walls. They tell us of the inhabit-
ants that dwelt, countless ages ago, in the now up-
heaved bed of the old ocean that once surged over
the places where we dwell.
BOTAN\'.
The Flora of the county of Albany is rich in
the number and variety of its plants, almost
every natural order and genus common to the
State being represented in this county. The
hills and valleys, fields and forests, lakes, brooks
and swamps, all contribute to adorn nature with a
firofusion of vegetable beauty, and invite the prac-
tical student to gather these treasures so liberally
spread before him.
The amateur and student in Botany will find few
localities in the State from which he can secure a
greater variety of interesting plants than in Albany
county. Nature has, indeed, been lavish in her
gifts to our county, as seen all over its surface,
made picturesque and charming by the grand Hel-
derbergs, the noble Hudson, its crystal lakes, its
rapid streams tumbling over cataracts, running
through deep ravines, its caverns and rocky re-
cesses and steep precipice.s, its forest trees and
shrubs, its varied and beautiful flora, its fields of
grass and grain, and its variety of sedges, mosses,
rushes and ferns in the by-places.
We are indebted to Torrey's "State Botany,''
Wright & Hall's "Plants About Troy," Prof C. H.
Peck and Dr. J S. Markle for valuable aid in this
chapter.
In the list of the trees, shrubs and plants found
in the county, only such as are indigenous or
naturalized are included. They are grouped
under their natural orders, and the generic, specific
and common names are given. Exotic and green-
house plants will be omitted from our list. All
descriptions, for want of space, are left out. The
simple list will tell our wealth and make a useful
guide to the student.
RANUNCULAC.^.
Order. Common Name.
Clematis, Virginiana Virgin's Bower.
C verticillaris Whorl-leaved V. B.
Anemone, nemorosa. . . Wood Anemone.
A Pennsylvanica
A cylindrica
A Virginiana Virginia Anemone.
llepalica, triloba Liverwort.
H acutiloba
Ranunculus, Flammula Small Spearwort.
R recurvatus Hooked Crowfoot.
R fascicularis Early Crowfoot.
R abortivus Round-leaved Crowfoot.
R sceleratus Celery Crowfoot.
^ acris Butter-cups.
R bulbosus Bulbous Crowfoot.
R Pennsylvanicus .... Bristly Crowfoot.
R multifidus Yellow Water Crowfoot.
R repens Creeping Crowfoot.
Callha, palustris Marsh Marigold.
Coptis, trifolia Goldthread.
Aquilegia, Canadensis Wild Columbine.
Acto;a, spicata var Red Baneberry.
A rubra White Baneberry.
Thalictrum, dioicum Early Meadow Rue.
T purpurasccns Purple Meadow Rue.
T Cornuti Meadow Rue.
T anemonioides Rue Anemone.
MAGNOLIACE.-E.
Liriodendron, Tulipifera White Wood. Tulip Tree.
MENISPERMACE/E.
iNTenispermum, Canadense Moon Seed.
BERBERIDACE^i.
Podophyllum, peUatum May Apple. Mandrake.
Caulophyllum, thalictroides Blue Cohosh.
CABOMBACE^E.
Braseiiia, peltatum Water Target.
NYMPH/EACE^.
Nymphoea, odorata Water Lily.
Nuphar, advena Yellow Pond Lily.
N Kalmiana Kalm's Pond Lily.
SARRACENIACE/E.
Sarracenia, purpurea Side-saddle Flower.
PAPAVERACE.^.
Sanguinaria, Canadensis Bloodroot.
Chelidonium, majus Celandine.
FUMARIACE^.
Dicentra, cucullana Dutchman's Breeches.
D Canadensis Squirrel Coon.
Adlumia, cirrhosa Mountain Fringe.
Corydahs, glauca Glaucous Corydalis.
CRUCIFERE^.
Capsella, Bursa-pastoris Shepherd's Purse.
Lepidium, Virginicum Wild Pepper-grass.
L campestre Yellow Seed.
33
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
CRUCIFERE/E.
Draba, verna Whilbow Grass.
Nasturtium, palustre Marsh Watercress.
Barbarea, vulgaris Winter Cress.
Arabis, Canadensis Sickle Pod.
A lyrata Wall Cress.
A laevigata Smooth Wall Cress.
A . . . . hirsuta Hairy Wall Cress.
Cardamine, hirsuta Small Bittter Cress.
C rhomboidea Spring Cress.
C Pratensis P'ield Cardamine.
Dentaria, diphylla Pepper Root.
D laciniata Tooth Wort.
Sisymbrium, officinale Hedge Mustard.
Erysimum, cheiranthoides Wormseed Mustard .
Sinapis, nigra Black Mustard.
S arvensis Field Mustard. Charlock.
CAPPARIDACE^.
Polanisia, graveolens .
VIOLACE^.
Viola, cucullata Hood-leaved Violet.
V. . . . sagittaria Arrow-leaved Violet.
v.... Selkirkii Selkirk's Violet.
V. . . . palmata Palmated Violet.
V. . . . pedata Pedate Violet.
V . . . . blanda Sweet-scented Violet.
V . . . . lanceolata Lance-leaved Violet.
V . . . . rotundifolia Round-leaved Violet.
V. . . . Canadensis Canadian Violet.
V. . . . pubescens Common Yellow Violet.
V . . . . Muhlenbergii Muhlenberg's Violet.
V . . . . rostrata Beaked Violet.
DROSERACE^.
Drosera, rotundifolia Round-leaved Sundew.
D longifolia Long-leaved Sundew.
PARNASSIACE^.
Parnassia, Caroliniana Grass of Parnassus.
CISTACEyE.
Lechea, major Larger Pinweed.
L minor Smaller Pinweed.
Helianthemum, Canadense Rock Rose.
Hudsonia, Tomentosa Woolly Hudsonia.
ELATINACE^.
Elatine, Americana Mud Purslane.
HVPERICACE^.
Hypericum, pyramidatum Giant Hypericum.
H perforatum Common St. John's-wort.
H cory mbosum Spotted St. John's-wort.
H mutilum Small St. John's-wort.
H Canadense Canadian St. John's-wort.
Elodes Virginica Marsh St. John's-wort.
ILLECEBRACE.<E.
Anychia, dichotoma Forked Chickweed.
Spergula, arvensis Corn Spurry.
CARYOPHYLLACE/E.
Stellaria, media Chickweed.
S longifolia Long-leaved Stitch wort.
Cerastium, vulgatum Mouse-ear Chickweed.
C viscosum Sticky Chickweed.
C arvense Field Chickweed.
C nutans Nodding Chickweed.
Arenaria, stricta Straight Sandwort.
A serpylUfolia Thyme-leaved Sandwort.
Sagina, procumbens Creeping Sandwort.
MoUugo, verticillata Carpet Weed.
Silene, antirrhina Snap-dragon Catch-fly.
Silene, noctiflora Night-flowering Catch-fly
Lychnis, Githago Corn Cockle.
Saponaia, officinalis Common Soapwort.
Scleranthus, annuus Knaivel.
PORTULACACE/E.
Portulaca, oleracea Purslane.
Claytonia, Caroliniana Spring Beauty.
C Virginica Virginian Spring Beauty.
MALVACE^.
Malva, rotundifolia Ijdw Mallow.
Abutilon, Avicenna; Velvet-leaf Mallow.
LINAGES.
Linum, Virginianum Virginian Flax.
L usitatissimum Common Flax.
GERANIACE.^.
Geranium, maculatum Spotted Geranium.
G Robertianum Herb Robert.
G Carolinianum Carolina Crane's bill.
BALSAMINACE/E.
Impatiens, pallida Touch-me-not.
I fulva Jewel Weed.
OXALIDACE^.
Oxalis, Acetosella Common Wood Sorrel.
O violacea Violet Wood Sorrel.
O stricta Yellow Wood Sorrel.
ZANTHOXYLACE^.
Zanthoxylum, Americanum Prickly Ash.
ANACARDIACE^.
Rhus, glabra Smooth Sumac.
R typhina Stag-horn Sumac.
R. copallina Mountain Sumac.
R . . . . venenata Poison Sumac.
R . . . . Toxicodendron Poison Ivy.
R . . . . aromatica Sweet Sumac.
TILIACE/E.
Tilia, Americana Linden. Bass Wood.
VITACE.^.
Vitis, Labrusca Large-Blue Grape.
V . . . cordifolia Frost Grape.
V . . . cestivalis Summer Grape.
Ampelopsis, quinquefolia Woodbine. Virginian Creeper.
ACERACE.E.
Acer, rubrum Swamp Maple.
A. ... dasycarpum White Maple.
A. ... saccharinum Sugar Maple.
A.
A.
nigrum Black Maple.
Pennsylanicum Striped Maple.
BOTANY,
23
ACERACE^.
Acer, spicatum Mountain Maple.
CELASTRACE/E.
Staphylea, trifolia Bladder Nut.
Celastrus.scandens Climbing Bitter Sweet.
RHAMNACE^.
Ceanothus, Americanus Jersey Tea.
POLYGALACE^.
Polygala, verticillata Whorl-leaved Polygala.
P Senega Seneca Snake-root.
P paucifolia Fringed Polygala.
LEGUMINOS^.
Ervum, hirsutum Hairy Vetch.
Apios, tuberosa Ground Nut.
Amphicarprea, monoica Hog Nut.
Tephrosia, Virginiana Goat's Rue.
Trifolium, repens White Clover.
T sevense Haresfoot Trefoil.
T pratense Common Red Clover.
T agrarium I<"ield or Hop Trefoil.
Melilotus, officinalis Yellow Melilot.
M alba White Melilot.
Medicago, lupulina Nonesuch.
Astragalus, Canadensis Canadian Vetch.
Desmodium, nudiflorum Naked-flowered Desmodium.
D acuminatum Pointed-leaved Desmodium.
D canescens Hoary Desmodium.
D Canadense Bush Trefoil.
D cuspidatum Cuspidate Desmodium.
D paniculatum Panicled Desmodium.
D rotundifolium Round-leaved Desmodium.
Lespedeza, capitata Bush Clover.
L hirta Hairy Lespedeza.
1 procumbens Trailing Lespedeza.
L violacea Violet Lespedeza.
L sessilUflora Sessile-flowered Lespedeza.
Lupinus, perennis Common Lupine.
Baptisia, tinctoria Wild Indigo.
Cassia, marilandica American Senna.
C Chamcecrista Dwarf-Cassia.
C nictitans Wild Sensitive Plant.
ROSACEA.
Prunus, serotina Black or Wild Cherry.
P Virginiana Choke Cherry.
P Pennsylvanica Wild Red Cherry.
P pumila Sand Cherry.
P Americana Wild Plum.
Crataegus, coccinea White Thorn.
C Crus-galli Cockspur Thorn.
C punctata Thorn.
Pyrus, arbutifolia Choke-Berry.
P Americana Mountain Ash.
Amelanchier, Canadensis Shad-Berry, Bill-berry.
Rosa, Carolina Swamp Rose.
R . . . . lucida Shining or Wild Rose.
R. ... blanda Bland Rose.
R. . ..rubiginosa Sweet Briei\
Rubus, villosus High Blackberry.
R hispidus Bristly Blackberry.
R Canadensis Low Blackberry.
Rubus, odoratus Rose-flowering Raspberry.
R strigosus Wild Red Raspberry.
R .... occidentalis Black Raspberry.
R . . . . triflorus Three-flowered Raspberry .
Potentilla, Norvegica Norwegian Potentilla.
P Canadensis Common Cinquefoil.
P argentea Silvery Cinquefoil.
P anserina Silver Weed.
I' arguta White flowered Potentilla.
P palustris .... Marsh Cinquefoil.
Fragaria, Virginiana Wild Strawberry.
F. Vcaca Alpine or Wood Straw -
berry.
Dalibarda, repens False Violet.
Waldsteinia, fragarioides Dry Strawberry.
Geum, riyale Purple Avens.
G strictum Yellow Avens.
G Virginianum White Avens.
Poterium, Canadense Burnet Saxifrage.
Agrimonia, Eupatoria Agrimony.
Spireea, tomentosa Hardhack.
S salicifolia < Jueen of the Meadow.
S Opulifolia Nine-bark.
LYTHRACE^.
j Decodon, Verticillatum
ONAGRACE^.
[ Epilobium, angustifolium Willow Herb.
E Coloratum Colored Epilobium.
E hirsutum Hairy Epilobium.
I CEnothera, biennis Common Evening Prim-
rose.
Oi pumila Dwarf Evening Primrose.
Gaura, biennis Biennial Gaura.
Circceu, Lutetiana Enchanter's Nightshade.
C alpina Alpine Nightshade.
CUCURBITACE.-E.
Sicyos, angulatus Single-seeded Cucumber.
Echinocystis, lobata Wild Balsam- Apple.
GROSSULACE^.
Ribes, floridura Wild Black Currant.
R . . . . prostratum Fetid Currant.
R . . . Cynosbati Prickly Gooseberry.
1 R . . . . rotundifolium Wild Gooseberry.
CRASSULACE^.
Sedum, Telephium Common Live-forever.
Penthorum, sedoides Virginia Stone-Crop.
SAXIFRAGACE^.
Saxifraga, Virginiensis Early Saxifrage.
S Pennsylvanica Tall Saxifrage.
Heuchera, Americana Alum Root.
Mitella, diphylla Bishop's Cap.
M. . . . nuda Leafless stemmed Bishop's
Cap.
Tiarella, cordifolia Mitre Wort. Gem Fruit.
Chrysosplenium, Americanum. . . .Water Carpet.
HAMAMELACE^.
Hamamelis, Virginica Witch Hazel.
24
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
UMBELLIFER^.
Hydrocotyle, Americana Pennywort.
H umbellata Umbellate Pennywort.
Sanicula, Canadensis Canadian Sanicle.
S Marilandica Long-styled Sanicle.
Cicuta, maculata Water Hemlock.
C bulbifera Narrow-leaved Hemlock.
Slum, latifolium Water Parsnip.
S lineare Linear-leaved Waler Par-
snip.
Cryptotaenia, Canadensis Hone-wort.
Zizia, Aurea Golden Alexander.
Z . . . . integerrima Entire leaved Golden
Alexander.
Archangelica, atropurpmea Angelica.
A hirsuta Hairy Angelica.
Caucus, Carota Wild Carrot.
Pastmaca, sativa Common Wild Parsnip.
Heracleum, lanatmn Cow Parsnip.
Osmorrhiza, longistylis Sweet Cicily.
O brevistylis Short-styled Cicily.
Conimn, maculatum Poison Hemlock.
ARALIACE.'E.
Alalia, nudicaulis Wild Sarsapaiilla.
A racemosa Spikenard.
A hispida Bristly Aralia. [Ginseng.
Panax, tritolium Ground Nut. Dwarf
P quinquefolium Ginseng.
CORNACE^.
Cornus, stolonifera White-berried Cornel.
C sericea Red Osier.
C circinata Round-leaved Dogwood.
C alternifolia ...^. Alternate-leaved.
C paniculata Panicled Dogwood.
C florida Flowering Dogwood.
C Canadensis Low Cornel, or Dogwood,
CAPRIFOLIAC.E.
Lonicera, hirsuta Hairy Honeysuckle.
L parviflora Small-flowered "
L ciliata Fly Honeysuckle.
DierviUa, trifida Bush Honeysuckle.
Triosteum, perfoliatum Fever-wort.
Symphoricarpus, racemosus Snow-berry.
Linnjea, borealis Twin-flower.
Sambucus, Canadensis Common Elder.
S pubens Panicled Elder.
Viburnum, lantanoides Hobble-bush.
V opulus High Cranberry.
V acerifolium Dockmackie.
V Lentago Sweet Viburnum.
V nudum Swamp Viburnum.
V dentatum Arrow-head.
V pubescens Downy Viburnum.
RUBIACE^.
Galium, asprellum Rough Cleavers.
G trifidum Small Bedstraw.
G triflorum Sweet-scented Bedstraw.
G Aparine Common Cleavers.
G boreale Northern Galium.
G circzezans Circcea-like Galium.
Mitchella, repens Partridge Berry.
Hedyotis, ccerulea Dwarf Pink.
H longifolia Long-leaved Dwarf Pink.
Cephalanthus, ocddentalis Button Bush.
COMPOSITE.
Eupatorium Trumpet- weed.
E purpureum
E sessilifolium Sessile-leaved Eupatoi ium
E perfoliatum Thorough wort. Boneset.
I-: ageratoides Nettle-leaved Eupatorium
Tussilago, Farfara Colt's-foot.
Aster, corymbosus Corymbed Aster.
Aster, macrophyllus Large-leaved Aster.
Aster, cordifolius Heart-leaved Aster.
A undulatus Wave-leaved Aster.
A patens Spreading Aster.
A laevis Smooth Aster.
A puniceus Red-stalked Aster.
A Novse Angliae New England Aster.
A Tradescanti Tradescant's Aster.
A miser Starved Aster.
A simplex Willow-leaved Aster.
A tenuifolius Narrow-leaved Aster.
A dumosus Bushy Aster.
A ericoides Heath-like Aster.
A niultiflorus Many-flowered Aster.
A . . . . acuminatus Acuminate Wood Aster.
Sericocarpus, conyzoides Broad-leaved Sericocarpus.
Erigeron, bellidifolium Robin's Plantain.
E Philadelphicum Narrow-leaved Robin's
Plantain.
E annuum Common Fleabane.
E strigosum Fleabane. White Weed
E Canadense Canadian Fleabane.
Solidago, lanceolata Grass-leaved Goldenrod.
S squarrosa Ragged Goldenrod.
S bicolor White Goldenrod.
S latifolia Broad-leaved Goldenrod.
S caesia Blue-stemmed Goldenrod.
S nemoralis Gray Goldenrod.
S arguta Sharp-toothed Goldenrod
S Canadensis Canadian Goldenrod.
S seriotina Late Goldenrod.
S altissima Tall Goldenrod.
Inula, helenium Elecampane.
Heliopsis, Isevis Ox-eye.
Rudbeckia, lanciniata Smooth Rudbeckia.
R hirta Hairy Rudbeckia.
Helianthus, annuus Common Sunflower.
H decapetalus Ten-rayed Sunflower.
H -divaricatus Spreading Sunflower.
H strumosus Wild Sunflower.
Helenium, autumnale American Sneeze-wort.
Maruta, Cotula May-weed.
Achillea, Millefolium Millfoil. Yarrow.
Leucanthemum, vulgare Ox-eye Daisy.
Bidens, frondosa Lealy-bur Marigold.
B connata Trifid-bur Marigold.
B cernua Water-bur Marigold.
B chrysanthemoides Radiate-bur Marigold .
Senecio, aureus Golden Senecio.
Artemisia, vulgaris Mugwort.
Gnaphalium, polycephalum Fragrant Life-everlasting.
G decurrens Decurrent Life everlasting.
i G uliginosum Mud Life-everlastuig.
BOTANY.
as
COMPOSIT.E.
Antennaria, margaritacea Pearly Life-everlasting.
A plantaginifolia Plantain-leaved Life-
everlasting.
Erechthites, hieracifolia Fir-weed.
Xanthium, strumarium Clot- weed.
Ambrosia, trifida Tall Ambrosia.
A artemisieefolia Hog-weed.
Lappa, major Burdock.
Cirsium, arvense Canada Thistle.
C lanceolatum Common Thistle.
C muticum Swamp Thistle.
Onopordon, acanthiiim Scotch Thistle.
Krigia, Virginica Dwarf Dandelion.
Cichorium, Intybusth Succory. Chiccory .
Lactuca, elongata Wild Lettuce.
Hieracium, venosum Veiny-leaved Hawkweed.
H paniculatum Panicled Hawkweed.
H scabrum Rough Hawkweed. [tuce.
Nabalus, albus Lion's-foot. White Let-
N altissimus Tall Nabalus.
N Fraseri Gall of the Earth.
Taraxacum, Dens-leonis Dandelion.
Sonchus, oleraceus Common Sow Thistle.
S asper Rough Sow Thistle.
LOBELIACE^.
Lobelia, cardinalis Cardinal Flower.
Lobelia, inflata Indian Tobacco.
L syphiltica Blue Cardinal Flower.
L spicata Clayton's Lobelia.
L Dortmanna Water Lobelia,
CAMPANULACE^.
Campanula, rotundifolia Hare Bell.
C Americana American Bell-flower.
ERICACE^.
Gaylussacia, resinosa Black Whortleberry.
Vaccinium, corymbosum High Wiortleberry.
V vacillans Low Blueberry.
V Pennsylvanicum Dwarf Blueberry.
V stamineum Dewberry.
Oxycoccus, vulgaris Small Cranberry.
O macrocarpus Large Cranberry.
Arctostaphylos, Uva-ursi Bearberry.
Andromeda, polifolia Marsh Andromeda.
A ligustrina Panicled Lyonia.
Cassandra, calyculata Leather-leaf. [berry.
Gaultheria, procumbens Wintergreen. . Checker-
Epigfea, repens Trailing Arbutus. May-
flower.
Kalmia, latifolia Mountain Laurel.
K angustifolia Sheep Poison.
K glauca Swamp Laurel.
Rhododendron, nudiflorum Swamp Pink.
R viscosum Clammy Swamp Pink.
Ledum, latifolium Labrador Tea.
Pyrola, rotundifolia Round-leaved Pyrola.
P chlorantha Green-flowered Pyrola.
P elliptica Shin-leaf.
P secunda One-sided Pyrola.
Chimaphila, umbellata Prince's Pine. Pipsissewa,
C maculata Spotted Wintergreen.
i
Monotropa, uniflora Indian Pipe.
M hypopitys Pine Sap.
Pterospora, andromedea Giant Bird's Nest.
AQUIFOLIACE^.
Prinos, verticillatus Black Alder. Win ter-berry .
PRIMULACE/E.
Trientalis, Americana Chickweed Wintergreen.
Lysimachia, stricta Loosestrife.
L ciliata Ciliate-leaved Loosestrife.
L quadrifolia Four-leaved Loosestrife.
L thyrsiflora Tufted Loosestrife.
Anagallis, arvensis Poor-man's Weather Glass .
PLANTAGIXACE/E.
Plantago, major Common Plantain. Ribwort.
P lanceolata Lance-leaved Plantani.
P Rugelii Rugel's Plantain.
LENTIBULACE/E.
Utricularia, vulgaris Common Bladderwort.
U minor Smaller Bladderwort.
U cornuta Horned Bladderwort.
OROBANCHACE^.
Aphyllon, uniflorum One-flowered Broomrape.
Conopholis, Americana American Broomrape.
Epiphegus, Virginiana Beech-drops.
SCROPHULARIACE^.
Verbascura, Thapsus Common Mullein.
V Blattaria Moth Mullein.
Linaria, vulgaris Toad Flax. Snap-dragon.
L Canadensis Canadian Snap-dragon.
Scrophularia, nodosa Figwort.
Chelone, glabra Snake-head.
Pentstemon, pubescens Beard-tongue.
Mimulus, ringens Monkey Flower.
I Gratiola, aurea Golden Hedge Hyssop.
; G Virginiana Virginian Hedge Hyssop.
] Veronica, Americana Brooklime.
! V Virginica Culver's Physic.
V scutellata Marsh Speedwell.
V officinalis Officinal Speedwell.
V peregrina Purslane Speedwell.
V agrestis Field Speedwell.
V serpyllifolia Thyme-leaved Speedwell.
Gerardia, purpurea Purple Gerardia.
G tenuiiolia Small Purple Gerardia.
Dasy stoma, quercifolia Oak-leaved Dasystoma.
D flava Downy Dasystoma.
! D pedicularia Lousewort Dasystoma.
[ Pedicularis, Canadensis Lousewort.
Melampyrum, pratense Cow Wheat.
VERBENACE/E.
Verbena, hastata Vervain, Simpler's Joy.
V urticifoha Nettle-leaved Vervain.
Phryma, leptostachya Phryma or Lopseed.
LABIATyE.
Mentha, Canadensis Horsemint.
M viridis Spearmint.
M piperita Peppermint.
26
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
LABIATE.
Isanthus, caeruleus Blue Gentian.
Lycopus, sinuatus Water Hoarhound.
L Virginicus Bugle Weed.
Monarda, didyma Mountain Mint.
M fistulosa Horsemint, Wild Berga
mot.
Origanum, vulgare Wild Marjoram.
Hedeoma, pulegioides Pennyroyal.
Melissa, officinalis Balm.
Collinsonia, Canadensis Stone-root.
Scutellaria, galericulata Common Scull-cap.
S lateriflora Mad-dog Scull-cap.
Brunella, vulgaris Self-heal. Blue-curls.
Nepeta, cataria Catnip, Catmint.
N Glechoma Gill-over-the-ground.
Physostegia, Virginiana Lion's Heart.
Lamium, amplexicaule Henbit.
Leonurus, Cardiaca Motherwort.
Galeopsis, Tetrahit Hemp Nettle.
Stachys, aspera Hedge Nettle.
Marrubium, vulgare Hoarhound.
Trichostema, dichotomum Blue-curls.
Teucrium, Canadense Wild Germander.
BORRAGINACE^.
Echium, vulgare Viper's Bugloss.
Symphytum, officinale Comfrey.
Lycopsis, arvensis Wild Bugloss.
Onosmodium, Virginianum False Gromwell.
Lithospermum, arvense Corn Gromwell.
L. (Batschia), canescens Puccoon.
Mertensia, Virginica Virginian Lungwort.
Cynoglossum, officinale Hound's Tongue.
C Morisoni Beggar's Lice.
Echinospermum Lappula Burr-seed .
HYDROPHYLLACE^.
Hydrophyllum, Virginicum Virginian Water-leaf.
CONVOLVULACE^.
Convolvulus, arvense Small Bindweed.
C purpureus Common Morning Glory.
Calystegia, spithamsea Sweet Bindweed.
C sepium Hedge Bindweed.
Cuscuta, Gronovii. Dodder.
SOLANACE^.
Datura, Stramonium Thorn Apple.
Hyoscyamus, niger t.'ommon Henbane.
Physalis, viscosa Ground Cherry.
Solanum, Dulcamara Woody Nightshade.
S nigrum Common Nightshade.
GENTIANACE^.
Gentiana, saponaria Soapwort Gentian.
G quinqueflora Five-flowered Gentian.
G crinita Blue-fringed Gentian.
APOCYNACE^.
Apocynum, adrosaemifolium Dogbane.
A cannabinum Indian Hemp.
ASCLEPIADACEyE.
Asclepias, Cornuti Common Silkweed.
Asclepias, phytolaccoides Poke-leaved Silkweed.
A incarnata Rose-colored Silkweed.
A quadrifolia Four-leaved Silkweed.
A tuberosa Butterfly Weed.
A verticillata Whorl-leaved Silkweed.
A obtusifolia Obtuse-leaved Silkweed.
OLEACE^.
Fraxinus, Americana White Ash.
F sambucifolia Black Ash.
F pubescens Red Ash.
ARISTOLOCHIACE.^ (Apetalae).
Asarum, Canadense Wild Ginger.
CHENOPODIACEyE.
Atriplex, Hortensis Garden Orache.
A patula Spreading Atriplex.
A rosea Rose Atriplex.
Blitum, capitatum Strawberry Blite.
Chenopodium, album Pig Weed.
C hybridum Tall Goosefoot.
C anthelminticum. . . .Worm Seed.
C Botrys Jerusalem Oak.
AMARANTHACE^i.
Amarantus, albus White Amaranth.
A blitoides Low Amaranth.
A retroflexus Pigweed.
A viridis Green Amaranth.
POLYGONACE/t;.
Polygonum, aviculare Knot-grass.
P ereclum Knot-grass.
P Hydropiperoides Water Pepper.
P Persicaria Lady's Thumb.
1' Pennsylvanicum Pennsylvanian Knot-grass
P Virginianum Virginian Knot-grass.
P articulatum Jointed Polygonum.
P sagittatum Scratchgrass.
P arifolium Hastate Knot-grass.
P Convolvulus Knot Bindweed.
P cilinode Hairy node Polygonum.
P dumetorum False Buckwheat.
Rumex, crispus Yellow Dock.
R verticillatus Swamp Dock.
R Britannica British Water Dock.
R obtusifolius Bitter Dock.
R Acetosella Field Sorrel, Horse Sorrel.
PHYTOLACCACE^.
Phytolacca, .decandra Poke, Garget Weed.
LAURACE^.
Benzoin, Lindera Fever Bush, Spice Wood.
Sassafras, officinale Sassafras.
SANTALACE^.
Comandra, umbellata Bastard Toadflax.
Nyssa, multifiora Pepperidge.
THYMELAC^.
Dirca, palustris Leather-wood.
ULMACE^.
Ulmus, Americana American Elm, White
Elm.
U f^va . . . • Slippery or Red Elm.
BOTANY.
27
EUPHORBIACE^.
Euphorbia, CoroUata Flowering Spurge.
E Cyparissias Cypress Spurge.
E Lalhyrus Caper Spurge.
E hypericifolia Eye-bright.
E maculata Spotted Spurge.
Acalypha, Virginica Three-seeded Mercury.
PLATANACE^.
Platanus, occidentaUs Button Wood, Sycamore.
URTICACE^.
Morjis, rubra Red Mulberry.
Laportea, Canadensis Wood Nettle.
Pilea, pumila Richweed, Stingless Net-
tle.
Urtica, dioica Stinging Nettle.
U urens Burning or Dwarf Nettle.
Boehmeria, cylindrica False Nettle.
Uumulus, Lupulus Common Hop.
Parietaria, Pennsylvanica Pellitory.
JUGLANDACE^.
Juglans, cinerea Butternut.
J nigra Black Walnut.
Carya, alba Shag-bark Hickory.
C tomentosa Mockernut Hickory.
C porcina Hog Walnut.
C amara Bitternut Hickory.
CUPULIFER^.
Quercus, alba White Oak.
Q macrocarpa Bur Oak.
Q Prinus Swamp Chestnut Oak.
Q bicolor Swamp White Oak.
Q montana Rock Oak.
Q rubra Red Oak.
Q coccinea Scarlet Oak.
Q tinctoria Black Oak.
Q ilicifoha Scrub Oak.
Q prinoides Chinquepin Oak.
Castanea, vesca Chestnut.
Fagus, ferruginea Beech.
Corylus, Americana Hazel .
C rostrata Beaked Hazel .
Ostrya, Virginica Iron Wood .
Carpinus, Americana Hornbeam. Water Beech.
BETULACE/E.
Betula, lenta Black Birch .
B lutea Yellow Birch.
B populLfolia White Birch.
B papyracea Canoe Birch.
Alnus, incana Common Alder.
A . . . . serrulata Smooth Alder.
MYRICACE/E.
Comptonia, asplenifolia Sweet Fern.
SALICACE^.
Salix, discolor Bog Willow.
S petiolaris Petioled Willow.
S Sericea Silky Willow.
S viminalis Basket Osier.
S purpurea Purple Willow.
Salix, cordata Heart-leaved Willow.
S . . . . longifolia Long-leaved Willow.
S lucida Shining Willow.
S. . , . nigra Black Willow.
S alba White Willow.
S . . . . myrtilloides Myrtle Willow.
S . . . . humilis Low Willow.
S tristis Dwarf Gray Willow.
S livida Livid Willow.
Populus, tremuloides American Aspen, White
Poplar.
P grandidentata Large-toothed Aspen.
P dilatata Lombardy Poplar.
P monilifera Necklace Poplar.
P Candicans Balm-of-Gilead.
CONIFERS.
Pinus, resinosa Norway or Red Pine.
P rigida Pitch Pine.
P Strobus White Pine.
Abies, Canadensis Hemlock.
Larix, Americana American Larch.
Thuja, occidentaUs Arbor Vitee.
Juniperus, communis Common Juniper.
J Virginiana Red Cedar.
Taxus, Canadensis .Dwarf Yew.
ARACE^.
Arisa^ma, triphyllum Jack-in-the-Pulpit.
A dracontium Green Dragon.
Peltandra, Virginica Arrow Arum.
Calla, palustris Wild Calla.
Acorus, Calamus Sweet Flag.
Symplocarpus, fcelidus Skunk Cabbage.
TYPHACE^.
Typha, latifolia Cat-tail, Reed Mace.
Sparganium, eurycarpum Bur Reed.
NAIADACE^.
Zannichellia, palustris Horn Pond weed.
Potamogeton, Claytoni Clayton's Pondweed.
P hybridus Pondweed.
P lucens Shining Pondweed.
P amplifolius Large-leaved Pondweed.
P pusillus Small Pondweed.
ALISMACE^,.
Alisma, Plantago Water Plantain.
Sagitlaria, variabilis Arrowhead.
S pusilla Puny Arrowhead.
S heterophylla Various-leaved Arrow-
head.
HYDROC H ARID ACE.^.
Anacharis, Canadensis Waterweed.
Vallisneria, spiralis Eel Grass.
ORCHIDACE/E.
Microstylis, ophioglossoides Adder's Mouth.
Liparis, liliifolia Tway -blade.
Corallorhlza, odontorhiza Coral Root.
C multiflora Many-flowered Coral
Root.
Orchis, spectabilis Showy Orchis.
O psycodes Purple Fringed Orchis.
28
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ORCHIDACE^.
Platanthera, lacera Ragged Orchis.
P Hookeri Hooker's Orchis.
Arethusa, bulbosa Bulbous Arethusa.
Pogonia, ophioglossoides Pogonia.
Calopogon, pulchellus Grass Pink.
Spiranthes, gracilis Ladies' Tresses.
Goodyera, pubescens Raltlesnake Plantain.
G repens Small Rattlesnake Plan-
tain.
Listera, cordata Tway-blade.
Cypripedium, acaule Purple Lady's Slipper.
C parviflonim Yellow Lady's Slipper.
C spectabile Showy Lady's Slipper.
COMMELYNACE^.
Tradescantia, Virginica Spider Wort.
XYRIDACE^.
Xyris, Caroliniana Yellow -eyed Grass.
AMARYLLIDACE^.
Hypoxys, erecta Star-grass.
IRIUACE.^.
Iris, versicolor Blue Flag.
Sisyrinchium, anceps Blue-eyed grass.
SMILACE^.
Smilax, rotundifolia Greenbrier.
S herbacea Carrion Flower.
TRILLIACE.^.
Trillium, cernuum Nodding-flowered Trill-
ium.
T erythrocarpum Smiling Wake-robin.
T erectum Bath Flower Purple Trill-
ium.
T grandiflorum Large White Trillium.
Medeola, virginica Cucumber Root.
LILIACE.^!.
Lilium, Canadense Yellow Lily.
L superbum Turk's Cap.
L Philadelphicum Field Lily.
Erythronium, Americanum Yellow Erythronium.
E albidum White Erythronium.
Allium, tricoccum Lance-leaved Garlic.
A Canadense Canadian Garlic,
A vineale Crow Garlic.
Smilacina, bifolia Two-leaved Solomon's
Seal.
S trifolia Three-leaved Solomon's
Seal.
S stellata Star Solomon's Seal.
S racemosa Clustered Solomon's Seal.
Clintonia, borealis Wild Lily of the Valley.
Polygonatum, biflorum Smaller Solomon's Seal.
P giganteum Giant Solomon's Seal.
Uvularia, sessilifolia Bell wort. Wild Oats.
U perfoliata Mealy Bellwort.
U grandiflora Large-flowered Bellwort
Streptopus, roseus Rose Twist-foot.
POMTEDERIACE/E.
Pontederia, cordata Pickerel Weed.
MELANTHACE^.
Melanthium, Virginicum . .' Bunchflower.
Veratrum, viride White Hellebore.
The class of plants known as Cyperacea, or
Sedges, are well represented in the county, but as
they are in general little used for food or in the
arts, no special notice or arrangement of the differ-
ent species will be given. Their coarse herbage is
often eaten by cattle, )-et they are quite destitute
of the sweet and nutritious properties of the grasses.
Of so little value, apparently, their abundance
seems to authorize the belief that they subserve
some important purpose in the economy of nature.
The sedges grow in almost all localities, but are
more common in the meadows, marshes and
swamps.
The GraminecB or Grasses, are universally dif-
fused, having no other limits than those that bound
vegetation in general. But the species and their
characteristics are widely different as affected by
climate and cultivation. This family of plants
contribute more to the sustenance of man and
beast than all others combined. Their sweet and
nutritious properties reside both in the farinaceous
albumen of the seed and in the herbage. To this
order belong the several kinds of grain and grass
that are cultivated in the county. The stems of
many grasses contain sugar in variable quantities.
The grains usually cultivated are Triticum
sativum, Winter wheat ; T. aestivum, Spring wheat ;
T. compositum, Egyptian wheat ; Secale cereale,
Rye ; Hordeum vulgare. Barley ; H. distichum,
Two-rnwed barley; A\ena sativa. Common oat ; with
the varieties Black and Horse-mane oats ; Zea Mays,
Maize or Indian corn; Sorghum saccharatum,
Broom corn.
The most important of the cultivated grasses are
Phleum pratense, Timothy ; several species of Poa,
Spear grass, Rough meadow grass, Blue grass.
Meadow red-top, Dactylis glomerata. Orchard grass ;
Agrostis, Red-top, White-top, Bent-grass, and some
others. The genus Festuca gi\es Slender fescue,
Tall fescue, ]\Icadow fescue, and Hard fescue grass.
Other common grasses are Hair grass, Red or
Blue-Joint, Fox-tail, Finger grass. Wild tifnothy,
Seneca or S7vect Vernal grass, and Chess or cheat.
Filiccs or Ferns are a large and interesting order
of flowerless plants — admired for their elegant,
graceful and plume-like foliage and distinguished
by their remarkable method of reproduction, the
organs of which, e.xamined with the aid of a good
lens, cannot fail to interest the student. Their
NATURAL HISTORY.
29
locality is scarcely limited by geographical lines.
The more common species grow upon hard moun-
tain soil and in swamps or moist woods. Their
economic uses are limited, so far as now known,
to their medicinal properties. They are much
sought and cultivated for ornament.
Poly podium vulgare. Common polypod ; P. Phe-
gopteris. Triangular polypod, Aspidium acrostich-
oides, Christmas fern ; A. Thelypteris, Marsh shield
fern ; A. marginale. Marginal shield fern ; A.
dilatatum. Broad shield fern ; Asplenium ebeneum.
Ebony spleenwort ; A. Trichomanes Dwai/ spleen-
wort A. Angustifolium, Narrow-leaved spleen-
wort ; A. Ruta-muraria, Wall-rue spleenwort;
A. Filix-foemina, Lady fern ; Woodsia llvensis.
Rusty Woodsia, Pteris aquilina, Conmion brake ; P.
atropurpurea, Rock brake; Adiantum pedatum.
Maidenhair; Dicksonia pilosiuscula. Fine-haired
mountain fern ; Osmunda cinnamomea. Cinna-
mon - colored fern ; O. regalis. Royal-flowering
fern ; Cystopteris bulbifera Bulb-bearing Cystopteris ;
C. fragilis. Brittle fern ; Onoclea sensibilis. Sensitive
fern — are among the ferns found in Albany County.
The: EquisetacecB or Horsetails, (Rushes), an order
of vegetables growing in wet grounds, on river
banks and borders of moist woods, are represented
in the county by Equisetum hyemale. Scouring
rush , K. arvense. Field horsetail ; E. limosum,
Pipes and E. sylvaticum. Wood horsetail.
Of the Lycopodiaccw or Club mosses, we have Lv-
copodium cla\'atum, Common club moss ; L. com-
planatum. Ground pine , L. Dendroideum, Tree
club moss ; Selaginella rupestris, Rock club moss.
NATURAL HISTORY.
Quadrupeds. — Two hundred and seventy-five
years ago, in ascending the noble river that bears
his name, Henry Hudson saw upon its banks a
race of people clad in rude garments and armed
with the ancient bow and arrows. They were na-
tives of the forest ; and, like the animals about
them, wild, fierce and savage. The earlj' immi-
grants to this country met the same wandering na-
tives of the woods, and with them the wild beasts
that roamed both hill and valley, a terror and dread
by day and by night. Where are they now .? The
laws of civilization, the a.K and the plow, have
wonderfully interfered with their rights and des-
troyed their freedom of domain. No more is
heard in our county of die savage war-whoop of
. the Indian, the ferocious bark of the wolf, the
piercing cry of the wild cat, the growl of the bear,
or the plaintive bleat of the deer. These animals,
once common in the county and familiar to the
early settlers, have disappeared. No longer does
the beaver aflFord profit or amusement to the
hunter. The otter, too, has gone, and with it the
hedge-hog and the porcupine. Two years ago,
near the farm of Hon. Erastus Corning, a porcu-
pine was shot, which is preserved as a specimen
in the Museum of Natural History, at Albanv.
1 he noble bison and elk, monarchs of the forest,
if they once roamed our forests in freedom, as
some believe, have sought more secure and favored
retreats.
Among the primitive quadrupeds yet to be found
in the county are the fox, raccoon, woodchuck,
skunk, grey and white rabbit, muskrat, mink,
weasel, grey and red squirrel, striped and flying
squirrel, mole, mice of several kinds ; all insig-
nificant as compared with those proud occupants
of our old forests.
Birds. — The birds form no small part of the
natural history of the county. Many of them,
with their jo}'ous songs, are welcome harbingers ot
spring, assuring us that the icy fetters of winter
are broken, that the mild rays of the vernal sun
will soon warm the earth. The husbandman is
made glad when he hears the first note of the blue-
bird, the rapturous music of the robin, or the
mellow call of the whip-poor-will.
Among our rapacious birds are the great hen-
hawk, goshawk, pigeon-hawk, shrike or butcher-
bird, the grey, horned and barn owl, crow, great
blue heron, small heron, bittern and kingfisher.
But few game birds are found in the county, and
these are protected by stringent laws. During the
few months in which they can be legally killed,
the huntsmen seem to have no thought for the
future, but are so reckless that few remain for the
ne.xt season's reproduction. Partridge, woodcock,
snipe, plover and, rarely, a quail, with an occa-
sional meadow lark, comprise the list.
Among the song birds are the robin, golden and
orchard oriole, brown and wood thrush, cat-bird,
bobolink, bluebird, grey and hedge sparrow,
chirp and yellow bird, titmouse, red and black-
winged phoebe, bluejay, kingbird, blackbird,
barn, chimney and mason swallows, several kinds
of woodpeckers, crested tit, house wren, cuckoo,
dove, whip-poor-will, night-hawk and several vari-
eties of the humming-birds, and the cedar or
cherry bird. The habits of these birds are as
various as the classes they represent. The greater
number are migrator)-, arriving here during the
spring months. The first to leave is the bobo-
link ; others follow at irregular intervals. Almost
the last to leave for a more genial clime is the
30
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
robin. The indiscriminate and wanton destruction
of our harmless birds by the ruthless sportsmen
is having a marked effect upon the increase of
insects and worms, injurious to vegetation.
Fishes. — The creeks running through the
county, as well as the Hudson, early abounded in
fish. Pike and sturgeon were caught even in Fox
Creek, now filled up or used as a covered sewer.
A sturgeon was sold for a knife in that early day.
Salmon has rarely been found in our river, the fish
preferring clearer, rocky rivers, like the Connecticut
and Kennebec. Herring once made Saratoga
Lake their grand rendezvous, and were in plenty.
The dams have turned them away. Shad and
bass are not plentiful so far up stream as our county
for lack of suitable accommodations ; but they are
abundant in the river, as are also the usual variety
of small fish. Trout was once very abundant in
the clear streams of the county.
The sharp-nosed sturgeon, caught in the Hud-
son, is from four to eight feet in length, and varies
in weight from loo to 450 pounds. A few years
ago one was caught weighing 486 pounds. The
annual catch commences in April and continues
into the autumn. This fish is caught in most of
the- fishing places from New York bay to Troy,
and is a great favorite in the river towns. It is
sometimes called "Albany beef" Its oil is used
for the same purpose as sperm oil, and in the treat-
ment of cuts and bruises. A favorite place for
spawning was once at the bottom of Cohoes Falls.
Its roes or eggs furnish one of the most alluring
bates to the angler, as bass and man}' other fish
delight in them for food.
Reptiles. — Of snakes there are very few, and of
the poisonous class none. The rattlesnake, once
so common in the county, is no more to be
dreaded.
The list comprises the black-snake and chaser,
milk, water, garter and green snakes. Some
lizards, newts and toads of several varieties are
found.
Entomology. — Varied as are the subjects con-
nected with the Natural Histor}' of Albany County,
that of entomology is not the least. Many insects
are known to be injurious to trees, shrubs and
plants under cultivation ; many are destructive to
domestic fabrics, and in many ways are pests in
the house, in the garden, and in the field and for-
est A knowledge of their histor}-, habits, charac-
ter, propagation and natural enemies, with practical
suo-gestions for their control, and the best means
and remedies for their destruction, should be of
much interest and value.
The Entomological History of New York State
was under the supervision of Dr. Fitch for many
years, who made very extensive collections in
Albany and Washington counties. For ten years
after Dr. Fitch's death no work was done by the
State in that branch of natural history, and much
valuable time was lost.
In 1870, the work was resumed by Dr. J. A.
Lintner, who was appointed State Entomologist.
For the last fifteen years, large and extensive col-
lections have been made by him and his associates
for the State collection, for private cabinets, and
for distribution in various parts of the United
States and in Europe.
Albany County has a favorite insect-collecting
ground at the "Center," on the N. Y. Central R. R.,
a few miles North West from Albany. This also
affords many plants for the botanist not obtained
anywhere else. The Scientific American says, ' ' The
butterflies — Lepidoptera —collected in this place are
more extensive than in any other locality." This
is one of the localities in the State where the 1 7
year locusts. Cicada- Septemdecim, will appear in
1885.
Dr. Lintner has given special attention to the
many injurious species, in order to counteract their
ravages and confine their area of depredations by
proper remedies, and to the best means for their
eradication. The subject is one of great interest
to the farmer and the cultivator of every species of
plant-life. Flies, beetles, moths, worms, etc., are
the bane of the progressive agriculturist, who is con-
stantl}' subjected to the ravages of these pests. Our
space allows only a brief notice of a few of the
more injurious pests that are common in the county.
The wheat-midge, Diplosis Iritici, was formerly
ver}- destructive, but of late }-ears its effect upon
the wheat crop has not been perceptible. 1 he
apple-tree borer, Saperda Candida, and the peach-
tree borer, jEgeria exitiosa, are so common to the
orchardist that they need no special description.
Unless they meet with constant warfare, the trees
in time succumb to their work. In May and
October every tree should be carefully examined,
and if an}- bark-dust or gnaioings are seen at the foot
of the tree, use a sharp knife and destroy the grub ;
or, with a wire, follow the channel made, and put
an end to further progress.
To prevent eggs being deposited, a shield of tin
or tarred paper may encircle the tree for 18 inches
in height.
The injuries of the currant \\orm, Nematus ven-
tricosus, have been quite se\-ere with the currant and
gooseberry crop; but it has had a vigorous attack
NATURAL HISTORY.
made upon it by a minute parasite, which oviposits
in its eggs and destroys them, and has thereby done
very much towards arresting its ravages. Among
the remedies most potent for the destruction of the
currant worm is Persian insect powder, or Pyre-
thrum, and powdered Hellebore dusted upon the
leaves when moist with dew or rain. The Helle-
bore may be used mixed with water, and sprinkled
from a water-pot having a fine ro.se.
The Colorado potato-beetle, Doryophora lo-lin-
cala, made its appearance in Albany County in 1874,
since which time it has been a plague to the farmer.
With perseverance and occasional application of
Paris-green incorporated with ground plaster, or
thoroughly mixed with water, the ravages of the
grub can be controlled. It has many enemies ;
nearly 30 other insects prey upon it.
The carpet beetle, Anthrenus scruphularue, re-
ceived its first scientific notice in this country by
Dr. Lintner, of Albany, in the year 1876. From
examples taken in Schenectady, its true character
was first ascertained, and its habits and life-
history established. It has been very abundant
and destructive in Schenectady and Albany, in the
latter city abounding in the early summer upon
umbelliferous plants in Washington Park. lis dis-
tribution through the State and other States is rapidl)'
extending. Every effort should be made to arrest
its spread b\- the free use of benzine in its haunts.
The white-marked tussock moth, Orgyia kucos-
tigma, has been a great pest in Albany and Schen-
ectady for a number of j-ears, having, at times,
almost deioliated the elms and horse-chestnuts of
our streets, and the plum-trees of our gardens. It
is believed that the great increase of this pest in
recent years is due to the introduction of the Eng-
lish sparrow, which makes war upon and drives
away the few birds that feed upon the hairy cater-
pillars, of which the Orgyia is one.
Another pest that has been quite destructive of
late years, is the rose-bug, ot Macrudac/ylus subspm-
osus.
The cabbage worm — larva of a butterfl)', order
Lepidoptera — was first noticed in Albany County by
Dr. Lintner, in July, 1870. It was introduced into
this country about 1857. It came to Alban}- and
vicinity in July 1870. This butterfly is the ban^.X)f
every cabbage grower, and its larva is the dread of
every cook. It is a voracious eater, and griW^
numbers of worms are often found in a single nead
of cabbage. The natural enemy of the chrysalides
is the larva of a minute parasitic fly, known as
Pteromaliis puparum. Another parasite of the cab-
bage worm is known as Apanteles congregata.
Another parasite is the larva of a two-winged fly,
belonging to the genus Tachina. This Tachina has
been bred in considerable numbers by Dr. Lintner.
The following remedies for the cabbage worm
are used; hot water, 130° Fahrenheit, the water to
be boiling hot, when put in the watering-pot ;
Pyrethrum, or Persian insect-powder, half-ounce,
with two gallons water, or half an ounce mixed
with some dry substance, and sprinkled on the
cabbage.
There are many hedges of spruce in Alban\'
County, and the tree is extensively planted for shade
and ornament; therefore, it ma)- be well to notice
an enemy, recently discox'ered, which has proved
to be very destructive to the spruce and fir trees. It
is called elsewhere the Spruce-hud Tortrix
Fumiferana. Besides climatic causes, the spruce
is likely to meet with the ravages of this new enemy ;
and if once introduced, our hedges will be at their
mere}'. It has appeared in the State already. The
defoliation of spruce-trees is sufficient either to kill
the trees outright, or so weaken them, that bark-
boring beetles can complete the work of destruction.
Trees attacked by these caterpillars look as if a
light fire had passed through them. It feeds upon
the leaves or needles of the terminal shoots, and
while at its work scarcely alters the appearance of
the tree, and its presence is known only when the
worms are abundant enough to defoliate the trees.
The imported elm-leaf beetle, GaUeruceUa Xan-
thotnelcETia. — The depredations of this pest have
become widely extended throughout the North
eastern States, preying upon the elms. The eggs
are deposited in an upright position upon the under
side of the leaves, generally in two, more or less
irregular rows. The eggs are close together and
firmly fastened to the leaf; they vary in number
from four or five to twenty-five ; in shape, oblgjig,
oval, obtusely pointed at the tip, and of a straw-
3-ellow color. The duration of the egg-state is
about one week. Th6 larvae are destructi\%to the
foliage from May to August, and haj:e aliout two
weeks of active life betwe.en the" egg and pupa
state. During this^jime they devour the leaves,
which become sJi©letonized. The beetle assists
the worms iiftts destructive work, but the worms
do thg3Baost damage. In the month of September
^tteoeetles prepare for hibernation, seeking shelter
in hollow trees, in the ground, under old leaves,
and remain dormant until the following spring.
The remedies recommended are many — such as
tarring the trees, oil and tar gutters around the base
of the tree, hot water and tobacco juice, arsenical
preparations, Paris-green, London purple, in pro-
32
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
portion, one-half pound, flour three quarts, and
water 40 gallons.
In the wide range of insect life few forms
possess a greater vitality than is found among the
bark-lice, and none are more readily transported
upon plants from place to place, and from one
country to another. Among the remedies the
following is one which was proved in practice
useful when a moderate quantity of emulsion is
required :
Kerosene two gallons, common soap or whale-
oil soap one-half pound, water one gallon. Heat
the solution of soap and add it boiling hot to
the kerosene. Churn the mixture thoroughly,
which, when cool, forms a thick cream ; dilute,
before using, one part of the mixture with nine
parts of cold water. The above gives three
gallons of emulsion, and makes, when diluted, 30
gallons of wash. The percentage of oil can be
considerably increased, as can also the amount of
soap, without danger to most trees or plants.
Kerosene differs from most other remedial agents
in being entirely harmless to tender young growths,
blossom buds and young fruit, if properly diluted.
It may therefore be applied to bearing trees at
seasons when other insectcides would cause more
or less loss of growth and of fruit. The most
favorable season for appl)-ing kerosene washes is,
undoubtedly, early spring, as soon or as all danger
of frost is past
The reports of Prof Riley, of the Department of
Agriculture, and of Prof J. A. Lintner, State
Entomologist, have been ver}' helpful in the prepara-
tion of this section. Much more might be added,
if our space would allow.
METEOROLOGY.
The principal timber or trees yet growing upon
the hills and in the small patches of forest are
pines, white, yellow and pitch ; oaks, several vari-
eties ; maples, birch, beech, elm, hemlock, chest-
nut and hickory ; on the sandy regions, dwarf
species of evergreen trees. Red cedar grows to a
limited extent in several localities, particularly
upon rocky wastes. The law of demand has
asserted its prerogative in the general physical
characteristics of the county, which is well illus-
trated by the rapid denudation and recent
destruction of forests for the requirements of
modern progress and internal improvements.
While these add largely to the wealth of the
country, agriculture is in a measure deprived of
its greatest need, an abundant rainfall. The one
thing essential to fertility is a constant supply
of water, and this is supplied by condensation from
the atmosphere, which appears in the form of snow
or rain, depending upon the temperature and
surrounding ph)'sical condition of the locality.
When we estimate the number of acres of forest
that are required for fuel and building material,
and the almost unlimited demand made to supply
the railroads, we can readily see how, in a few
j-ears, the whole character of the climate and
productions of a region ma}- be changed by the
destruction of its forests. Trees, with forest
vegetation, perform an important function in the
great economy of nature. They furnish natural
barriers against sudden floods; their roots permeate
the soil, and thus prevent torrents from sweeping
away the soil and conveying the accumulated debris
m heaps upon the cultivated land. The foliage of
the trees, which present such an immense surface,
condenses the atmospheric moisture, which would
otherwise be taken on the aerial currents and
carried awa}'. Physical geography demonstrates
this fact, that the destruction of forest growth
diminishes the amount of rainfall in that region.
In accordance with natural laws, the fertility
depends, in a great degree, upon this. Therefore,
to destroy the forests is to diminish one of the great
sources of productiveness of the soil. It is clear,
therefore, that the destruction of the forests has a
direct influence upon agriculture, by diminishing
the quantity of rainfall, inducing drouth by
uninterrupted raj-s of the sun, and by the wind
currents which meet with no obstructions and
cause less deposit of moisture.
Under this head other facts of interest will be
given in the histor}- of the City of Albanv.
METEOROLOGY.
33
Table showing monthl}'- rainfall and mean temperature, for each month of the year, from 1874 to 1884,
inclusive, as obtained from the records of the "United States Signal Service," at Albany, kept
by Major John O. Barnes.
RAINFALL.
1874.
1875. 1876.
1877.
1878.
1879.
1880.
1881.
1882.
1883.
1884.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
3.61
2.90
'•97
4.97
2.32
4.71
6.78
1.94
4.01
1-77
2.19
0.76
2.14
1.6^
3-27
3-36
2.57
398
2.46
6.55
2.63
5-97
2.29
i.ii
1-57
4.09
4.28
2.96
4.40
4.97
0-53
1.64
2.65
1.95
0.36
3-33
1.42
2.77
4.60
4.00
4.57
1.82
7.86
2.70
0.71
4.4s
4.12
2.18
3-99
3-65
4.54
5-52
3-37
3.20
3-37
4.43
6.16
2.80
3-79
3-17
0.89
4.62
5.10
4.25
3-47
1.24
2.56
4.23
2.96
2.67
2.17
2.75
3-38
2.21
3-78
2.84
2.86
2.45
2.49
2.01
2.86
2.50
3.80
1-54
3.90
3.76
2.22
2.07
2.38
3-19
3-44
4.88
2.64
3-3'
1.79
1.27
4.15
3-98
3-97
1.38
7-79
0.27
0.97
2.24
2.43
3.00
1.77
2.6s
3.20
6.30
5-96
3-69
3-19
3-49
1. 14
2.55
2.98
February
March
3-85
4.00
April ,
2.09
2.79
1.80
May
[une
Tuly
5.04
5.27
1.80
2.64
August
September
November
December
3-44
3.20
Total for year .
37-93
3825
38.19
36.09
49-37
38.56
32.54
36-32
3376
39-37
38.90
The greatest rainfall for any year was in 1878. The least rainfall in 1880. The greatest rainfall
for any month was October, 1877. The least for any one month was October, 1882. The total rainfall
for the full ten years was 380.38 inches, and the average yearly rainfall for 10 years was 38.038 inches.
TABLE OF MEAN TEMPERATURE AS RECORDED AT ALBANY BY U. S. S. S.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Average for each
year
Highest in the
year
Lowest
1874.
Degs.
28.2
22.2
32.2
36.6
56.5
66.9
69.9
66.8
63.1
48.8
364
28.0
46.3
92
16
Degs.
17. 1
23 I
28.8
243
304
38.4
46.3
51-5
57-5
56. 5
68.2
65.0
71 8
736
71.8
70.2
63.8
637
49-5
5^i
40.4
37-8
31 3
27.7
92
18
1879.
Degs.
17
19
30
42
60
66
71
67
59
53
37
28
46.7
9'
1880.
Degs.
30
28
32
49
66
71
74
70
64
51
37
25
50-4
93
10
Degs.
'9
27
38
47
65
65
73
73
71
55
43
38
51-4
Degs.
27.4
32.6
38.8
47 -o
55-9
69.0
73-8
73-0
65.1
56.4
41.4
31.2
51.0
92
14
Degs.
23
28
30
47
59
72
72.8
69.9
6i .2
50-9
44.0
31.0
49.2
94
Degs.
23.6
33.0
35-8
47.8
59-1
72.5
70.7
72.6
675
51.3
38.4
27.8
5°-3
92.2
159
Average temperature for ten years, 48.23 degrees. The highest temperature for any year was 188 1,
and the lowest, 1875. The coldest month was January, 1875. The coldest days were in 1875 and
1878. The hottest month was July, 1880. The hottest day was in 188 1.
34
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
THE IROQUOIS INDIANS.
The early history of Albany County, like that of
every section of our country, is more or less in-
timately connected with that of the aboriginal In-
dian. When the Half-moon first entered the
"great river" which gives, "as long as water
runs," immortality to the name of Hudson, it met
hostility and murder from the savages that dwelt
around its lower waters. Sailing up the river, a
few days later, with the same ship and crew, it is
recorded of the savages that "we found very loving
people and very old men, where we were well
used." These Indians belonged to two great
families. The former were of the Algonquins or
Adirondacks, of which the Manhattan and the
Delaware tribes occupied the territory about New
York City and the valley of the Delaware River.
With these the early settlers upon Manhattan and
Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley had
much trouble, involving destruction of property
and barbarian devastation and murder. The lat-
ter were called 1 roquois by the French ; Five,
afterward Six Nations, by the English ; and, by
themselves, Aquanuschioni, signifying a united
people, or Ongue-houwe, a superior people. These
were divided into tribes, under the separate names
of Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and
Senecas, to which were added later the Tuscaroras.
At the time the early traders came up the Hud-
son, these tribes claimed most of the territory now
constituting the State of New York and a portion
of Pennsylvania, as their hunting grounds. Here
they had their villages, and the lands they claimed
as their own. No one could tell how they came
here or when. They were distinguished above all
other Indians of North America for intelligence,
eloquence, endurance and cruelty. But they re-
ceived the early Dutch traders in the most friendly
manner, and for a great many years retained with
them most peaceful relations in trade, even while
carrying on war with others in a spirit of inplacable
revenge, with all the varieties of torture and bar-
barity of which the race was capable.
A firm and lasting treaty of alliance and peace,
it is said, was made between the great confederacy
of the Five Nations and the Dutch, in 1618, as be-
fore suggested, on the hill Tawasagunshee, near the
banks of the Tawalsontha Creek, now Norman's
Kill, just south of Albany. There was no love be-
tween these contracting parties, any more than is
usual between nations who make politic treaties of
amity and commerce. It was a contract of selfish-
ness and shrewdness. And as long as it was
mutually advantageous it was unbroken.
Let us explain the circumstances. The Dutch
came here for money-making. They saw a rich
mine in the fur trade. The Indians knew the
places of the beaver and the otter, and how to
place their furs in the hands of these eager traders.
They, in turn, desired the European trinkets, the
white man's fire-water, and his fearfully destructi\e
fire-arms. These mutual interests would best be
secured by mutual peace and helpfulness.
These Five Nations — made Six Nations b)' the ac-
cession of the Tuscaroras in 17 14 — had formed a
confederacy of tribes long before this date. The
Mohawks were the most powerful ; the Onondagas
kept the great council fire ever burning, near where
now is the City of Syracuse. They all had their
villages and patches of ground, where dwelt their
squaws, who cultivated corn, peas, beans, po-
tatoes, melons, and cared for the infant papooses.
They also had rude castles, made with palisades
and brush work. The jNIohawks, as told to us,
had five castles in 1630, viz. : Moenemines Casde,
situated on Haver Island, at the mouth of the
Mohawk River ; one at Schenectad)' ; one at
Fort Hunter, at the outlet of Schoharie Creek,
called Ticonderoga ; one in the present town ot
Mohawk, called Caughnawaga ; one, the great
casrie, in the present town of Danube, called Cana-
joharie. At this time they numbered about 600
warriors. \\'hile their castles were on or near the
Mohawk, their ownership in the soil extended, on
the west side of the Hudson, as far south as the
Catskills,' north to the Canadas, and west includ-
ing the present counties of Saratoga, Schenectady,
Montgomery, Herkimer, Schoharie, Otsego, Greene
and Albany. The Oneidas and Cayugas were
understood to be the younger members of the con-
federacy. The Senecas dwelt farthest west, and
were remarkable for their fierce and implacable
nature. When first known to Europeans, they
were unitedly engaged in war with nearly all the
surrounding tribes.
These confederates did not unite in the interest
of peace and progress, but for w-ar and revenge.
Of all employments, war was their delight. Noth-
ing was sweeter to them than revenge. They were
cunning and daring, alert and brave, unfeehng
and cruel. With the war club, the tomahawk,
the bow and the arrow, rude weapons of war,
they had carried terror to the wilds of Canada ;
had gained victories on Lake Huron ; had made
tributary the Delawares and the Mohegans, and
had, with unfeeling arrogance, brought into sub-
mission the weaker tribes in their reach, and, by
reckless courage and formidable numbers, com-
THE IROQUOIS INDIANS.
35
manded the respect and awe of most of the power-
ful tribes from the Mississippi to the Atlantic. Such
was the state of things when Samuel Champlain
came up the beautiful lake that bears his name,
only about two months before the Mohawks so lov-
ingly welcomed Hudson. At this time the
Iroquois were waging relentless war with the
Hurons and Adirondacks. Entering into an al-
liance with these Canada tribes, Champlain fur-
nished them with fire-arms and taught their use.
The astonished Iroquois found themselves defeated
in almost every encounter. They were humbled.
Smarting under disgraceful defeat, they hailed the
advent of the Dutch with delight, as a new people
coming among them with the terrible enginery of
powder and guns, as against the arrow and the
tomahawk. They cultivated their friendship, and
aided their enterprises with alacrity. Such were
the circumstances that led to that treaty on the
banks of the Norman's Kill, which, as tradition has
it, was early made between the Dutch and the Iro-
quois. By this treaty, the Dutch secured for them-
selves the quiet possession of the coveted Indian
trade, and the Six Nations obtained the means to
assert that ascendancy which they long after main-
tained over neighboring tribes, inspiring terror, far
and near, among the other savages of North Amer-
ica.
Delighted with their improved weapons of death,
the Iroquois put them in immediate use. They
had at least 3,000 warriors ; they were free men
and united ; they were at home in their well-trod-
den warpaths, hunting grounds and wilderness
fastnesses. Champlain was compelled to retreat
from his invasions into the Mohawk territory. The
Hurons were pursued without mercy, and entirely
dispersed ; the Eries were extirpated, leaving as
their monument their name only upon the beauti-
ful lake on the shores of which they dwelt ; and
the more formidable Andastes were blotted from
existence. New France, with its allies, for many
years suffered from their menaces, incursions and
sanguinary conflicts. Even Quebec, its leading
city, was threatened with devastation.
The policy followed by the early Dutch traders
of Albany was well adapted to attach the Indians
to them. It appealed to their self-interests. It
aided them in their favorite pursuits of hunting and
war. It gratified their love of trinkets and orna-
ments ; it gave them strong water to drink,
powder and guns, knives and hatchets. It re-
strained none of their vices or habits of cruelty
when they did not interfere with the profits of
trade. The English successors of the Dutch con-
tinued their policy. The unprovoked attack of
Champlain upon the Iroquois in 1609 engendered
intense hatred towards Canada and the whole
French race and its allies for long years. No op-
portunity for revenge was neglected. In the con-
tests for territory that followed, with slight inter-
ruptions, until the fall of Quebec in 1759, ^^'^ ^^^
surrender of the North American possessions of
the French to the English, the Six Nations were,
with few exceptions, faithful friends to the English
colonies, shielding them on many occasions from
hostile attacks, and aiding them in the hour of
battle.
Whatever, then, relates to their history is perti-
nent to the history of Albany County.
During all this period — extending over 150
years, until the Revolution — the Mohawks gener-
ally continued the friends of Albany, remembering
the belt of peace, the token of eternal union,
given and received on the banks of that romantic
stream. As the oldest, bravest and most powerful
of the confederate tribes, the}' shaped their general
policy and conduct. Most warlike, rapacious,
treacherous and cruel, they were, it must be seen,
kept on terms of peace and friendship only from
motives of fear, want, self-preservation and vanity.
They were a protection against the warlike tribes
on the north, east and south, because all stood in
fear of them. To them these tribes were in sub-
jection ; to them they paid tribute as a token of
servitude.
It is well known that the Mohawks of Caughna-
waga were seduced b)' the French about the year
1 671, and renioved to Canada. It was these In-
dians who visited Schenectady with the French,
February 8, 1690, desolated the village in the
night by fire, and murdered and carried captive its
peaceful inhabitants. This event deeply stirred
the people of Albany, and taught them more fully
how little reliance they could place upon these
savages, uncontrolled by self-interest, unrestrained
by fear. Nothing but a belief that the city was well
protected and prepared against them prevented
these vandals from making a like attack upon Al-
bany. Indeed, it is believed that the expedition
was planned in Canada and undertaken against
Albany. But the severe cold, deep snows, long
march and hunger, led them to change their plan
and fall upon the nearer and weaker town of
Schenectady.
Except these few, then, who were led by the
French Jesuits to remove to Canada and join the
interests of the French, the Iroquois were true to
the Dutch ; and, after the government passed into
36
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the hands of the English, they adhered to the
' ' Corlear " or British interests against the ' ' Yonon-
dio "or French nation. They continued to do all
in their power against the Canadian Indians and
the Canadian towns until the fall of Quebec brought
them in subjection to Great Britain. Thus they
proved serviceable to the colonies up to the time
of the American Revolution. During this dark
and painful struggle with the Mother Country
many of them, under the influence of Sir John
Johnson, Guy Johnson, Joseph Brandt, the But-
lers and other Tories, became a terror to their for-
mer friends, and carried fire, devastation and
murder into many new settlements. The story of
Cherry Valley and of the Valley of Wyoming re-
cords their savage cruelty ; and many homes in
the Valley of the Mohawk, of Schoharie, of the
Delaware and the Minnisink witnessed their base
treachery and pitiless murders. "The whole con-
federacy,''says De Witt Clinton, "except a little
more than half the Oneidas, took up arms against
us. They hung like the scythe of death upon the
rear of our settlements, and their deeds are in-
scribed with the scalping knife and the tomahawk,
in characters of blood, on the fields of Wyoming
and Cherry Valley, and on the banks of the Mo-
hawk. "
The Mohawks, once sustaining the most inti-
mate relations with the Dutch and English col-
onial fur traders, were the most active and cruel
enemies of the Americans in these bloody scenes.
Thayendanega, known as Col. Joseph Brant, a
Mohawk chief, educated by Sir William Johnson
in the Lebanon school, under the wise and pious
Wheelock, was their leader. They were obliged,
at the close of the Revolution, to leave the State
and take refuge in Canada. Most of the Oneidas
were true to the Colonies through the influence of
that wise and good man, Rev. Samuel Kirkland,
who came among them from Connecticut as a mis-
sionar}-, in 1769. He was aided by the chief
Shenandoa, who was greatly attached to him.
Some of the Tuscaroras also took sides with the
Colonies. The fragments of the great confederation
that remain are entirel}' changed in character and
habits. They have lost their ancient power and
their prestige.
These New York Indians, who were led by Tory
gifts, promises and lying statements, to take sides
against the colonists in favor of the King of Great
Britain, gained no advantage. They lost most of
their best warriors and their lands, and have since
been poor outcasts. This they saw at the close of
the war, and expressed deep regrets at their folly.
Brant died on the west shore of Lake Ontario in
1807, expressing regrets at many of his deeds of
cruelty, and endeavoring to persuade the historian
to remember that he was far better than his Tory
and British associates. Shenandoa died in the
Christian faith in 1816, at the age of no, and was
buried by the side of his beloved Kirkland, that he
might "go up with him at the resurrection."
Red Jacket, Corn Planter, Farmer's Brother, Half
Town and Big Tree, after the Revolution, were
true and faithful allies to the United States. Their
conduct inspired respect, and brought much sym-
pathy and favor towards their nation, the Senecas.
The aggregate number of the Iroquois confed-
eracy at the time when the Hollanders first began
trade on the Hudson is estimated at about 40,000.
Of their descendants probably not more than
5,000 remain. A very small remnant, weak, de-
pendent and peaceable, remain in this State. In
the State Census of 1875, only one was found in
Albany County, and none in Rensselaer, Saratoga,
Schenectady, Montgomery and Schoharie.
It is worthy of remark that the County of Albany
was exempt from depredations by Tories and In-
dians during the entire War of the Revolution,
while all around, in the old Tryon and Schoharie
Counties, the settlers were kept in almost constant
fear of sudden invasion and carnage. The only
exception occurred in the present town of Berne,
near Schoharie County, where the Dietz family of
eight persons were murdered or taken captives by
the Indians. This was done, it is presumed, by a
misunderstanding, or from private revenge.
This deliverance is generally attributed to the fact
that the county abounded in Tories, who had here
their rendezvous in caves and out-of-the-way
houses, and were in constant communication with
the Tory leaders of these savage bandits. By the
aid they rendered them, good will and personal
safety were secured. Along and near the valleys
of the Mohawk and Schoharie were twenty-four
forts environing the county. These were only a
partial defense. The City of Albany was well pro-
tected by forts and arms.
INDIAN LANDS.
As the only object of those who first came to
this region, as is well known, was trade with the
Indians, no land was called for except what was
needed for trading posts. We have no mention of
any purchases of territory here before the initiatory
steps to the settlement of Rensselaerwyck were
taken. Before this the natives attached no value to
land, if so be that their own pursuits were not im-
THE INDIAN IN EDUCATION AND CHRISTIANITY.
37
peded. We take it that they were dehghted to see
the trader's cabin, his trading house and his rude
fort, and never thought of invasion of their own
rights so long as trade was free and profitable — so
long as they could obtain clothing, rum, guns and
trinkets in return for corn and beans, venison
and beaver. The forts on Castle Island, on the
Tasawantha and Fort Orange were, we think,
erected without formal consent and held by peace-
able possession. They were obtained by good
will, good hopes and politic presents. The servants
of the Netherland companies came on hire, not to
stay — came only as agents of adventurers, and had
no need to own land. They were temporary squat-
ters. Their shelters were traders' tents and hunters'
camps.
Thus it was, probably, until about 1630. When
the charter of privileges and e.xemptions was made
in 1629, for the encouragement of colonization in
New Netherlands, by making conditional grants to
patroons who would take certain lands and occupy
them with settlers, Kilian Van Rensselaer pur-
chased the titles of the Indians as his potent and
wise policy dictated. The territory selected by
him occupied twenty-four miles on each side
of the Hudson River, and extended twent3'-four
miles up and down the river, including all of Albany
County and most of Rensselaer and a part of
Columbia Count}', as they now exist. This grant
was understood by the patroon to include also Fort
Orange and Beverwyck, and so it was subse-
quently decided by the English Crown. This
claim was given up by the patroon before Albany
was chartered as a city in 1686. All other land
titles in this county, it is believed, are derived
from the manorial rights thus purchased from
the agents of Kilian Van Rensselaer. By the
terms of this grant they extinguished all Indian
claims.
THE INDIAN IN EDUCATION AND
CHRISTIANITY.
As early as 1642, a French Jesuit visited the
Mohawk settlements with the pious design of
introducing the Christian religion, and the patri-
otic purpose of bringing over the IMohawks to the
interests of the French. Several other of these
persevering missionaries followed this pioneer dur-
ing the succeeding 40 years, and labored with a
fair measure of success, amid great hardships. As
previously stated, in 167 1 a large number left the
Caughnawaga Castle and removed to Canada, where
their descendants may be found to this day in an
Indian village a little above jMontreal. They still
speak the Mohawk dialect, and have devotional
books printed in that language.
French missionaries were found among all the
Indian tribes at an early date after the discovery of
Canada, many of them talented, learned, devoted
and pious. They endured much from destitution,
wearying toil and even suffered death, while en-
deavoring to convert these savages to the religion
of Jesus. These were in a condition of heathen-
ism, and capable of inflicting pitiless revenge and
barbaric cruelty upon their prisoners. Many
were reckoned as converted and received baptism.
But few learned to forgive their • enemies or to
leave off, for a long time, the vices and habits of
their usual lives of degradation and wickedness.
Yet, it is believed that some did, indeed, receive
the benignant influences of the lessons of the
Saviour of Men into their hearts, and lived better
lives.
The Dutch and English clergy, also, endeavored
to teach Christianity to the Indians, but their suc-
cess was no better than that of the Catholics, unless
it was preceded by civilization, education and good
examples. Unfortunately, but little was thought
of making the Indian a better man by most of the
mercantile men of colonial daj-s. To make him
serviceable in tiade and in war seems to have been
the. leading policy of the European colonists of
every nation and religion.
Says Peter Kalm, in 1749, speaking of Indian
conferences at Albany; "Sometimes their delib-
erations turn upon their conversion to the Christian
religion." Then he goes on to tell — as an indi-
cation of the Indian feeling at that time — that
Gov. Hunter, on one of these occasions, after he
had presented the Indians with many clothes and
other gifts in the name of Queen Anne, told them
that their good mother, the Queen, had not only
generously provided them with clothes for their
bodies, but likewise intended to adorn their souls
by sending them good ministers to teach them the
gospel. Upon this announcement one of the oldest
sachems arose and replied that, in the name of all
the Indians, he thanked their gracious mother, the
Queen, for the fine clothes she had sent them, but
as to the ministers, they had already had some of
them, who, instead of preaching the holy gospel
to them had taught them to get drunk, to cheat
and to quarrel. He then entreated the Governor
to take from them these preachers and some other
Europeans who dwelt near them ; for before they
came among them the Indians had been honest,
sober and innocent ; but now most of them had
become rogues. If he would do them any favor,
38
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
he would ask him to send two or three blacksmiths
among them to teach them how to work iron.
As further illustrating the estimation which many
of the leading Indians placed upon the kind of Chris-
tianity which was manifested in the conduct of the
early settlers and teachers of this vicinity, we give
the following as told by Dr. Benjamin Franklin.
Canassatego was an Onondaga chief, living about
1740: "Conrad Weiser, our interpreter, had
been naturalized among the Six Nations, and
spoke well the Mohawk language. In going
through the Indian country to carry a message
from our Governor to the council at Onondaga, he
called at the habitation of Canassatego, an old
acquaintance, who embraced him, spread furs for
him to sit on, placed before him some boiled beans
and venison, and mixed some rum and water for
his drink. When he was well refreshed and had
lit his pipe, Canassatego began to converse with
him ; asked how he had fared the many years
since they had seen each other ; whence he then
came, what occasioned the journe}', &c. Conrad
answered all his questions. The Indian, to con-
tinue, said: 'Conrad, you have lived long
among the white people and know something of
their customs. I have been sometimes at Albany,
and have observed that once in seven days they
shut up their shops and assemble in the great
house. Tell me what that is for .? What do they
do there.?' 'They meet there,' said Conrad, 'to
hear and learn good things.' 'I do not doubt,'
said the Indian, ' that they tell you so. They have
told me the same ; but I doubt the truth of what
they say ; and I will tell you my reasons. I went
lately to Albany to sell my skins and buy blankets,
knives, powder, rum, &c. You know I used gen-
erally to deal with Hans Hanson, but I was a little
inclined this time to try some other merchants.
However, I called first upon Hans, and asked him
what he would give for beaver. He said he could
not give more than four shillings a pound ; "but,"
says he, "I cannot talk on business now. This is
the day when we meet together to learn good
things, and I am going to the meeting." So I
thought to myself, since I cannot do any business
to-day, I may as well go to the meeting too, and 1
went with him. There stood up a man in black,
and began to talk to the people very angrily. I
did not understand what he said, but, perceiving
that he looked much at me and at Hanson, I
imagined he was angry at seeing me there. So I
went out, sat down near the house, struck fire and
lit my pipe, waiting until the meeting should break
up. I thought, too, that the man had mentioned
something of beaver, and suspected it might be
the subject of their meeting. So when they came
out I accosted my merchant. "Well, Hans," says
I, "I hope you have agreed to give more than four
shillings a pound." "No,' says he, "I cannot give
so much. I cannot give more than three shillings
and sixpence." I then spoke to several other
dealers, but they all sung the same song — three and
sixpence, three and sixpence. This made it clear
to me that my suspicion was right, and whatever
they pretended of meeting to learn good things,
the purpose was to cheat Indians in the price of
beaver. Consider a little, Conrad, and you must
be of my opinion. If they met so often to learn
good things, they certainly would have learned
some before this time. But they are still ignorant.
You know our practice. If a white man, in travel-
ing through our country, enters one of our cabins,
we all treat him as I do you. We dry him if he is
wet, we warm him if he is cold, and give him meat
and drink that we may allay his thirst and hunger,
and we spread soft furs that he may rest and sleep
on. We demand nothing in return. But if I go
into a white man's house at Albany, and ask for
victuals and drink, they say, "Get out, you Indian
dog." You see they have not learned those little
good things that we need no meetings to be
instructed in, because our mothers taught them to
us when we were children. And therefore it is
impossible that their meetings should be, as they
say, for any such purpose, or have any such effect.
They are only to contrive the cheating of Indians
in the price of beaver.' "
Megapolensis, the first Dutch minister in Al-
bany, speaks of the Mohawks as "entire strangers
to all religion." " \^■hen we pray," he writes,
"they laugh at us. When we have a sermon,
sometimes ten or twelve of them, more or less,
will attend, each having a long tobacco pipe, made
by himself, in his mouth, and will stand awhile and
look, and afterwards ask me what I was doing and
what I wanted, that I stood there and made so
many words, while none of the rest might speak.
I tell them that I admonish the Christians that
they must not steal, nor commit lewdness,
nor get drunk, nor commit murder, and that
they, too, ought not to do these things, and that
I intend, in process of time, to preach the
same to them, and to come to them in their
own country and castles when I am acquainted
with their language. They sa}- I do well to teach
the Christians, but immediately add : ' Diatennon
jawij Assyreoni hagiowiskr'' — ;'. e., 'Why do so many
Christians do these things ?' " And then he adds :
THE INDIAN IN EDUCATION AND CHRISTIANITY.
39
"But though they are so cruel, and live without
any punishments for evil-doers, yet there are not
half so many villainies or murders committed
amongst them as amongst Christians.''
There was, at different times, much effort made
to convert the Indians to Christianity by French,
Dutch and English. It was done by Government
approval, and with aid from corporate companies
and Indian agents, as a matter of policy. Often
the missionaries were men of talent, piety and wis-
dom, and quite as often they were wanting in these
gifts. Sometimes they were unprincipled, dishon-
est and self-seeking. Sometimes the best efforts of
the wise and good were hindered by the conduct
of so-called Christian traders, Governors and mili-
tary men. Wild war and greedy traffic are not
means of grace. Schoolcraft well says: "The
pernicious examples of the whites in the Indian
trade, their injustice, treacherj', licentiousness and
greed created a deep disgust toward the European
race in the minds of the Indians. '
In and near Albany County, Reformed Dutch,
Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Lutherans all did
missionary work among the Six Nations during the
colonial period. The Mohawks, being nearest the
white settlements, received special attention. De-
nominational jealousies often appeared. There
were few missionaries of so devoted and exalted
character as was that of Samuel Kirkland. Hence
few had such faithful disciples as Shenandoa. Few
understood as did the New England John Eliot,
the translator of the Indian Bible, and Eleazer
Wheelock, the founder of the Indian Charity
School of Dartmouth College, the power of earl}-
practical education and pure Christian example as
foundations of a lasting Christian civilization.
Hence there were few "praying Indians," and no
Sampson Occum among the Six Nations who
brought their trade to Albany and killed their ene-
mies. While the Colonial Government spoke fa-
vorably of efforts to Christianize the Six Nations,
they did nothing beyond paying a small stij)end to
the clergymen of Albany to attend to the wants of
such as might come to them. Dominie Dellius
baptized many, but his scandalous conduct in the
matter of Indian lands showed how false he was to
his own teachings. Dominies Lydius and Van
Driessen tried to convert some. Rev. Messrs.
Barclay, Freeman, Andrews and others labored
amid great discouragements, testifying that the con-
duct of those who professed to have received Chris-
tianity was so evil that they could scarce be reputed
Christians. Sir William Johnson was friendly to the
missionaries as far as they contributed to his advan-
tage ; but his own shocking licentiousness was too
well known to give him any influence in favor of
temperance, purity, or any other form of practical
godliness. The Society for Promoting the Gospel
in Foreign Parts, managed by the Church of Eng-
land, made attempts to convert the savages. But
little real good was accomplished by the best of
men, who understood but little of the language
and character of the Indian, and considered too
little the influence that their own habits and those
of their "Christian" neighbors had upon them.
For they counted all the whites as Christians, and
judged of the Christian religion by their conduct.
The following anecdote from O'Callaghan well
illustrates the usual results of m ssionary efforts in
those days: "A clergyman had succeeded in
teaching one young savage the prayeis so that he
could repeat the responses in the church, and also
to read and write well. He was then furnished
with a Bible and sent to evangelize the heathen.
But he pawned the book for brandy, became a
thorough beast, and did more harm than good."
Rev. Mr. Barclay, an Episcopal missionary,
giving up his work in 1710, writes to the society in
England that employed him : "I am afraid the
missionaries that are coming over will find hard
work of it, and if the commander of that fort (in
Albany) be not a person of singular piety and vir-
tue, all their endeavors will be ineffectual. These
here that trade with them are loath that any re-
ligion get any footing among them. Besides, these
savages are so given to drinking that nasty liquor,
rum, that they are lost to all that is good. "
But little was attempted by the early colonists of
the Hudson and Mohawk toward educating the
Indian children.
It is well known that Rev. Eleazer Wheelock,
about the middle of the last centur}-, had a school
for the education of Indian youth in Lebanon, Conn.
His benevolent design was to take the young Indian
away from the surroundings of his tribe and inter-
est him in learning and Christianitv, and train hm
to become a teacher and preacher to his own peo-
ple. Sir William Johnson, among other leading
men, favored his plan and sent him pupils, among
whom was the celebrated Joseph Brant. Of these
pupils Dr. Wheelock writes in 1763 : "Joseph
and the rest of the boys from your quarter are well,
and make good progress in learning. Joseph is,
indeed, an excellent youth. He has endeared
himself to me as well as to his master and to
everybody else by his good behavior. "
This school was removed to Hanover, N. H.,
in 1769, and made a part of the working plan of
40
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Dartmouth College — "vox clamantis in deserto "
— a leading idea of the good first President being
to educate Indian boys there, and much of this
work has been done in this institution.
In 1762, Sir William Johnson writes to Mr.
Wheelock : "I agree with you in the opinion that
the Indian children will not improve in their
studies near so much from the method proposed of
erecting schools in their nations as they would do
according to your plan of education, whereby they
are kept out of the way of and uninfluenced by
bad example."
For some years, near the close of the French
war in 1763, it was proposed to change the loca-
tion of this school from Lebanon to some place
nearer the Indian population, where there were
more lands and less people. Several places in
this State were considered. Among other loca-
tions the City of Albany was considered. A free
correspondence was held with the Mayor from
1766 to 1768 in regard to the school. The corpo-
ration had offered to give ^^2, 300 to Dr. Wheel-
ock, on condition that he would remove his insti-
tution from Lebanon to Albany. VolkertP. Douw
was Mayor and favored the movement.
Other attempts were made, by good men, to
teach the Indians to read and write, and other
lessons of science and civilization, at sundry times
and in sundry places ; but these attempts had little
success, and were of brief duration. Nothing was
done that accomplished results so good, so broad
and so lasting as what was done by Eleazer
Wheelock. We let him tell his own story : ' ' Among
those whom I have educated there have been near
forty who were good readers and writers, and were
instructed in the principles of the Christian religion
as their age and time would admit, and were suf-
ficient masters of English grammar, arithmetic,
and a number considerably advanced in Greek and
Latin, and one of them carried through college
and was a good scholar, and others carried through
a course of learning with not less expense for each
of them than would have been necessary to have
supported an English youth through a course of
collegiate studies, and they have generally behaved
well while they were with me, and left my school
with fair and unblem'shed characters, and under
the influence of every motive I could set before
them to a good improvement of the distinguishing
talents which God had committed to them, and
many of them have gone immediately from my
school with good and reputable business, and such
business as they were equal to, and generally to
serve as schoolmasters, but some as interpreters,
&c., and nothing has prevented their being em-
ployed usefully and reputably in various capacities
until this day but the want of fortitude to resist the
power of those fashionable vices which were ram-
pant among all their tribes. * * * Of all the
number before mentioned I don't hear of more
than half who have preserved their characters un-
stained, either by a course of intemperance or un-
cleanness, or both, and some who, on account of
their parts and learning, bid the fairest for useful-
ness, are sunk down into as low, savage and brut-
ish manner of living as they were in before any
endeavors were used with them to raise them up ;
and there are some of whom I did and do still
entertain hope that they were really the subjects of
God's grace who have npt wholly kept their gar-
ments unspotted amongst the pots. And six of
these who did preserve a good character are now
dead. " — Wheelock' s Narrative, 1 7 7 1 .
As a specimen of the language spoken by the
Six Nations that once frequented Albany County,
we give the Lord's Prayer, copied from " Smith's
Hist. New York " :
So-ung-wau-ne-ha cau-ro-unk-3-au-ga, teh-see-
ta-ro-au, Sauk, son-e-you-sta, esa, saw-an-e-you,
o-ket-tauh-se-la, eh-ne-au-wong, na, cau-ronunk-
yawga, naugh-wou-shauga, ne-at-te-weh-ne-sa-lau-
ga, taug-wau-nau-to-ro-na-an-tough-sick, to-an-
tang-we-lee-whe-3'ou-staung, che-nee-yeut, cha-
qua-ta-leh-whe-you-staun-ne, tough-sau, taugh-
wam-sa-re-neh, ta-waut-ot-ten-au-gal-ough-toung-
ga, nas-aw-ne, sa-che-au-tang-was co-an-teh-sal-
oh-aun-za-ick-au, esa, saw-au-ne-you, esa, sash-
autz-ta, esa, soung-wa-soung, chen-ne-auh-a-aug-
wa, au-wen.
INDIAN TREATIES, TRADE AND OTHER
AFFAIRS.
Indian affairs were from the very first, by com-
mon consent, managed by the citizens of Albany.
They were nearly all Indian traders, and were in
constant intercourse with them. The acquaintance
thus formed, their business interests, and their
frontier situation, fitted them for the duties in-
volved.
There was only one beaver dam, so far as we
have learned, in Albany County, and that in the
town of Berne ; at least there is no trace or record
of any other. But beaver skins and other furs and
peltry were brought from a widely extended terri-
tor}'— from the whole State of New York as occu-
pied by the Iroquois, far away from the wilds of
Pennsylvania and Ohio, and even from the Canadas,
and from New England. The unscrupulous zeal
INDIAN TREATIES, TRADE AND OTHER AFFAIRS.
41
of the bosch-loopers or runners, knew no bounds.
They invaded, when they could do so without too
much risk, the territorial rights of the Frenchman
and the New Englander, regardless of anything but
gain. The Indians were met on their way to the
city by these primitive drummers, and bargains
were made in advance of the market. Albany
claimed a monopoly in the fur trade as against
other people or other localities. Their claim was
confirmed by the Dongan Charter of 1686. But
squatters all about, and especially the early settlers
on the Mohawk flats, caused great trouble and
grief to Albany traders.
Philip Pieterse Schuyler came from Amsterdam,
Holland, and settled in Beverwyck as early as
1647. He was a trader far above the average in
ability and character, and his dealings with the
Indians were fair and honorable. They became
much attached to him, and chiefs often visited him
at his farm-house, four miles up the Hudson, and
he had a house built especially for their entertain-
ment near his residence in Albany. In 1665, he
attended a council held with the Mohawks, as
delegate from Albany, after which he had much to
do with the frequent negotiations with the Five
Nations. He assisted in inaugurating what became
the settled policy of the province — to treat the
Indians as friends and allies. His son Peter, who
continued the same policy after his father's decease
in 1683, acquired a great influence over these pecu-
liar people.
Under the Dutch Government, the Director-
Genetal and Council of New Netherland managed
the Indian affairs. As the relations with the
tribes became more complicated and varied after
the English conquest in 1664, it became nec-
essary that some persons residing at Albany
should be appointed to receive communications in
regard to them, and to treat with them in emer-
gencies. The Governor's residence at New York
was inconveniently distant. Hence, the origin of
the Indian Department, in 1684. The magistrates
of the Cit}' of Albany were first appointed. In 1690,
a distinct Board was constituted, acting under the
Governor in all matters of this department, without
salary. As most of its members were traders, and
had the handling of moneys and other presents, the
office of Indian Commissioner became one of great
importance and profit. Their records are missing,
and are said now to be in Canada. In 1755, the
English Crown assumed control of Indian affairs,
dividing the colonies into northern and southern
departments,- and appointing Sir William Johnson
as northern Superintendent, who, at his death in
1774) was succeeded by his nephew. Col. Guy
Johnson.
"The diplomacy, statesmanship, and good faith
exhibited in the earliest management of Indian
affairs reflect the highest credit on those charged
therewith, and laid the territorial foundations of the
Commonwealth on the secure basis of honorable
treaties honorably kept. The inspiration and guid-
ance in these relations came largely from the Schuy-
lers, under whom Sir William Johnson was trained. "
The adoption of the Federal Constitution super-
seded the State supervision, which now has to do
only with certain lands and some other matters
connected with the reservations in the State.
COMMISSIONERS OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.
These officers were once, perhaps, the most im-
portant in their functions, of any in Albany County
and the territory extending a great distance around
it. The men who held it were leading men of the
time, and their names should here be recorded.
1684.
Mayor and Magistrates of Albany.
October 19, 1690.
Joachim Staats, Peter Bogardus,
Johannis Wendell, Ryer Jacobz Schermerhorn,
Johannis Bleecker, Mayor of Albany.
Matthew Shanky,
George Bradshaw,
1691.
Peter Schuyler,
John Tuder,
Dirck Wessels.
August 10, 1696.
Peter Schuyler, Evert Bancker,
Godfrey Dellius, Dirck Wessels,
Mayor, or the Mayor for the time being.
July, 1698.
Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Commonalty.
Dirck Wessels, Hendrick House.
1706.
Peter Schuyler,
Capt. Weems,
The Mayor,
Johannis Abeel,
Kiliaan Van Rensselaer,
Myndert Schuyler,
Johannis Cuyler,
Evert Bancker,
Henry Holland,
Peter Van Brugh,
Hendrick Van Rensselaer.
April 25, 1710.
Kiliaan Van Rensselaer, Johannis Cuyler,
John Abeel, John Schuyler,
Evert Bancker, Myndert Schuyler,
Hendrick Hansen, Peter Van Brugh,
Johannis Roseboom.
1712.
Peter Schuyler, Johannis Schuyler,
Kiliaan Van Rensselaer, Hendrick Hansen,
Richard Ingoldsby, Myndert Schuyler,
Peter Van Brugh,
42
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
July 23, 1715.
Peter Schuyler, John Schuyler,
Kiliaan Van Rensselaer, Myndert Schuyler,
Peter Matthews, Robert Livingston, Jr.,
Hendrick Hansen, John Cuyler,
Peter Van Brugh.
November. 12, 1720.
Peter Schuyler,
Hendrick Hansen,
John Cuyler,
Peter Van Brugh,
Evert Bancker,
Henry Holland,
Peter Van Brugh,
John Collins,
John Cuyler,
Evert Bancker,
Capt. Cornwell,
Capt. Norris,
Philip Livingston,
Henry Holland,
Henry Holland,
Philip Livingston,
John Collins,
John Wendell,
John Bleecker.
1724.
Philip Livingston,
Johannis Wendell,
Evert Wendell,
Hendrick Van Rensselaer,
David Van Dyck.
1726.
John Cuyler,
Peter Van Brugh,
Evert Bancker,
John Collins,
Henry Rensselaer.
September 13, 1728.
Philip Livingston,
Myndert Schuyler,
Evert Bancker,
Rutger Bleecker,
Henry Holland,
Stephanus Groesbeck,
Peter Van Brugh,
Johannis Cuyler,
Abraham Cuyler,
Hermanus Wendell,
Johannis Roseboom,
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer,
Nicholas Bleecker,
Evert Wendell,
Philip Schuyler,
Ryer Gerritse,
Parent Sanders,
Johannis Lansing,
November, i, 1732.
The preceding with
Johannis Schuyler,
July
Philip Livingston,
William Dick,
Myndert Schuyler,
John Schuyler,
Hendrick Van Rensselaer,
Rutger Bleecker,
Stephanus Groesbeck,
Philip Schuyler,
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer,
Edward Holland,
Henry Van Rensselaer,
Dirck Ten Broeck.
13. 1734-
Nicholas Bleecker,
Ryer Gerritse,
Dirck Ten Broeck,
Johannis Lansing, Jr.,
John De Peyster,
Jacob Glen,
Cornelius Cuyler,
John Schuyler, Jr.,
Edward Collins,
Abraham Cuyler.
1738-
Philip Livingston, Edward Clarke,
Commandant at Albany,
MemlKrs of Assembly for Albany, Rensselaerwyck and
Schenectady,
Mayor, Recorder and Sheriff of Albany.
The Council,
Commandant at Albany,
Mayor and Recorder of Al
bany,
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer,
Peter Winne,
December 5, 1739.
Stephanus Groesbeck,
Rutger Bleecker,
John De Peyster,
John Schuyler, Jr.,
Jacob Glen,
Edward Collins,
Myndert Schuyler,
John Schuyler,
Philip Livingston,
John Rutherford,
Myndert Schuyler,
Abraham Cuyler,
Nicholas Bleecker,
Johannis Lansing, Jr.,
Cornelius Cuyler,
Arent Bradt,
Cornelius Cuyler,
Johannis Lansing, Jr.,
Hendrick Ten Eyck.
1742.
Mayor Dirck Ten Broeck,
Recorder Hendrick Ten Eyck,
Rutger Bleecker,
John De Peyster,
Stephanus Groesbeck,
Ryer Gerritse,
Edward Collins.
1745-
The preceding with Stephen Van Rensselaer,
1746.
Commissary for Indian Affairs, William Johnson.
November, 1752.
Commissioners, The Council, Commandant at Albany,
Members of Assembly of Albany, Rensselaerwyck, Sche-
nectady and Livingston Manor,
Mayor and Recorder of Al- Hendrick Bleecker,
bany, John Buchanan,
Myndert Schuyler, Peter Groenendyck,
Cornelius Cuyler, Johannis Lansing, Jr. ,
Jacob C. Ten Eyck.
June 15, 1754.
Mayor and Recorder of Al- Cornelius Cuyler,
bany, John Buchanan,
Commandant at Albany, Jacob C. Ten Eyck,
Myndert Schuyler, John Rensselaer,
Peter Winne, Sole Superintendent, April 15, 1755.
February, 1756.
William Johnson, Sir Wm. Johnson, Bart.
July, 1774.
Guy Johnson, Volkert P. Douw,
State Commissioners, Timothy Edward,
Philip Schuyler, Oliver Wolcutt,
James Duane.
It has not been our purpose to discuss the
Indian speculatively in regard to his origin ; nor
in regard to his personal appearance, his dress,
food and habits, his manner of life, or his
views upon government and religion. We have
confined ourselves to his relations to the early
settlers of Albany County and vicinity, and their
successors, and to the characteristics developed by
the educational, moral and religious influences to
which they were subjected here in the affairs of
peace and war. We have the Indian of the Six
Nations only before us as he was in our local
history; as he mingled with our people as a fur-
trader, in treaties of peace, in our county, in our
wars, in our records of treachery and carnage.
More will be said of Indian treaties, trade and
other local matters in the history of Albany City.
EARLY DISCOVERY— VERRAZANO.
There are geographers who believe that Giovanni
da Verrazano, a Florentine navigator, commanding
a French crew, sailing across the Atlantic, and.
EARLY DISCOVERY— VERRAZANO.
43
cruising up the Eastern coast of what is now the
United States, entered the Bay of New York in the
spring of 1524. After a brief tarry, he made
no farther sail up the great river, no farther exam-
ination of its beautiful shores, but went on his
wa3^ Coasting along New England, and returning
to France, he made a report of his hurried and
comparatively unimportant trip to Francis I., King
of France, in July following. If this is true, the
Dauphin was the first European vessel that
touched the waters of our Hudson River. But
the French monarch, so far as appears, took no
notice of this discovery. Subsequent French
navigators paid no regard to it. Cartier, in 1534,
and others near his time, did not follow in his
track, but went to the more chilly latitudes and
more inhospitable shores of the St. Lawrence to
found New France. Could they have been ignorant
of the voyages of Verrazano .? And Champlain
sailed up the lake that bears his name almost to
the upper waters of the Hudson in 1609, entirely
ignorant of French claims, or oblivious of them if
he even heard of them. This neglect of the alleged
Verrazano report, in an age of discovery, and
when the eyes of all Western Europe were turned
toward these shores, and all its monarchs were
eager to increase wealth and power by territorial ex-
tensions in America, is not easily explained. Hence,
many regard the report as a historic fraud, and the
whole matter as a fable. We give the facts, but
express no opinion in this place. One thing is
certain, that there is no credible evidence that any
subsequent settlements or trade ever resulted from
this alleged discovery of Verrazano; nor is "the
city and county of Albany " indebted to it for its
planting and growth. Nothing came of it ; hence
it probably has no place worthy of special discussion
in this history.*
* See note, page i. Furthermore, it is here proper to quote again
from " Discoveries in America to 1525," by A. J. Weise, pp. 361, 362 :
"The fact that the French had ascended the Grande River (Hudson
River, to the height of its n.ivigation, to trade with the Indians, Ion?
before Henry Hudson explored it, is corroborated by still stronger
testimony than that already presented. One of the earliest maps
representing the territory of Nieu Nederlandt (New Netherland), or
that part of New France which the French had called La Terre
d'Anormee Berge, is the Figurative Chart presented to their High
Mightinesses, the Lords States General of the United Netherlands, on
the nth of October, 16(4, by a number of Dutch merchants, praying
for a special license to navigate and traffic within the limits of this
part of North America. [Says John R. Brodhead, the historian :
'This map (made in 1614) is undoubtedly one of the most interesting
memorials we have. It is about three feet long, and shows, very
minutely, the course of the Hudson River from Manhattan to above
Albany, as well as a portion of the sea-coast ; and contains, likewise,
curious notes and memoranda about the neighboring Indians. The
work, perhaps, of one of the companions of Hudson himself, and made
within five years of the discovery of our river, its fidelity of delinea-
tion is scarcely less remarkable than its high antiquity.'] One of
these explanatory notes contains the undeniable testimony that the
At the convention at Albany in the year 1754,
held by the Indian Commissioners, as reported
among the papers of Sir William Johnson, a speech
was made by one of the Indians, in which he gives
the following account of the first advent of the
white race to the Hudson River. "Our fathers
had a castle on this river. As one of them walked
out he saw something on the river, but was at a
loss to know what it was. He took it at first for a
great fish. He ran into the castle and gave
notice to the other Indians. Two of our forefathers
went to see what it was, and found it a vessel with
men in it. They immediately joined hands with
the men in the vessel and became friends. The
white people told them they should not come up
the river any farther at that time; and said to them
they would return from whence they came, and
come again in a year's time. According to their
promise they returned in a year's time, and came as
far up the river as where the old fort stood. Our
forefathers invited them ashore and said to them, we
will give you a place to make you a town. It shall
be from this place up to such a stream (meaning
Patroon's Creek), and from the river back up to
the hill."
In an able document sent by "The People of
New Netherlands" to "The High and Mighty
Lords States General of the United Netherlands,"
on the 28th July, 1649, occurs the following, the
insertion of which seems pertinent here :
"In the year of Christ 1609 was the country, of
which we now propose to speak, first found and
discovered at the expense of the General East India
Company — though directing their aim and design
elsewhere — by the ship de Halve Afane, whereof
Henry Hudson was master and factor. It was
afterward named New-Netherland by our people,
and that very justly, for it was first discovered and
taken possession of by New Netherlanders and at
their expense, so that even at the present day the
natives of the country, who are so old as to
remember the event, testify that, on seeing the
Dutch ships on their first coming here, they knew
not what to make of them, whether they came
down from heaven or were devils. Some of them
on its first approach, even imagined it to be a fish or
French were the discoverers of the Grande River, and that they had
been trading with the Mohawks long before the Hal/-Moon sailed up
the river. The plain language of the inscription makes all explanation
of ils meaning unnecessary : * But as far as one can understand by
what the Maquaas (Mohawks) say and show, the French come with
sloops as high up as their country to trade with them.' A fac si77cile
of this map is in the State Library, and the inscription above referred
to is as follows : ' Ma so vele men heeft connen verstaen uy t i seggen
ende beduyen van de Maquaas so comen de Francoysen met sloupen
tot bovcm aen haer land met haerluy handeln.' " G. R. H.
44
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
some sea-monster, so that a strange rumor con-
cerning it flew through the whole country. We have
heard the Indians also frequently say that they
knew of no other world or people previous to the
arrival of the Netherlanders here. "
EARLY DISCOVERY— HENRY HUDSON
AND HIS FOLLOWERS.
Henry Hudson first made known to the civilized
world "the great river of the North," which we
now call Hudson in honor of this bold discoverer.
He was an English navigator, an intimate friend of
the famous Captain John Smith, who had been
employed by London merchants in the vain search
for a passage to India by the Northern seas. The
pursuit being abandoned by them, as is said, it was
continued by the Dutch East India Company. On
the 4th of April, 1609, he sailed from Amsterdam,
with a crew of about 20 English and Dutch sailors,
in the Hal/'-Mbon, ayachtof about So tons. Impas-
sable ice turned his prow. Steering across the
Atlantic, touching the shores of the Penobscot Bay
and Cape Cod, he proceeded to the capes of the
Chesapeake, which he reached early in August.
Thence he sailed northerly along the coast,
entering rivers' mouths, until he anchored in
New York Bay early in September. On the
1 2th, he commenced sailing up the river, advancing
as far as he found it safely navigable, probably to a
point near the present site of Hudson City. Anchor-
ing here on the 1 9th, he sent a boat with his mate
and four men further up the river, which, no doubt,
passed the site of Albany. He may have proceeded
the whole length of the present count}', as far as the
sprouts of the Mohawk. On the 23d, convinced
that this "River of the Mountains" furnished no
shorter route to China and the Indies, he leisurely
returned down the stream, sailing out to sea, and
reaching England November 7th. He had many
interviews with natives along the shores, generally
of the most friendly character. They came to him
in boats laden with fruit, meat, furs, and their own
manufactures; they received trinkets in return with
great delight. He found the inhabitants below the
highlands more savage and faithless than those far-
ther north. Delighted with the noble stream, its
banks rich in autumnal foliage, fertile in fruits,
splendid in varied scenery, and coursing through a
region evidently abounding in large resources for
adventure and wealth, his report to the Dutch
Company was most favorable. It was not forgotten
by them. The next year, another vessel was sent
out by shrewd merchants of Amsterdam, which
made a successful adventure in the fur trade along
the Mauritius, as the Dutch tirst named the Hudson.
Other vessels followed in 161 1, 161 2, 1613 and
1614, on voyages of discovery andtrade. Captains
John DeWitt, Hendrick Corstiaensen, Adrian Block,
and Cornelius Jacobsen Mey were foremost in these
enterprises. The coast, with contiguous islands,
river mouths and bays, all along from Nahant to
Delaware Bay, were visited by them. The Fresh
or Connecticut, and other rivers were ascended so
far as they could be navigated. Manhattan Island
was made the chief depot of trade, and Corstiaensen
was appointed agent for the Holland fur traffickers.
In this same year, 161 2, he began laying the foun-
dations of the future commercial metropolis of this
now great Republic in the construction of a small
fort with a few rude buildings, on the southern
extremity of the island.
NEW NETHERLANDS — THE ENGLISH
CLAIM.
In 1614 the territory extending from Cape Cod
to the Delaware River was called New Netherlands,
and claimed as under the States General of Hol-
land. Its limits were not well defined, but it was
understood to include all the coasts and islands
herein and adjacent, and the lands upon the Dela-
ware, Hudson and Connecticut rivers, so far as
the Dutch needed them for settlements and trade.
But the claim was not admitted by England. The
English Cabots had — as was then believed — been
the first of Europeans to discover the coast of North
America.
The whole territory in North America, lying be-
tween the 34 th and 45th parallels of latitude, was
claimed by England by right of prior discovery.
The claim extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
In 1606, on April loth, two patents were granted
by James I., King of Great Britain, dividing this
territory into North Virginia and South Virginia —
the former was given for the-purpose of colonization
to the Plymouth Company ; the latter to the Lon-
don Company. The settlement of Jamestown in
1607, and Plymouth, in 1620, resulted.
It was in 16 13 that the English made their first
demonstration against the Dutch possessions.
Governor Samuel Argal, of Virginia, on his return
from a hostile expedition against the French settle-
ments in Acadia, "found at Manhattan Isle four
houses built and a pretended Dutch governor,"
says Captain Smith. Says Chalmers, there was only
' ' a trading house " there. Be this as it may, Argal
visited the Governor and demanded possession,
alleging that Hudson, an English subject, could
not alienate from the English Crown what was
THE DUTCH WEST INDIA CO.
45
properly a part of Virginia. Incapable of resistance,
Corstiaensen, then in command, peaceably submitted
himself and his colony to the King of England.
It is well known that New England never had any
respect for the Dutch claim. The Holland com-
panies kept possession for fifty years longer, and laid
their foundations, some of which still remain in the
New York of to-day. From the western part of
Long Island, and up the Hudson to the Mohawk,
including Albany and adjacent settlements, it re-
mained New Netherlands, with little disturbance
from the English, until 1664, when might decided
the question of right.
THE UNITED NEW NETHERLANDS CO.
The importance of establishing a trading post near
the head of the navigable waters of the Mauritius
early attracted the attention of Hendrick Corstiaen-
sen and other enterprising Hollanders. A general
charter of concessions to discoverers of new coun-
tries was passed by the Holland Government, at
Hague, March 27, 1614. A special charter was
granted by the States General, under date of Oct.
II, 16 14, to a company of Amsterdam merchants
and others of the United New Netherlands Co., giv-
ing them the monopoly, until January i, 1618, of
all travel and trade in the New Netherlands, during
which time they were authorized to make four voy-
ages.
In 16 14, with a few trappers and traders, Cors-
tiaensen sailed up the river, and erected a fort and a
store house, upon what was then named Kasteeul,
or Castle Island, just below the site of the later Fort
Orange, and carried on a brisk trade in furs and
peltry with the Indians. The fort was called
Nassau. The island, now called Van Rensselaer,
is situated in the town of Bethlehem. Corstiaensen
was murdered shortly after by a malicious Indian
in his employ, and Jacob Jacobsen Elkins, his
lieutenant, succeeded him as agent for the com-
pany. Nothing was done for the settlement or de-
velopment of the lands.
The spring floods so disturbed the works on the
island that Elkins removed them, some time after,
to the mouth of the Tawasentha, now Norman's Kill,
where there is said to have once been a Mohawk
castle and burial place. Here, tradition has it, as
stated elsewhere, was concluded, about this time,
the first formal treaty of friendship and alliance with
the Indians.
Their charter expiring January i, 16 18, this
company unsuccessfully petitioned for its renewal.
Either the returns made to the Holland capitalists
had been unsatisfactory, or a more powerful in-
fluence was at work towards getting up another
company to occupy their hunting grounds.
During the more than five years of interval be-
tween 16 1 8 and 1623, tradition has it that Elkins
and some of his traders still remained and carried
on, with the aid of the Holland ships, a lucrative
trade, there being none to dispute. It is thought that
some of these adventurers remained and joined
themselves with those who came under the new
company in 1623. During these five years there
might have been free trade. But those who had
been longest on the ground had, of course, the ad-
vantage. Elkins evidently was not pleased with
his treatment by the States and the West India
Company, as appears further on by his return, in
1633, with an English ship.
THE DUTCH WEST INDIA CO.
June 3, 1621, the congress or government of
Holland, called the " States General, " incorporated
the Dutch West India Co., investing it with almost
regal powers for carrying on tiade and planting
settlements from Cape Horn to Newfoundland, for
a period of 24 years. Its jurisdiction over the
Province of New Netherlands, the special object of
its enterprise, was exclusive. It was authorized to
appoint governors with the approval of the "States,"
to colonize territory, erect forts and administer jus-
tice. Its executive management was given to a
Board of nineteen Directors, one to be appointed
by the "States," the remaining eighteen by the
company, to be distributed through five separate
chambers, in five different cities of Holland. The
Province of New Netherlands was assigned to the
Amsterdam Chamber. The company was not fully
organized until the spring of 1623, when it vigor-
ously entered upon extensive operations. At this
time the English ambassador at The Hague, for-
mally protested against these encroachments of the
Dutch fur traders ; but no armed force was moved
to prevent carrying out their plans.
In April, 1623, a vessel under command of
Cornelisen Jacobsen Mey, as Director, came over
from Holland with thirty families, chiefly Walloons,
or French Protestants, and landed at New Amster-
dam. Of these, it is said, that eight families came
up the Hudson as far as the present site of Albany,
where they built Fort Orange, about two miles
above Fort Nassau — the location being near the
present steamboat square.
Maurice, of Nassau, Prince of Orange, who, at
the age of 18, had succeeded his murdered father
in the government of the Low Countries, was the
Washington of his country. By his wisdom.
46
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
bravery and industry he strengthened and confirmed
the new republic of Netherlands, and ranked among
the first generals and statesmen of his age. He was
much beloved and esteemed by his countrymen.
In his honor they named the river Mauritius, and
the forts Nassau and Orange. Another Fort Nas-
sau was built near this time on the Delaware River.
The Walloons were French Protestants who re-
sided on the borders between Belgium and France,
and were distinguished for industry and valor.
From this race descended many families in this
State. The first white child born in New Nether-
lands was Sarah Rapelje, daughter of one of the
Walloon settlers, whose birth occurred June 7,
1625, and whose descendants are still to be found
on Long Island and vicinity.
Catelyn Trico, born in Paris, France, is claimed
to have been the first white woman in Albany.
This claim is based on her own testimony, made in
1688, when she was 83 years old, which makes her
born in 1605, and coming to Albany in 1623, when
she was 1 8 years old. She testifies that she came to
this country in the first ship, called the Unity, com-
manded by Adrien Jorise, that came from Holland
to New Netherlands for the West India Company.
She tells us that two families and six men were sent
to Hartford, Connecticut ; two families and eight
men to Delaware River ; eight men were left at
Manhattan, and the rest went as far up as Albany,
which they called Fort Orange. She says that
those who came to Albany and made a small fort
were eighteen families ; that they made themselves
some huts of bark. Adrien Jorise remained all
winter and sent his son home with the ship. She
represents the Indians as very peaceable, and car-
rying on a very active trade in beaver and peltry.
After three years she left Albany and went to New
York, and afterward to Wallabout. She states that
the other women on board, four in number, were
married and went to the Delaware River. Consid-
ering her age and the interval of time, her state-
ment, while it may be correct in the main, is to be
taken with some allowance. It is remarkable that
only one woman came up to Fort Orange at that
time and remained as the first and only female
here for three years. The number of " eighteen
families " differs from all other statements in our
knowledge.
The Commissaries at Fort Orange or Beverwyck,
now Albany, were Vice-Directors of the West
India Company. They were commanders, also, of
the fort. We find the names of the following :
Daniel Krieckkebeeck, Peter Barentsen, Bastian
Jansen Krol, Jorissen Houten, Hannan Mynderts
Van der Bogaert, Carl Van Brugge, Jan Labadie,
John Dyckman, John De Decker, John La Mon-
tagne.
The Dutch Directors-General, otherwise called
Commanders and Governors, under the West
India Company and the States General of Holland,
from 1623 to 1674, were as follows :
DUTCH GOVERNORS.
Adrien Jorise 1623
Cornelius Jacobsen Mey 1624
William Verhulst 1625
Peter Minuit May 4, 1626
Wouter Van Twiller April, 1633
William Kieft March 28, 1638
Peter Stuyvesant, May 11, 1647, to September 8,
1664, when the city was surrendered to the
English.
Anthony Colve, September 19, 1673, when the city
was retaken by the Dutch, to November 10,
1674, when, by treaty, it was again given over
to the English.
These ofiicers had their seat at the Manhattans or
New Amsterdam, now New York, which was rec-
ognized as th§ capital of New Netherlands, and
the centre not only of civil power, but of trade.
All emigrants from Europe landed here, and all
who returned took ship here. Here were collected
all furs, peltries, grain, &c., and from this port
transhipment was made to Holland ; and all goods
intended for the use of the colonists, or for trade
among them or the Indians were here received,
duly entered, and from thence sent forth to their
destination.
The first two Governors were skippers of vessels
that took over some of the first immigrants under
the West India Company, and had something to
do with locating Fort Orange, in the year 1623, or
as some of the early documents say, in 1624. The
former date is supported by the best authorities.
Of Verhults we find nothing.
Minuit, the first fully empowered Director-Gen-
eral, jjurchased of the Indians the Island of Man-
hattan, in 1626, for a sum equal to about |24.' He
was a deacon in the Church of Wesel, whence he
came, and, so far as we learn, was a peace-loving
man and a just public officer. His correspondence
with Governor William Bradford, of Plymouth, was
dignified, courteous and honorable. It related to
territorial jurisdiction. About 1627, Bradford, hear-
ing that the Dutch were encroaching by sending
ships to Narragansett Bay to trade, sent Mr. Edward
Winslow to remonstrate. Soon after, Minuit sent a
very friendly letter to Governor Bradford, congrat-
ulating Plymouth Colony upon its prosperity, and
proposing trade and friendly relations in the future.
THE DUTCH WEST INDIA CO.
47
. To this the Governor of Plymouth replied in most
friendly terms, alluding to the hospitality which the
Pilgrims had received in Holland a few years pre-
vious, and assuring the Governor of New Nether-
lands that they and their children after them would
never forget the same. At the same time he as-
sured Governor Minuit that he must respect the
rightful claims of the Pilgrims of Plymouth, and
not allow his skiffs to come to Narragansett for
beavers. He also complained that the Dutch were
selling muskets, powder and shot to the Indians.
Other courtesies of the most pleasing character
were kept up during the time of Minuit, in which
each manfully asserted what he regarded as right,
while there arose no unfriendly words. Minuit
erected Fort Amsterdam near the site of the present
Battery, and directed all his energies to founding a
State similar to that in Fatherland. By his concili-
ating disposition, he kept on pleasant terms with the
Indians. After his recall, he went to Sweden, and
afterward appeared as the leader of 50 Swedish im-
migrants who, in April, 1638, landed on the site of
New Castle and founded New Sweden, which was
broken up by the rapacious Stuyvesant in 1655,
and subjected to the West India Company.
Van Twiiler married into the Van Rensselaer
family, and came to New Netherlands in conse-
quence, as the patroon's agent in selecting and
locating lands. He afterward was one of the
executors of the estate of Kiliaan Van Rensselaer,
and, with John Van Weely, a guardian of his son
Johannis, during his minority. As Governor he
was faithful to the West India Company, but noted
for his want of good judgment and executive
abihties. His dealings with the English, who took
up claims upon the Connecticut River in 1640,
were characterized by ridiculous bluster and ignoble
failure to carry out his threats. He was equally
unsuccessful in his attempt upon the fort at Beeren
Island. He was greedy of gain and successful in his
greed ; great in paper protests, timid in action.
He lived peaceably with the Indians, and had little
trouble with his subordinates.
It was in 1633, during the time of Van Twiiler,
that the first English ship, the William, sailed up the
Hudson River. It was commanded by Elkins,
who had spent some years in trading with the In-
dians in this vicinity under the United New Neth-
erlands Company. In spite of the refusal of the
Dutch Governor at New Amsterdam to give him a
license, he, asserting the English claim to the terri-
tory, defiantly proceeded to a place about a mile
below Fort Orange, where he landed, pitched his
tent, and, for a few weeks, pursued a lucrative
trade in furs. The traders at Fort Orange protested,
and soon after, with the aid of ships and crews sent
up from Fort Amsterdam, compelled the bluff
captain to strike his tent, re-ship his goods and
take his furs down the river. His ship was con-
voyed to sea, and he, utterly discomfited, returned
to London.
Kieft was avaricious, rash and unscrupulous.
He kept himself and his colony in constant excite-
ment and trouble. He quarreled with his under
officers; he was vindictive toward those who dif-
fered from him in matters of public policy; he was
oppressive and arbitrary among the people. With
the English in Connecticut, the Swedes on the
Delaware, the Indian tribes on every side, and the
colonists at his own door, he was in continual
strife. By his own abandoned folly he aroused the
Indians in the vicinity of New Amsterdam, who
had been friendly under his predecessors, to deeds
of fiery hatred and savage vengeance. His thirst
for blood seemed to equal that of the savages, and
he expressed himself determined upon a war of
extermination of the natives. Neither life nor
property was safe. War raged for }ears. Fields
were devastated; homes desolated ; and the blood
of the innocent citizen and the ferocious savage
flowed freely on every side. The very existence of
the colonies in and near Manhattan was menaced.
Help finally came from New England under Capt.
Underbill, for Kieft had no leader. The war
ceased. Kieft, recalled for his offences, gathered
his treasures and took ship for Europe. He was
never heard of more. His vessel was wrecked
on the coast of Wales, and the bad man was en-
gulfed in the angry waves with all his ill-gotten
treasure.
The Indian wars had lasted about five of the
eight years' reign of this infamous wretch, during
which he had, like an arrant coward as he was,
stayed in his fort and exulted in the ruin around
him and his own personal safety. At the begin-
ning of these wars the population of New Nether-
lands was about 3,000; at its close, less than
1,000. New Amsterdam contained only about 100
people when peace came, August 31, 1645. His
unlamented end was regarded as an act of retribu-
tive divine justice.
We find no evidenee in the record of these times
that the savage wars of the lower Hudson seriously
disturbed the dwellers about Fort Orange. No
doubt they had accessions from those who fled
from the cruel carnage. No doubt they had fears
of similar outbreaks, which, probably, were hin-
dered by their pleasant relations in trade to the
48
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
powerful Mohawks!, who were a wall, for many
years, to this weak frontier people.
Much may be seen of the character of Stuyve-
sant under our Rensselaerwyck heading. He was
a brave man — decided in his convictions, persistent
in carrying them into action. He aimed to be
true to his trust. He restored peace, and dealt
prudently with his Indian neighbors. When these
savage tribes broke out in their savagery he was
equal to the emergency. They found him not
wanting in courage and energy, nor in prompt
justice. There were then no settlements from Fort
Amsterdam to the Catskills, except at Esopus, now
Kingston. The restless and blood-thirsty Indians
about here were effectually reduced and put in sub-
jection under his management in 1663. He was a
man of military experience ; honest, but im-
perious ; a believer in prerogatives ; arbitrary in
action. He was strangely inclined to arresting
and shutting up in prison those who opposed his
views, and to confiscating their estates as if guilty of
treason against the government. He quarreled
with his Vice-Director and other officers ; he, as will
appear farther on, was in a continual contention
with the officers of the patroon at Beaverwyck.
He was feared, but not beloved. He did not
make friends with the Yankees, the Swedes, or the
Dutch. The States General disapproved his
course, and the West India Company, which ap-
pointed him and long sustained him, doubted the
wisdom of many of his transactions.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
The first settlement of Albany County has been
written down under the date of 1609, when Hud-
son's boat, probably, passed the site of our city; in
1610, when certain Holland skippers were prospect-
ing along our shores ; in 1614, when Captain Cor-
sliaensen and his hunters and trappers planted
themselves, for trade in furs, on Kasteel Island ; in
1621, when the Dutch West India Company was first
established; and in 1623, when, according to the
best evidence we now have, this same compan}-
actually landed a few Hollanders upon the territor}-
now called Albany, to engage, as their factors and
servants, in the collection and transmission of furs
and peltries. None of these events can be reckoned
as dating the first settlement of our county.
Probably not a drop of the blood of any of
those early adventurers courses in the veins of any
white citizen of this State or nation. Few, if any,
had families. Some died here and turned to dust ;
others returned to their native land when their
service was over. They did not come to stay. None
came as colonists, occupying land and cultivating it.
Fish, deer, wild fowl and other game abounded.
Native fruits. were plenty. Possibly, a few vegeta-
bles, and some corn and other grain, were raised in
patches near the fort. Some food was brought
over in ships. For a few trinkets the rest was
purchased from the Indian squaws, who cultivated
them. They were no more "first settlers," than
were the first adventurers that went out from our
States to the mines of California, 40 years ago, the
first settlers of that gieat State and its San Fran-
cisco, now the gem of the Pacific.
"It never began to be settled until every one had
liberty to trade with the Indians, inasmuch as up
to this time no one calculated to remain there
longer than the expiration of his bounden time,
and therefore did not apply themselves to agricul-
ture." Thus says a Dutch writer of that day. The
"Free Trade Liberty" began about 1640.
These fictions of history are not the solid facts
for us to build upon. Those "first famihes" did
not give us our "blue blood." They who did this
came later. Our real history began later. Indeed,
it is, at the best, a vain boast for any individual or
people to boast of a misty antiquity or of blood
that has flowed down from moneyed and titled sires
of the old times. To deserve well of our children's
children, to earn and transmit a heritage of noble
aims and noble deeds, is a far better ambition. It
is told in old Grecian history of an idiot, who was
boasting of his noble sires, when a bystander per-
tinently silenced him by asking, "What are you
doing to honor the memory of your sires .?"
The States General of Holland saw how little
progress was making in colonizing the New Neth-
erlands ; what an unstable and unreliable people
went out and came back ; how poor in kind and
few in number was the population.
The first reference to population which we find
is made in October, 1628, in a work published in
Amsterdam, which says, " There are no families at
Fort Orange * * * they keep five or six and
twenty persons, traders, there. "
In October, 1626, the Ship Arms of Avisterdam
reached Amsterdam from New Netherlands. Its
cargo shows the variety and amount of its trans-
ported products at that time, which con.sisted of
7,246 beaver, 853^ otter, 81 mink, 36 wild cat and
34 rat skins ; also, ' ' samples of summer grain, such
as wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat, canary
seed, beans and fiax."
The Assembly of XIX. reports to the Slates
General, in 1629: "All who are inclined to do
any sort of work here procure enough to eat
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
49
without any trouble, and are, therefore, unwilHng
to go far from home on an uncertainty." This
from Holland, and is written to explain the diffi-
culty of sending out persons suitable, from the
country, for colonizing New Netherlands. It is
added, " The people conveyed by us thither, have
therefore found but scanty means of livelihood up
to the present time, and have not been any profit,
but a drawback, to this (West India) companj'.
The trade carried on there in peltries is right ad-
vantageous ; but one year with another, we can,
at most, bring home only fifty thousand ($20,000)
guilders.'
A new scheme was planned and adopted, singu-
lar, indeed, in its provisions ; unlilce anything be-
fore attempted in the New World. It was approved
and carried out by men of wealth and sagacity,
and of experience in trade and government. Its
prime object was to increase mone)' and power. It
included the colonization of farmers and artisans
— providing a new home and belter prospects for
the boors of the Belgic race, and a field for the
ambitious and enterprising, who had no room at
home. It was partially successful. It brought
over all classes. But not a few industrious, high-
minded, discreet families came to stay. Thej' laid
foundations broad and deep. We are to-day
enjoying the benefits of their wisdom and energ)'.
In the men who came here from Holland
during the middle years of the 17th century, were
exhibited elements of character which have been
found in many of their descendants ; men of ex-
alted patriotism, inflexible integrity and cultivated
intelligence, who have helped to upbuild, preserve
and adorn our Republic. We say this with a full
knowledge of the faults of the manorial system, of
the men who lorded it, and of the men who have
suffered from it, or contended against it.
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
The history of Rensselaerwyck, in all its rela-
tions, is so largely the history of this County and
of the State even, that we give it much space, but
no more than its importance demands. With it
begins the real settlement of the city and county
of Albany, in 1630, when a company of real set-
tlers came over with a purpose, under the patron-
age of Kilian Van Rensselaer, the first patroon.
We have followed Dr. O'Callaghan in the record
of what follows during the exciting struggle for
wealth and power between the agents of the
patroon and of the West India Company, in the
27 yefirs from Kieft, in 1637, until 1664, when that
arrogant tyrant, Peter Stuyvesant, reluctantly
yielded to the EngUsh power and ceased to war
upon the patroons. The people were weary of
him, and the patroon was glad to have no more
of the West India Company.
In 1629, a charter of privileges and exemptions
was passed for the encouragement of patroons to
settle colonies. In the following year, several
wealthy and influential Directors of the Dutch
West India Company hastened to avail themselves
of its advantages. Bastiaen Jansen Krol, Com-
missary, and Dirck Cornelissen Duyster, Under
Commissary, at Fort Orange, having learned that
a tract of land called Sannahagog, lying on the
west side of the North River, extending from Bee-
ren Island, by the Indians called Passapenock, up
to the Smackx Island, and in breadth two days'
journey, was for sale, purchased the same from
the native proprietors, for Kilian Van Rens-
selaer, a pearl merchant in Amsterdam and one of
the Directors of the West India Company. Three
months afterward Gillis Hoosett purchased, in the
presence of jansen Myndertsen, Wolfert Gerritsen
and Jan Tyssen, trumpeter, for the same gentle-
man, the lands lying south and north of Fort
Orange, and extending to within a short distance
of Moenimines Castle, then situated on what is
now called Haver Island, at the mouth of the
Mohawk, and from one of the chiefs, his grounds,
called Semesseeck, stretching on the east side of the
river from opposite Castle Island to a point facing
Fort Orange, and thence from Poetanock, the Mill
Creek, north to Negagons. These conveyances
were subsequently ratified by the respective parties,
in the presence of the Director-General and Coun-
cil of New Netherland, who signed an instrument
to that effect, ' ' sealed with the seal of New Neth-
erland in red wax, " on the same day that the char-
ter of 1629 was proclaimed at Fort Amsterdam.
Nearly seven years afterward — namely, on the 13th
April, 1637 — all the intervening district, called
Papsickenekaas, or Papsekanea, as the name is
now pronounced, lying also on the east side of the
river, and extending from opposite Castle Island
south to the point opposite Smackx Island, and
including the adjacent islands and all the lands
back into the interior, belonging to the Indian
owners, was purchased " for certain quantities of
duffels, axes, knives and wampum," also for Mr.
Van Rensselaer, who thus became proprietor of a
tract of country twenty-four miles long and forty-
eight miles broad, containing, as is estimated, over
seven hundred thousand acres of land, which now
compose the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and
part of the county of Columbia.
50
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
On the I St of October, 1630, a copartnership
was entered into between Kilian Van Rensselaer,
Samuel Godyn, Johannis de Laet and Samuel
Bloemaert, with whom were associated Adam
Bissels and Toussaint Moussart, who, by the terms
of the contract, were constituted co-directors of
Rensselaer wyck. The common stock of this asso-
ciation was divided into five shares, of which Van
Rensselaer held two ; De Laet, one ; Godyn, one ;
and Bloemaert and his associates, one. The man-
agement of the affairs of the ' ' colonie " was com-
mitted to a board consisting of four persons or votes,
of which Van Rensselaer represented or held two ;
Bloemaert, or Bissels, one ; and De Laet, or
Moussart, one. Van Rensselaer was, however,
not to have any rank or authority in the " colonie"
superior to his associates, except the title of Pa-
troon, which, with all its feudal honors, was vested
in him alone, the partners binding themselves to
do fealty and homage for the fief on his demise, in
the name and on the behalf of his son and heirs.
Preparations were also made to expedite farmers
and cattle to Rensselaerwyck ; and everywhere, at
home and abroad, things wore the aspect of pros-
perity.
The condition of the Dutch settlements on the
North River, at this time, is thus alluded to by a
contemporary English writer : "This which they
have settled in New England, upon Hudson's
River, with no extraordinary charge or multitude
of people, is knowne to subsist in a comfortable
manner, and to promise fairlie both to the State
and undertakers. The cause is evident. The
men whom they carrie, though they be not many,
are well chosen and known to be useful and ser-
viceable, and they second them with seasonable and
fit supplies, cherishing them as carefully as their
owne families, and employ them in profitable
labors, that are known to be of speciall use to their
comfortable subsisting." So said The Planlers'
Plea, London, 1630.
The inhabitants of Rensselaerwyck in 1640,
who numbered at the time as many traders as in-
dividuals, noting the avidity with which the Mo-
hawks sought after fire-arms, willingly paying the
English twenty beavers for a musket, and from
ten to twelve guilders for a pound of gunpowder,
were desirous to share so profitable a trade.
They commenced, accordingly, to furnish fire-
arms to these Indians. The profits which accrued
became soon known, and traders from Holland
introduced large quantities of guns and other muni-
tions of war into the interior.
The Mohawks, thus provided with arms for four
hundred warriors, swept the country from Canada
to the sea-coast levying tribute on the surrounding
terror-stricken tribes.
The Patroon's Charter of 1629 having provided
that every "colonie" should contain, within
four years after its establishment, at least fifty
persons over fifteen years of age, one-fourth
of whom should be located within the first
year, the parties interested in the settlement
of Rensselaerwyck lost no time in complying
with these conditions. Early in the spring of the
following )'ear, 1630, a number of colonists, with
their families, provided with farming imple-
ments, stock and all other necessaries, sailed from
the Texel, in the company's ship, the Endracht,
Capt. Jan Brouwer, commander, and arrived in
safety at the Manhattans, after a passage of sixty-
four days. In a short time afterward they landed
at Fort Orange, in the vicinity of which they were
furnished with comfortable farm- houses and other
dwellings at the expense of the patroon and his
associates. Other settlers followed, with addi-
tional stock, each succeeding season, and thus were
laid the foundations of those wealthy and prosper-
ous settlements which we now behold in and
around the present City of Albany.
Invested, as well by the Roman law as by the
Charter, with the chief command and lower juris-
diction, the patroon became empowered to ad-
minister civil and criminal justice, in person" or by
deputy, within his "colonie ;" to appoint local of-
ficers and magistrates ; to erect courts and to take
cognizance of all crimes committed within his
limits ; to keep a gallows, if such were required,
for the execution of malefactors, subject, however,
to the restriction that if such gallows happened,
by any accident, to fall, pending an execution, a
new one could not be erected, unless for the pur-
pose of hanging another criminal. The right to
inflict punishments of minor severity was necessa-
rily included in that which authorized capital con-
victions. Accordingly, we find various instances,
throughout the record of the local court, of per-
sons who had, by breaking the law, rendered them-
selves dangerous to societ}', or obnoxious to the
authorities, having been banished from the "col-
onie," or condemned to corporal chastisement,
fine, or imprisonment, according to the grade of
their offences.
In civil cases all disputes between man and man,
whether relating to contracts, titles, possessions,
or boundaries ; injuries to property, person, or
character ; claims for rents and all other demands
between the patroon and his tenants, were also
RENSSELAER WrCK AND BEVERWFCK.
51
investigated and decided by these courts ; from
the judgment of which, in matters affecting life and
limb, and in suits where the sum in litigation ex-
ceeded iwenty dollars, appeals lay to the Director-
General and Council at Fort Amsterdam. But the
sagacious local authorities, it must be added, were
so jealous of this privilege that they required the
colonists, on settling within their jurisdiction, to
promise not to appeal from any sentence of the lo-
cal tribunal.
The laws in force here were, as in other sections
of New Netherland, the Civil Code, the enactments
of the States General, the ordinances of the West
India Company, and of the Director-General and
Council when properly published within the "col-
onic," and such rules and regulations as the patroon
and his co-directors, or the local authorities, might
establish and enact.
The government was vested in a General Court,
which exercised executive, legislative, or municipal
and judicial functions, and which was composed
of two Commissaries and two Councilors, who
answered to modern justices of the peace.
Adjoined to this court were a Colonial Secretary,
a Sheriff or Schoul-fiscaal, and a Court Mes-
senger or Constable. Each of these received a
small compensation, either in the shape of a
fixed salary or fees ; the Commissaries and Magis-
trates, fifty, one hundred, or two hundred guild-
ers, annually, according to their standing; the
Secretary, one hundred guilders, and the Court
Messenger, one hundred and fift)', with the addition
of trifling fees for the transcript and service of papers.
The magistrates of the ' ' colonie " held office for a
year, the court appointing their successors from
among the other settlers, or continuing those already
in office, at the expiration of their term of service,
as it deemed proper.
The most important functionary attached to this
government was the Schout-fiscaal, who, in dis-
charge of his public functions, was bound by in-
structions received from the patroon and co-di-
rectors. No man in the "colonie" was to be
subject to loss of life or property unless by the sen-
tence of a court composed of five persons, and all
who were under accusation were entitled to a speedy
and impartial trial. The public prosecutor was
particularly enjoined not to receive presents or
bribes, nor to be interested in trade or commerce,
either directly or indirectly ; and, in order that he
might be attentive to the performance of his duties,
and thoroughly independent, he was secured a fixed
salary, a free house, and all fines amounting to ten
guilders {$4.oo), or under ; besides the third part
of all forfeitures and amends over that sum were
his perquisites.
Jacob Albertsen Planck was the first sheriff of
Rensselaerwyck. Arendt Van Curler, who originally
came out as Assistant Commissary, was appointed,
soon after his arrival, Commissary-General, or
Superintendent of the "colonie, " and acted as
Colonial Secretary until 1642, when he was suc-
ceeded by Anthony de Hooges. Brant Peelen,
Gerrit de Rens, Cornells Teunissen van Broeck-
elen, Pieter Cornelissen van Munickendam, and
Dirck Jansen were, if not the first, at least among
the earliest magistrates of the settlement.
The population of the "colonie" consisted at
this remote period of three classes : Freemen,
who emigrated from Holland at their own expense ;
farmers and farm-servants, who were sent out by
the patroon, who judiciously applied his large
resources in promoting the early settlement of the
country, and in assisting the struggling industry of
his people. To accomplish this laudable object, a
number of farms were set off, on both sides of the
river and the adjoining islands, on which he caused
dwelling-houses, barns and stables to be erected.
These farms were suitably stocked with cows, horses
or oxen, and occasionally sheep, and furnished
with plows, wagons and other necessary agricul-
tural implements, all which preliminary expenses
were defrayed by the proprietor, so that the farmer
entered on the property unembarrassed by the want
of capital. Some of those farms were then valued,
and an annual rent was fixed, equivalent, in some
sort, to the interest of the capital expended on their
improvement, and payable semi-annually in grain,
beavers and wampum. Other farms were let out
for one-half or for the one-third of their produce.
The patroon was entitled, at the same time, to half
the increase from the stock ; he reserved to himself
one-tenth of the produce of each farm, and, in
various instances, stipulated for a yearly acknowl-
edgment of a few pounds of butter. The tenant
was privileged, however, to compound by the
payment of a fixed annual sum for the tenths
of the farm, or for his halves or thirds. He was
bound, at the same time, to keep the fences,
buildings or farming implements in repair, and to
deliver them up in the same good order in which
he had received them, subject, in all cases, to ordi-
nary wear and tear. But the patroon bore all risks
of destruction of the buildings, cattle, and other
property, which might accrue from war or mis-
understandings with the Indians. Wild or unim-
proved land was usually leased for a term of ten
years free of rent, or for tenths, subject, however,
52
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
to be improved by the lessee, all improvements
falling to the patroon on the expiration of the lease.
In addition to the facilities above enumerated,
each of the settlers, on leaving Holland, was
generally furnished vifith clothing and a small
sum in cash, the latter to be repaid on some
future occasion in produce or wampum with an
advance on the principal of fifty per cent. This,
however disproportionate it may now seem, cannot
be considered unreasonable or extravagant when it is
understood that the difference at the time between
colonial and Holland currency was nearly forty per
cent., while between the latter and wampum, it was
vastly larger. The patroon was bound, at the same
time, to supply his colonists with a sufficient num-
ber of laborers to assist them in the work of their
farms. As compensation for his trouble in engag-
ing these, and for his advances in conveying them
to America, he was entitled to the sum of sixteen
guilders, or six dollars, per annum for each laborer,
over and above the yearly wages which the farmer
was to allow such servants, and which ranged from
forty to one hundred and fifty guilders and board.
This sum provided these servants with necessary
clothing, and, in the course of time, placed at their
disposal the means to enter on a farm on their own
account. It is to be remarked, however, that the
first patroon seriously complained that his settlers
not only threw altogether on him the payment of
these wages, but took large quantities of goods
from his store, for which they made no returns
whatever, though they were bound to settle at the
end of each year, and to hand in an account of the
produce of the farm, distinguishing the patroon's
tenths, halves or thirds, the amount paid for wages
and their own expenses, so as to allow him to
ascertain what his own profits and losses were at the
close of each year.
In return for his outlay and trouble, the Civil
Code, which, it must be always borne in mind, was
the fundamental law of this "colonic,'' vested in
the patroon several privileges common to the feudal
system. At the close of the harvest, the farmer was
bound to hand in a return of the amount of grain
which he had for sale, after deducting what was due
to the landlord by the lease, and offer to him or his
commissary the pre-emption of such produce. In
case he refused to buy it, then the farmer was at
liberty to sell the same elsewhere. The like rule
obtained in regard to cattle. When these were to
be sold, the first offer was also to be made to the
patroon, in order, we presume, that he should
have an opportunity of retaining the stock within
the "colonic.'' Every settler was, likewise, obli-
gated to grind his corn at the patroon's mill, and
the latter was equally obligated to erect and keep
such mill in repair at his own expense, for the
accommodation of his colonists. No person could
hunt or fish within the limits of the "colonic,"
without license from the patroon, who, on the ex-
change, sale and purchase of real estate within his
jurisdiction, was entitled to the first offer of such
property ; or, if he declined to assume it, to a cer-
tain portion of the purchase money, except such
mutation occurred in the natural line of descent.
Finally, it was his right, as "lord of the manor,"
to succeed to the estate and property of all persons
who might die intestate within his "colonic."
Under the fostering care of its first patroon, and
the prudent management of its local magistracy,
the ' ' colonic of Rensselaerwyck" progressively,
though slowly, advanced. Portions of its inhabi-
tants occasionally returned to "Fatherland" to
spread the tidings of their prosperitj^, and to invite
their friends and relatives to join them in their new
houses, which, from the abundance and cheapness
of provisions, deserved truly to be called "a land
flowing with milk and honey." A hamlet gradu-
ally arose. On account, it is said, of the crescent
form of the bank of the river at this point, this
hamlet was first called the Fuyck, or Beversfuyck,
and afterwards Beverwyck, by which name the
present City of Albany was legally known until
1664, though it was familiarly called the Fuyck by
the Dutch for many years after the entire country
had passed into the hands of other masters.
Mr. Van Rensselaer, some allege, visited the
"colonic" in persoli in 1637. This, however, is
not certain.
Adrian Van der Donck, "a free citizen of
Breda," and a graduate of the University of
Leyden, was selected as the successor of Sheriff
Planck. He entered on the performance of his
duties as Schout-fiscaal of Rensselaerwyck in the
course of a month or two after his appointment.
One of the principal aims of the first founders of
Rensselaerwyck seems to have been to secure for
themselves the valuable trade in furs, the chief
mart for which centered at the point where they
made their purchase and commenced their settle-
ment. To engross this the more effectively, all
foreign and unlicensed traders were rigidly ex-
cluded from the colony. The patroon and his
partners were the only privileged importers of
European merchandise, the West India Company
having, in consequence of the Indian War about
Fort Amsterdam and other causes, ceased to keep
Fort Orange supplied with foreign goods. All
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
53
settlers were bound under oath not to purchase
any peltries from the Indians, on pain of forfeiting
their goods and wages, unless duly licensed to
carry on such trade ; for such a privilege was ex-
clusively vested in the patroon. The majority of
the settlers subsequently obtained such permis-
sion, received goods on credit from the patroon's
store, and " every farmer, " as De Vries observes,
"became a trader." They were, however, obliged
to bring in all the furs which they purchased to
the patroon's magazine, to be sent over to Holland
to him, he retaining as his share half the profits.
This condition was afterward modified so far as to
allow him to retain only the sixth beaver and one
guilder recognition, or duty, on each of the re-
maining five-sixths. Competition raised the price
of peltries nearly one hundred per cent. Prior
to 164^ the price of a merchantable beaver, which
averaged about an ell square, was six hands, or
fathoms, of wampum. In the course of that
year the article commanded from seven to seven
and a half; but when the traders found that the
agents of the patroon, as well as the officers at
Fort Orange, did not refuse paying that price, they
immediately offered nine, and in the following
year advanced the rate to ten fathoms of white
wampum for each skin. A joint proclamation was
hereupon issued by the authorities of Rensselaer-
wyck and those of the Fort, fixing the price of furs
at nine fathoms of white, or four and a half of
black wampum, and forbidding all persons whatso-
ever, whether servants of the company or residents
in tfie colony, from going into the woods to trade
in advance with the Indians, on pain of seizure of
all their goods. Another proclamation was, also,
issued, prohibiting all traders to come with their
sloops within the limits of the colony, under the
penalty of forfeiting the same. And on the follow-
ing court day a third proclamation followed, for
the better securing the monopoly of the import
trade to the patroon, by which the inhabitants of
the colony were absolutely forbidden purchasing
any goods from the local traders.
At this time, between Sherifl'' Van der Donck
and Van Curler and the other officers of the colony,
considerable jealousy and ill-feeling existed. The
representations of Van der Donck had, eventually,
such an effect on the public mind that a con-
spiracy was formed against Commissary-General
Curler among several of the colonists, who drew up
a strong protest against that officer, which, in
order that they might remain undiscovered, the
ringleaders signed in the form of a "round robin,"
affixing to the paper their signatures in "a
circle." This done, they next denounced Van
Curler in the most vehement terms. Some pro-
posed driving him from the colony as a rogue ;
others, more vindictive and turbulent, in-isted on
taking his life. These threats, fortunately for the
character of the settlers, were not followed up by
any overt act. Van der Donck professed, all the
while, an honest desire to promote the wishes of
the constituted authorities. But, when the time for
testing his sincerity arrived, he was found wanting.
It became apparent from the ill feeling which
existed between Sheriff Van der Donck and the
other functionaries in the colony, which had
already caused, in two instances, an exchange of
blows, that the former could not comfortably pro-
long his stay in Rensselaerwyck, or hold his office
very agreeably much longer. He determined to
return to Holland in the course of the next 3'ear.
In September, 1643, there was conveyed to New
Netherland by the patroon's ship, The Arms of
Rensselaerwyck, an assorted invoice of merchandise,
consisting of woolen, linen and cotton goods, ready-
made clothing, silks, glass, crockery, leather, fruit,
cheese, spices, brandy, gin, wines, cordials, tobacco,
pipes, nets, looking-glasses, beads, axes, adzes,
razors, knives, scissors, bells, nails, spoons,
kettles, thimbles, pins, needles, threads, rings,
shoes, stockings, gloves, combs, buttons, mus-
kets, pistols, swords, shot, lead, canvas, pitch and
tar, candles, stationery, and various other commod-
ities, valued at twelve thousand eight hundred and
seventy guilders, to be bartered with the Indians
and other inhabitants of the country for tobacco,
furs, and other produce. To insure entire success
for this venture, the skipper, supercargo and pilot
of the ship were allowed a direct pecuniary interest
in the proceeds of the voyage.
The system of license introduced by the pa-
troon, and the profits which resulted, had already
incited a number of private individuals to embark
in the fur trade. As a consequence, this staple was
altogether taken out of the hands both of the pa-
troon's and the company's servants, who could pur-
chase scarcely a skin, while private traders exported
thousands of peltries. A number of unlicensed
traders now resorted to the colony, who drew the
Indians away into "secret trading places," where,
by means of higher prices, they obtained posses-
sion of the most valuable furs, "not caring whether
or not the trade was so injured as to render the
patroon unable to meet the expenses of his colo-
nie." Having thus "debauched" the savages,
these interlopers succeeded, by means of "wine
and strong drink, which they sold at an usurious
54
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
rate," in perverting many of the colonists, from
whom they got not only peltries, but even large
quantities of grain, which the farmers disposed of
without either respecting the patroon's pre-emption
right, or paying the tenths, or accounting for the
halves or thirds which they were bound by lease to
pay.
To arrest these illicit proceedings, the patroon
adopted two measures which would, he expected,
put a stop to the injuries which his interests were
sustaining from the competition that was then ex-
hausting and impovishing his colony. One of
these was the erection of a fortified post and
trading-house on Beeren Island, the southern
boundary of his estate, which, by commanding
the channel of the river, would exclude all vessels,
but his own and those of the West India Company,
from the upper waters of the Hudson. The other
was to send out a stock of goods sufficient to sup-
ply, through his establishments at Beverwyck
and Beeren Island, the Mohawks and River In-
dians, and all the neighboring settlers, with what-
soever they might require in barter for their pro-
duce, whether furs or corn. It was with a view
to carry out the latter part of this project that the
ship Arms of Rensselaerwyck now sailed from
Holland with the above mentioned valuable cargo.
She arrived at the Manhattans while the war
with the Indians was at its height, and at the mo-
ment when Director Kieft was sorely distressed for
clothing for the troops which he had enlisted. A
requisition was immediately made on Pieter Wyn-
coop, the supercargo of the ship, for a supply of
fifty pairs of shoes to be distributed among the sol-
diers, payment for which was offered "in silver,
beavers, or wampum, at such price as the super-
cargo might demand." But Wyncoop, perceiving
that he could sell these goods to more advantage
to the inhabitants than to the Director, injudicious-
ly refused to comply with this requisition. A
forced levy was the result, and as man}' soldiers
were equipped with shoes from the ship as "killed
five hundred of the enemy." The evil conse-
quence of Wj'ncoop's refusal did not stop here.
The ship was immediately overhauled by author-
ity of the Director and Council, and a consider-
able quantity of powder and a number of guns
found on board, which were not enumerated in
the manifest, and which Wyncoop was charged
with intending to sell to the savages. These ar-
ticles having been made contraband by law, and
their introduction forbidden on pain of death,
were, together with the ship, forthwith confiscated.
The vessel sailed soon after for Holland, whither
Van Curler also proceeded to give an account of
his stewardship.
In the meantime Nicolaus Coorn, " Wacht Mees-
ter" or commander, in the service of the patroon,
had completed his fort on Beeren Island, on which
he mounted a number of cannon, suflScient not
only for its defence, but for the complete command
of the river. A claim to "staple right" was then
boldly set up — a toll of five guilders, or two dollars,
imposed on every trading-craft passing up or down,
which were also obliged to lower their colors in
honor of Rensselaer Stein. And thus a sovereign
jurisdiction was asserted over this navigable high-
way against all persons, save and except the ser-
vants of the West India Company.
It was the summer of 1644 that the yacht Good
Hope, of which Govert Lookermans was master,
sailed from Fort Orange for New Amsterdam.
Passing Beeren Island, the craft was hailed, and
peremptorily ordered ' ' to lower his colors. " On
being asked for whom, the commander replied,
"For the staple right of Rensselaerwyck." But
the skipper refused, with an oath, to strike his flag
" for any individual save the Prince of Orange and
the lords, his masters." Whereupon Coorn fired
several shots at the vessel, "one of which, "says the
record, "perforated our princely flag," about a foot
above the head of the skipper, ' ' who kept the colors
constantly in his hand."
Such an outrage as this could not fail to create
excitement in New Amsterdam, when the particu-
lars became known. Coorn was summoned to ap-
pear immediately at Fort Amsterdam, to answer
for his conduct. He pleaded the authority of his
patroon. But this was considered no justification.
He was condemned in damages, and forbidden to
repeat the offence on pain of corporal punishment.
He was further required to obtain Van Rensselaer's
approval of the sentence, which should be executed
on him without fail, if that approval were not
forthcoming. This proceeding was followed,
soon after, by a strong protest from Attorney-
General Van der Huygens, against the establish-
ment on Beeren Island, which was declared to be
inconsistent with the privileges granted to pa-
troons and lords of manors. No patroon, it
was maintained, could extend his colony more
than sixteen miles along the bank, or eight
miles on both sides of the river, while Beeren
Island was more than eight miles from the limit of
the colonies. The bold attempt to construct a fort
there, to command the river and to debar Fort
Orange Irom free navigation would, it was added,
be ruinous to the company. It was, therefore,
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
55
peremptorily ordered that no building whatsoever,
much less a fortification, should be constructed be-
yond the limits of Rensselaerwyck.
But Nicolaus Coorn, Commander of Rensselaer-
Stein, was not to be intimidated by the paper
bullets of Director Kieft's Attorney-General. "As
the Vice-Commander of the honorable Van Rens-
selaer," he replied, "I call on you, Cornelis Van
der Huygens, Attorney-General of New Nether-
land, not to presume to oppose and fiustrate my
designs on Bear's Island, to defraud me in any
manner, or to cause me any trouble, as it has been
the will of their High Mightinesses, the States-Gen-
eral and the privileged West India Company, to
invest my patroon and his heir with the right to
extend and fortify his 'colonie,' and make it
powerful in every respect. If you persist in so
doing, I protest against the act of violence
and assault committed by the honorable Lords-
Majors, which I leave them to settle, while
this undertaking has nothing else in view than to
prevent the canker of free-traders entering his
' colonic.' "
In the spirit in which this protest was drafted
were the feudal pretensions of the Lord of Rensse-
laerw3'ck asserted and maintained during the re-
mainder of the patroon's life. The same policy
was steadily continued by his executors for several
years after his death, which event took place in
Amsterdam, in the year 1646.
With the demise of the first patroon terminated
also Van der Donck's connection with the
"colonie." He was succeeded in his office of
fiscaal by Nicolaus Coorn. He did not, however,
quit Rensselaerwyck before experiencing a heavy
loss in the destruction of his house on Castle
Island, by fire, in consequence of which he and
his wife temporarily removed to Van Curler's resi-
dence, the hospitalities of which were generously
offered to him by its proprietor. Diflferences of
opinion now arose between him and Van Curler,
as to the party on whom the loss of the house
should fall — one maintaining that the property was
at the risk of the patroon, the other of the lessee.
A quarrel ensued, ^^an der Donck gave Van
Curler the lie, whereupon the latter ordered him
out of his house. Van der Donck removed imme-
diately to Fort Orange, where he remained until
the opening of navigation, whence he pro-
ceeded to Manhattan.
Rensselaerwyck was the only' " colonie " which
remained uninjured by Kieft's Indian war. As a con-
sequence, its population generally prospered, and
sundry farms were taken up. Beverwyck continued,
however, in swaddling-clothes ; for the city which,
in 1885, holds about 100,000 inhabitants, con-
tained, in 1646, no more than ten houses. Several
farmers had, at an early date, begun another settle-
ment south of Beverwyck, to which they gave
the name of Bethlehem. A few • bouweries were
also cultivated on the east side of the river, oppo-
site Fort Orange, in what is now Greenwich.
Kalskill and its fertile bottoms had engaged, at
an early date, the attention of the settlers at Rens-
selaerwyck, but the pretensions of opposite parties
prevented any planting of consequence in that
quarter; and Van Slyck, who had received a
patent for lands there, had as yet made no com-
mencement. The country between Rensselaer-
wyck and ]\Ianhattan, on both sides of the river,
still remained a wilderness. It is true that the
Hollanders had built a fort at Esopus, in the
year 1 6 14, contemporaneously with the erection of
their post on Castle Island. This possibly might
have been followed by the clearing of some small
portions of land in that vicinity ; but it is very
doubtful whether any such settlements survived the
destructive Indian war of 1644-5.
Such was the state of public affairs in Rensselaer-
w3-ck and vicinity when General Peter Stuyve-
sant assumed the government of New Nether-
land in 1647.
Johannes Van Rensselaer, heir to the patroonship
of Rensselaerwyck, being a minor at his father's
decease, the care of his interests devolved on his
uncle, Johannes Van Wely, and Wouter Van
Twiller, executors to the last will and testament of
the first patroon, who immediately rendered fealty
and homage for "the colonie" to their High
Mightinesses, in the name and on the behalf of
their ward.
The immediate management of this estate was
entrusted to Brant Arent Van Slechtenhorst, of
Nieukerke, in Guilderlandt, who was appointed
Director of the Colony, President of the Court of
Justice and Superintendent of all the bouweries,
farms, mills and other property belonging to the
patroon, at a salary of seven hundred and fifty flo-
rins ($300) per annum, to reckon from the date of
his arrival out, together with a house, four milch
cows, two horses, eight acres of tillage and eight
acres of pasture land. He was specially charged
to uphold, maintain and defend the freedoms and
privileges with which the colony was invested ; to
promote the interests and advance the settlement
of Beverwyck and its immediate neighborhood ;
and to acquire, by purchase, the lands around Kats-
kill, for the greater security of the colony, inas-
56
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
much as the colonists, through a notion of acquiring
property in that quarter, were forming companies
or associations to remove thither and abandon
Rensselaerwyck. He was further ordered to ex-
plore the country for minerals, and to report to his
superiors in Holland whatever success might crown
these labors. Thus commissioned and instructed,
the newly- appointed Director sailed with his family
and servants and arrived in the colony in the latter
part of March. His son, Gerrit Van Slechten-
horst, was to act as Ofificier or Schout-iiscaal, at
a salary of six hundred florins ; but he filled the
office only two months, when it was merged in
that of the Director.
From the moment that colonies began to be
planted by patroons in New Netherlands the Di-
rectors of the Amsterdam Chamber became jealous
of their existence and opposed to their continuance.
They considered them injurious to the settlement
of the country and the increase of its population.
By the repurchase of Pavonia and Zwanendaal, in
1634, they took the earliest and easiest means to
check the evil. In the prosecution of their policy,
they endeavored to induce the patroon of Rens-
selaerwyck also to cede to them his rights, privileges
and possessions ; but, having failed in effecting
this, they now changed front, and determined to
circumscribe a jurisdiction and weaken a power
which they could not buy oft", and which they
wished to destroy. Gen. Stuyvesant and Brant
Van Slechtenhorst were the champions of these
hostile interests and opposing views. The former
claimed to be supreme ruler of the whole country,
irrespective of the special rights and feudal privi-
leges granted — as well by the Charter of 1629 as by
the civil law — to the local authorities of independ-
ent fiefs. The latter, thoroughly conversant with
the immunities claimed for manors and municipal-
ities in continental Europe, recognized the exercise
of no authority within his limits, save that of his
patroon, or such as was approved and sanctioned
by his legal representatives. Whatever orders or
placards the Director-General of New Netherlands
might issue were, he maintained, null and power-
less, unless endorsed and countersigned by his
commander and executed by the officers of his
court. It was easy to foresee that pretensions so
opposite could not fail to lead to collision ; and
Slechtenhorst had not been much more than a
month at his post when an explosion took place.
A copy of a proclamation ordering the first Wed-
nesday in May, 1648, to be observed as a general fast,
and the performance of public worship in the several
churches of New Netherlands, was duly forwarded
to Rensselaerwyck. It was received by the authori-
ties of this place, not in that spirit of submissive
obedience which the Director-General demanded
for all his orders ; but as an invasion of the rights
and authority of the Lord of the Manor, against
which Van Slechtenhorst forthwith protested.
This proceeding did not comport with Stuy-
vesant's ideas, either of law or propriety. To cor-
rect the abuse, he resolved to visit the "colonic,"
where, accompanied by a military escort, he soon
after landed, his arrival being most loyally greeted
by salvos from the patroon's artillery. Summoning
Van Slechtenhorst, he called in question his pre-
tensions, and charged him with infringing the West
India Company's sovereignty. But the sturdy
commander retorted: "Your complaints are un-
just ; I have more reason to complain on behalf of
my patroon against you." The Director-General
fulminated thereupon a lengthy protest, in which
Van Slechtenhorst was accused with having con-
veyed lots and authorized the erection of buildings
in the immediate vicinity of Fort Orange, in disre-
gard not only of the sovereign authority, but in
contempt of the Director-General's commission,
thus infringing the privileges granted by their High
Mightinesses and destroying the security of the
fort. Such proceeding was totally repugnant to
"military discipline and tactics." He therefore
ordered, " in a friendly manner," a stop to be put
to all building within range of cannon shot, un-
less specially ordered by the Lords Majors. He
further commanded that no new ordinances affecting
the sovereign authority, or relating to commerce or
the public welfare, be issued without the previous con-
sent of their High Mightinesses or their representa-
tive in New Netherland, and that no exclusive
right to any branch of trade be rented, nor any
grain, masls or other property belonging to the
Company's servants be seized, unless the prosecu-
tions on such suits were disposed of without delay.
The practice of compelling the inhabitants of the
colony to sign a pledge that, as defendants, they
should not appeal to the Supreme Court of New
Netherland from judgments rendered by the Court
of Rensselaerwyck was pronounced "a crime,"
an infraction of the law of the land, and a subver-
sion of the Charter. To prevent the recurrence of
this illegal practice, an annual return to the Direc-
tor and Council of all the affairs transacted in the
colony and of the proceedings of the court was in-
sisted on. And, as Van Slechtenhorst claimed, in
direct contradiction to the charter and the Director-
General's commission, to the vilification of the
latter's office and in disrespect of the Lords
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
57
Majors, not to be responsible to the govern-
ment at Fort Amsterdam, he was called on to
produce his authority, either from the States-
General or the Directors of the Chamber at Amster-
dam, for such pretension. Failing in this, the
Director-General protested against him for disobe-
dience of orders.
Commander Slechtenhorst was, in the estima-
tion of his opponents, " a person of stubborn and
headstrong temper. " He was, besides, fully con-
fident that he had law and custom on his side ; he
was sure that he had the instructions of his super-
iors in his pocket, ■ and was therefore determined
not to abandon the rights of ' ' his orphan patroon. "
He answered protest by protest. He charged, in
his turn, the Director-General with having pro-
claimed a day of fasting and prayer in Rensselaer-
wyck, ' ' contrary to ancient order and usage, as if
he were the lord of the patroon's colonie. "
He accused the company's servants at the fort,
with having cut without permission the best tim-
ber and firewood in the patroon's forests, " as if
these were their own;" and with having ranged
through the whole colonic; along with people
from Manhattans, "with savages by their side to
serve as brokers," trading publicly with the abori-
gines, as if the place were their property ; all this
without license from the patroon or his authorized
agents, and without paying either duties or recog-
nitions. As for the order not to build within a
prescribed distance of Fort Orange, it was an ag-
gression which could not be justified. The pa-
troon's trading house stood, " a few years ago,"
on the border of the moat which surrounded that
fort That soil, with all around, belongs still to the
patroon ; he was never disturbed in its possession
until Director Stuyvesant sought now ' ' by unbe-
coming means" to oust "his orphan heir," to
deprive him of the benefit thereof, and to appro-
priate the soil to himself; threatening to destroy
the patroon's buildings by cannon shot. Van
Slechtenhorst is hereby prevented erecting "even
a hog pen " on the patroon's own land ; 'and
Stuyvesant has become a judge in his own case.
The assertion that the objectionable buildings en-
dangered the security of the fort was a mere pre-
text. They were more than five hundred rods
from the fort or trading-house ; and it was added,
eight houses already intervened between them and
Fort Orange.
In keeping with that spirit here displaj'ed did
Van Slechtenhorst continue his improvements in
Beverwyck. Another protest from the Director at
Manhattan followed, warning the patroon's agent
that force should be used if he did not desist.
But this had the effect only of calling forth "a
counter blast." No suit, he insisted, could be in-
stituted, nor execution issued in another district,
without previous consent of the Schout-fiscaal or
Court of that jurisdiction on the pain of nonsuit and
arbitrary correction, and therefore the present pro-
ceeding was informal. The pretensions now put
forth were, moreover, at variance with those which
had already been promulgated and in contradiction
to practice even at New Amsterdam. The Director-
General claimed, in July, that all the territory
within range of cannon shot belonged to Fort
Orange ; now he reduces the circle to the range of
a musket ball, within which he will not allow a
house to be built, "notwithstanding he permits
whole streets to be filled with houses in view of
Fort Amsterdam."
This continued contumacy served but to irritate
the New Amsterdam executive. The freshets of
the past winter had nearly destroyed Fort Orange,
and the West India Company's Commissary had
received orders to surround that fort with a solid
stone wall in lieu of the wooden fence by which it
had hitherto been encompassed. But scarcely
had a rod of the work been finished, when Van
Slechtenhorst forbade Carl Van Brugge "in an im-
perious manner" to quarry stone within the col-
ony, or to fell a tree either for the repair of the
fortification or for firewood. The farmers and in-
habitants were also ordered, contrary to the prac-
tice of former magistrates, to convey any such ma-
terials thither. The Company was thus deprived
of articles necessary to build forts, or other edifices,
and compelled either to beg them from their vas-
sals, or, "what is worse," to purchase them at
enormous prices. Whilst thus opposing repair of
the public works. Van Slechtenhorst actively con-
tinued his own buildings "even within pistol shot
of Fort Orange. "
On receipt of this intelligence. General Stuyves-
ant resolved to maintain his authority by force.
Six soldiers were dispatched to Van Brugge's as-
sistance, with orders to demolish the offending
house; to arrest Van Slechtenhorst " in the most
civil manner possible," should he offer any opposi-
tion, and to detain him in custody until he delivered
a copy of his commission and his instructions, and
had declared that he had no other. He was finally
summoned to appear at Fort Amsterdam to answer
for his conduct. Orders were at the same time
issued, prohibiting the importation of guns into the
"colonie " without license from the Lords Majors.
Such arms, when imported, were to be sold only to
58
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the West India Company at a fixed price of two
beavers each.
The excitement produced in the hitherto peace-
ful hamlet of Beverwyck on the appearance of
this armed posse may be easily conceived. The
oldest inhabitant had not seen a soldier nor heard
the sound of a drum in that place until the Direc-
tor-General's visit in the course of the last summer.
And now, when another armed band arrived, with
the hostile design of razing the houses of quiet and
inoffensive settlers, they were sorely amazed and
much alarmed.
Those whom the Director-General had dispatched
to enforce his orders, were not, in trutii, the best
qualified for the performance of this delicate mis-
sion. They were very zealous " when the patroon's
timber was to be cut, or his deer killed," and were
not slow to exhibit their insolence by grossly in-
sulting the commander " when walking the public
street" in company with his deputy, Andries de
Vos, cursing them and "abusing God's holy
name," because "they had not bade them good
evening."
This rude conduct, and the unconcealed avowal
of their mission, aroused the indignation, not only
of the settlers, but even of the Indians. These
assembled in a tumultuous and angry manner, and
demanded if ' ' Wooden Leg, " in whom they had
confided as their protector, intended to tear down
the houses which were to shelter them in stormy
and wintry weather .? When they learned that all
the trouble was about a few rods of land, they told
the commander to accompany them home, and
they would give him plenty of land ' ' in the Ma-
quaas country;" so that "more kindness was
evinced by the unbelieving savages than by our
Christian neighbors, subjects of the same sovereign,
bound by their oaths to protect us against insult
and outrage. "
The soldiery were disposed to celebrate what-
ever victory they obtained by firing a feii-de-joie.
They accordingly discharged three or four volleys.
This brought the Indians again together. Slech-
tenhorst succeeded, however, in soothing their irri-
tation, and persuaded them to depart. They
returned shortly in increased numbers, and
inquired in angry terms, "If Wooden Leg's
doo^s were gone ? " They were assured that all
would yet be well ; that they had been mis-
informed, that the houses should not be pulled
down. -A threatening storm was thus happily
averted ; for the Director-General's rash conduct
had well-nigh produced bloodshed, "and the ruin,
not only of the ' colonic,' but of the Manhattans
and of the Christians within this land, who are all
at the mercy of the savages " — especially had these
been joined by some Christians, ' ' as might have
been the case."
Van Slechtenhorst's indignation at this encroach-
ment on the patroon's privileges was not so easily
removed. He gave vent to his feelings in a long
and angry protest. The demand for a copy of his
commission, and the summons to appear at Fort
Amsterdam, he answered by calling for a copy in
writing of the Director-General's claims and com-
plaints. "The noble pat'roon had obtained his
possessions and immunities, was invested by the
States-General with high and low jurisdiction and
the police of the most privileged manors; and were
he, as his agent, now so base as to crouch before
the present unwarrantable proceedings, and to pro-
duce his commission, before he had received orders
to that effect from his lords and masters, not only
would they be injured, but he be guilty of a viola-
tion of his oath and honor, a betrayal of his trust
and a childish surrender of the rights of his pa-
troon." He could not, therefore, obey such de-
mands, the illegality of which was only rendered
the more flagrant by the unusual and insolent man-
ner in which they were made.
Such illegal conduct betrayed a deep contempt of
the patroon and his court, as well as of the sover-
eign whom they represented. Those who have been
guilty of similar violations of law in Fatherland
"had often been apprehended, and condemned to
bread and water for the space of five or six weeks ;
yea, were sometimes brought to the block," so
jealous was every local jurisdiction of the least en-
croachment on its privileges.
As for preventing timber being cut within the
colonies, "Is the patroon," he demanded, "not
master on his own land } Is he not free to cut his
timber as well as his corn .? And can he not arrest
these, when cut by others without his permission .?
It is notorious that all the present proceedings em-
anated from party spirit, had no foundation in reason,
and' were as justifiable as the complaint in ^sop's
fable of Cousin Gysbert, who, whilst drinking on
a hill from a waterfall, quarreled with a lamb, who
stood below, for disturbing the water and making
it muddy."
This protest produced a long replication from
Director Stuyvesant and Council, whose power, it
was maintained, "extended to the colony of
Rensselaerwick, as well as to the other colonies."
Stringent orders were issued to Van Brugge and
Labadie to prosecute and complete the repairs of
the fort ; to procure, for that purpose, timber
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
59
anywhere within the limits of New Netherland ;
to quarry stones from the mountains, rocks and
plains, and have them conveyed from any place,
and in the most convenient manner, except from
farms and plantations which are fenced and culti-
vated, or about being so." The jurisdiction of
the company, and "the ancient and uninterrupted
use of the gardens and fields near the fort," were
to be rigidly maintained, and the destruction of the
buildings within musket or cannon shot proceeded
with forthwith.
The Schout-fiscaal of New Netherland averred
that it was long since notorious that the Director
and Council had been treated with disrespect by Van
Slechtenhorst. Van Slechtenhorst was summoned to
appear at Fort Amsterdam. He could have obeyed
without inconvenience as ' ' the river remained open,
the winter pleasant, and several vessels sailed up
and down during the whole month of Novem-
ber." Now, however, to remove all doubt, the cita-
tion was again renewed, and the commander was
peremptorily ordered to appear at Fort Amsterdam
on the 4th of April next ensuing, by the first sailing
vessel, "when he will be informed of the com-
plaint against him. " The prospect from Fort Orange
ought, in his opinion, to be unobstructed, at least
within circle of cannon shot. There were plenty
of vacant lots along the river, on which the in-
habitants could construct their dwellings, yet they
persist, "through pride," in building near the
walls. But the truth was, it was neither through
pride nor obstinacy that the colonists at this early
day persisted in clinging to Fort Orange. This
post supplied them in their feebleness with security
against the Indians, and they were loath to forego
its protection.
Removed from the contentions which were dis-
tracting the capital of New Netherland, Com-
mander Van Slechtenhorst was actively extending
the limits of Rensselaerwyck by the purchase of the
Mohegan lands to the south of that "colonie."
On the 4th of September, 1648, he had acquired
for the patroon the tract called Paponicuck, in
exchange for some thirty ells of duffels and a
few handfuls of powder ; and this spring pur-
chased Katskill and Claverack. On the other side
of the Atlantic, Wouter Van Twiller was boldly
laying claim to the control and monopoly of the
upper waters of the Hudson River in behalf of his
ward, the orphan patroon, and publicly announcing
his determination not to permit any merchant ves-
sel to pass Beeren Island, or to trade in the vicinity
of Rensselaerwyck. For he maintained that Fort
Orange had been built on the patroon's territory.
and that none — -"not even the West India Com-
pany"— had a right to permit others to erect houses
or to pursue any branch of business thereabout.
Feudal law and feudal privileges thus brought along
with them, into these parts, the old feudal quarrels
of Europe for the free navigation of nature's high-
ways to the ocean, and the question was, whether
the North River should be open to all their High
Mightinesses' subjects, or whether these should be
debarred from its use by the garrison on Beeren
Island, now named "in such a lofty way, 'The
place by right of arms.' "
The absurdity of the claim to the soil on which
Fort Orange stood was clearly established by the
fact that the fort was built and garrisoned by
the West India Company full 15 years before
the existence of Rensselaerwyck ; that up to
the year 1644 the West India Company had
the exclusive enjoyment of the fur trade, which the
company intended to reclaim ' ' whenever it shall
be able to provide its magazines with a sufficient
store of goods." In view, therefore, of all these
circumstances, and in order to correct a state of
things of which the merchants generally com-
plained, the Directors determined to use their sov-
ereign rights — to the confusion of Van Twiller,
"that ungrateful individual, who had sucked his
wealth from the breasts of the company which he
now abuses." They accordingly dispatched orders to
remove all obstructions to the free navigation of the
North River and commercial intercourse with Fort
Orange. If Van Twiller should again plant guns
near that river, they were to be seized ; and if any
person dared to exact tolls, or salt duty on any
rivers, islands or harbors within the company's
limits, to the injury of the inhabitants or traders
generally, such were to be prevented by all means
possible — even by force if necessary — as it was the
firm determination of the Directors never to part with
these pre-eminences or jurisdictions to any colonists
whatsoever.
Previous to this date Van Slechtenhorst had
granted several leases for land in Katskill. But
the Directors refused to admit the patroon's pre-
tensions to that section of country, as it had
already been granted to another. In conformity
with his instructions, Stuyvesant now protested
against those leases, and announced his resolution
to oppose these encroachments. The authorities
of Rensselaerwyck were consequently much em-
barrassed, and therefore remonstrated that they had
only obeyed the orders of their superiors in Hol-
land. They therefore requested the Diiector-
General to defer further proceedings in the matter
60
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
until they should communicate with their superiors,
and promised, in the meanwhile, neither to send
nor allow to be sent any settlers or cattle to the
land in dispute. Thus was impeded the early set-
tlement.
In 165 1, the call for a subsidy from Rensselaer-
wyck brought on another collision between the au-
thorities of that colony and the New Amsterdam
Provincial Government. The latter had already
peremptorily demanded the excise on wines and
strong liquors consumed in the patroon's district,
which was refused. It was considered an invasion
of the freedoms, and in direct opposition to the
custom, of Fatherland. The patroon had de-
frayed, from his own resources, the salaries of the
minister and other public servants, as well as the
general expenses attendant on the settlement of
the country. These had amounted, on the 30th of
June, 1650, to the sum of twenty-five thousand
seven hundred and seventy-three guilders, or more
than ten thousand dollars, no part of which had
been paid either by the company or the Co-direct-
ors of the colony. It would be, therefore, sub-
mitting to a wrong to consent to the demand
now put forth. As it was a matter, however, that
concerned the common interests of the country
and the privileges of the colony. Commander Van
Slechtenhorst was commissioned to proceed to
New Amsterdam to remonstrate with the Director
and Council against it.
He arrived at the Manhattans towards the close
of the month of April, and took the earliest oppor-
tunity to represent how contrary to reason, law and
usage were the proposed exactions. But Stuyvesant
was inexorable, and Slechtenhorst on his side was
equally unyielding, "for it was a matter of great
importance, which may cause not only tumult, but
bloodshed in the country. " The parties separated ;
but Slechtenhorst had not yet finished his dinner,
when a messenger summoned him before the Di-
rector-General and Council. Immediately on his
appearance the authorities proceeded to pronounce
sentence against him, animadverting in strong
terms on his conduct, especially in reference to the
settlement of Katskill. Slechtenhorst, no wa3's
daunted, demanded if a man could be condemned
unheard f The only answer he received was an
order for his arrest. He was detained four months
at the Manhattans, notwithstanding he repeatedly
protested against his detention, and the authorities
of Rensselaerwyck made several applications for
his release. Finally, seeing no prospect of obtain-
ing permission to depart, he embarked in a sloop,
and returned to Fort Orange, having given a guar-
anty to the skipper to see him harmless, should he
be prosecuted for having received him on board.
It was well for the skipper that he had taken this
precaution, for, on his return to the Manhattans,
his vessel was arrested, and he was fined two hun-
dred and fifty guilders and costs. Van Slechten-
horst estimated his expenses in consequence of
these proceedings at about four hundred dollars.
Three years had now elapsed since Director
Stuyvesant set up a claim for a separate jurisdiction
for Fort Orange, distinct and independent from
that of Rensselaerwyck. Yet the question remained
still unsettled. Lines were not drawn in those
days with as much precision as in our times. The
Indians measured by the day's journey, Stuyvesant
by the cannon-ball. The jurisdiction of the fort,
as claimed by him, extended over a circumference
within the range of gunshot, which he esti-
mated at six hundred paces of five feet to
a pace, a distance subsequently estimated at
one hundred and fifty rods. As the hamlet of
Beverwyck, now becoming every day more popu-
lous and valuable, would, by this operation, be
severed from the colony, and as the West India
Company could not fail, in consequence, to secure
the greater part of the fur trade, to the serious in-
jury of the patroon, considerable opposition was
manifested against Stuyvesant's pretension. The
authorities of Rensselaerwyck maintained that the
fort stood on the patroon's soil ; that the whole
territory, from Beeren Island to the Cohoes, was
his, and that consequently the fort could have no
jurisdiction beyond its walls. As for trading in
furs, or cutting timber, it was, they insisted, a fla-
grant spoliation of the patroon's property.
Jean Baptiste Van Rensselaer, the first of that
family who visited this country, was elected one of
its magistrates, whilst this contro\-ersy was at its
height. Shortly afterwards, an order was issued
that all the freemen and inhabitants should take
the oath of allegiance to the patroon and his repre-
sentatives.
These conflicting pretensions were necessarily
productive of a bad state of feeling between the
opposing parties. On New Year's night, some
soldiers, armed with matchlocks, sallied from the
fort and fired a number of shots at the patroon's
house. Several pieces of ignited wadding settled
on the roof, which was of reed, and had caused
the destruction of the building, had not the in-
mates been on the alert. On the following day,
the soldiers assaulted the younger Slechtenhorst in
the street, " and not only beat him black and blue,
but dragged him through the mud and mire in the
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWYCK.
61
presence of Johannes Dyckman, the company's
Commissary, who cried out all the time, ' Let him
have it now, and the devil take him ! ' " Philip
Pietersen Schuyler, who had married a daughter of
Van Slechtenhorst, endeavored to save his brother-
in-law. Dyckman, hereupon, drew his sword, and
threatened to run Schuyler through if he interfered.
The soldiers struck others of the commander's
children, and threatened to shoot them, but were
prevented. The friends of the family were justly
incensed at this outrage, and menaced revenge.
This coming to Dyckman's ears, he, it is repre-
sented, ordered the guns of the fort to be loaded
with grape, with the intention of blowing down
the patroon's house.
Things were in this unpleasant state, when Stuy-
vesant sent up some placards relating to the limits
of Fort Orange, which he ordered to have pub-
lished in the colony. Dyckman, accompanied
by six followers and three soldiers, ' ' armed with
carbines and pistols," proceeded to the house
where the magistrates were in session, and de-
manded of Slechtenhorst to make a minute of what
he was about to require. As it was contrar}- to
law for any man to enter another's jurisdiction with
an armed posse, without the previous consent of
the local authorities, Dyckman's conduct was
looked upon as an additional insult, against which
Slechtenhorst protested, ordering the Commissary
at the same time to quit the room. Dyckman re-
tired; but, "as force hath more to say here than
justice," he returned with increased numbers, and
demanded that the placards should be published
throughout the colony by the sound of the bell.
"It shall not be done so long as we have a drop
of blood in our veins," replied the Court, "nor
until we receive orders from their High Mightinesses
and our honored masters." But Dyckman, never-
theless, persisted, and ordered the porter to ring
the bell. This was opposed also. Dyckman now
proceeded to the fort, ordered the bell there to be
rung three times; then returned to the patroon's
court-house, ascended the front stoop, or steps,
with his armed followers, whilst the wondering
burghers stood around, and directed his deputy to
make proclamation of the placards. The latter
was about to obe}', when Van Slechtenhorst, rush-
ing forward, tore the placards from his hands, "so
that the seals fell on the ground. " Another long
protest followed from the authorities of the colo-
ny, whilst young Van Rensselaer facetiously said
to the crowd, "Go home, good friends; 'tis only
the wind of a cannon ball fired six hundred paces
off!'
On receiving the report of these occurrences,
Director-General Stuyvesant immediately dis-
patched another placard to Dyckman, again de-
claring the jurisdiction of Fort Orange to extend
within a circumference of six hundred paces of said
fort, "and, in order that no man shall plead ig-
norance, we further charge our Commissary, after
publication hereof, to erect on the aforesaid limits,
north, south and west of the aforesaid fortress, a
post, marked with the Company's mark, and to
affix, on a board nailed thereto, a copy hereof."
Within these bounds no house was, for the future,
to be built, except by consent of the Director
and Council, or those authorized to act for
them. This violent and illegal act, violating at
once the rights of property and of the Charter
of 1629, severed, now and ever after, the town of
Beverwyck from Van Rensselaer's colony. It was
not, however, quietly submitted to by the authori-
ties of the latter, for they immediately ordered their
constable to remove the posts forthwith, ' ' protest-
ing before Almighty God and the States-General
against all open force and violence, and insisting
on reparation for all losses and damages which
might accrue or be caused thereby."
On the same day the Court drew up a long re-
monstrance "against the unbecoming pretensions
and attacks of the Director and Council of New
Netherland," in which they denied that the latter
had any authority over the colony ; they had
never sworn allegiance to the Company, much less
to Monsieur Stuyvesant, and owned no masters
but the States-General and their own immediate
superiors, whose lands have been erected into a
perpetual fief, with high, middle and low jurisdic-
tion ; and he who would now destroy this must be
more powerful than the Company, "yea, than
their High Mightinesses."
This paper was declared by the Director and
Council "a libellous calumny." Secretary de
Hooges was called on to furnish the names of the
magistrates who had voted in favor of it, and
threatened, in case of disobedience, to prosecute
him for contumacy.
In the meanwhile the question of jurisdiction
presented itself in a new shape to agitate and dis-
turb still further this infant hamlet. A negress be-
longing to Sander Leendertsen Glen, charged with
theft, caused several ' ' decent persons " to be
prosecuted as receivers of stolen goods. She was
ordered to be arrested for defamation, and Dyck-
man proceeded to take up the wench. Her master
refused to surrender her that evening. D3'ckman,
offended at this, told the burgher that he had power
62
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
to send him and all his family to jail; to pull his
house down about his ears, and trample it under-
neath his feet, "as it was erected on the com-
pany's soil. " " I have nothing to do with you, " re-
plied Glen; " I cannot serve a new master until I
am discharged from the one I live under." The
Commissary threatened him with Stuyvesant, but
the other thought he should fare as well at the Di-
rector-General's hands as he. This retort over-
threw Dyckman's temper. He drew his rapier and
threatened to run his adversary through. But
Glen was not afraid. He seized a stick to repel
his assailant, who then retired. Next morning he
was summoned to the fort and placed under arrest.
Rumors now became rife that Stuyvesant was about
to visit the place, and the Commissary went so far
as to give out that a new gallows was building for
Slechtenhorst and his son, and for 3'oung Van
Rensselaer, who were put down as the fomentors of
this rebellion.
The Director was at this time occupied in rid-
ding himself of all that remained of his opponents
at New Amsterdam. The only one undisposed of
was Attorney-General Van Dyck, and his hour had
not arrived.
From the moment that he had been commis-
sioned he was treated by Stuyvesant with marked
contumely, and excluded from the Council for
over two years after his arri\-al in the colony. In
the exercise of his office he was most commonly
employed as a scrivener, to copy legal papers, the
drafts of which the Director-General usually pre-
pared; at other times he was "charged to look
after the pigs and keep them out of the fort — a
duty which a negro could very well perform."
When Van Dyck happened to object, the Director
"got as angry as if he would swallow him up;" or,
if he presumed to disobey, "put him in confine-
ment, or bastinadoed him with his rattan." A
series of ill-usage such as this naturally drove the
Fiscaal into the ranks of the opposition.
But in the spring of this year a silly lampoon
ao-ainst the Director-General made its appearance,
and Van Dyck was put down as its author. The
Council was convoked to consider this mighty
affair of State, and a resolution followed dismissing
the Schout-fiscaal from office, "on account of the
multitude of his misdemeanors and connivances."
This resolution purported to be "by and with the
advice of the Nine men;" but these repudiated the
assertion, and declared " that they never had any
knowledge of the Commonalty as having com-
plained of Van Dyck; that they never had agreed
to the resolution ordering his dismissal; that Stuy-
vesant had passed it on his own authority, and
that the Secretary had falsely appended to it their ,
names. "
To fill this vacancy, Cornelius Van Tienhoven,
the putative author of the above intrigue, received
the appointment of Attorney-General; Carl Van
Brugge, "an Englishman," succeeded him as
Provincial Secretary, and Adrian Van Tienhoven
became Receiver-General in place of his brother.
"Were an honorable person appointed in my
stead, ■' says Van Dyck, commenting on these pro-
ceedings, " the false accusations against me, which
have been so long resolved upon and written,
might have some semblance of truth ; but the
person whom the Director-General hath, on his
own mere motion, made Fiscaal, is his perjured
Secretary, who returned here contrary to their High
Mightinesses' prohibition ; a public, notorious, and
convicted whoremonger and oath-breaker ; a re-
proach to this country, and the main scourge of
both Christians and heathens, with whose sen-
sualities the Director himself has been always
acquainted." '-The fault of drunkenness could
easily be noticed in me, but not in Van Tienhoven,
who has frequently come out of the tavern so full
that he could go no further, and was forced to lie
down in the gutter."
Having thus disposed of Van Dyck, Stuyvesant
turned his attention to Van Slechtenhorst, and to
conclude all difficulties with him, repaired to Foit
Orange and called on the authorities of Rensselaer-
wyck to state where their bounds commenced.. It
was indifferent to him from what point, north or
south, they should start. The exemptions allowed
them four miles on one, or two miles on both
banks of the river, and he was prepared to concede
to that extent ; but he warned them, if they should
refuse this "reasonable offer," he would proceed
ex-parte. They replied that they had no instruc-
tion to act in the premises, and requested delay,
until they advised with the interested parties
in Holland. The delay was granted ; but the
question of supremacy over Beverwyck was not so
easily settled.
Sergeant Litschoe presented himself, with a
party of soldiers, before the patroon's house, and,
having stationed his followers at the door, or-
dered Van Slechtenhorst to strike the patroon's
flag. The latter peremptorily refused to obey,
whereupon "fourteen soldiers armed with loaded
muskets, entered the enclosure, and, after firing
a volley, hauled down the lord's colors. "
Stuyvesant followed up this act by issuing a pro-
clamation erecting in Fort Orange a Court of Jus-
RENSSELAERWYCK AND BEVERWFCK.
63
tice for the Village of Beverwyck and its dependen-
cies, apart from and independent of that of Rens-
selaerwyck. This placard having been affixed to
the court-house of the colony, was torn down by
Van Slechtenhorst, who, in return, posted a pro-
clamation vindicating the palroon's rights, and de-
nouncing the pretensions of those who infringed
them. This was removed by those of the fort.
From the date of Gen. Stuyvesant's proclama-
tion above mentioned reckons the establishment
of a legal tribunal in Beverwyck, and consequently
in the present City of Albany. This was April
lo, 1652. It was an exercise of the prerogative
which followed naturally the high-handed procla-
mation of ihe 5th of March preceding.
Van Slechtenhorst's reign was now evidently
drawing to a close. For four years he had man-
fully defended the rights of his "orphan patroon,"
and unflinchingly contended against the irivasions
of superior force. But what, in those days, could
avail in New Netherland the opposition of one man
against the attacks of the Executive.? Nine armed
soldiers burst into his house and, without exhibiting
any authority for the act, dragged him a prisoner,
" against all his protests," to Fort Orange, "where
neither his children, his master nor his friends were
allowed to speak to him," whilst "his furs, his
clothes and his meat were left hanging to the door-
posts," and his house and papers were abandoned
to the mercy of his enemies. He was next con-
veyed on board a sloop lying in the river, and re-
moved in charge of a guard to New Amsterdam,
"to be tormented, in his sickness and old age,
with unheard-of and insufferable prosecutions by
those serving a Christian government, professing
the same religion, and living under the same
authority. "
Jan Baptist Van Rensselaer succeeded Van
Slechtenhorst as Director, and Gerrit Swart was
appointed Sheriff, or Schout-fiscaal, of Rensselaer-
wyck in his place.
Information was received by the patroon and
co-directors of Rensselaerwyck of the high-handed
measures which Stuyvesant had exercised in the
early part of this year in regard to their colony.
They thereupon sent in to the Amsterdam Chamber
a remonstrance, complaining, ist, that the Direc-
tor-General had dared to intrude in their colony,
and had commanded the patroon's flag to be
hauled down ; 2d, that he had caused timber
to be cut on the complainants' lands without
either their knowledge or their permission ; 3d,
that he had claimed for the \^'est India Company
the right of jurisdiction and property over all the
land within a circumference of one hundred and fifty
rods of Fort Orange, where he had erected a court of
justice, notwithstanding the soil had been purchased
from the right owners by the patroon, with the
juri^ictions thereunto belonging, whereby the col-
onists were reduced to a state of dependency, ab-
solved from their oaths, "transformed from free-
men to vassals, and incited to disregard their former
solemn compacts and their lord and master ;"
4th, he had, moreover, discharged Sheriff Swart
from his oath of office, and obliged him to
swear allegiance to the company ; 5th, demanded
copies of all the rolls, protocols, judgments,
resolutions and papers relative to the colony and
its affairs ; 6th, ordered his Commissary to force
Van Slechtenhorst's house, and to toll the bell at
the publication of his illegal placards ; 7th, ar-
rested by force and arms the Director of the Col-
ony, had him conveyed to the Manhattans, where
he illegally detained him in custody ; 8th, taxed
the colony to swell the company's revenues,
licensed those who quit the patroon's service to sell
articles of contraband to the savages, and, in addi-
tion to the exaction of the tithes, had raised a tax
by farming out the excise on wines and beers —
' ' thus, in every respect and everywhere using
violence and infringing rights, jurisdictions and
pre-eminences, apparently determined to take our
goods and blood, contrary to all laws, human and
divine ; declaring, over and above all this, that he
is continued in his administration solely in the
hope and consideration that before his departure
he should ruin this colon}'. '' The patroon and co-
directors solemnly avowed their intention "to em-
ploy all lawful remedies to preserve and maintain
their rights and privileges, and to protect their col-
onists against such lawless aggressions," and in-
sisted that the West India Company should forth-
with order their Director to abandon these
attempts, repeal his placards, and compensate for
the injuries which he had inflicted. But if the
Directors were of opinion that they had any just
cause of complaint, they were then called on to
appear in any court of justice to make good their
pretensions before our common judges. Failing
to answer categorically the above accusations
within four-and-twenty hours, the interested parties
threatened to "complain where they expect thev
shall be heard."
The Directors answered, in vague terms, that
they were unwilling to commit an infraction on
any person's privileges, But this not being deemed
satisfactory, the patroon and his friends addressed
a memorial to their High Mightinesses, the States-
64
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
General, of whom they demanded justice and re-
dress. This paper was immediately sent to the
Department of Amsterdam, which, after considerable
delay, returned a reply to some of the charges
brought against their agent in New Netherland.
They denied all knowledge of the patroon's flag
having been hauled down, of his colonists having
been released from their oaths, of any of his lots
having been taken away, and of the establishment
of a Court of Justice in Fort Orange. The timber
was removed from a place so limited as to injure
no one, and all complaints against the extension of
the jurisdiction of Fort Orange were without found-
ation. That jurisdiction was determined "before
the colony of Rensselaerwyck was granted." " The
limits of the colony were, therefore, fixed above and
below the fort, under whose walls the petitioners
were afterwards permitted to shelter themselves
from the savages, but from this concession no right
or title can be imagined or acquired." Gerrit
Swart was not discharged from his oath to the pa-
troon. He was only obliged to take a second
one to the compan)', remaining subject to both
masters. The demand of the rolls and papers be-
longing to the colony, as well as the levying tithes
and excise therein, was authorized by the charter.
As Van Slechtenhorst would not "toll the bell,"
on the publication of the placards, it was unavoid-
ably necessary that it should be executed by others;
and his arrest was imperatively demanded in order
"to curb the insufferable insolence, effrontery and
abuse of power,'' of which he was guilty. The au-
thorizing the sale of arms and ammunition to the
savages was acknowledged. ' ' It was deemed
prudent that it should be now and then permit-
ted."
Having thus disposed, in one way or another,
and as best they could, of the charges which were
brought against them, the Directors now assumed
the offensive, and presented against the patroon and
co-directors of Rensselaerwyck a number of
counter-charges, in justification of the measures
which they had adopted, or as an offset to those
accusations made against themselves.
They had, it was averred, exceeded their lawful
limits, and were now called on to record their
boundary lines in the land-office of the Company,
otherwise the latter would have the survey made
by its own orders. They had attempted, against
all law, to extend their lines along the North River,
to monopolize the trade, to the ruin of private per-
sons. They refused to permit any vessel to pass by
a certain house, called Rensselaers-Stein, and
claimed, without any foundation, the privilege of
staple right. They exacted seven per cent, duty
on each beaver and five per cent, on other goods,
enforcing these pretensions with cannon shot,
which they discharged into yachts that refused to
come-to. They have endeavored, "by perverse
machinations," to possess themselves of Fort
Orange, and when frustrated herein, they under-
took to lease lots in its vicinity and erect buildings
thereupon. " They had dared to grant commis-
sions to individuals to sail to the coast of Florida,"
and forbade colonists to move within the com-
pany's limits, on pain of corporal punishment, con-
fiscation of property and banishment ; to cut or
cart wood for the inhabitants of Fort Orange ; to
pay to the latter what they owed them ; or to ap-
peal from any judgments over fifty guilders, as they
were privileged to do. They declined to furnish
any extracts of their proceedings or judgments ; to
make returns to writs of appeal ; to publish pla-
cards, or permit such publication by others, but
tear them by force from the hands of court messen-
gers, and destroy their seals ; and if any writ be
served by the company's officers, they incite the
parties summoned not to appear. Over and above
all this, the oath which the colonists are compelled
to take is " seditious and mutinous ;" for no notice
is taken therein, either of their High Mightinesses
or of the company. No report has been made of
the state of the colony, as should have been annu-
ally done, nor have the instructions issued for the
administration of the colony been ever communi-
cated, as the charter required. "From all which
flow, as a natural consequence, an insolent and
overbearing demeanor, on the part of their com-
manders, to their inhabitants ; insufferable protests,
injuries, menaces, disputes and provocations against
the company's ministers ; and, lastly, a general
disobedience of all the company's commands and
ordinances, to such a degree that they would not
permit the Director and Council to proclaim even
a day of prayer in the colony in the same manner
as in all other parts of New Netherland."
The limits between Fort Orange and the colony
were, in 1654, still undetermined. Some confusion
as to jurisdiction necessarily ensued, to remove,
which Director-General Stu}'vesant called again on
the patroon's agents to fix on their point of depart-
ure, as he was willing to allow them, agreeably to
the charter, four miles on one side or two on each
bank of the river, "without the limits of Fort
Orange." The magistrates of the colony being
unprovided with instructions from their superiors,
requested delay ; and Stuyvesant seized an oppor-
tunity which offered, shortly after, to enlarge his
RENSSELAERWrCK AND BEVERWYCK.
65
jurisdiction. The Court of Rensselaerwyck was
■about to farm the' excise, and demanded how far
they could collect this impost. The answer was
an order to the Court of Fort Orange to collect the
duties on all wines, beers and spirituous liquors
sold by retail "within a circuit of one thousand
rods of the fort." The colony was hereby de-
prived of a very important source of revenue, and
fresh fuel was heaped on the old fires of litigation
and trouble. As if the elements of strife were
not sufficiently numerous, a claim for tenths was
also put in. Counter-orders were given by the pa-
troon's officers to their vintners to refuse the pa}'-
ment of the excise, on the ground that the general
government defrayed none of the local charges ;
and, as for the tenths, " neither the inhabitants of
the colony nor those of Beverwyck could be in-
duced, either by monitions or persuasions, to pay
them."
Commissary Dyckman, whose violent demeanor
might, long ere this, have justified doubts of the
soundness of his mind, became now so unques-
tionably insane that the magistrates were •forced to
represent his condition to the Supreme Council,
which, thereupon, appointed Johannes de Decker
Vice-Director, " to preside in Fort Orange and Vil-
lage of Beverwyck, in the Court of Justice of the
commissaries aforesaid, to administer all the affairs
of police and justice, as circumstances may re-
quire, in conformity with the instructions given by
the Director-General and Council, and to promote
these for the best service of the country and the
prosperity of the inhabitants."
The difficulties about the excise in the colony
remaining still unsetded, orders were sent up by
the Director and Council to arrest and convey the
contumacious tapsters to New Amsterdam. De
Decker, accordingly, invited one of them to his
house, where, on his arrival, he made him pris-
onen. The sloop in which he was to be conveyed
down the river not being ready to sail until the
next day, De Decker, for greater security, lodged
his prisoner, through the night, in the same bed
with himself Through the connivance of the
soldiers on guard, the tapster contrived to escape
from the fort on the morrow, and repaired forth-
with to the patroon's house. Hither De Decker
followed, and ordered him to return to the fort;
but he refused. The other tapsters now made
common cause with the fugitive, and, arming
themselves, remained together to protect each other
from the emissaries of the law. The Vice-Direc-
tor, esteeming it an absurdity to suffer an asylum
ioS fugitives from justice to exist in the very center
of his jurisdiction, was preparing to execute his
orders by force, when John B. Van Rensselaer
pledged himself to repair to the Manhattans and
arrange the matter with the supreme authorities.
To avoid bloodshed, De Decker acquiesced in this
proposal; but another order arrived a few days after-
wards, directing him to send down the tavern-
keepers forthwith.
In obedience to these instructions, he proceeded
with an armed posse to the houses of the parties,
where he again met Van Rensselaer and "his
associates." He summoned them, in the name
of the Director and Council, to surrender and
accompany him to the fort ; whereupon they
each answered, "There sits the lord ; he will
answer for me." Van Rensselaer acquiesced
herein, and again bound himself to produce the
tapsters when required. De Decker, finding it
useless to continue the discussion, protested, and
Mr. Van Rensselaer proceeded to New Amsterdam.
Here, on his arrival, he presented a strong remon-
strance against the course which the Government
was pursuing. Their exactions, he insisted, were
contrary to the Charter. Instead of the Directors
having any claim on the patroon, the contrary
was the fact.
The West India Company had guaranteed to
defend the colonists against all violence, yet
the latter had thrice come forward, at great ex-
pense, to assist Fort Orange — first, during the war
with the French savages ; secondly, in the
trouble with the English ; and, lately, during
the unhappy misunderstanding with the Indians
around the Manhattans. Whenever there was
any prospect of trouble, they were the first to
appease the savages by presents. The losses
which the latter inflicted on the colony, by
the killing of cows, horses and other catde,
amounted annually to several thousand guilders.
In addition, the patroons and Co-directors main-
tained, at their own expense, all the ministers and
officers of the colony. In the face of these
facts, it was manifestly unjust to seize now on the
excise, and to insist on the payment also of the
tenths. However, to prevent all further disturb-
ance, he was wiUing to permit the payment of the
former under protest, if the Director and Council
pledged themselves to refund the monej', should a
final decision be given against them by impardal
judges, either here or in Holland.
This remonstrance was at once pronounced
"frivolous" by the Director-General and Council,
whose "high office and quality permit them not to
stoop so low as to enter the lists with their subjects
66
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and vassals, much less to answer their frivolous
and unfounded protests with a pusillanimous diffi-
dence." Their duty was rather "to correct such
absurd assertions, and to punish the offenders."
Wherefore, as a public example, the protestor was
fined twenty guilders.
Having thus, as they considered, vindicated
their dignity, Van Rensselaer was informed that his
colonists were bound equally with other settlers in
the Province to contribute to the pubhc burdens,
not only by the very nature of civilized govern-
ment, but by the Charter of 1629; and this they
ought to do, without suspecting any infraction on
their privileges or jurisdiction. The excise due
from this colony, which amounted, by estimate,
to fifteen hundred guilders, must, therefore,
be paid, together with all damages which may
have accrued by the delay. The tavern-keepers
must, moreover, submit to the gauging of their
stock as often as the same may be required ;
and as John Baptiste Van Rensselaer was himself
the original cause that the excise is resisted, he was
called on to give a bond of three thousand guilders
for the personal appearance of the "contumacious
tavern-keepers;" otherwise, he was to remain at
the Manhattans under civil arrest.
The Director and Council, also, insisted that the
colony was obliged to pay the tithes. If Mr. Van
Rensselaer would agree with some of his colonists
on a round sum, in Heu of these, it would be ac-
cepted until instructions should be received from
Holland ; if the Directors or arbitrators should de-
cide afterwards that the colony was not subject to
tenths, the amount paid should be reimbursed.
The assertions that the colonists assisted the Com-
pany in its difficulties " were made, but not proved. "
It is true they promised to assist in putting Fort
Orange in a state of repair at the time of the
troubles with the English ; but it was not less true
that, after having given three or four days' labor,
" they left us to shift for ourselves. " The Director
and Council were entirely ignorant of being under
any obligations to them "during the late troubles."
This rejoinder was followed by a proclamation,
ordering all the towns and colonies in the province
not to remove their crops before they settled with
the company's commissaries for the tenths. A
copy of this placard was sent for publication to the
authorities of Rensselaerwyck, but they refused to
publish it.
It was during this misunderstanding that the
"contumacious tapsters," having been guaranteed
by the Director and Court of the colony against
damage, arrived at the Manhattans to answer for
their conduct. The plea of residence in the col-
ony and of acting according to superior orders,
availed them nothing. One was fined two hundred
pounds, failing payment of which he was to be ban-
ished ; the other was mulcted in eight hundred
guilders. The patroon subsequently made good
both these fines. The difficulties about the tenths
were not settled until July, 1658, when the colony
compounded for them by the yearly payment of
three hundred schepels of wheat. * * *
Jeremias Van Rensselaer succeeded his brother
Jan Baptist as Director of the colony in 1658,
and administered its affairs for sixteen years with
great prudence and discretion. He was much re-
spected by the French, and exercised an influence
over the Indians surpassed only by that of Van
Curler.
On the change of government and the break-
ing out of the war, considerable difficulty was
experienced in obtaining a patent for the Manor
from the Duke of York. To obviate this, some per-
sons of influence advised him to take out one in his
own name, he being qualified as a British subject
to hold real estate. To his great honor it is re-
corded, that he rejected the offer, for he was only
co-heir and could not thus defraud his brothers
and sisters. He was a man of great industry, and
communicated to Holland an account of various
occurrences in this country under the name of the
"New Netherland Mercury." His correspond-
ence, from 1637 to his death, still in good preser-
vation, affords a valuable and interesting comment-
ary on private and public affairs, and contains a
relation of facts and incidents which otherwise
would be irreparably lost. He died on the 12th
October, 1684, and was followed to the grave by a
large concourse of mourners.
The Rev. Isaac Jogues, a French Jesuit, taken
captive by the Mohawks, and suffering every tor-
ture, finally made his escape to Fort Orange- and
visited New Amsterdam. This was in 1642-43.
He was kindly treated in both places. Falling
into the hands of the Mohawks a second tiiue, he
was treacherously and barbarously murdered in
October, 1646, in the fortieth year of his age. He
speaks, in nearly these words, of Fort Orange and
Rensselaerwyck: "There are two things in this
settlement * * * ; ist, a wretched
little fort, called Fort Orange, built of stakes, with
four or five pieces of cannon of Breteuil and as
many swivels. This has been reserved, and is
maintained by the West India Company. This
fort was formerly on an island in the river; it is
now on the mainland towards the Iroquois, a little
STUYVESANT AND THE ENGLISH CONQUEST.
67
above the said island ; 2d, a colony sent here
from Rensselaer, who is the patroon. This colony
is composed of about loo persons, who reside in
some twenty or thirty houses built along the river,
as each one found it most convenient. In the
principal house resides the patroon's agent. The
minister has his apait, in which service is per-
formed. There is also a kind of bailiff who ad-
ministers justice. All their houses are merely of
boards and thatched. As yet there is no mason
work, except the chimneys. The forests furnish-
ing many large pines, they make boards by means
of their mills, which they have for the purpose.
They found some pieces of ground all ready,
which the savages had already prepared, and in
which they sow wheat and oats for their beer and
horses, of which they have a great stock. There
is little land fit for tillage, being crowded by hills,
which are a bad soil. This obliges them to be
separated one from the other, and they occupy
already two or three leagues of territory. Trade is
free to all. This gives the Indians all things
cheap, each of the Hollanders outbidding, and
being satisfied, provided he can gain some little
profit. "
Most who came over in the eaily years of New
Netherlands came because they were not wanted at
home. They belonged to the over-plus class who
have no steady employment, no fixed homes, no
friends, no character. They shipped as servants,
as farmers and planters. But of these last there
were, as to-day, various grades. So was it with
the numbers who came as hunters, trappers and
traders. Fishermen and sailors and soldiers were
represented. Also some mechanics ; as we find
men registered as tailors, shoemakers, bakers,
coopers, carpenters, masons, painters, wheel-
wrights and rope-makers. But few were master
mechanics among these first setders of Rensse-
laerwyck. The maltster and brewer are specially
noted. The clerk at Fort Orange is named, and
so is a surgeon, Staes, by name, in 1642, and a
Consoler of the Sick, who is said to have served
as a teacher of boys when he had nothing else
to do. The girls in that day were not often taught
"book learning." The schoolmaster is referred
to a few times in that elder day ; but he had only
a name to live. Trading in furs paid better
than teaching. The clergyman will be spoken
of further on. As nearly as we can make out,
the first was sent over by the patroon, and had
but little encouragement among a people who had
no religion, and cared for neither grace nor learn-
ino-. We do not include the leaders and public
ofiicers in these statements. Some of them were
men of marked ability. Among the later comers
we find women, wives, maidens, nurses and
servants mentioned.
The early immigrants to New Netherlands are
generally spoken of as Hollanders, or Dutch. Un-
doubtedly this is true of the majority. But not a
small proportion are known to have been Wal-
loons, or French Protestants of like faith with the
Huguenots. Few came after the English conquest.
But among those who came over in ships before
that time as traders, farmers, trappers and servants,
we find Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Swiss, Portu-
guese, Scotch, and men from Friesland, Ham-
burgh and Bremen; from Picardy, Calais and Paris;
from Utrecht and Normandy, and a few other
places. None are named from England. They
went to Virginia or New England. The Catholic
French went to Canada and Arcadia; the Spaniards
to South America and Mexico.
STUYVESANT AND THE ENGLISH
CONQUEST.
The stormy administration of Peter Stuyvesant
had come to its end. The imperious and arrogant
autocrat was humiliated. One man had come with
a power which his threats could not alarm; who
could not be arrested and imprisoned at his
bidding.
In the learning of his day, Stuyvesant was su-
perior to the other Directors-General of the West
India Compan3^ He was far above Van Twiller
and Kieft in character. We believe he was honest,
clean, and even religious. His self-reliant energy
of character made him a man of extraordinary ad-
ministrative ability. But his impetuous self-will
made his conduct sometimes reckless, and seem-
ingly unscrupulous.
He had much to do, as he must have seen, to
organize a government made up of such ill-assorted
materials as New Netherlands. Here were con-
gregated men of all nations, with no other pur-
pose but gain — gain regulated as little as possible
by law. He had succeeded the stupid and avari-
cious Van Twiller and the cowardly and wicked
Kieft, both despised by all that had to do with
them. He had much to mend.
He derived all his authority from "the Com-
pany," which was subordinate, in some respects, to
the "States General." He was determined to ad-
vance the interests of his employers. His under
officers he literally kept under himself — not often
asking or regarding their opinions. He treated
them as servants; he did not make them friends.
68
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The people were so far removed from him in every
point that could ever awaken sympathy and confi-
dence, that he treated them only as cattle. It is
true he thought they needed schoolmasters and re-
ligious teachers; but he did little to bring them
under their influence. He had no respect for the
laboring classes, except that they serve and obey.
This they could do in silence, while they feared
and hated the oppressor.
Then came in another element, the English —
English from England or New England ; all the
same. He had learned something of their charac-
ter, and would like them as subjects. He admired
their intelligence and energy. He needed it. But
he feared their indomitable push and inflexible love
of freedom. But they came, encouraged by him,
and soon occupied lands upon Long Island, and
any place of profit or power which they could find
open in New Amsterdam. When ' ' Peter the Head-
strong " opened his gates to these people, he received
into his fort the Wooden Horse.
When Stuyvesant came into power, in 1647, the
whole population of New Netherlands amounted to
about one thousand souls, a falling off", since 1643,
of 2,000 under Kieft's foolish reign, while the New
England colonies had increased in about the same
number of years, to nearly 60,000. And these
' ' Yankees " were free-born Englishmen who had
their free churches, and their free schools, and at-
tended them ; who cherished their homes and tilled
their lands ; who made their own laws and chose
their own men to execute them. While they loved
their own homes, they were always seeking to make
them better; when they sought new places, it was
to make them better than the old. They took with
them their principles and their institutions, and did
the best they could with them, with no unnecessary
delay, no timid lack of self assertion.
Coming to Manhattan, few at a time, yet rapidly
increasing compared with the Hollanders, using
the present, and waiting for the future, they solved
the problem of English sovereignty in 1664, and of
free government about one hundred years later.
While Stuyvesant was successful!}' reducing the
savage Indians near Manhattan and at Esopus, and
removing the inoffensive Swedes on the Delaware ;
while he was vainly endeavoring to subject Con-
necticut, and violently resisting the claims of the
patroon of Rensselaerwyck, and quarreling with his
own officers at New Amsterdam, he was losing
what he ought to have seen he would lose, the
affection and respect of all classes. All men of his
character are blind. His house was a house divid-
ed against itself. The struggle for popular rights
was deeper and stronger than he knew. It was
pent up much in men's minds. It slept as sleeps
the mighty earthquake. It kept up a constant
muttering like distant thunder.
The election of eighteen "respectable persons,"
from whom the Governor selected a Privy Council
of " Nine men," was a gain for the people, even if
they had power to give advice only when it was asked.
The establishment of a republic in England, as brief
and faulty as it was, after the beheading of Charles
I, in 1649, produced a profound sensation all over
the then civilized world. It was felt in New Nether-
lands because it was felt in Holland and in New
England. Tyranny quaked ; freedom gained.
When the people openly discussed the wicked-
ness of Kieft, Stu}Tesant became alarmed that the}'
had come to this, that the acts of Governors could be
criticized. When the ' ' Nine men " severely cen-
sured Gov. Stuyvesant himself for his trading in fire-
arms, and other articles, ' ' both lawful and contra-
band," and even sent to the Fatherland a remon-
strance against the habit of arresting, of confiscating,
and covetous speculations in trade and manufac-
tures, he became still more alarmed. The "States"
rebuked him for his course. ' ' The Company "
sustained him. Thus the conflict went on. We
need not further detail matters that did not im-
mediately affect Beverwyck and Rensse]aerw}'ck.
These details belong to general history. We here
only indicate the causes at work to bring an end
to the government of Stuyvesant and the Province
of New Netherland at the same time.
In another place we have spoken of the English
claim. England had never yielded this claim. It
had only awaited its opportunity. The English
Revolution of 1649 "^^'^s ended, and harmony was
re-established in the person of Charles II. The
good-natured King had kindly given to his brother
James all the territory that had been occupied and
governed under the name of New Netherlands.
This was done on the 12th of March, 1664, thus
expelling Holland from the New ^\'orld. The time
had come to take possession.
The province had fully 10,000 inhabitants ; and
New Amsterdam had grown up to a population of
1,500. There was general satisfaction among the
people, with their lands and their trade. But they
did not like the government. They were ready for
a change, hoping for something better.
The Duke of York placed Col. Richard Nicolls
in command of the expedition to "reduce the
Dutch to subjection, ' and establish his claim.
On the 31st of July, 1664, Gov. Stuyvesant had
gone up to Fort Orange for rest and business, not
ORGANIZATIOX AND DIVISION OF THE COUNTY.
69
dreaming of the approach of an English squadron.
Soon he was recalled by a messenger. He returned
August 25th, to find business suspended and gen-
eral alarm in New Amsterdam. There were four
English frigates in the bay, near Sandy Hook ; and
a few days later three more were seen in N)'ack Ba}-.
The excited chief magistrate sent for help to Fort
Orange ; but it was too late.
Eeverwyck and Rensselaerw}'ck could send no
help. The defenses of Nevv Amsterdam were not
equal to a siege. Its crumbling fort was built only
as a protection against the hatchets, arrows and
musket balls of the sa\'ages ; the enclosure was un-
protected by ditch or palisade ; there were not 500
pounds of powder ; not a well of water in the fort,
and provisions were low. The small garrison was
composed of the off-scourings of Europe, worthless,
dissolute men, ready to fight for pay under any
banner.
Worse than all, the Governor had not the support
of his Council or of the citizens. The peremptor}'
summons, made August 30th, to surrender, was,
after a brief dela}', in useless remonstrance with
Commander NicoUs, reluctantly heeded with-
out bloodshed. On the 8th of September, Stuyve.s-
ant signed the articles of surrender, and the Eng-
lish took formal possession in the name of James,
Duke of York and Albanj-. New Amsterdam was
named New York, and Fort Amsterdam was
named Fort James.
Fort Orange next received attention. The at-
tempt of Johannes de Decker, who hurriedly took
a trip up the Hudson to persuade the garrison of
Fort Orange and the people of its vicinity to resist
any demand for surrender which the English might
make, was fruitless.
On Wednesda}', September loth, NicoUs sent
Sir George Cartwright, with a small company of
soldiers, to Fort Orange with the following
orders :
"To the present Deputy Governor or the magis-
trates and inhabitants of Ffort Aurania:
"These are to will and require you and ever}' of
you to bee ayding and assisting Col. George Cart-
wright in the prosecution of his Majesty's interest
against all such of what nation .so-ever as shall op-
pose the peaceable surrender and quiet possession
of the ffort Aurania, and to obey him, the said
George Cartwright, according to such instructions
as I have given him in case of the Mohawks or
other Indians shall attempt anything against the
lives, goods or chattels of those who are now under
the protection and obedience of his Majesty of
Great Brittaine ; wherefore you nor any of you are
to fayle as you will answer the contrary at your
utmost perills.
' ' Given under my hand and seal att Ffort James
in New Yorke on Manhattans Island, this loth day
of September, 1664.
R. NiCOLLS. "
When the paper of Col. Nicolls was presented to
the Vice-Director, John de La Montague, on the
24th of September, he quietly surrendered Fort
Orange to Col. Cartwright. The names of Bever-
w3'ck Village and Fort Orange were, at once,
changed to Albany. Fort Albany was manned b}-
English soldiers, and Capt. John Manning was put
in command. Dirck Van Schelluyne, who had held
the office in Beverw3-ck, was made Clerk of the
Court of Albany, which had been established hy
Stuyvesant. Jeremias Van Rensselaer took the oath
of allegiance to King Charles II. of England and
the Proprietor James.
Thus we have brought down the Civil histor}- of
New Netherlands, so far as connected with that of
Albany County, to the English Conquest of 1664.
With all his great faults, there is much to admire in
the character of Peter Stuyvesant. He did his best,
under most tr3-ing circumstances, to serve faith-
fully his go\'ernment. He was true to the last.
After he found everything against him, he settled
down, a peaceful citizen, and lived a secluded life,
on his own "Bowerie, " in the City of New York,
and there died in 1672. His remains were en-
tombed at his Chapel in the Bower}-, where is now
St. Mark's Church.
His country vindicated his conduct. But what-
ever good, in the Providence of God, may have
grown out of them in the history of our Nation,
there is but one voice among the careful students of
history, in reviewing the transactions of the English
government at this time, and that is one of the
severest condemnation.
ORGANIZATION AND DIVISION OF THE
COUNTY.
On the 17th of October, 1683, the first "General
Assembly" of the "Colony of New York," chosen
by "the planters or inhabitants of every part
of the government, met at Fort James, in the
City of New York, with "free liberty to consult
and debate among themselves all matters as shall
be apprehended proper to be established for laws
for the good government of the said Colony of New-
York and its dependencyes. "
The warrants calling this assembly were issued
by Lt. Gov. Thomas Dongan and council, on the
13 th of September preceding. The Duke of York
70
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and Albany had given his unwiUing consent in
obedience to the clamors of the people, the wise
counsel of William Penn, and his own self interest.
Coming to the throne of England as James II, in
1685, he withdrew his consent and dissolved the
assembly the year after.
But the people had, after 3'ears of struggle, met
in lawful assembly and put on record, in fitting
words, the ' ' Charter of Liberties and Privileges, "
such as they would have, and passed other laws.
They had placed New York by the side of Virginia
and Massachusetts in the claim for heaven-born
rights.
Among other similar warrants, it was "ordered
that the Sheriff of Albany and Rancelaers Colony
cause the freeholders to meet and choose two per-
sons to be their representatives in the General
Assembly, to be holden at the City of New York,
Octobr ye 17th, 1683.'
It would be interesting to know when, where,
and how these "office holders voted at this, their
first general election in this county ; but history is
silent on this point, nor can the names of the ' ' two
representatives' be found. The journals of this
assembly are lost. Richard Pretty, who served the
warrant, an Englishman, was the Sheriff from Oct.
1680 to March 1691. He died in 1695.
Among the Acts passed, was one " To divide
this province and dependencyes into shires and
countyes, " — "for the better governing and setling
the courts in the same." It was also enacted, "that
there shall be yearly and every year, an High Sher-
riffe constituted and commissionated for each county,
and that each Sherriffe may have his under Sher-
riffe Deputy or Deputyes. ' All laws had the con-
currence of the Governor and Council, who were
in session at the same time.
This Act, dated Nov. i, 1683, divided the pro-
vince into twelve counties, viz : New York, West
Chester, Ulster, Alban}-, Dutchess, Orange, Rich-
mond, Kings, Queen.s, Suffolk, Dukes, and Corn-
wall, the two latter taking their territor)- in Massa-
chusetts and Maine." "The County of Albany to
containe the Towns of Albany, the Collony Rens-
laerwyck, Schonecteda, and all the villages, neigh-
borhoods, and Christian Plantac^ons on the east
side of Hudson River from Roelof Jansen's Creeke,
and on the west side from Sawyer's Creeke to the
Sarraghtoga. "
It will be seen that the names of these coundes
are EngUsh. Subsequent divisions gave names
very largely in honor of our own patriots and
statesmen, while a few preserve the memory of our
native Indian tribes. The Scotch title of King
James II. gave name to Albany County.
At a session of the Council, held at Fort William
Henry, in New York City, Oct. i, 1691, another
"Bill for dividing this province and dependancyes
into shires and countyes" was enacted, chiefly
confirmatory of the above. In describing the
County of Albany, there was the omission of ' ' the
Town of Albany;" a substitution of "Mannor of
Ranslaers w}-ck," for the ' ' Collony of Renslaerwyck, "
and "to the uttermost end of Sarraghtoga, " instead
of "to the Sarraghtoga. "
At a session of the Council, held at Fort George,
in New York City, May 27, 1717, the county was
further enlarged by "An Act for annexing that part
of the Mannor of Livingston which now Ijes in
Dutchess County, unto the County of Alban)-.
The Counties of Dukes, consisting of Nantucket,
Martha's Vineyard, Elisabeth Island and No Man's
Land, now in Massachusetts, and Cornwall, con-
sisting of Pemaquid and adjacent lands and islands,
now in Maine, which were included in the patent
to the Duke of York, were set off on the reorgani-
zation of the colonial government about 1691, soon
after the abdication of King James II, and the
succession of William and Mary to the EnglLsh
throne.
From this time until 1770, the colonial govern-
ment continued with these ten original counties,
and with but slight territorial changes. The)' were
not surveyed, and their boundaries were loosely
defined. That of Albany, especiall)', was vastly
larger than those early Governors and Legislators
knew, embracing the whole territory lying north of
Ulster and west of the Hudson River, and taking
in nearly the whole State, even to Canada and the
Lakes ; and north of Dutchess, on the east side of
the Hudson, including the whole of what is now
the State of Vermont. Indeed, the State of Vermont
and the fifty counties of the State of New York,
erected since this date, were all formed from the
original territorial limits of the Albany County of
1683 and 1691, except Putnam, Sullivan, Rockland,
and part of Green and Delaware.
The ten thus formed directl)- from Albany Co.,
are chronologically as follows, viz :
1. Gloucester, March i6, 1770, including what
is now Orange, Washington, Caledonia, O.rleans,
and Essex, Vermont.
2. Tryon, March J2, 1772, changed to Mont-
gomery, April 2, 1784, from which and the wilder-
ness then known only as Indian land, the counties
west of Green, Schoharie, Schenectady, Saratoga,
and the Adirondacks, have since been formed.
ORGANIZATION AND DIVISION OF THE COUNTY.
71
3. Charlotte, March 12, 1772, changed to Wash-
ington, April 2, 1784, from whose territory have
since been erected Warren, Clinton, St. Lawrence,
Essex, and Franklin.
4. Cumberland, April 4, 1786, covering the
present Counties of Bennington, Windsor, Wind-
ham, Rutland, Addison, and Chittenden, Vermont.
5. Columbia, April 4, 1786.
6. Rensselaer, Feb. 7, 1791.
7. Saratoga, Feb. 7, 1791.
8. Schoharie, April 6, 1795.
9. Greene, March 25, 1800.
10. Schenectady, March 7, 1809.
What a mother of counties is old Albany !
The boundaries of the county are defined by
sundr)' statutes, and at different periods, in con-
nection with the formation of other counties from
its territor)'. This is done in Chap. 63, Laws of
1788, passed March 7, when it included what are
now Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady and a
part of Washington, Schoharie, and Greene Coun-
ties ; in Chap. 4, Laws of 1791, passed Feb. 7,
when Rensselaer and Saratoga, and a part of Wash-
ington Counties, were set off. In this Act, Rens-
selaer County, on Hudson River, is described as
"on the east side of a line drawn through the
middle of the main stream of Hudson's River, with
such variations as to include the islands lying nearest
the east bank thereof, " being adjacent to Albany
County on the west of such line. And the County
of Saratoga, so far as it is adjacent to Albany County
on the Mohawk River, is defined as bounded,
"southerly by the middle of the most northerly
branch of the Mohawk River and the middle of the
said river." "And the bounds of the several towns
in the said respective counties, adjacent to and
limited by the Hudson's River and Mohawk River,
are hereby extended to and limited by the bounds
of the said respective counties herein described."
Chap. 163, Laws of 1801, passed April 7th,
names the towns of Schenectady, Princetown and
Duanesburgh, now in Schenectady Count}', and
Berne, Bethlehem, Coevnians, Rensselaersville and
Watervliet, describing their limits, as belonging to
Albany County, besides the City of Alban}-.
Chap. 65, Laws of 1809, passed March 7th, sets
off Schenectady County with minutely described
bounds, and declares "that the remainder of the
County of Albany shall be called and known by
the name of County of Albany. "
This was three-quarters of a century ago, and
old Albany has given birth to no more children.
Schenectady is its youngest. Ph3'sically it has re-
tained its outward features, all the same, for 75
years. But time and toil have wrought changes in
her internal constitution. The potent voice of the
law has always been directing changes. But she is
still "at home," and ever ready to welcome her
numerous sisters, children, and grandchildren, as
they come up to visit her, at their annual convoca-
tions.
As the county now exists, its form and bounda-
ries may be thus described : It is bounded on the
north by the counties of Saratoga and Schenectady;
on the west by the County of Schoharie; on the
south by the County of Greene, and on the east
by the County of Rensselaer. The Hudson River
boundary, dividing Albany and Rensselaer coun-
ties, is described by "a line drawn through (he
middle of the main stream" of said river, "with
such variations as to include the islands lying near-
est to the west banks thereof within the limits of
Albany County. The boundary between Albany
and Saratoga counties is made b}- a line beginning
at a point in the middle of the main stream of
Hudson River in the westerly boundary of Rens-
selaer County, opposite to the middle of the most
northerly branch of the Mohawk Ri\'er, and running
thence through the middle of said northerly branch
and of the said Mohawk River westerly, to a point
in said river where it is nearest the north line of the
manor of Rensselaerw3'ck, at Niskayuna." Its
northern and southern boundaries are supposed to
be parallel ; as are, also, its eastern and western,
each following the variations of the current of the
Hudson. Its general form is rhomboidal. That
so old a county has never had a complete and ac-
curate survey is a matter of surprise and regret,
which will remain, probabl}', until the present State
survey is accomplished.
\\'hen this county was created in 1683, it had no
towns with corporate limits. Albany received a
charter from Gov. Dongan, dated July 22, 1686,
declaring "that the said City of Albany, and the
compass, precincts and limits thereof, and the juris-
diction of the same, shall from henceforth extend
and reach itself, and shall and may be able to reach
forth and extend itself, as well in length and in
breadth, as in circuit, on the east by Hudson's
River, so far as low water mark; to the south, by a
line to be drawn from the southernmost end of the
pasture at the north end of the said island, called
Martin Gerritsen's island, running back into the
woods sixteen English miles due northwest to a
certain kill or creek, called the Sandhill; on the
north, to a line to be drawn from the post that was
set by Gov. Stuyvesant, near Hudson's River, run-
ning likewise northwest sixteen English miles; and
72
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
on the west, by a straight line to be drawn from the
points of the said south and north hnes. "
In 1687, Gov. Dongan, in his report to the
English Board of Trade, says: "The town of
Albany lyes within the Ranslaers' Colony; and, to
say the truth, the Ranslaers had the right to it, for
it was they settled the place, and upon a petition
of one of them to our present King, about Albany,
the petitioner was referred to his Majesty's council
at law, who, upon a perusal of the Ranslaers'
papers, made their return that it was their opinion
that it did belong to them. * * * The town
itself is upon a barren sandy spot of land, and the
inhabitants live wholly upon trade with the Indians.
I got the Ranslaers to release their pretence to the
town and sixteen miles into the country for com-
mons to the King, with liberty to cut firewood
withm the colony for one and twent}' }-ears. After
I had obtained this release of the Ranslaers I
passed the patent for Albany. "
This ' ' Ranslaers' Colony, '' otherwise the
' ' Manor of Rensselaerwyck, " was erected into a
district, March 24, 1772, and subdivided soon after
the war of the Revolution, March 5, 1779, •^'''o
east and west districts. The west district included
the whole of the territory now called Albany
County, except the City of Albany as above de-
scribed, and certain State lands, so called, located
in the northeast part of the town of Watervliet.
All the rights therein remaining to the Patroon,
the late Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of revered
memory, upon his death, January 26, 1839,
descended to his son Stephen, while those of the
east district, formerly including most of Rensselaer
and a part of Columbia counties, descended to his
other son, William P.
It will thus be seen that the whole territory of
this county was once included within the Colony
of Rensselaerswyck, the histor}' of which appears
under its appropriate head.
With the exception of the City of Albany, the
whole of the territory now called Albany Count}',
and including most of that now constituting the
town of Niskayuna, in Schenectady Count}', was
incorporated March 7, 1788, into a town b} the
name of Watervliet. Niskayuna was set off March
7, 1809, making the count}- limits coincide with
those of the west Manor of Rensselaer.
From this territory the following towns in Albany
County have since been incorporated :
Names. Date. From what other town.
Rensselaerville. March 8, 1790. Watervliet.
Coeymans March 18, 179 1 . "
Bethlehem March 12, 1793. "
Names. Date. From what other town.
Berne March 17, 1795 Rensselaerville.
Guilderland . . . Feb. 26, 1803. Watervliet.
Colonie .April 1 1, 1808. "
Westerlo March 16, 1815 . Coeymans & Rensselaerville
Knox Feb. 28, 1822 . Berne.
New Scotland. . April 25, 1832 . Bethlehem.
Cohoes May 19, 1869. Watervliet.
The local histor}' of these towns, as fully as space
will allow, will be written by others. We j;ive a
summary of some facts of general interest.
It will be seen that no town organization existed
in Albany County until after the Revolutionary war
and the adoption of the Federal Constitution, when
Watervliet, as above stated, was organized March 7,
1788. Before this, except what jurisdiction in-
hered in the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, all civil,
judicial, and other matters of common interest,
were managed at Albany, made a city more than
100 years prior to this date. The City of Albany
was then, except in territory, the County — the center
of business, of military and civil power, and of
social interest.
OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS
OF THE COUNTY.
Bern. — INIore recently and generally spelled
Berne ; named from Berne, Switzerland, the native
place of Jacob Weidman, one of the first settlers.
It was formed from Rensselaerville, March 17, 1795,
and embraced what is now the town of Knox,
which was taken off from the north part February
28, 1822. It is the middle of the three western
towns of the county ; about 20 miles from Albany ;
has an area of 38,782 acres, and is bounded
north by Knox, east by New Scotland, south by
Westerlo and Rensselaerville, and west by Scho-
harie County. The Helderbergs lie along its east-
ern border, the western slope of which gives a
broken surface, varied by hills, ravines and plateaus.
The soil is a loam formed of sand, gravel and clay;
a fine calcareous, argillaceous loam abounds in the
valleys ; and marsh, bog, clay and marl patches are
found. Brooks are numerous, most of them find-
ing their way to Schoharie creek. The lofty ledges
of the hills on the eastern border are interesting
natural features. Thompson's Lake, on the Hel-
derbergs, and White Sulphur Springs, in Berneville,
are places of much resort.
Good flagging stone is quarried near Reidsville,
and mineral springs and limestone caverns are
found in the town.
The first settlers were mostl}- Germans who came
and occupied manorial lands about 1750. A
OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY.
73
number of Scotch settlers came about the time of
the Revolutionary war.
During the anti-rent troubles, this town had
more leased lands than any other in the county.
The number has been rapidly decreasing by settle-
ment of claims, much to the advancement of in-
telligence, independence and wealth. The anti-
rent feeling arose to its highest pitch in this town,
leading to deeds of violence and outrage.
There were many Tories in this territor)' during
the Revolutionary war. Here, it is said, was a
rendezvous for them, where plans were made, and
from which went forth bands to co-operate with the
Indians in their cruel barbarities against the patriot
settlers. In 1777, out of a company of 85 militia
raised here, 63 joined the British, and 22 were
with the Americans against Burgoyne, at Saratoga.
In 1779, Capt. Dietz and two boj's, named John
and Robert Brice, were taken captives from the
western part of this town. Dietz died at Montreal,
and the boys, after the war was over, were ex-
changed and returned home.
Berneville, once called Beaver Dam, was stock-
aded during the Revolutionary war.
The first church established was the Dutch Re-
formed, in 1763, which received, as its first pastor,
Rev. Johannes Schuyler, in 1767. A parsonage
farm, given by the Patroon, is situated about mid-
way between Peoria and Berneville, and is held in
common b}- societies in both villages. This is the
oldest church in the county, outside of Alban}'.
Among the prominent natives of the town are
Hon. Joseph P. Bradley, of the United States Su-
preme Court ; the widely known Capt. A. H. Bo-
gardus, Albert Gallup, County Treasurer, and
others.
Bethlehem. — It is stated that several farmers
who came at an early date to Beverwyck began
another settlement, south of Fort Orange, to which
they gave the name of Bethlehem, with reverent
regard for the city of Palestine, where our Saviour
was born.
It is believed that the first trading house in this
county was erected in 1614, upon Castle Island, in
the Hudson, by Dutch traders under the lead of
Skipper Corstiaensen. This island, containing
about 160 acres of land, is in this town, opposite
that part of Albany which was set off from Bethle-
hem in 1870. It has been designated by various
names, but is now called Van Rensselaer or
Westerlo Island. In the original charter limits of the
City of Albany in 1686, it is called Martin Gerritsen's
island. The trading house was stockaded and
garrisoned as a protection against predatory traders
and hostile Indians, and named Fort Nassau. Two
or three years later it was moved by Elkins to the
elevation near the mouth of the Tawasentha, on
account of the spring floods. Here it probably
remained until the erection of Fort Orange, in
Beverwyck, in 1623.
As a township, Bethlehem was erected from
Watervliet, March 12, 1793, including what is now
New Scotland, which was taken off April 25, 1832,
and the southeast part of Alban)-, which was taken
off April 6, 1870. It has an area of 31,549 acres,
including Van Rensselaer and other islands in the
Hudson, west of the middle of the stream. It is
bounded, north by Albany, east by Hudson River,
south by Coeymans, west by New Scotland.
Its surface consists chiefly of rolling upland, with
high bluffs rising above the fertile alluvial flats on
the Hudson. There are ridges of sand and rock
near the center. The soil, under good tillage, pro-
duces a great variety of fruits, vegetables and other
farm and garden piroducts for the near Albany
market.
A few small caves and sulphur springs are found.
The exact date when the early Dutch farmers
began to occupy the river lands of this town cannot
now be known; probably between 1630 and 1640.
Albert Andriessen Bradt, de Norman, came over in
1630, and had a farm and mills on Norman's Kill,
which was named for him. Adrien Van der Donk,
Martin Gerritsen, and Cornells Segers, early occu-
pied Castle Island. R3'ckert Rutgersen and Jan
Ryersen were settlers about 1650. The territory
now, or until recently, called Bethlehem, has been
occupied by many distinguished persons. Philip
S. Van Rensselaer, for more than twenty years
subsequent to 1798 the Mayor of Alban)', had his
seat at Cherry Hill. He was succeeded by his son.
Gen. Solomon Van Rensselaer, and by his son-in-
law. Dr. Peter E. Elmendorf Here was born
Mrs. Catharine V. R. Bonney, author of "Historical
Gleanings." Here lived John Whipple, a worthy
citizen, who was shot by Strang in 1827. Near
Mount Hope, which now is the Academy of the
Sacred Heart, lived Jared L. Rathbone, Mayor,
1838-41, who purchased "Rensselaer's Mills," and
named the hamlet Kenwood, after a beautiful spot
in Scotland which he had visited. Ezra P. Prentice
for many years made Mount Hope a magnificent
residence. The "Whitehall House," built in part
by Gen. Bradstreet, which is said to have been a
secret resort for Tories during the Revolution, was
subsequently the home of Judge Leonard Ganse-
voort. The mansion of the venerable Col. Francis
Nichols was situated on Bethlehem flats, which has
74
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
long been considered as furnishing some of the finest
sites in the vicinity of Albany for homes and culti-
vation. The greenhouses of Erastus Corning, just
below Kenwood, are very rich in rare exotics, and
his large farm in choice horses and stock. This
farm of 560 acres,j^Siid the residences of Hon.
Worthington Frothingham, Erastus D. Palmer, the
sculptor, and Judge Elisha P. Hurlbut, l3'ing near
the river, are worthy of special mention. Many of
the busy men of Albany are making their homes in
this town. Among them are the artist, Asa W.
Twitchell; the book-seller, Stephen R. Gray; Attor-
ney Nathan P. Hinman, Sheriff Wm. H. Keeler,
Surveyor Wm. H. Slingerland, and others.
It is claimed that an Indian castle and burial
place occupied a spot near the mouth of the Ta-
wasentha, a long time ago. Here Longfellow, in his
Hiawatha, has the home of his Indian "Singer
Nawadaha," who "sang the song of Hiawatha."
On a hill near by this stream, as tradition has it,
was held the first council of alliance and aid be-
tween the Indians and the Dutch, about two and
three-quarter centuries ago.
"In the vale of Tawasentha,
In the green and silent valley,
By the pleasant water-courses.
Dwelt the Singer Nawadaha;
Round about the Indian village.
Spread the meadows and the cornfields,
And beyond them stood the forest.
Stood the groves of singing pine trees.
Green in summer, white in winter.
Ever sighing, ever singing.
And the pleasant water-courses : —
You could trace them through the valley
By the rushing in the spring-time.
By the alders in the summer.
By the white fog in the autumn.
By the black line in the winter;
And beside them dwelt the singer.
In the vale of Tawasentha,
In the green and silent valley.
There he sang of Hiawatha,
Sang the song of Hiawatha."
The first church in town was formed in early
colonial times by the Reformed Dutch. The
"Parsonage farm," a tract of 100 acres, was given
to the society in 1794 by Gen. Stephen Van Rens-
selaer.
Hon. Benjamin Nott resided here ; and his son,
Hon. John C. Nott, Hon. John M. Bailey, Rev.
William Bailey, Hon. Jurian Winne, were born in
this town.
CoEYMANS was named from Barent Pieterse Coe}--
mans, an emigrant from Utrecht, in 1636, who,
having previously been a miller on Patroon's Creek
and Normanskill, under lease from the Patroon,
purchased land from the Katskill Indians, cover-
ing this territory, in 1673, and secured a patent
from Gov. Lovelace on the 7th April in that year.
A conflict of title with Van Rensselaer resulted
in the purchase of the Patroon's claims, pay-
ing a quit-rent of nine shillings annually, under
date of October 22, 1706. August 6, 17 14, he
finall)' secured letters-patent from Queen Anne,
confirming a perpetual title to him and his heirs.
The patentee built the first mills at Coeyman's
Falls, and settlements were made by the Dutch
within the first j'ears of the eighteenth centur)'.
Among the early settlers we. find the names of
Witbeck, Keefer, Traver, Verplank, Vanderveer,
Ten Eyck, IMcCarley, Colvin and Shear.
The township was formed from Watervliet, March
18, 1791, including the eastern part of Westerlo,
which was set off on the formation of that town,
March 16, 181 5. It has an area of 30,408 acres,
including Beeren and other islands in the Hudson.
It is the southeast town of the county, and is
bounded, north by Bethlehem, west by Westerlo,
south by Greene County, and east by the Hudson.
The surface rises from the river, with a bluff of from
200 to 400 feet, continuing, with broken ridges and
hills, some 100 to 200 feet higher, to the Helder-
bergs. The soil is sandy in the eastern part, and
gravelly in the western. Limestone and marl are
abundant. Blue flagging stone has been quarried
at Mossy Hill, and shipped since 1828. Magne-
sian springs and limestone caverns are found. The
fossil remains of an animal like the elephant were
found on the farm of Mr. Shear a few years since.
Hay is the leading farm product. There are
many excellent farms in this town, especially upon
the Haanakrois Creek, which have long been
owned and cultivated by an industrious, frugal
and intelligent class of citizens.
There has long been a landing at the mouth of
Coeymans Creek, at the wharves of which is con-
siderable trade carried on by the near farmers,
manufacturers and merchants. John J. Colvin
was for many years a successful shipper, now re-
tired, and succeeded by Henry Slingerland. Ice-
cutting is an important industry.
Rev. John Crawford, about 1789, organized the
first Methodist class here, and a stone edifice for
their worship was erected in 1793, said to have
been the first Methodist church west of the Hud-
son. The celebrated Freeborn Garretson was pre-
siding elder of an extensive district up and down
the river. March 5, 1793, Ae Reformed Church,
Rev. Jacob Sickles, pastor, was organized ; in 1797
it built a large brick church.
The Coe3-mans Academj' was established by
Fletcher Blaisdell, Theophilus Civill and Peter
OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY.
75
Seabridge, in 1858. The fine buildings for a new
literary institution, recently erected by Anton Civil,
of this town, are not yet opened. Sawmills were
erected on the creek just north of Beeren Island as
early as 1651.
The Coeynians Gazelle was started in 1863, edited
by Prof Thomas McKee, who afterward took it
to Greenbush and published it until his death as
the Rensselaer County Gazelle. The Coeynians
Herald is published weekly by S. H. and E. J.
Sherman.
For several years after the Revolution a few
Oneida Indians called the Aquetucks resided in
this town.
Among the prominent citizens of this town
during the past century may be named John and
James Colvin, John and David IMcCarty, Hugh
Jolly, Archibald Stephens, Andrew and Anthony
Ten Eyck, Abraham and Isaac Verplanck, Moses
Stanton, Dr. Jesse Smith, Nathaniel Niles, John
P. Beeckman, and many others. Hon. Andrew J.
Colvin was born in Coeymans, April 30, 1808 ; was
educated at Albany Academy under Dr. Beck ;
read law with \^an Buren & Butler ; began practice
in Albany in 1830 ; has been Corporation Counsel,
District Attorney and State Senator. He was in
the Senate in 1861 when the Rebellion broke out,
and has been spoken of as "the very first Demo-
cratic official who threw up a rocket in favor of
equal constitutional freedom for all. " He is now,
at the age of seventy-seven, actively engaged in
professional practice.
CoHOES was formed from Watervliet and incor-
porated as a city. May 9, 1869. It previously,
from April 12, 1855, had been an incorporated
village of Watervliet. It has an area of 1,575
acres.
The history of this city is recent, and is, chiefly,
a history of its manufactures. These are well
written up by Rev. Wm. H. Johnson, and will
appear in this work. The antiquities of this local-
ity and its natural wonders are presented in an ex-
cellent manner, in connection with other points of
interest relating to its growth and present condition,
in "Masten's History of Cohoes," a volume reflect-
ing great credit upon its painstaking author.
CoLONiE, once an incorporated town and village,
is entitled to a place in our history, although its
existence as such was brief, and is now obsolete.
Its name is still preserved in one of the streets of
Albany.
The term ' ' the Colonic " was undoubtedly ap-
plied originall}' to all the colonized territory of
Rensselaerwyck. But it came to be limited, it
appears, to that portion lying outside of the City
of Albany, especially north of it, in which were
situated the mansion of the Patroon, with his mills
and offices, the residences of his officers, and the
homes of his immediate farmers, gardeners and
other dependents. We find it frequently used in the
time of Stuyvesant and other Dutch governors.
' ' The limits of Ihe Colonie were fixed above
and below the fort," say the Directors of the
West India Company in 1652. "The limits be-
tween Fort Orange and the Colonie were, in
1654, still undetermined." Some confusion as
to jurisdiction between Gov. Stuyvesant and the
Patroon 's agents necessarily followed. The Gov-
ernor was willing to allow the Colonie four miles
on one side or two on each bank of the river, with-
out the limits of Fort Orange. The question as to
jurisdiction remained unsettled until 1664, when
England assumed jurisdiction over the whole Prov-
ince of New York, no longer New Netherlands.
During the years that followed the English con-
quest, "the Colonie" continued as a local designa-
tion of the district lying without the city, and north
of it. Its southern limits were defined by Quacken-
bush street, and Patroon street, now called Clinton
avenue. It was outside the stockade, which lat-
terly had its palisades a little north of Orange and
Van Tromp streets. When Watervliet was formed,
in 1788, coextensive with the western district of
Rensselaerwyck, "the Colonie" was, of course,
a part of its territory. The Hudson marked its
eastern limits; but its western and northern were
not defined. It was understood to include the
" Upper Hollow " and the settlements and business
places therein, the Mansion House and its office,
and the lands near them. Kenwood was the
' ' Lower Hollow. "
It was set apart as a district, March 31, 1791,
and again, by an additional act, March 30, i8oi.
April 9, 1804, it was incorporated as a village in
the town of Watervliet, and organized as a separate
town, April 11, 1808, as described by the Legisla-
tive act following :
" Be il enacled, &fc. , That from and after the first
day of April next all that part of the town of
Watervliet, beginning at the west bank of Hudson's
River and in the northeast corner of the bounds of
the City of Albany, and extending northerly along
the said river, about three-quarters of a mile, to
what is called the Mill-creek : thence running
westerl}', one mile, up along the said creek : thence
southerly with a line parallel to the said river, till it
intersects the north bounds of the said city : thence
easterly, along the said north bounds to the place
%
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of beginning, shall be and is hereby erected into a
separate town, by the name of the Colonie. ''
It was divided, February 25, 1815, and its legal
existence as a town terminated by giving its terri-
tory to Albany and Watervliet. The Albany por-
tion was made the "Fifth Ward" for many years.
It was a small town, less in area than any other
town in the State. Its population in 18 10 was
only 1,406, and in 1815, 1,657, having 245
houses and stores, and thirty slaves. The houses
and stores were principally on one street, except
near Albany.
In 1818 an effort was made to restore it to town
privileges, but did not succeed.
In Colonie, in 1813, were "the Public Garden
of Mr. Buckmaster," two breweries, a distillery,
two large tanneries, a tallow chandlery, rope walks,
a grain mill and several other manufactories, in-
cluding a part of the "tobacco works" of Mr.
James Caldwell, which were on Mill Creek, mostly
on the north or Watervliet side. There was also
"a Seceders' Church," whatever that might be,
and "a large brick edifice filled with military stores
belonging to the State of New York and the United
States," called "The Arsenal," standing "on the
east side of the principal street,'' "connected with
which is a large yard."
Says Spatford in 1813, in his "Gazetteer of New
York:" " The compact village of Colonie is con-
tinuous with Albany, of which it forms a large and
populous suburb, though legally organized under
a separate municipality. " ' ' That part necessarily
belongs to Albany in a general view of its popula-
tion, resources, wealth, trade and general char-
acter."
In Fry's Albany Directory for 1813, the first
published in the city, we find no name of a citizen
of Colonie except ' ' Spafford, Horatio G. , author
of Geography and Gazetteer, Colonie, two doors
south of Arsenal. " Mr. Fry makes this explana-
tion in his prefatory "Notice :" "Should this pub-
lication meet its hoped-for encouragement, in the
sale of the books, the next may be accompanied
with a list of inhabitants in the Colonie and a map
of the city."
GuiLDERLAND was named from Guilderlandt in
the Netherlands. It was formed from Watervliet,
February 26, 1803. The northwest portion of the
city of Albany was annexed to this town, February
26, 1 87 1. It is bounded, north by Schenectady
County, east by Watervliet and Alban}', south by
Bethlehem and New Scotland, west by Knox, and
has an area of 38,784 acres, the largest number of
any town in the county. Its outline is very singu-
lar, suggesting a rhombus in general form, the
apexes of the two acute angles of which are fifteen
niiles apart northwest and southeast.
The surface is quite varied, from the sandy ridges
and the marshes of the eastern part of the town
to the higher hills of the Helderbergs on the west.
The soil is a barren sand in the northeast; but
there are many fertile farms of sandy loam well
improved by cultivation in other parts of the town,
producing excellent grass, grain and fruits, which
find a ready market in Albany.
The Indian Ladder Gap, supposed to mark an
ancient Indian trail, is in this town, and remark-
able for picturesque scenery.
Formerly the town was distinguished for certain
manufactures. In 1792 glass works were com-
menced in this town, eight miles from Albany.
Among the proprietors were Jeremiah Van Rens-
selaer, John Sanders, Abraham Ten Eyck, Elkanah
Watson, Frederick A. De Zeng, K. K. Van Rens-
selaer, Douw Fonda, Walter Cochran, Thomas
Mather and Samuel Mather.
In 1796 the ground was laid out in streets and
house lots, and plans for a church and school
house were made. The project of a manufactur-
ing town, to be called Hamilton, in honor of
Alexander Hamilton, was considered. The Legis-
lature, as an encouragement, exempted the com-
pany and the workmen from taxation for five years.
The corporation was called the Albany Glass Com-
pany. At the first, it was owned by McCiallen,
McGregor & Co., the Co. being James Caldwell
and Christopher Batterman; and a loan was
granted to the proprietors b}' the State to the
amount of ;^3,ooo for eight }-ears — three years
without interest and five years at five per cent. In
1795 Robert McGregor left the firm, and anew
compan)-, under the name of Thomas Mather &
Co., was formed. At one period 500,000 feet of
window glass was manufactured annuall}'. The
works were discontinued in 18 15, as it is said, for
want of a suitable supply of sand and fuel.
Abel French, of Alban)', established a factory
near the center of the town in 1 800, and the place
was named French's Mills. In 1795 clothing mills
were erected here by Peter K. Broeck. In 1 800
Knowersville had a cotton factory, and later a hat
factory. The first tavern in town was kept here by
Jacob Acker during the Revolution.
Whigs and Tories dwelt here in constant feud
during the trying days of 1775-83. The feelings
then engendered betMeen discordant families long
remained. The exultant Whigs, on getting news
of the surrender of Burgoyne, it is said, illuminated
OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY.
77
the surrounding country by burning a tioUow
chestnut tree filled with tar, standing upon a high
hill.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church was
organized October 13, 1787, Heinrich Moeller,
first pastor.
Among the natives of this town are Judges James
A. McKown and Jacob H. Clute, Edward
Robinson, Wm. Dey Ermand, John M. Batterman,
Stephen R. Gray, Peter Walker, Hiram Griggs,
Wm. D. Strevell, Dr. Thomas Helm, and many
others well known in the county.
Knox was named from John Kno.x, the emi-
nent divine and bold reformer of Scotland. It was
formed from Berne, February 28, 1822. It has the
smallest area of any town in the county, containing
26,402 acres. It is situated in the northwest corner
of the county, and is bounded, north by Schenec-
tady County, east by Guilderland, south by Berne,
and west by Schoharie County.
Its surface is an elevated plateau, inclining
slightly toward the northwest from the Helderbergs,
which lie on its eastern border. Small hills diversify
the surface. The soil is generally of good qualit}^
and arable, composed of a gravelly, calcareous
loam mixed with clay, overtopping hardpan.
Several small caves are found in this town.
It is a farming town, with a few grist, saw and
woolen mills for local manufacture.
The first settlers were Dutch, who took leases
from Van Rensselaer before the Revolution. After
this war, from 1788 to 1790, several families from
Connecticut came to settle. Among them were
Samuel Abbott and Andrew Brown. Tories were
there during the Revolution until the surrender of
Burgoyne, when they went to a more congenial
home in the Canadas. Capt. Jacob Van Aerden was
the leading man among the Whigs of that da}'.
The first church is said to have been the Dutch
Reformed.
There long existed a public library in this town.
In 1824 it numbered about 400 volumes. It was
modeled after the New England town libraries,
and was helpful in forming the character of the
people to habits of intellectual culture and good
morals.
The anti-rent feeling in this town was general
and intense. Most of the farmers held manorial
leases, and resisted the collection of rents with in-
flexible determination. Collectors, sheriffs, and
the posse comitatus were often unsuccessful. Resort
was had more than once to the military, who, with-
out bloodshed, caused arrests and trials in courts.
Strifes of this sort began soon after the death ot
"the old Patroon," in 1839, who had been very
indulgent to his tenants. It pervaded all the towns
of the county, and all the people who occupied
leased lands. It entered into local and State poli-
tics. No towns, perhaps, showed more active re-
sistance than Berne and Knox. It lasted several
years, and was terminated only by the decisions of
the courts and the enforcement of law. Even as
late as Jul)', 1866, a detachment of 100 men under
Capt. James McFarland, of the loth regiment,
went from Albany to Knox and secured the arrest
of nine respectable citizens, who, no doubt, hon-
estly felt that they were resisting unjust claims.
New Scotland. — Among its early settlers are to
be found these Scotch names: Reid, Wands, Watt,
Swan, Kirkland, Patterson, Ramsay, McIMuUin,
McCuIloch, and others. Through the influence of
these natives of Scotland, no doubt, came the name
of the town. About 1758, Teunis Slingerland, a
Hollander, purchased 9,874 acres of this territory
from the Indians, located on the Oneskethau Flats,
and erected the first mills. He is considered the
first settler. The town was erected from Bethlehem,
April 25, 1832; has an area of 34,324 acres, and
is the central town of the county, and the young-
est, if we do not reckon the city of Cohoes as a
town. It is inclosed b)' other towns, as follows :
Guilderland, north ; Bethlehem, east ; Coeymans
and Westerlo, south ; Westerlo, Berne, and Knox,
west. Rensselaerville and Watervliet and the
cities of Albany and Cohoes alone do not touch it.
The surface is elevated, consisting, in the eastern
and central portion, of rolling lands varied by hills
of moderate height. The Helderbergs border the
western Umits, their highest peak being situated at
the Helderberg Station of the Coast Surve)', 1,823
feet above the sea, and near the southwest
corner of the town. Gravelly loam with clay inter-
mixed makes a productive soil under proper cul-
ture.
The town has striking geological features which
have attracted the interest of many geologists in
the State ; limestone caves, sink hills and subter-
ranean streams, are among the natural curiosities.
Sulphur springs are found, stones for flagging and
building are quarried, and plaster is ground in this
town. Mr. James Hendrick has a farm of 165
acres under the highest culture, on which are the
"Font Grove Nurseries,'' and where are carefully
cultivated outdoor and greenhouse plants; also
flowers and fruits in the greatest variety. He has
twelve large greenhouses. The farm and green-
houses will repay a special visit.
78
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The inhabitants are chiefl}- descendants of the
Dutch, the Walloons and the Scotch. Many are
from New England.
Isaac Perry, an emigrant from France, was one
of the earliest se_ttlers. The hewn stone house,
built by his son Nicholas before the Revolution, is
still standing near Wolf Hill on the Helderbergs.
George Reid and other Scotch immigrants came at
an early da}-,
A Dutch Reformed Church was organized at
Jerusalem about 1 780. The house of worship was
erected in 1790. Harmanus Van Huysen was the
first pastor, who subsequently organized the church
at New Salem and became its pastor. The New
Scotland Presbyterian Church was organized about
1787, and had, as its first pastor, Rev. Benjamin
Judd.
Rensselaerville was named in honor of Gen.
Stephen Van Rensselaer, the "Old Patroon," and
is the first town formed from old Watervliet. It
was erected, March 8, 1790, and included Berne,
taken off", ]\Iarch 17, 1795, and the westerly part of
Westerlo, taken off March 16, 18 15. It contains
37,354 acres ; is in the southwesterly corner of the
country, and is bounded, north by Berne, east by
Westerlo, south by Green County and west by
Schoharie County. The terminal ville is appro-
priate to the village, but inappropriate as a part of
the name of the town.
The surface is mostly upland broken by spurs or
ridges from the Catskill JMountains, with deep and
narrow fertile valleys that are watered by the rapid
streams that run on their way to the Hudson by
way of Catskill Creek. The upland soil is a gravel
loam 13'ing upon hardpan. It is productive of ex-
cellent grass for dairy products, and of oats, buck-
wheat, rye and potatoes.
There is a fall of 100 feet on the Ten Mile Creek,
and of 40 feet on Willow Brook.
The town once abounded in varied useful
industries. Its rural villages were formerly well
filled with skilled artisans, and its creeks supplied
water power to numerous mills. It was a model
of an intelligent and orderly town, 25 miles from
the city. Its early settlers came mostly from New
England soon after the Revolution. Among. them
were Apollos Aloore, a soldier of the Revolution, and
first Judge of the County; Major John Edward, a
revolutionary officer ; Samuel Jenkins, who built
the first mill; Silas Sweet, Joseph Lincoln, the
Hatch brothers, and Rev. Samuel Fuller, the first
minister of the gospel, a graduate of Dartmouth,
and many others, some of whom came later b}'
wav of Long Island and Dutchess and Ulster
Counties. They were mostly young men of steady,
industrious, frugal habits. Its timber has been
used, and it has no near railroad.
The first church was the Presbyterian, of which
Samuel Fuller was, for 16 years, the first pastor.
It was organized in 1792. A Baptist Church was
formed about the same time, with Timothy Green,
pastor ; a Friend's meeting, Reuben Palmer,
preacher, was organized in 1795, and a little later,
a Methodist Church. Rev. Samuel Fuller left
the Presbyterian Church in 18 10, and organized an
Episcopal Church, of which he was for 3 1 years
rector.
The town has been remarked for good roads
and good district schools. Select schools were
sustained when needed. In the Academy at Rens-
selaerville, Judge Bradley, now of the United States
Supreme Court, received his early academic edu-
cation. Among natives of the town who have
attained to public distinction, we have found the
names of the late Judges Rufus W. Peckham, Sr. ,
and Malbone Watson, of the Supreme Court of
this State ; Judge Addison Niles, of the Supreme
Court of California ; and Judge IMortimer M.
Jackson, of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
Moses Patten, born in New Hampshire, was an
early school teacher, and afterward a Surrogate of
the County and a leading citizen. Valentine
Treadwell was some years an Assemblyman and
a prominent man. John Watson, a wealthy manu-
facturer of New York City, was born here, and so
were Robert H. Moore and Edward P. Durant, of
Albany. The town used to have much of the New
England characteristics. It has made a good
record. Among its sons is Charles M. Jenkins,
son of Jonathan Jenkins, of Connecticut stock,
who graduated at Union College, under Dr. Nott,
in 1829, and at the old Litchfield Law School,
and has been in the practice of law in this city for
50 years.
It is worthy of note that Samuel Boughton had
21 children born to him in this town. Daniel
Shay, of the "Shay Rebellion" notorietv, resided
here a few years about 1795 to 1800.
Two weekly newspapers have been published in
this town, each having a brief existence — the
Rural Folio and the Rensselaerville Press.
Watervliet, signifying zoa/e;-y?oo^, and so called,
probably, on account of its peninsular situation,
partially surrounded by the Hudson and the
;\Iohawk, was the first incorporated town in the
county. It was formed March 7, 1788, and then
included all of West Rensselaerwyck, and all of
the present county, except the Cit)- of Albany, as
OUTLINE SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY.
79
it was at the date of its charter in 1686. After
parting with its territory to form the nine other
towns of the county, it took back a part of Colonie
in 18 1 5, and gave up the same, with considerable
more, to the City of Albany in 1870. In the same
year Alban}' offered to give Watervliet its sparsel}'
settled and sterile lands in the northwest part of
the city, which, the town haxing declined to recei\'e
the gift, was the next 3'ear transferred to Guildei'-
land. By the session laws of 1830 and 1833, a
portion of its lands were conditionally ceded to
the United States, ' ' for the purpose of erecting
and maintaining thereon arsenals, magazines,
dockyards and other necessary buildings. " Niska-
yuna, in Schenectad}- County, was formed in 1 809,
largely from Watervliet. Cohoes was incorporated
as a city May 19, 1869.
The census of 1875 gives the town an area of
30,697 acres. Its boundaries are: north, by
Schenectady Count}' and IMohawk River ; east, by
Cohoes, the Mohawk and the Hudson Rivers, taking
in the islands west of the middle of said rivers ;
south, by Albany ; and west by Albany and Guil-
derland.
The surface of the town is considerably varied.
Along the Hudson extend wide alluvial lands,
rising above which are moderate hill slopes, fur-
nishing fine suburban building sites, and a soil
well adapted for gardens and small farms. Most
of the surface is an upland of light sandy loam,
100 to 300 feet higher than the river, intersected by
ravines formed by numerous small streams. With
its river confines, its steam and horse railroads, and
its canals, it has rare facilities for transportation and
travel. To say nothing of its flourishing villages of
Green Island and West Troy, its location near
Alban}', Troy, Cohoes and Schenectady gives ex-
traordinary facilities for marketing its products and
for trade. Milk, culinary vegetables and fruit find
a ready market near home.
These inducements have led to the settlement
and cultivation of a territory, most of which is not
very fertile or attractive by nature.
The first settlers were, undoubtedly, Dutch
farmers holding manorial lea.ses. They were poor
and their progress was slow.
The first organized Church was the Dutch Re-
formed at the Boght, a bow made by the junction
of the Hudson and Mohawk. It was established
by Rev. Eilardus Westerlo, of Albany, April 17,
1784.
The Shakers, a peculiar religious sect, came to
Watervliet and established a community in 1776.
They were under the leadership of "Mother Ann
Lee,'' their founder, a native of Manchester,
England. Here she died, September 8, 1784, at
the age of 48 years, and here was buried. They
now number about 300. The)' occupy 3, 500
acres of well-improved land, watered by four ponds
of about 10 acres each. Their dwellings and other
buildings are neat and convenient ; their farms
are well slocked. As a people they are remarkable
for habits of industr)-, frugalit)', order, neatness and
integrity in their dealings. The)' eschew war and
politics. Of course the}- are prosperous. They
have their religious meeting house and their
schools, and publish The Shaker, a monthl)' edited
by G. A. Lomas.
Besides the towns before named, out of the ter-
ritory of Watervliet have been formed six incor-
porated villages and one city since this century
began, viz : Watervliet, March 30, 1801, changed
to Colonie, April 9, 1804, now obsolete and an-
nexed to the City of Albany ; Gibbonsville, April
23, 1823, changed to West Troy, April 30, 1836 ;
Cohoes, April 12, 1855, changed to City of Cohoes,
May 19, 1869; Green Island, October 14, 1855,
and May 12, 1869.
Loudonville, on the old Loudon road, three
miles from Albany ; Newtonville, named for John
M. Newton, four miles from Alban}' ; and
Menands, two miles from Alban)', are very pleasant
hamlets in which many of the business men of
Albany reside.
West Albany is situated two miles northwest from
the city, about the center of the south line of
Watervliet. It contains the extensive repair shops
of the New York Central Railroad, and has, for
many years, been widely known as one of the
largest cattle markets in the United States. It is
connected with the city by street cars, as well as by
the Central Railroad.
The United States Arsenal, situated on 105 acres,
lying on the Hudson, near West Troy village, be-
longing to the United States Government, was lo-
cated in 1813. The building was commenced
under Col. George Burnford in 18 14.
The Albany Rural Cemetery, the St. Agnes
Cemetery, the Anshe Emeth, lying contiguous to
each other, unsurpassed in this country for natural
and artistic fitness to their purpose, are situated in
Watervliet, about two miles north from Albany.
The very conveniently located and well-appointed
County Agricultural Fair Grounds are nearly two
miles north of Albany. The State Fairs have been
held here.
The New York Central and Rensselaer and Sara-
toga Railwa3's, the Erie Canal, the Champlain
80
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Canal and the Watervliet Horse Railway all
traverse portions of this town. Few towns surpass
this in traveling facilities.
The Schuyler Residence, at "the Flats," just
south of the village of West Troy, near the banks
of the river, is an interesting spot, associated as it
is with the interesting scenes in the life of "Aunt
Schuyler," Mrs. Grant's "American Lady." Dr.
James Wade, Dr. E. M. Wade, Edward Wade,
Esq., Gov. Leland Sanford, J. B. Jermain, Thomas
Hdlhouse, Isaac Lawson, Joseph M. Lawson, Geo.
L. Stedman, John W. McNamara, Dr. Michael
Freleigh, Weare C. Little, Charles Van Zandt, are
among the well-known natives or long-time resi-
dents of this, our oldest town. Hon. Benj. F.
Wade was once a teacher in this town, and Rev.
William Arthur, father of Chester A. Arthur, taught
a boarding school in one of its villages.
Westerlo was named in honor of Rev. Eilardus
Westerlo, a Dutch clergj'man, who was pastor of
the First Reformed Church in Albany from 1760 to
1 790. It was formed from Coej'mans and Rens-
selaerville, March 16, 1815; has an area of 35,976
acres ; and is bounded, north by Berne and New
Scodand, east by New Scotland and Coeymans,
south by Greene County, and west by Rensselaer-
ville.
Its surface is broken and hilly, inclining southerly
for the most part. Its valle)s are narrow ravines ;
its ridges are adapted to pasturage. Sand and
gravel mixed with muck and clay, lying on hard-
pan, form the arable soil. Stone used in field
walls is plenty, and flagging stones are taken from
several fine quarries. The highest elevation is about
800 feet above sea level.
The leading industry is agriculture, hay being
the principal product for the market.
The manufactures are chiefly those demanded by
a rural population. There is a cheese factory near
Chesterville.
The setdement of the town began before the
Revolution. Among the early settlers were Nicholas
Stoddard, Rev. Reuben Stanton, Josiah Hinckley,
Isaac Winston, Dr. Jonathan Prosser, James Arnold,
William Read, Abram Becker, William Haverland,
Jacob and Lodowick Haynes. Philip Myers, a na-
tive of Germany, came in 1763. Andrew Hannay
came from Scodand later. In 1777, inspired by
a spirit of patriotism, he raised a company of
volunteers and came as far as Albany with them,
to join Gen. Gates against Burgoyne, too late for
service.
Yankees came into the settlement more freely after
the Revolution. The people, as a whole, are re-
markable for good habits rural tastes, and domestic
virtues.
About 1 800 the Baptist Church, at Chesterville,
was fc>rmed, with Roswell Beckwith, first pastor.
About the same time, the Dutch Reformed Church
at Van Leuven's Corners was formed.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF ALBANY COUNTY.
EARLY HISTORY.— The ofiice of Supervisor
is one of the most ancient town and count}-
offices in this State. It was established, though
with ill-defined powers, under what is known as the
' ' Duke's laws, " or Laws promulgated soon after
the Duke of York acquired the title to the territory
embraced in the province of New York — formerly-
New Netherlands — through the Charter of his royal
brother, Charles II.
Under the Duke's Laws the province was method-
ically laid out into towns and counties, and pro-
visions were made for a Supervisor in each town,
whose dut}- it was to oversee the financial affairs of
the towns and counties. Provisions were also
made for an annual meeting of all the Supervisors in
the county, constituting a Board ofSupervisors, with
powers to audit die accounts of the County Officers,
etc.
At first, as we have seen, the office in this State
was confined to the supervision of the finances of
the town and county ; but, as time went on, its
powers and jurisdiction -were enlarged, until it be-
came essentially a legislative body — in a word, the
legislature of the count}', having the same relaUon
to the count}- that the legislature has to the State,
each town in the county occupying the position in
regard to the Board ofSupervisors that the counties
do to the State Legislature.*
*Under the State Laws, a Supervisor is a public olTicer, charged with
certain duties to his town, his county and to the public at large. He is
a creature of the Statute Law, and has no powers or rights other than
those which the Legislature has expressly conferred upon him, and tliose
which are incident to and necessary for a proper exercise of such express
powers and rights. His functions are three fold: First, as a town
officer, and which are to be discharged by him either individually or in
connection with other town officers ; second, as a member of the Board
of County Canvassers; third, as a County Officer, and which are to
be discharged in connect'on with the other Supervisors of the county
sitting as a board.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
81
One of the remarkable features in its history is the
manner in which its local legislative powers have in-
creased. For many years the office was limited to
the duties we have described.
On June 19, 1703, the Provincial Legislature
or General Assembly passed an act, enlarging the
powers and duties of Supervisors, which act was en-
tided "An Act for the better explaining and more
effectually putting in execution the duties ofSuper-
visors and other town officers. "
The curious and somewhat significant language
of the following preamble to this act exhibits tlie
construction which those early legislatures gave the
duties and powers of the office.
Preamble. "Forasmuch as many disputes, cavils, con-
troversies and mistakes have happened and been occasioned
as well by the Generality of the Words in a Certain Act of
General Assembly, entitled ' An act for defraying of the
publick and necessary charge throughout this Province,
and for maintaining the poor and preventing Vagabonds, '
as many other Omissions and Defects Experience has found
and observed in the same Act."
The act provides for the election, by the free-
hold inhabitants of each town in every count)' in
the Province, of one Supervisor, a freeholder of
the town, whose duty — lo use the language of
the act —
" It shall be to compute, ascertain, examine, oversee and
allow the contingent, publick and necessary charge of each
County; and also there shall be in each town, manor and
precinct, by the freeholders thereof annually chosen, two
Assessors and one Collector, which Supervisor, Assessors
and Collector shall be annually chose in every town, on
the first Tuesday in April.
" The Supervisors so chosen shall meet annually at the
county town iu each respective county, on the first Tuesday
in October, and at such other times as they shall deem
necessary to examine and compute all such publick necessary
contingent charges as they shall find their respective counties
properly chargeable with, and all such sum or sums of money
as shall be brought and exhibited before them shall Ije im-
posed and laid on the same counties, as provided by the law
of the Colony."
Provisions were matle for the collection of the
said moneys b}' taxation on the valuation of the
real estate in each of the towns in the count\', and
hence the question of establi.shing the valuation of
the lands in the respective towns earl}' became one
of paramount importance.
After the collection of the money, under the pro-
vision of the act, it was paid into the hands of the
County Treasurer, to be disbursed b}' that officer
very much in the manner in which the county funds
are now disbursed by the County Treasurer.
This brings us to consider briefly the office of
County Treasurer, whose duties are largely con-
nected with the Board of Supervisors. This is
another very ancient office in the State, one of the
first established under the English Colonial laws;
indeed, an office quite similar to that of County
Treasurer which existed under the Dutch Colonial
Government.
The duties of this officer under the act of 1 703
differed but very little from those of County Treas-
urers at the present time. He exhibited to the
Supervisors a yearly account of all moneys received
and disbursed by him during the year, with a state-
ment of the sources through which he received the
money, and the account upon which he disbursed
n
it He was then, as now, liable to an action at the
suit of the Supervisors for any default or miscarriage
in the discharge of the duties of his office.
Any Supervisor, Assessor or Collector refusing to act
respectively forfeited five pounds, to be recovered by any
person delayed, wronged or injured by any such refusal to
act.
It will be seen that Assessors and Town Collectors are of-
ficers of great antiquity, and the reader of Colonial and State
history is surprised that so many of the present State, County
and Town officers, with similar powers, existed during the
English Colonial Government of the province, notwithstand-
ing the sweeping innovations made by the State Constitution
and State laws.
The act of 1703, concerning Supervisors, contin-
ued in existence with some slight changes until
March 24, 1772, when it was amended, so far as
the County of Albany was concerned, to authorize
the annual election of Supervisors in that County to
take place on the first Tuesday of May. This act
also provided for the election in Albany County, at
the same time, of two Overseers of the Poor, two
Constables, two Fence Viewers and o!ie Town Clerk.
The duties of the office of Town Clerk were pre-
viously to this discharged by the Supervisor of the
Town. None but freeholders could vote for these
respective officers. Alter the adoption of the first
State Constitution, the office of Supervisor, and the
time of their election was changed by an action of
the Slate legislature, passed March 7, 1788, which
provided for the holding of town meetings in the
various towns in the State for the choice of Town
Officers.
The time for holding these meetings was on the
first Tuesday in April of each and every year. At
these meetings the following officers were elected in
each town: A Supervisor, Town Clerk, one As-
sessor, Collector, Overseer of the Poor, Commis-
sioners of Highways, Overseer of the Highway or
Pathmaster, four Constables, Fence Viewers and
Pound -master. By this act the Town of Albany
was empowered to elect two Assessors instead of
one, as in other counties.
Among the duties imposed by this act on the
Board of Supervisors of the County of Albany, and
many other counties in the State, but more largely
exercised in Albany, was that of overseeing and
executing the laws relative to the poor of the county
and towns through the Overseers of the Poor elected
in the various towns.
The office of Superintendents of the Poor was not
then in existence, and never has existed in the
County of Albany.
In our history of the Charities of the County and
the Executors of the Poor Laws, it will be seen that
the ancient office of Overseers of the Poor, with
largely increased powers, still exists in the County
of Albany. Their powers and duties will be more
fully considered hereafter.
The manner in which the powers and duties of
the Board of Supervisors have from time to time
been enlarged and extended will be described under
the head of "Statutory and Legal History of the
Board."
There has been considerable litigation in the State
concerning the powers and duties of the Supervisors.
The case of Downing vs. Rugar, reported 21 Wen-
82
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
dell, i8i, will be read with profit and interest.
The office of Supervisor and the duties of Boards
of Supervisors continued to be the subject of legisla-
tive enactment, varying the duties of the office in
minor particulars, down to the adoption of the Re-
vised Statutes by the State Legislature in 1830, by
w^hich their powers and duties were greatly enlarged
and the Board rendered more emphatically a legis-
lative body, with powers of local legislation, since
greatly enlarged.
The powers and duties of Supeivisors in regard
to the poorand charitable institutions of the County
of Albany differ in many respects from those of
Supervisors in that regard in other counties of the
State. This subject will be more fully considered
in another part of this work, in the chapter on Pub-
lic Charities, in which the duties of Overseers of
the Poor, the Superintendent and Overseers of the
Almshouse, and other charitable institutions will
be described.
From the foregoing it will easily be seen that the
history of the Board of Supervisors of the County of
Albany is of the greatest importance, from the fact
that it embraces such a variety of historical matter.
STATUTORY AND LEGAL HISTORY OF
THE BOARD.
EARLY LEGISLATIVE ACTS.
One of the earliest acts of the Legislature touch-
ing the Supeivisors of Albany, was an
Act OF 1792. — An act passed the nth of April,
1792, made it the duty of one of the judges and
one of the Supervisors of the Counties of Colum-
bia, Rensselaer and Saratoga to meet once in every
year with the Supervisors and one or more of the
judges of the County of Albany for inspecting and
examining the mortgages, minutes and accounts of
the Loan Officers appointed in the County of Al-
bany. This act was amended on February 25,
1799, rendering it lawful for Supervisors of the
County of Albany, or a majority of them, together
with one or more of the said judges of the
said county, and such of the judges and Super-
visors of the other counties as might appear,
to perform the duties mentioned in the Act of
April, 1792.
Act Concerning Public Lands of County. —
Doubts having arisen upon the operation of con-
veyances of land, made to the Supervisors of the
counties in this State for the use of such counties
for public buildings and other county purposes, an
act was passed April 25, 1799, vesting in the
Supervisors of the counties in this State respective-
ly and their successors such estate in the lands
aforesaid, for the purposes aforesaid, as every such
conveyance shall import to grant and convey for
the uses therein expressed.
This is a very important act, establishing the
right of counties, through the respective Boards of
Supervisors, to hold lands in fee for court-houses,
jails, poor-houses and alms-houses, and other lands
to be used for county purposes.
Change of Time for Holding Elections. —
Down to April, 1825, the annual meetings of the
Board of Supervisors in the County of Albany
were held in April. On April 29, 1825, an act
was passed directing that the Supervisors of
Albany and some other coundes should hold
their annual meetings on the Tuesday next after
the annual election in each and every year,
and at the places before provided for by law
for the meeting of the Board of Canvassers lor the
votes at the annual election in the County of Al-
bany and other counties.
A Board of Canvass. — It was also enacted that
in the County of Albany and some other counties
the Board of Canvassers, including the Clerk
of said counties or their deputies, should, on the
Tuesday next after the annual election, meet at the
places where the said respecti\'e Boards of Supervis-
ors were in session, and then and there proceed to
can\-ass and certify the votes given at such election
in manner provided by the tenth section of the act
'entitled "An act for regulating Elections," passed
April, 1822. The act of April 19, 1825, was after-
ward substantially extended to all the counties in
the State. As may be seen, it made the Board
of Supervisors in the County of Albany, as
well as in all other counties, except New York, a
Board of Canvassers.
Appointing Power. — By the act to which we
have referred the Supervisors of Albany Countv
had conferred upon them the power, with the
Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, of appoint-
ing Justices of the Peace, and Commissioners to
take the acknowledgment of deeds in the count\',
and for that purpose they met on the ^^'ednesday
next after the annual election in each and every
county, in each and every year, at their usual place
of meeting.
Sites for County Buildings. — By an Act
passed April 16, 1830, the Supervisors of
the City and County of Albany were authorized
to raise, levy and collect, in four annual
installments, on and from the taxable prop-
erty in said city and county, in the same
manner as other county charges are levied and col-
lected, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, for the
purchase of a site and for the erection of a build-
ing in the City of Albany for city and county pur-
poses, which sum, to be raised, levied and collect-
ed, was to be paid over to the Mayor, Aldermen
and Commonalty of the City of Alban}-, to be ap-
plied for the purposes aforesaid.
Unison of Affairs of City and County. — This
act shows how closely the municipal aff'airs of the
city and the affairs of the county were united — a
unison that has continued, more or less, down to
the present time.
By the said act the Supervisors of the City and
County were required, in addition to the fifteen
thousand dollars, to raise upon the taxable prop-
erty of the City of Albany alone such sums of
money, not exceeding the sum of $40,000, to be
applied to the purchase of the site and the erection
of a building for city and county purposes. This
building was what was known as the N'ew City Hall.
Abolishment of the distinction between Town and
County Poor, in the Cily and County 0/ Albany. — A
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
83
law abolishing the distinction between town and
county poor in the City and County of Albany
was passed March 17, 1832. This act made it
lawful for the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Albany, and the Ma3'or, Aldermen and Com-
monalty of the City of Albany, to enter into any
contract or agreement between them to abolish all
distinction between town and county poor in the
said city and count}-, from and after the first day of
May then next, and for appropriating the alms-
house and farm belonging thereto, in the City of
Albany, for the support of all poor in the city and
county, transient and resident, and for the allow-
ance of such sum, to be paid to the said city by the
county for the use of the same, and for any addi-
tional building and appurtenances, as the said Su-
pervisors and the said Mayor, Aldermen and Com-
monalty may agree upon. The act further pro-
vided as follows :
"Every poor person entitled to support, in the City and
County of Albany, shall from and alter the 1st day of May,
1832, be supported and maintained by the Mayor, Alder-
men and Commonalty of the City of Albany, at the expense
of the county. All such poor persons shall be removed by the
Overseers of the Poor of the several towns, and the Over-
seers of the Poor of the City of Albany, to the said Alms
House, at the expense of the several towns and the city ; and
thereafter the necessary expenses of the removal of any poor
person from any town in the county shall be paid on the
certificate of the Keeper of the Alms House by the Cham-
berlain of the City of Albany. ' '
Mayor of Albaxy to have Charge of Alms
House. — It was also provided that the Mayor, Al-
dermen and Commonalty of the City of Albany
should have the charge and care of said Alms
House and farm, and of all the said persons who
might be removed there for support, and that the}-
should appoint a superintendent and physician,
and employ other persons necessary for the man-
agement and government of the same. All moneys
which should be received by the Commissioners of
Excise, and all moneys received by the Overseers
of the Poor in their official capacity, were to be paid
over to the Chamberlain of the City, for the Mayor,
Aldermen and Commonalty, within thirty days af-
ter the receipt thereof
Temporary Relief for the Poor. — The act pro-
vides that temporary relief might be granted to
poor persons by the several Overseers of the Poor of
the county, not exceeding the sum of ten dollars
for anyone person or family, without the assent of
the Supervisor of the town where such relief is
granted, or, if in the City of Albany, without the
consent of the Board of Magistrates for the relief
and support of the poor of the city. This written
consent must accompany the order of the Justice
granting such relief, and entide the overseer to re-
ceive any sum paid in pursuance of such order,
from the Chamberlain of the city.
City Chamberlain and Supervisors. — It was
provided that at the next annual meeting of the
Board of Supervisors, after the passage of the said
act, and at each annual meeting thereafter, there
shall be a general settlement between the Chamber-
lain of the City and the Board of Supervisors in re-
gard to the disbursements of all moneys connected
with the poor, and all other matters connected with
the poor of the county.
It was provided that the act to which we have
referred should continue in force for five years
from the first day of May, 1832. Most of its pro-
visions were retained by subsequent acts for many
years, and some of them in a varied form down to
the present time. It was one of the most impor-
tant and practicable acts touching the maintenance
of the poor in the county and city, and the man-
agement of the Almshouse ever enacted, and it is
the first act which fully and equitably abolished the
distinction of county and city poor.
Overseers of the Poor. — An act of April 15,
1837, rendered it unnecessary for the Overseers of
the Poor to obtain an order from Justices to au-
thorize temporary relief.
Salary of District Attorney. — By the act of
February 21, 1840, the Supervisors were empow-
ered to fix the salary of District Attorney. The
act of May 14, 1840, fixed the time for the annual
meeting of the Board of Supervisors for the first
Monday of August of each year. The Board of
Supervisors were to cause a corrected assessment roll
of each town or ward in the city and county, or a
fair copy thereof, to be delivered to the Collector of
each town or ward on or before the 15th day of
September of each year.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND THE PENI-
TENTIARY.
The first step taken toward the erection of the Peniten-
tiary in the County of Albany was the act of April 13,
1844, entitled "An Act for the construction of a Penitentiary,
and in relation to the relief of the Poor in the County of
Albany." We shall refer more at length to this act in an-
other part of this work, in our chapter on Penitentiaries and
punitive establishments.
The act directs that the Board of Supervisors of the
County of Albany shall cause to be erected, at such place
within the limits of the county as shall be directed, a suita-
ble building or buildings for <i Penitentiary, for the safe
keeping and employment of vagrants, disorderly persons
and all prisoners (except in cases of conviction for felony),
who shall be sentenced to confinement at hard labor, or to
solitary imprisonment, by any Court held in the said counly
or in the City of Albany.
The act appointed Samuel Pruyn and Barent P. Staats,
of Ihe City of Albany, and Louis M. Dayton, of Rensselaer-
ville, in said county, commissioners to select a proper loca-
tion for the site of the said Penitentiary, with proper grounds
to be attached thereto, within six months after the passage
of the said law, and to report such location, with a detailed
plan for the construction, management and discipline of the
Penitentiary, and an estimate of the expenses of the said land
for the site, and of the construction thereof, to the Board of
Supervisors. Upon the receipt of the said report the Board
of Supervisors, with the Mayor and Recorder of the city,
associated with the said Board for that purpose, were di-
rected to examine the same and determine thereupon ; and
the said Supervisors, Mayor and Recorder were empowered
to alter, modify, reduce or increase the site, plan or expense
of construction of said Penitentiary, as specified in the plan of
said commissioners, in any manner as to them shall seem fit
or necessary. The commissioners, at the expiration of
ninety days after the making and delivery of said report to
the chairman or clerk of the Board, were to procure the
lands necessary lor the site of the said Penitentiary, and pro-
ceed to consti'uct the same at such place and on such plan in
all respects as the said Board of Supervisors, the Mayor and
Recorder have approved and directed.
The act further empowered the Board of Supervisors to
borrow money, on the expense of the county, necessary to
84
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
defray all ihe expenses of procuring the site and completiujj
the erection of the said Penitentiary. The act further em-
powered the Board of Supervisors to rent of the Common
Council of the City of Albany the Almshouse and farm in
the said city, together with all the fixtures and appurtenan-
ces thereto (the property of the Common Council), upon
such terms as could be agreed upon between the said Com-
mon Council and the said Board of Supervisors. It also
empowered the said Board of Supervisors, and the Mayor
and Recorder of the city, by their votes in joint meeting, to
let or farm out the aforesaid Almshouse and farm (with all
the fixtures and appurtenances thereto), with the inmates
therein, for a term of years not exceeding five, and to ap-
point one or more persons to exercise a supervisory inspect-
ing and directing power over the general treatment, fare and
well-being of the paupers. The Supervisors, Mayor and
Recorder were directed to make such rules and regulations
in relation to temporary relief to the poor, by the Overseers
of the Poor in the city, and in the several towns in the
said county, as they shall deem expedient. They also reg-
ulate the salaries of the Overseers of the Poor, look to the
payment of physicians, council fees relating to the poor — in
cases relating to the poor accruing in the said city.
(The foregoing prescribes the duties assigned the Super-
visors touching the erection of the Penitentiary. It is an-
other important instance in which the interests of the city
and county are intimately united. The directions as to the
management, etc., of the Penitentiary will be considered
elsewhere.)
This act of April 13, 1844, was amended by an act
passed May 13, 1847. The Penitentiary had then been lo-
cated and erected in the City of Albany, and had been the
receptacle of prisoners for over one year and a half. The
amendment to which we have alluded, therefore, referred
to the convicts in the said Penitentiary, their government
and management, etc.
Another Act in Regard to the District
Attorney. — The act of 1849 repealed the law di-
recting the Board of Supervisors to fix the fees of
District Attorneys. About that time, that office
was a salaried office, the salary being fi.xed by the
Board of Supervisors.
Alteration of Town Boundaries. — The duties
of the Legislature in regard to the alteration of
town boundaries and the erection of new towns
had increased to such an enormous extent that the
matter of vesting in the Board of Supervisors certain
legislative powers began to be largely agitated in
the State. This agitation culminated on April 3,
1849, 'i^ '^^ ^*^' entitled
" An Act to vest in the Board of Supervisors certain
legislative powers, and to prescribe their fees for certain
services."
Section i of the act empowers the Board of Supervisors
to alter the town boundaries upon the application to the
Board of at least twelve freeholders of the town, and, with
Sec. 2, prescribes the necessary steps to be taken in re-
gard to the alteration of boundaries or the erection of new
towns.
Sec. 3 authorizes them to name the new town, and
under what circumstances the new name shall be given.
Sec. 4, with fourteen subdivisions thereto, authorizes the
Supervisor to purchase lands on which to erect poor-
houses; to purchase any real estate necessary for the erec
tion of any court-house, jail. Clerk's or Surrogate's office,
poorhouse, or any other county buildings, and to erect
such buildings; to fix the site of any such building; to au-
thorize the sale or leasing of any real estate belonging to
the county ; to remove or designate a new site for any county
building when such a removal shall not exceed one mile; to
raise money by tax for the erection of such buildings, not
exceeding the sum of $5,000 in any one year; to borrow
money for the use of such county, to be expended in the
purchase of real estate or the erection of public buildings;
to authorize any town in a county, by a vote of such town,
to borrow any sum of money, not exceeding $4,000 in one
year, to build or repair any roads or bridges in such town,
and to prescribe the time for the payment of the same,
which shall be within ten years, and for assessing the prin-
ciple and interest thereof upon such town ; to fix the time
and place for holding their annual meeting; to extend and
determine, by resolution at their annual meeting, the time
when each collector in the county shall make return to the
county treasurer; but such time shall in no case extend be-
yond the first day of March then next.
To make laws, and to provide for the enforcement of the
same, for the destruction of wild beasts, thistles and other
noxious weeds; to prevent the injury and destruction of
sheep by dogs, and to levy and enforce the collection of any
tax upon dogs, and to direct the application of such tax; to
provide for the protection of all kinds of game; of shell
and other fish within the waters of their respective counties.
This section repealed all laws of this State then
existing in relation to preserving or destroying and
taking wild beasts or birds, fish and shellfish,
which repeal took place on the first dav of January,
1850.
County Officers to Report Coxcernixg Salary.
— An important feature of this act required any
officer of Albany Count}- and other counties, whose
salary is to be paid by the county, to make a re-
port under oath, to the Supervisor of the county,
on any subject or matter whate\er connected with
the duties of their office; and to make such report
whenever called upon b}- resolution of any such
board. A neglect or refusal on the part of any such
officer was made a misdemeanor. Provisions are
made in the said act for loaning money from the
Comptroller, by towns, on the execution by the
Supervisor of such town.s. The act established the
following Fees for .Supervisors :
Each Supervisor shall receive, over and above the per
diem compensation now allowed by law, eight cents per
mile for all necessary travel in the discharge of his ofiicial
duties, and three cents for each name (for making a copy of
the assessment roll of his town, and making out the tax bill
to be delivered to the collector) for the first hundred names,
two cents per name for the second hundred names, and one
cent per name for each name over two hundred. But no
per diem allowance shall be made to any Supervisor while
employed in making out such copy or tax.
Supervisor a Salaried Officer. — ^An important
act touching the office of Supervisor in the County
of Albany was passed, April 13, 1857; it made it
a salaried office, and regulated the compensation
of the clerk. We give the act entire :
Section i. Every Supervisor elected for any town or Super-
visor district in the County of Albany shall receive, as a com-
pensation for his services and expenses as such Supervisor, a
salary as such Supervisor of one hundred dollars per annum,
besides the travel fees now allowed by law ; and no such
Supervisor shall be paid or shall receive any other or
greater sum than as herein provided for any services or ex-
penses as such Supervisor, or as an agent or committee ot
the Board of Supervisors of said county.
Sec. 2. It shall not be lawful for the Board of Supervisors
of said county to pay for the services of any clerk or clerks
of the said Board a greater amount in the aggregate than
the sum of five hundred dollars in any one year.
Sec. 3. No member of the Board ot Supervisors of the
County of Albany shall vote for any extra allowance to any
pereon who is paid by salary; nor shall the Treasurer of
said county knowingly pay to any such person any extia
allowance. Every offense against the provisions of this
section shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not
less than the amount of such extra allowance, or by im-
prisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
85
By the act of April 15, 1859, the Supervisors of
each ward of the City of Albany are directed to be
elected at the Charter election held upon the
second Tuesday of April of each year. The act
repeals all other laws inconsistent therewith.
Salary of Supervisors. — The Act of May 3,
1871, fixed the salary of the Supervisors of Albany
County, in the following language :
Sec. I. Every Supervisor hereafter to be elected for any
tovi^n or ward in the County of Albany shall receive as a
compensation for his service and expenses as such Super-
visor a salary of three hundred and fifty dollars per annum,
• besides travel fees now allowed by law; and no such Super-
visor shall be paid or shall receive any other or greater sum
than is herein provided for any services or expenses as such
Supervisor or as an agent or Committee of the Board of
Supervisors of said County, except for copying assessment
books, for which the Supervisor of the town of Watervliet
shall receive not to exceed the sum of seventy-five dollars,
and the Svipervisors of the remaining towns and wards of
the County not to exceed twenty-five dollars each.
Sec. 2. Every offense against the provisions of the above
section shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not
less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, or by im-
prisonment in the County jail for a period not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Amendment of above Act. — The Legislature
passed an act June 7,1875, amending section i
of the act in relation to the salary of Supervisors
of Albany County above described, so as to read
as follows :
supervisors' compensation.
Every Supervisor hereafter to be elected for any town or
ward m the County of Albany shall receive as a compensa-
tion for his services and expenses as such Supervisor a sal-
ary of three hundred and fifty dollars per annum, besides
travel fees now allowed by law, and no Supervisor shall
be paid or shall receive any other or greater sum than is
herein provided for any services or expenses as such Super-
visor, or as an agent or Committee of the Board of Super-
visors of said County, except for copying and extending as-
sessment books, for which the Supervisor of the town of
Watervliet shall receive not to exceed the sum of seventy-
five dollars, and the Supervisors of the remaining towns
and the City of Cohoes not to exceed twenty-five dollars
each. The work of copying and extending the assessment
books of the several wards of the City of Albany shall be
hereafter done by the assessors of the said City of Albany,
who shall be paid for such work not to exceed in all the sum
of twenty-five dollars for each ward in said city.
Further Powers of Local Legislation. — We have
already referred to the powers of local legislation of Boards
of Supervisors, by an act of the Legislature, passed June 7,
1875. Further powers of local legislation and administration
were conferred on the Boards of Supervisors in the several
counties of this State, except in cities whose boundaries are
the same as those of the county, to make and administer
within their respective counties laws and regulations as
follows:
To purchase, or otherwise acquire for the use of the county,
real estate for sites for court houses, clerks' offices, and other
buildings for county offices, and for jails and such other
places of confinement as may be authorized or required by
law, to borrow money on county bonds, or other county
obligations, for a period not exceeding fifteen years, to be
paid in annual installments, for the purposes specified in this
subdivision ; but in all cases where a supposed issue of county
bonds shall, with the amount of bonds issued under any
previous authority and still outstanding, exceed the sum of
$r,ooo, no additional issue shall be authorized, except in the
Counties of Albany, Erie and Kings, unless by the consent
of a majority of all the electors voting on the question; to
change the location of county buildings, and to sell or apply
to other county uses the old sites and buildings in cases where
the location may be changed, and to apply the proceeds
toward the payment of obligations incurred for new sites
and buildings, and subject to Section IJ, Art. 6, of the con-
stitution; to fix the salaries and per diem allowance of county
officers, whose compensation may be a county charge and
which shall not be changed during the term of such officers
respectively, and to prescribe the mode of appointment and
to fix the number, grades and pay of the deputies, clerks
and subordinate employees in such offices; to authorize the
location and construction of any bridge (except on the Hudson
River below Waterford, and on the East River or over the
waters forming the boundaries of the State ) which shall be
applied for in any of the towns jointly, or by any corporation
in form pursuant to the general laws of the State, or by any
corporation or individual for private purposes; and in case
of a public bridge erected by a corporation, to establish the
rates of toll collected for crossing such bridge. Where any
bridge crosses any navigable stream or water, a suitable draw
must be erected to prevent any impeding of the navigation
in such stream or water, and in case of a private bridge the
draw shall be kept open to permit all vessels to pass without
loss of headway. Where any bridge shall be on any stream
or water forming at the point of crossing the dividing line of
counties, the action of the Board of Supervisors of each
county shall be necessary to give the jurisdiction permitted
by the act; to apportion the expenses of bridges over streams
or other water forming boundary line of counties, and in all
such counties shall each pay not less than one-sixth of the
expenses of such bridge. If the bridge is of great benefit to
the county, and the payment of two-thirds of the expenses
by the towns liable would be unjust to the towns, the Super-
visors shall determine the additional proportion, and
what proportion of such expenses to be borne by the
counties; to direct that the care of the bridges, the main-
tenance of which are a joint charge on the counties; to
authorize the towns to borrow money for bridge purposes.
The Supervisors have powers, under certain conditions,
over plank, macadamized or turnpike roads, and over
streets and avenues in territories adjoining a city; to lay
out highways of a less width than is required by law, and of
reducing highways now in existence; to cause surveys to
be made, at the cost of the town, of any and all highways in
such town, and to make a complete and systematic record
thereof, and to cause records to be placed with the Town
Clerk; to authorize the County Treasurer to extend the
time for collection of State, county and town taxes in
any town or ward, to a period not beyond the first day of
April in any year, under certain conditions ; to impose taxes
on dogs ; to direct the payment by Justices of the Peace of
all fines and penalties imposed by and paid to such Justices;
to enact laws for the preservation of game and fish; to di-
rect the employment of offenders below the grade of felons;
to establish the jail limits of the county jails for the pur-
poses defined by statutes ; to call and hold special town-
meetings ; to authorize any town, under certain conditions,
to purchase a site for a town or village hall, and to pur-
chase or erect buildings for such a hall, and to raise money
for the care, preservation and improvement of such
halls ; to authorize any incorporated village, under certain
conditions, whose charter does not give sufficient power, to
purcha.se apparatus for the extinguishing of fire, etc., etc. ;
to give the proper authorities general power over
village or town cemetery lots ; to authorize any town which
shall make application therefor, by the vote of an annual
town meeting, to elect a receiver instead of a collector of
taxes, whenever the aggregate of State, county and town
taxes in such town shall exceed the sum of fifty thousand
dollars; to authorize the annual town meetings and all
special town meetings in a town to be held by election dis-
tricts; to designate, under conditions, the number of Assess-
ors in each town, and to increase the compensation to an
amount not exceeding three dollars per diem ; to au-
thorize Trustees of Boards of Education, in any union free
school district established according to law, to sell or ex-
change real estate; to determine after the 15th of Novem-
per, 1875 — except in the County ol Kings--in what newspa-
pers, not exceeding two, the election notice issued by the
Secretary of State, and the official canvass, shall be pub-
lished, and to fix the compensation for such publication; but
in places where publication shall be ordered to be made in
two newspapers, such papers shall be of opposite political
character.
86
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Extending the Tekm of Supervisors. — The act
of May 14, 1878, provides that the Supervisors of
the several towns and wards in cities, in the Coun-
ties of Albany, Livingston, Rensselaer and Mon-
roe, shall be elected and hold office for a term of
two years ; it is also provided that all acts or parts
of acts inconsistent with this act, so far as the same
applies to the County of Albany, are repealed ; and
the said act took effect at the first election in
1879.
Claims Against the County. —A very important
act in relation to the powers and duties of the
Board of Supervisors of Albany County was passed
by the Legislature, May 14, 1881. This act was
in reference to claims and demands against the
County of Albany, making it necessary to have all
such claims passed upon by the Board of Super-
visors, and that all claims presented to the Board
in the form of accounts must be itemized and veri-
fied, and after being presented to the Clerk of the
Board they are to be printed under the direction of
the said Clerk, at an expense not exceeding the or-
dinary price for such work, and distributed under
his direction to each member of the Board within
eight days after such accounts have been presented.
No claim or demand aganist the county of the
above character shall be in any manner acted upon
by the Board (except to refer the same
to an appropriate committee for examination
and report) until three days after such account
has been printed and distributed as required. It
is a misdemeanor to neglect the directions afore-
said.
*' The account," continues the act, *' must state when and
where the work was performed and material furnished, under
what contract or under what authority it was performed and
the materials furnished; and must state, with reasonable de-
tail, the character and amount of the work done, and the ma-
terials furnished. It must contain the name of each person
interested in the same, or who makes any claim to any share
or portion of the sum to be paid."
Verification. — It must be verified by one, at least, of
the parties in whose name the same is presented, and must
be to the effect that the same is presented in the name or
names of the real party or parties in interest, and that the
contract was not made, or the work performed, or materials
furnished, in the name of one person for the interest of an-
other; and that no county officer, or member of any board
or commission of the county or salaried employee thereof, is
or has been, directly or indirectly, interested therein, either
in the doing of the work or furnishing the material, or has
been paid or promised anything for the letting of the con-
tract; that the work, as charged, was actually done, and the
material specified was actually furnished and used at the
time and places mentioned, and are of the value charged, or
at the prices specified in the contract ; that no bill has been
presented nor claim made therefor, for the payment of such
work or materials, or for any part or item of such work or
materials, except as therein stated ; and if such bill has been
theretofore presented, or such claim has been theretofore
made for the whole, or any part thereof, it shall be stated to
whom or what board, body or commission it was presented
or made, the time or times thereof, and the action of such
person, board, body or commission thereon, and when such
action was taken.
In no county of the State is the law touching the presen-
tation and payment of claims to the Board of Supervisors
more strictly or more properly guarded than in Albany
County.
Blanks for Verification. — The Clerk of the
Board prepares a printed blank form of verification,
to be approved b\' the District Attorney, gratui-
tously to all persons demanding the same.
Proceedings to be Printed. — The proceedings
of the Board of Supervisors must be printed and
distributed under the direction of the clerk within
the time mentioned for the printing and distribution
of the aforesaid accounts.
Payment of Ten Dollars. — Upon payment of
ten dollars to the County Treasurer of the county
an}' tax-payer may have for one year a printed copy
of the proceedings of the Board, and of the printed
bills as they are from time to time distributed,
and at the times above described for their delivery
to the members of the Board, delivered to him at
some place to be designated by him, and within
one quarter of a mile from the place where the
Board holds its meetings.
Persons Exempted. — None of the pro\'isions of
this act shall be held to effect the salaries of county
officers, or the mode or manner in which payment
is made, nor the wages of the laborers of the City
of Albany. None of the provisions of this act shall
apply to the employment of counsel to aid the Dis-
trict Attorney in any legal matters in which the
county is interested when such employment is by
authority of law.
Extending Powers of Local Legislation. — The
act of 1875, conferring on Boards of Supervisors
further local powers of legislation and administra-
tion, and regulating the compensation of Super-
visors, was amended by an act of the Legislature,
passed April 10, 1882; but the Counties of Albany,
New York, Rensselaer, Kings, Oneida and Erie
were exempted from the amendments of that act.
SUPERVISORS and DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
The act of May 22, 1882, empowers the District Attorney
of any county in which a capital case is to be tried, with the
approval in writing ol the County Judge of the county, which
shall first be filed in the County Clerk's office, to employ
counsel to assist him on such trials, at the cost and expense
of the county, after being audited by the Board of Super-
visors of the county in which the indictment on the case was
found ; and the amount shall be assessed, levied and collected
by the Board of Supervisors of such county at its next annual
assessment, levy and collection of county taxes after such
services shall have been performed, and thereupon paid to
the party entitled to the same.
County Buildings. — Some of the provisions of
the act of April 3, 1849, ^re modified by the act of
May 28, 1884 (as well as some acts previous to
this date), especially in that it requires
Detailed statements to be made and proposals for doing
work and furnishing goods for any county buildings. It
directs the form of the proposals, and that they shall be
presented to the County Treasurer; defines the duties of the
County Treasurer touching the same, and in case he shall
refuse to order the materials to be furnished, or the work to
be done, under any of the proposals, on the grounds that the
work is unnecessary, or that its expense is not a county
charge, or that he has reason to believe that any fraud is
being practiced upon the county connected with it, he shall
give the county officer or person making the requisition, and
also to any tax-payer filing with him written objections to
his granting an order for work or materials, written notice,
of a time and place within ten days after receiving the re-
quisition, when the matter will be brought to ihe attention
of the County Judge. The act then defines the duties of
the County Judge as to hearing the matter and things con-
nected therewith and the time and place of hearing and
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
87
within what time his order or decision in the matter shall be
made, and provides for an appeal to the General Term of
the Supreme Court from his order or judgment.
It defines the duties of officers having charge of county
buildings in the County of Albany, in regard to the work of
superintending repairs or alterations to be made by them on
such buildings. It renders it obligatory on him to super-
intend such work. It defines the duties of the treasurer
of Albany County in regard to the payment of bills for such
work; and if the treasurer refuses to pay any bill for fur-
nishing material or doing such work, under the provisions
of this act, the parties not paid may present their account
to the Board of Supervisors of the County in the form and
manner, and with the verifications required by the law we
have already quoted, a verified claim thereof, attaching
thereto a copy of the detailed statement made in respect
thereto, etc., etc.
Expense Limited by Act. — No expense exceeding two
hundred dollars in amount shall be incurred during any one
period of six months, from January first or July first, in any
year, for any one alteration or repair, or for alterations or
repairs of the same character to or in connection with any
one building, or except for fuel, or any materials, or supplies
of tlie same general character or class, to or in connection
with the use of any one building, unless it shall have been
previously authorized by <i Board of Supervisors of the
County of Albany.
The act makes strong regulations in regard to any sta-
tionery or printing of any kind, including blank forms used
in the Surrogate's and District Attorney's offices.
It directs that the salaries of the Members of the Board of
Supervisors of Albany County shall be paid, one-half there-
of on December first in each year, and the other half at the
time of final adjournment sine die, every fall session of said
Board. It also directs that the provisions of the act shall
not apply to the Penitentiary, Almshouse, the City Hall in
the City of Albany, or to the care, repairs, alterations or
management thereof
We have now given the statutoiy and legal his-
tor}' of the Board gf Supervisors of Albany County.
In it will be found, substantially, all the important
acts of the Legislature concerning the powers and
duties of these Supervisors from the organization
of the State Government down to the present time.
It is interesting to observe how those powers and
duties gradually extended and widened out from a
mere Board of County and Town Audit into a leg-
islative body which has taken from the State Leg-
islature a very large part of its powers to enact
local laws touching towns in the County. These
powers having been conferred upon the Board of
Supervisors from time to time.
Owing to the loss and partial destruction of
many of the records containing the proceedings of
the Board of Supervisors, we have found it very
diiEcult and in some cases impossible, to prepare
a connected history of its proceedings. We find
but little history of the Supervisors, from the adop-
tion of the first Constitution to 1818. We are only
able to give a list of the Supervisors from that
period to 1861. From that time we are enabled to
give a condensed history of the proceedings of the
Board down to and including 1884.
LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE SEVERAL BOARDS
FROM THE YEAR 1818 TO i860, INCLUSIVE.
1818.
City First ward George Shepard.
Second ward John Van Schaick.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward
Fifth ward Isaac Fryer.
Towns .... Berne John Jost Dietz.
Bethlehem Moses De Long.
Coeymans Archibald Stevens.
Guilderland William McKown.
Rensselacrville Asa Colvard.
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo
John Schuyler, Jr., Moderator.
1819.
City First ward George Shepard.
Second ward John Van Schaick.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Peter Boyd.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Gideon Taber.
Bethlehem David Burhans.
Coeymans John N. Huyck.
Guilderland William McKown.
Rensselaerville Eli Hutchinson .
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo William Wheeler.
John Schuyler, Jr., Moderator.
1820.
City First ward James La Grange.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Benjamin Knower.
Fifth ward Isaac I. Fryer.
Towns . . . Berne Gideon Taber.
Belhlehem David Burhans.
Coeymans John N. Huyck.
Guilderland William McKown.
Rensselaerville Eli Hutchinson.
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo Sylvester Ford.
John Schuyler, Jr., Moderator.
1821.
City First ward Jesse Buel.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Alexander Davidson.
Filth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns. . . .Berne Malachi Whipple.
Bethlehem Henry L. Mead.
Coeymans John N. Huyck,
Guilderland William McKown.
Rensselaerville Eli Hutchinson.
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo Moses Smith.
John Schuyler, Jr., Modei-ator.
1822.
City First ward John J. Ostrander.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Alexander Davidson.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns .... Berne Jesse Wood.
Bethlehem William N. Sill.
Coeymans Israel Shear.
Guilderland William McKown.
Knox Malachi Whipple.
Rensselaerville Nathaniel Rider.
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo Thomas Smith.
John Schuyler, Jr., Moderator.
1823.
City First ward Isaac Denniston.
Second ward John F. Bacon.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward William Mayell.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns. . . . Berne Jesse Wood.
Bethlehem William N. Sill.
Coeymans Israel Shear.
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Towns . . . Guilderland William McKown.
Knox Malachi Whipple.
Rensselaerville Nathaniel Rider.
Watervliet John Schuyler, Jr.
Westerlo D. J. D. Verplanck.
John Schuyler, Jr., Moderator.
1824.
City First ward James McKown.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Tennis Van Vechten.
Fourth ward William Mayell.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns. . . Berne Stephen Willes.
Bethlehem William N. Sill.
Coeymans Israel Shear.
Guilderland William McKown.
Knox Malachi Whipple.
Rensselaerville Isaac Gardiner.
Watervliet Lucas G. Whitbeck.
Westerlo D. J. D. Verplanck.
Teunis Van Vechten, Moderator.
1825.
City First ward James McKown.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Peter Bain.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns. . . . Berne James D. Gardiner.
Bethlehem William N. Sill.
Coeymans Israel Shear.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Erastus Williams.
Rensselaerville Joshua Gardiner.
Watervliet Lucas G. Whitbeck,
Westerlo Moses Smith.
John N. Quackenbush, Moderator.
1826.
City First ward James McKown.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward William Mayell.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne James D. Gardiner.
Bethlehem Matthew Bullock.
Coeymans Abraham Verplanck.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville Wheeler Watson.
Watervliet Lucas G. Whitbeck.
Weslerlo Henry Peers.
James McKown, Moderator.
1827.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward Isaac Hamilton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward William Mayell.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Chester Willis.
Bethlehem Matthew Bullock.
Coeymans Abraham Verplanck.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville Wheeler Watson.
Watervliet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo Henry Peers.
John N. Quackenbush, Moderator.
1828.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward William Seymour.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward William Mayell.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Henry H. Lawson.
Bethlehem Gerrit Hogan.
Towns Coeymans Abraham Verplanck.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville Joseph Connor.
WatervUet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo Thomas Jenks.
John N. Quackenbush, Moderator.
1829.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward William Seymour.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Joseph Alexander.
Fifth ward Jno. N.Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Albert Gallup.
Bethlehem James Alexander.
Coeymans Andrew Whitbeck.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville Joseph Connor.
Watervliet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo Thomas Jenks.
John N. Quackenbush, Moderator.
1830.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward Josiah Winants.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Stephen Fowler.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Henry H. Lawson.
Bethlehem James Alexander.
Coeymans Andrew Whitbeck.
Guilderland George Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville Jolin Niles.
Watervliet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo Peter Onderdonk.
John N. Quackenbush, Chairman.
1831.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward William Seymour.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Lemuel Steele.
Fifth ward Robert Shepard.
Towns .... Berne Malachi Whipple.
Bethlehem Leonard G.Ten Eyck.
Coeymans Andrew Whitbeck.
Guilderland Aaron Livingston.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
Rensselaerville John Niles.
Watervliet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo Charles Hyndman.
Nicholas Bleecker, Chairman.
In this year Supervisor Staats made a motion
that the Board should agree to a resolution, with a
recital, ^^•hich was read and unanimously agreed to,
and is in the words following, to wit :
Whereas, James Van Ingen, the present Clerk of this
Board, was appointed to that office on the 6th day of Octo-
ber, 1807, in the room of Jacob Bleecker, Jr., Esq., deceased,
and has vmanimously continued as Clerk ever since his ap-
pointment, and has uniformly given satisfaction to the sev-
eral Boards of Supervisors whose Clerk he has been; there-
fore.
Resolved, That the said James Van Ingen be continued
as Clerk to this Board for the current year.
1832.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward John I. Burton.
Third ward Nicholas Bleecker.
Fourth ward Samuel S. Fowler.
Fifth ward Jno. N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Malachi Whipple.
Bethlehem Leonard G. Ten Eyck.
Coeymans Henry Niles.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
89
Towns Guilderland Aaron Livingston.
Knox Frederick Bassler, Jr.
Rensselaerville Nathaniel Kider.
Water vliet Francis Lansing.
Westerlo . ■. Charles Hyndman.
John N. Quackenbush, Chairman.
Thomas W. Harmon, Clerk.
1833.
City First ward Barent P. Staats.
Second ward John I. Burton.
Third ward Egbert Egberts.
Fourth ward Samuel S. Fowler.
Fifth ward Jno.N. Quackenbush.
Towns Berne Daniel Simmons.
Bethlehem William N. Sill.
Coeymans Henry Niles.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Frederick Bassler, Jr.
New Scotland James Reid.
Rensselaerville Nathaniel Rider.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo Anthony Miller.
John N. Quackenbush, Chairman .
1834.
City First ward Angus McDufHe.
Second ward Ichabod L. Judson.
Third ward Egbert Egberts.
Fourth ward Daniel Wilcox.
Fitth ward John Van Ness, Jr.
Towns . Berne Lawrence Van Duzen.
Bethlehem Leonard G. Ten Eyck.
Coeymans Henry Niles.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Frederick Bassler.
New Scotland James Reid.
Rensselaerville Charles L. Mulford.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo Anthony Miller.
Leonard G. Ten Eyck, Chairman.
Heman C. Whelpley, Clerk.
1835.
City First ward Stephen Paddock.
Second ward John L Burton.
Third ward Egbert Egberts.
Fourth ward Samuel S. Fowler.
Fifth ward Robert Shepard.
Towns Berne James G. Gardner.
Bethlehem Daniel Springsteed.
Coeymans Cornelius Vanderzee.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Frederick Bassler.
New Scotland James Reid.
Rensselaerville Charles L. Mulford.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo David Wooster.
Samuel S. Fowler, Chairman. Calvin Pepper, Clerk.
1836.
City First ward Stephen Paddock.
Second ward John L Burton.
Third ward Egbert Egberts.
Fourth ward . . . . , Peter P. Staats.
Fifth ward Jiio. N. Quackenbush.
Towns. . . Berne Moses Patten.
Bethlehem James B. Wands.
Coeymans Cornelius Van Derzce.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Frederick Bassler.
Rensselaerville Tames Reid.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo David Wooster.
John N. Quackenbush, Chairman.
1837.
City First ward Chris. W. Bender.
Second ward Itazael Kane.
12
City Third ward Friend Humphrey.
Fourth ward Peter P. StaatsT*
Fifth ward Harman V. Hart,
Towns . . Berne Moses Patten.
Bethlehem James B. Wands.
Coeymans Cornelius Van Derzce.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Frederick Bassler.
New Scotland James Reid.
Rensselaerville Samuel Niles.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo William Bentley.
Christopher Batterman, Chairman.
Calvin Pepper, Jr., Clerk.
1838.
City First ward Chris. W. Bender.
Second ward Hazael Kane.
Third ward Friend Humphrey.
Fourth ward Charles A. Keeler.
Fifth ward CJiles Sandford.
Towns. . . . Berne Moses Patten.
Bethlehem Joshua F. Babcock.
Coeymans Jonas Shear.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
New Scotland James Reid.
Rensselaerville Louis M. Dayton.
Watervliet Jeremiah Schuyler.
Westerlo William Bentley.
Christopher Batterman, Chairman.
Calvin Pepper, Jr., Clerk.
1839.
City First ward Chris. W. Bender.
Second ward William Newton.
Third ward George Dexter.
Fourth ward Henry Greene.
Fifth ward Giles Sandford.
Towns Berne John Warner.
Bethlehem Joshua F. Babcock .
Coeymans Jonas Shear.
Guilderland Chris. Batterman.
Knox Egbert Schoonmaker.
New Scotland Aaron Van Schaick.
Rensselaerville Louis M. Dayton
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Zelum Hitchcock.
Christopher Batterman, Chairman.
1840.
City First ward Chris. Vv^. Bender.
Second ward William Newton.
« Third ward George Dexter.
Fourth ward Henry Greene.
Fifth ward Daniel D. Shaw.
Towns Berne Jacob Settle.
Bethlehem Abner Udell.
Coeymans Jonas Shear.
Guilderland Henry Sloan.
Knox Potter Gage.
New Scotland Aaron Van Schaick.
Rensselaerville Joseph Connor.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Zelum Hitchcock.
Christopher W. Bender, Chairman.
Calvin Pepper, Jr., Clerk.
1841.
City First and Second wards.. Andrew MooilJ.
'I'hird ward Chris. W. Bender.
Fourth ward Horace Meech.
Fifth ward George Dexter.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward Daniel D. Shaw.
Eighth ward James A. Putnam.
Ninth and Tenth wards. . John D. Livingston.
Towns. . . .Berne Jacob Settle.
Bethlehem Abner Udell.
90
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Towns Coeymans Garret Whitbeck.
Guaderland Henry Sloan.
Knox Potter Gage.
New Scotland William Murphy.
Rensselaerville Benjamin E. Mackey .
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt
Westerlo Fred. H. Rosekrantz.
Christopher W. Bender, Chairman.
C. J. Cuyler, Clerk.
1842.
City First and Second wards. . Andrew Moore.
Third ward W. J. Fryer.
Fourth ward Horace Meecli.
Fifth ward Elisha W. Skinner.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward Daniel D. Shaw.
Eighth ward W. B. Stanton.
Ninth and Tenth wards. , George Traver.
Towns Berne Henry I. Devoe.
Bethlehem And. Vanderheyden.
Coeymans Garret Whitbeck.
Guilderland Peter Shaver.
New Scotland WilUam Murphy.
Knox Alexander Crounse.
■Rensselaerville Benjamin E. Mackey.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Fred. H. Rosekrantz.
Gilbert I. Van Zandt, Chairman.
Jacob M. Shuttle, Clerk.
1843.
City First and Second wards . . John McEvoy.
Third ward Stephen Van Schaick.
Fourth ward Levi Chapman.
Fifth ward Elisha W. Skinner.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward David Martin.
Eighth ward Heman A. Fay.
Ninth and Tenth wards. . William H. Bender.
Towns Berne Henry I. Devoe.
Bethlehem And. Vanderheyden.
Coeymans Garret Whitbeck.
Guilderland Peter Shaver.
Knox Alexander Crounse.
New Scotland William Murphy.
Rensselaerville James G, Clark.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Abram Griffin.
Gilbert I. Van Zandt, Chairman.
Joseph P. Sigsbee, Clerk.
1844.
City First ward John McEvoy. *
Second ward Peler P. Staats.
Third ward Charles A. De Forest.
Fourth ward Horace Meech.
Fifth ward William Thorburn.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward George W. Welch.
Eighth ward Heman A. Fay.
Ninth ward Bradford R. Wood.
Tenth ward Jesse Buel.
Towns. . . .Berne Oscar Tyler.
Bethlehem And. Vanderheyden.
Coeymans John Mead.
Guilderland Peter Shaver.
Knox Charles Cheesbro.
New Scotland AVilliam Mui-phy.
Rensselaerville Shadrach I. Porter.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo ; Abraham Griffin.
Gilbert I. Van Zandt, Chainnan.
Jacob P. Sigsbee, Clerk.
1845.
City First ward William Chambers.
Second ward Peter P. Staats.
Third ward John C. Ward.
City Fourth ward Horace Meech.
Fifth ward William Thorburn.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward George W. Welch.
Eighth ward Heman A. Fay.
Ninth ward Ichabod L. Judson.
Tenth ward Jacob Henry.
Towns .... Berne John Crosby.
Bethlehem Francis I. Shaver.
Coeymans John Mead.
Guilderland Peter Shaver.
Knox Charles Cheesbro.
New Scotland Coonrad Mathias.
Rensselaei-ville Valentine Tread well.
Watervliet Thomas Hillhouse.
Westerlo Abram Vrooman.
Peter P. Staats, Chairman.
Hugh Scott, Clerk.
1846.
City First ward Bernard Lynch.
Second ward Andrew Moore.
Third ward Silvester F. Shepard.
Fourth ward Charles S. Olmstead.
Fifth ward Thomas McMullen.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward J. Van Valkenburgh.
Eighth ward William Jones.
Ninth ward Isaac N. Comstock.
Tenth ward William Beardsley.
Towns. . . .Berne Samuel H. Davis.
Bethlehem John McHarg.
Coeymans Elwell Blodget.
Guilderland John Fuller.
Knox David Van Auken.
New Scotland Coonrad Mathias.
Rensselaerville Valentine Treadwell.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Abraham Vrooman.
Gilbert 1. Van Zandt, Chairman.
Peter Settle, Clerk.
1847.
City First ward Bernard Lynch.
Second ward Brown S. Spencer.
Third ward Sylvester S. Shepard.
Fourth ward Charles S. Olmstead.
Fifth ward Coorurad A.Ten Eyck.
Sixth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward Parker Sargent.
Eighth ward Oliver Wallace.
Ninth ward Christopher Adams.
Tenth ward Adam Van Allen.
Towns Berne Samuel H. Davis.
Bethlehem John McHarg.
Coeymans Elwell Blodget.
Guilderland John Fuller.
Knox David Van Auken.
New Scotland Robert Taylor.
Rensselaerville S. M. Hallenbeck.
Watervliet Archibald A. Dunlop.
Westerlo Avery Slade.
Charles S. Olmstead, Chairman.
Peter Settle, Clerk.
1848.
City First ward Richard Parr.
Seconi ward Matthew McMahon.
Third ward John Hurdis.
Fourth ward Franklin Townsend.
Fifth ward William White.
Sixth ward ; Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward George W. Welch.
Eighth ward Oliver Wallace.
Ninth ward James A. Tremere.
Tenth ward Adam Van Allen.
towns Berne John J. Bogardus.
Betlilehem Jeremiah Mead.
Coeymans John Van Derzee.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
91
Towns Guilderland Jacob J. Fryer.
Knox Perez Fink, Jr.
New Scotland Robert Taylor.
Rensselaerville Stephen Hallenbeck.
Watervliet Archibald A. Dunlop.
Westerlo Avery Slade.
Samuel Pruyn, Chairman.
James F. Wheli^ley, Clerk.
1849.
City First ward John McEvoy.
Second ward Matthew McMahon .
Third ward John Hurdis.
Fourth ward Franklin Townscnd.
Fifth ward William White.
Si.xth ward Samuel Pruyn.
Seventh ward Josiah Patterson.
Eighth ward James M. French.
Ninth ward Richard J. Grant.
Tenth ward Joshua G. Cortell.
Towns. . . .Berne Daniel G. Fisher.
Bethlehem Jeremiah Mead.
Coeymans John Van Derzee.
Guilderland Jacob J. Fryer.
Knox Perez Frink.
New Scotland Robert Taylor.
Rensselaerville William Aley.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Caleb Smith.
Samuel Pruyn, Chairman.
James M. Whelpley, Clerk.
1850.
City First ward James McCaffery.
Second ward Matthew McMahon.
Third ward Chaiies A. De Forest.
Fourth ward Charles S. Olmstead.
Fifth ward William White.
Sixth ward David Martin.
Seventh ward Charles H. Radcliff.
Eighth ward Samuel N. Payn.
Ninth ward William McBride.
Tenth ward Joshua G. Cortell.
Tovifns .... Berne Henry A. Van \\'ie.
Bethlehem Jeremiah Mead.
Coeymans Nathaniel Niles.
Guilderland Elijah Spawn.
Knox Lyman Witters.
New Scotland John McEwen.
Rensselaerville William Aley.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Caleb Smith.
Gilbert I. Van Zandt, Chairman.
Orville H. Chittenden, Clerk.
1851.
City First ward Philip Foy. '
Second ward Matthew McMahon.
Third ward John A. Sickles.
Fourth ward Henry C. Southwick.
Fifth ward Michael Clark.
Sixth ward J. V.P. Quackenbush.
Seventh ward Charles Miller.
Eighth ward Oliver Wallace.
Ninth ward Isaac Vandcrpoel.
Tenth ward Adam Van Allen.
Towns. . . .Berne Henry A. Van Wie.
Bethlehem Elias Milbanks.
Coeymans Nathaniel Niles.
Guilderland Elijah Spawn.
Knox Lyman Witters.
New Scotland John McEwen.
Rensselaerville Daniel A. Mackey.
Watervliet Archibald A. Dunlop.
Westerlo Samuel F. Powell.
Matthew McMahon, Chairman.
Orville H. Chittenden, Clerk.
1852.
City First ward Philip Foy.
City Second ward , John Reynolds.
Third ward
Fourth ward William Boardman.
Fifth ward Michael Clark.
Sixth ward Stephen Lush.
Seventh ward Charles Miller.
Eighth ward Thomas Gillespie.
Ninth ward Ten Eyck La Moure.
Tenth ward Adam Van Allen.
Towns. . . .Berne Jackson King.
Bethlehem Elias Milbanks.
Coeymans Willet Serls.
Guilderland Wendell Vine.
Knox Stephen Merselis, Jr.
New Scotland John Mathias.
Rensselaerville William Aley.
Watervliet James H. Brisbin.
Westerlo Samuel F. Powell.
James H. Brisbin, Chairman.
George Wolford, Clerk.
1853.
City First ward John Lawless.
Second ward John Stuart.
Third ward Alexander Davidson.
Fourth ward William Boardman.
Fifth ward Michael Clarke.
Sixth ward Stephen Lush.
Seventh ward Charles Miller.
Eighth ward Lawrence Dovvd.
Ninth ward John Sager.
Tenth ward Andrew Fisher.
Towns. . . .Berne Jackson King.
Bethlehem George F. Imbrie.
Coeymans Willet Serls.
Guilderland Wendell Vine.
Knox Stephen Merselis, Jr.
New Scotland John Mathias.
Rensselaerville Benjamin F. Sayre.
Watervliet John C. Schuyler.
Westerlo Samuel F. Powell.
Alexander Davidson, Chairman.
George Wolford, Clerk.
1854.
City First ward John Lawless.
Second ward James Taylor.
Third ward Geo. A. H.Englehart.
Fourth ward Abram Koonz.
Fifth ward Michael Clarke.
Sixth ward Stephen Lush.
Seventh ward John Benson.
Eighth ward William B. Scott.
Ninth ward William McBride, Jr.
Tenth ward Andrew Fisher.
Towns. . . .Berne. . . . : Silas Wright.
Bethlehem John Patterson.
Coeymans Garrit Whitbeck.
Guilderland George Y. Johnson.
Knox Henry Barckley.
New Scotland Wm. Van Allen.
Rensselaerville William Aley.
Watervliet Dillon Beebe.
Westerlo George H. Bentley.
Abram Koonz, Chairman.
George Wolford, Clerk.
1855.
City First ward James Lamb.
Second ward John M. Kimball.
Third ward "William H. Rice.
Fourth ward Henry Rector.
Fifth ward John E. Gavitt.
Sixth ward James C. Crocker.
Seventh ward Thomas Farley.
Eighth ward James Jones.
Ninth ward Alonzo Bruce.
Tenth ward B. S. De Forest.
Towns. . . .Berne Silas Wright.
Bethlehem Leonard G. Ten Eyck
92
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Towns Coeymaiis Gerrit Whilbeck.
Guilderland George Y. Johnson.
Knox Henry Barckley.
New Scotland P. V. W. Brooks.
Rensselaerville Norman A. Ford.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo George H. Bentley .
George Y. Johnson, Chairman.
George Wolford, Clerk.
1856.
City First ward James Lamb.
Second ward William J. Caldwell.
Third ward William H. Rice.
Fourth ward Abram Koonz.
Fifth ward Robert Raby.
Sixth ward Uavid V. N. Radcliff.
Seventh ward Thomas Earley.
Eighth ward William Redden.
Ninth ward Philip Spencer.
Tenth ward Ezra A. Sutliff.
Towns Berne Samuel H. Davis.
Bethlehem Leonard G.Ten Eyck.
Coeymans Gerrit Whitbeck.
Guilderland George Y. Johnson.
Knox John Keenholtz.
New Scotland Peter V. W. Brooks.
Rensselaerville Norman A. Ford.
Watervliet Gilbert I. Van Zandt.
Westerlo Abraham Griffin.
Abraham Koonz, Chairman.
William Aley, Clerk.
1857.
City First ward William Welch.
Second ward William J. Caldwell.
Third ward Thomas O. Wands.
Fourth ward Isaac Lederer.
Fitth ward Silas B. Hamilton .
Sixth ward D. V. N. Radcliff.
Seventh ward Thomas Earley.
Eighth ward Thomas Dolan,
Ninth ward James D. Wasson.
Tenth ward Charles L. Austin.
Towns Berne Samuel H. Davis.
Bethlehem Leonard G.Ten Eyck.
Coeymans Gerrit Whitbeck.
Guilderland Henry Hilton.
Knox John Keenholtz.
New Scotland James Slingerland.
Rensselaerville Norman A. Ford.
Watervliet ^ WiUiam J. Wheeler.
Westerlo Abram Griffin.
Charles L. Austin, Chairman.
William Aley, Clerk.
1858.
City First ward William Welch.
Second ward Charles E. White.
Third ward Thomas O. Wands.
Fourth ward Abram Koonz.
Fifth ward Silas B. Hamilton.
Sixth ward D. V. N. Radchff.
Seventh ward Thomas Earley.
Eighth ward Philip McGuire.
Ninth ward John Lossing.
Tenth ward Joseph Fellows.
Towns Berne Zebadiah A. Dyer.
Bethlehem Leonard G.Ten Eyck.
Coeymans John B. Shear.
Guilderland Henry Hilton.
Knox Samuel Gallup.
New Scotland James Slingerland.
Rensselaerville Andrew Felter.
Watervliet William G. Caw.
Westerlo Thomas Saxton.
Leonard G. Ten Eyck, Chairman.
Allen B. Durant, Clerk.
1859.
City First ward Jeremiah Kieley.
Second ward Charles W. Bentley.
Third ward Matthew W. Bender.
Fourth ward John McMickin.
Fifth ward John Van Gaasbeck.
Sixth ward D. V. N. Radcliff.
Se.venth ward Thomas Earley.
Eighth ward Timothy Seymour.
Ninth ward William T. Wooley.
Tenth ward Thomas W. Griffin.
Towns Berne Zebadiah A. Dyer.
Bethlehem John Wilkes.
Coeymans John B. Shear.
Guilderland Henry Hilton.
Knox Samuel Gallup .
New Scotland Samuel Rowe.
Rensselaerville Andrew Felter.
Watervliet William G. Caw.
Westerlo Thomas Saxton.
Henry Hilton, Chairman.
James A. Colvin, Clerk.
1860.
City First ward Daniel Sullivan.
Second ward Charles E. White.
Third ward Matthew W. Bender.
Fourth ward Francis N. Sill.
Fifth ward Isaac A. Chapman.
Sixth ward Wm, Frothingham.
Seventh ward Thomas Earley.
Eighth ward Stephen McKnight.
Ninth ward William McBride.
Tenth ward James Milwain.
Towns. . . .Berne Henry I. Devoe.
Bethlehem John Wilkes.
Coeymans David A. Whitbeck.
Guilderland Leonard Wilkins.
Knox Samuel Warren.
New Scotland James Slingerland.
Rensselaerville James E. Mackey.
Watervliet William G. Caw.
Westerlo Abijah C. Disbrow.
Stephen McKnight, Chairman.
G. V. Shafer, Clerk.
HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF
THE BOARD FROM i86i TO 1884.
No regular record of the proceedings of the
Board of Supervisors of Albany County is now in
existence, except that which begins with the year
1861. From that time down to the present writing
the records of the Board are well preser\'ed, from
which we compile the reinainder of our history of
the Board.
Proceedings of the annual session of the Board,
held pursuant to statute, at the City Hall, in the
City of Albany, commencing on the 14th day of
IMay, 1 86 1.
The following were the members of the Board
present :
Albany. . . .First ward Patrick Whitty.
Second ward Matthew Kendrick.
Third ward James Mclntyre.
Fourth ward John Kelso.
Fifth ward Abraham A. Wimple.
Sixth ward Thomas Earley.
Seventh ward Hugh Byrne.
Eighth ward George N. Geary.
Tenth ward James Milwain.
Towns Bethlehem John Wilkes.
Berne Henry I. Devoe.
Coeymans David A. Whitlseck.
Guilderland Stephen B. Frederick.
I'^Jiox , Samuel Warner.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
93
Towns New Scotland Henry Crounse.
Rensselaerville James E. Mackey.
Watervliet Garrit Van Olinda.
Westerlo Abijah C. Disbrow.
Abijah C. Disbrow, Chairman.
G. V. Thacher, Clerk.
Dr. Staatz Winne was duly elected County
Physician for the ensuing year.
John Gannon was elected doorkeeper.
At the next meeting the Chairman announced the
following standing committees :
Finance, and to Examine Treasurer' s Accounts. — Messrs.
Whitbeck, Earley and Milwain.
To Examine the Books, Mortgages and Minutes of the
Loan Officers, and Commissioners of Loans. — Messrs. De-
voe, Wemple and Kelso.
On all Accounts and Matters Relating to the Poor. —
Messrs. Earley, Whitty and Wemple.
On all Accounts of Judges, Justices of the Peace, Dis-
trict Attorney, Coroner, and Criers of Courts. — Messrs.
Wilkes, Devoe and Warner.
The annual statement of Thomas Kearney, the County
Treasurer, shows the receipts into the Treasury for the year
ending December, 1861, from all sources, to be $253,881.26;
the disbursements to be deducted therefrom to be $253,-
881.26; the balance-sheet of the Treasurer showed there
was due the County, in his hands, $8,300.30.
The Committee on Equalization agreed upon
the following valuation, per acre, in the several
Towns :
Berne, $17.50; Bethlehem, $56.50, Coeymans, $35,50;
Guilderland, $37.50; Kno.x, $17.50; New Scotland, $38.00;
Rensselaerville, $18.50; Westerlo, $20.50; \\'atervliet,
$60.00.
The percentage of taxation was as follows :
For the City, $1.61 per $100; Berne, $1.58 per $100;
Bethlehem, 75 cents per $100; Coeymans, 84 cents per
$100; Guilderland, $1.28 per $100; Knox, $1.13 per $100;
New Scotland, 96 cents per $100; Rensselaerville, 90 cents
per $100. Westerlo, 94 cents per $100; Watervliet, 94 cents
per %\ca; Village of West Troy, 97)4 cents per $100; Vil-
lage of Cohoes, 95^ cents per $100.
The total amount to be raised by tax that year
in the City of Albany was $391,533-30.
The towns most burdened for building and re-
pairing roads and bridges that year were :
Berne, $100; Coeymans, $110; Bethlehem, $100; Guilder-
land, $120; Knox, $30; New Scotland, $ico; Rensselaer-
ville, $100; Westerlo, $90; separate road districts, Ninth and
Tenth Wards, $250; total, $1,000.
A motion to enlarge the Penitentiary was lost by
a vote of 7 to 11. A resolution was adopted de-
claring the Registry Law vexatious, exhaustingly
expensive to taxpayers, and should be repealed.
PROCEEDINGS OF 1 862.
The annual meeting of the Board of Supervisors
began at the City Hall, in the City of Albany, May
13, 1862. The following members of the Board
were present :
First Ward, Patrick Whitty; Second Ward, Richard H.
Scott; Third Ward, James Mclntyre; Fourth Ward, Francis
N. Sill; Fifth Ward, John N. Barker; Sixth Ward, Daniel
Shaw; Seventh Ward, Asa Fassett; Eighth Ward, Henry
N. Wickes; Ninth Ward, Wm. McCIusky; Tenth Ward,
Benjamin F. Rice; Berne, David Conger; Bethlehem,
Albertus W. Becker; Coeymans, Jonas Shear; Guilderland,
.Stephen V. Frederick; New Scotland, James Slingerland;
Rensselaerville, George H. I^araway; Westerlo, Abijah C.
Disbrow ; Watervliet, Garrit Van Olinda.
Abijah C. Disbrow was elected Chairman of the
Board, George V. Thacher Clerk; Dr. John J.
Meyers was elected County Physician, and Fred-
erick M. Johnson doorkeeper.
The death of Samuel Pruyn, Esq., one of the In-
spectors of the Penitentiary from its first organiza-
tion, and for many years one of the Supervisors of
the City and County of Albany, was announced.
The resolution was adopted directing the Treas-
urer to pay each member of the Board for the year
i860 the sum of ten dollars and traveling fees
allowed by law for services rendered as canvassers
of the special election for members of Assembly.
The Alias and Argtis, Times and Courier, ]\Iorn-
ing Express and Evening Journal were designated
as the papers to publish the proceedings of the
Board. Mr. D. A. Manning was designated as
reporter for the Alias and Argus, Mr. Edward
Leslie for the Times and Courier ; Mr. Coney of the
Walervliet Democrat was also appointed a reporter.
A special meeting of the Board, called to devise
measures to aid in the enrollment of a regiment in
the i3tli Senatorial District, convened at the City
Hall on the 29th of July, 1862. Patriotic resolu-
tions were passed to take measures to sustain the
President in a call then recently made for 300,000
additional volunteers to supply the places of those
who had fallen victims to the casualties of war,
and to so increase the strength of our effective
force as to crush the rebellion. A bounty of fifty
dollars was established for each recruit enlisted in
the Albany Co. regiment in addition to the boun-
ties before offered by the general and state govern-
ments. The proceedings of this session were all
directed to patriotic purposes.
The annual November session of the Board of
Supervisors commenced on the nth of Novem-
ber, 1862.
The apportionment of the city and county tax
was reported at the following ratio of taxation :
City east of Partridge street, $1.80 per $100 ; city west of
Partridge street to Allen, $1.45 per $ioo; city west of Allen,
$1.39 per $100; Berne, $1.65 per $100; Bethlehem, 92c.
per $100; Coeymans, 95c. per $100 ; Guilderland, $1.48
per $100 ; Knox, $1.44 per $100 ; New Scotland, $1.19 per
$100 ; Rensselaerville, $i.i6per $ick) ; Westerlo, $1.15 per
$100; Watervliet, $r. 06 per $100 ; West Troy, $1.07^ per
$100; Green Island, $1.14 per $100; Cohoes, 1.06^ per
$100.
The Chairman of the Finance Committee sub-
mitted an annual statement of moneys received and
disbursed from Dec. 10, 1861, to Dec. ro, 1862.
The report showed a balance in favor of the
county of $15,690. 78, made up as follows :
Due redemption fund $1,037 00
" court " 3,24909
" military " 97' 72
Total $5,257 81
Balance applicable to county purposes $10,432 97
Out of that balance there was paid at that time
on accormt of election expenses since Dec. 10,
1862 1,579 25
Leaving $8,853 7^
The annual report of Thomas Kearney, County
Treasurer, shows that there was paid into the
county treasury during the )'ear from all sources
$368,638.49. There was disbursed the sum of
94:
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1368,638.49. The amount of bounties paid that
year was 1175,000.
There was a balance belonging to the county
bounty fund of 1 18, 400.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors at their
May session, held at the City Hall, in the City of
Albany, May 12, 1863. The following supervisors
were present :
First Ward, Joseph Kresser ; Second Ward, Philip
O'Brien ; Third Ward, Martin V. B. Winne ; Fourth Ward,
Abram Koonz ; Fifth Ward, Barent P. Staats ; Sixth Ward,
David V. N. RadcUffe ; Seventh Ward, Thomas Early ;
Eighth Ward, Timothy Seymour ; Ninth Ward, Frederick
Porth ; Tenth Ward, Thomas O. Wands ; Berne, WUliam
D. Strevell ; Bethlehem, WilHam Kimmey ; Coeymans,
Jonas Shear ; Guilderland, Stephen V. Frederick ; Knox,
John Keenholts ; New Scotland, John R. Taylor ; Rens-
selaerville, George H. Laraway ; Watervliet, Gerrit Van
Olinda ; Westerlo, Jared T. Reynolds.
George H. Laraway, Esq., appointed chairman ;
George V. Thacher, clerk ; Dr. Winne was
elected phj'sician, and James Ogsbury, of Knox,
was appointed doorkeeper.
Mr. Staats submitted a report showing that the
expenses of the county and the Excise Commis-
sioners, "for driving rum out of the city and
county," was something over $16,000 for the pre-
ceding year.
The Board adjourned till the loth of November,
1863.
Proceedings of the November session of the
Board of Supervisors, held at the City Hall in
Albany, commencing November 10, 1863.
On the opening of the session, November 11,
the death of Frederick Porth, late Supervisor of the
Ninth Ward, was announced, and resolutions ex-
pressive of the sorrow of the Board at his loss were
unanimously passed.
The Treasurer reported the amount of fines re-
ceived by the Justices of the Peace of the county
to amount to the sum of $1,122.
Amount of moneys borrowed and received from
all sources for the support of the war during the
year was $205,098. 13.
RE-ISDEXING MORTGAGES.
A resolution had been adopted, that the County
Clerk be authorized to re-index the mortgages of
record in his oflBce pursuant to a system of vowel-
ization, and to transcribe and arrange the index of
deeds upon the plan followed in directories and
dictionaries. This work had been successfully
prosecuted, according to the report " submitted by
the Clerk, in which it appeared that a great number
of errors, and some very dangerous ones, had been
discovered and rectified. That the contents of the
old indexes — eight in number, and comprising the
period from 1753 to 1863 — thus sifted and verified,
were contained in two books, arranged upon the
new or vowelized system. That the work done
down to that time had been upon the indices of
grantors, including the period from 1656 to 1863.
That the work already completed comprised 3,541
pages, or 106,320 names. That his account for
indexing, as referred to in the above report,
amounted to $10,623.
Mr. Staats presented a statement from the United
States Collector, showing the number of liquor
dealers in the city and county of Albany to be
1,013, as follows :
West Troy, 105 ; Watervliet, 45 ; Sixth, Seventh and
Eighth Wards, 181 ; Fifth Ward, 41 ; Fourth Ward, ^3 ;
Third Ward, 92 ; First and Second Wards, 178 ; Tenth
Ward, 53 ; Ninth Ward, 88 ; Knox, Guilderland and Berne,
22 ; IBethlehem and New Scotland, 45 ; Coeymans, West-
erlo and Rensselaerville, 18 ; Cohoes, 62.
A report from the Excise Commissioners showed
that out of a large number of prosecutions for in-
fractions of the excise law only $450 had been col-
lected ; the cost of collection was double that.
The Committee of Equalization in the city and
county fixed the valuation of the towns as follows:
Berne, $17.50 per acre; Bethlehem, S57.50 per acre;
Coeymans, $35.50 per acre; Guilderland, $37.50 per acre;
Knox, $17.50 per acre; New Scotland, $38 per acre; Rens-
selaerville, $18.50; Westerlo, $20.50; Watervliet, $60.
The annual statement of the County Treasurer
shows that there was received in his office from all
sources $419,460.18; the disbursements from the
office, $419,460. 18.
There was paid to the Sheriff this year for serv-
ing notices, etc., etc., $2,637.95; board of prison-
ers, $6,718; making in all a total of $9,355.95.
There was paid to reporters the sum of $499.
The expense- of City Government was $240, 700;
police force, $40,000.
Annual May Session of the Board of Supervisors
held at City Hall, in Albany, May 10, 1864.
Supervisors present :
First Ward, Joseph Kresser; Second Ward, PhUip O'Brien;
Third Ward, James M. Carlin ; Fourth Ward, Abram Koonz;
Fifth Ward, Barent P. Staats; Sixth Ward, James H. Carroll;
Seventh Ward, Thomas Early; Eighth Ward, Philip Mc-
Guire; Ninth Ward, Frank Marshall; Tenth Ward, Chris-
topher W. Bender; Berne, David Conger; Bethlehem, William
Kimmey ; Coeymans, Peter Keefer; Guilderland, Stephen V.
Frederick; Knox, IraVanAuken; New Scotland, John R.
Taylor; Rensselaerville, George H. Laraway; Watervliet,
Gerrit Van Olinda; Westerlo, Jared I. Reynolds.
George H. Laraway, Chairman.
George V. Thacher, Clerk.
Dr. Barent P. Staats, County Physician.
James McAneeny, Doorkeeper.
A statement of the moneys borrowed by resolu-
tion of the Board, December 17, 1863, and dis-
bursed to pay bounties from December 4, 1863, to
July 18, 1864, inclusive, showed that $1,074,217. 28
had been disbursed in that time. There was a
balance on hand of $227,442.97; the interest due
on bonds, September i, 1864, amounted to
$26,071.50.
OBJECTION TO THE DRAFT.
When this statement was given. Dr. Staats rose
and said that the draft was not in accordance with
our State Constitution; that that instrument was
opposed to lotteries, and the draft was nothing
more nor less than a lottery, only there were
more prizes in a draft than in a lottery.
He "believed in making the rich man, whose
property and interests were at stake, pay liberally
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
05
toward saving the country from a draft, by fur-
nishing money to procure volunteers, and moved
that the Board favor the paying of a bounty."
His resolution was adopted. He then moved that
a committee of six be appointed to draft resolu-
tions and report a plan to fill the quotas under the
President's last call for 500,000 men. This resolu-
sion was also adopted, to the effect that it was de-
sirable and expedient to fill the quota of Albany
by volunteers, instead of by draft.
Active measures were taken to carry this resolu-
tion into effect.
Lincoln's proclamation.
Several special meetings were called to consider
the President's proclamation, made July 18, 1864,
calling for 500,000 volunteers for the military ser-
vice. Without going into particulars, it is suffi-
cient to say that the action of the Board of Super-
visors in regard to that proclamation was prompt,
patriotic and in every sense efficient, showing that
the capital county of the State was foremost in
coming to the rescue of our country.
The Board of Supervisors convened on the 15th
of November, 1864, all the members of the board
being present.
The City Budget, presented on the 21st of
November, showed a gross amount of $370,000.
Mr. Staats called attention to the fact " that many
charges are made against the county for post
moriem examinations, when there was never the
slightest necessity for such examinations." He
instanced "one case where a bill for $30 had been
presented, and it was ascertained that the man
died from having the bones of his head knocked
in ; when the physicians were asked whv they
made such examination, they replied, for their own
information and nothing more, and now they pre-
sent a bill for $30, and in this manner nearly one-
half of coronors' bills are gotten up."
This 3-ear L. C. Tuttle and Hon. John C. Nott,
now county judge, were school commissioners
of the county.
The annual statement of Thomas Kearney shows
that the receipts of the county treasurer during the
year from all sources was $472,945.19; the dis-
bursements amounted to $472,945.19. He also
presented his annual statement of money received
and disbursed on account of bounty fund from
Dec. 4, 1863, to Dec. 10, 1864, which amounted
to $1,914,642.62.
CONTEST OVER A LAWYER's BILL.
Mr. J. R. Hilton, attorney for the Excise Com-
missioners, having obtained judgment to the
amount of 16,472.76 agamst the county, on pre-
senting his bill for the same the Supervisors refused
to pay the judgment in full. A long controversy
ensued in regard to the matter, Mr. Hilton refus-
ing to accept any sum except the full amount of
his claim. The matter was finally referred to the
committee. A referee reported in favor of a sum
due Mr. Hilton, including costs and interest, of
«6,355-3i-
Mr. Staats offered a resolution that the sum of
$6,472.76 be allowed Mr. Hilton. This resolu-
tion was adopted.
The equalization of real estate in the city and
county of Albany was fixed as follows :
Berne, per acre, $17.50; Bethlehem, per acre, $57.50;
Coeymans, per acre, $35.50; Guilderland, per acre, S37.50;
Knox, per acre, $r8 ; New Scotland, per acre, $38; Rens-
selaerville, per acre, $18.50; Westerlo, per acre, $20; Water-
vliet, per acre, $60.
The meeting of this board continued by adjourn-
ments until March 6, 1865.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors at their
annual session, May 9, 1865. Members present:
First Ward, Joseph Kresser; Second \\'ard, James Brice;
Third Ward, Lee Chamberlain; Fourth Ward, Abram
Koonz; Fifth Ward, Barent P. Staats; Sixth Ward,W. C. Mc-
Harg; Seventh Ward, David Prest; Eighth Ward, John
McCall; Ninth Ward, Frank Marshall; Tenth ^\'ard, Chris-
topher W. Bender; Bethlehem, Wm. Kimmey; Berne, David
S. Dyeri( Coeymans, Peter Keefer; Guilderland, Steven
V. Frederick; Knox, Ira Van Auken; New Scotland, Daniel
Callahan: Rensselaerville, George H. Laraway; Water-
vliet, Gerrit Van Olinda; Westerlo, Jared T. Reynolds.
George H. Laraway, Chairman; George V. Thacher, Clerk;
Barent P. Staats, County Physician; Joseph W. Reynolds,
Doorkeeper.
As soon as an organization was effected Mr.
Brice, from the Second Ward, arose and in touch-
ing, eloquent language announced the death of
President Lincoln. Having concluded his re-
marks, he presented an appropriate preamble and
resolutions expressive of the feelings of the mem-
bers of the Board in regard to the awful crime
■which resulted in the President's death, and of
their veneration for him, and that they recognized
in him "that able executive ability, tempered with
that mild and genial feeling of mere)', which has
engraven his name in the hearts of his countrymen,
and left him a character on the scroll of fame
which no time can erase."
The City Budget was presented November 22,
1865, and amounted in all to $446,703.05, of
which $10,000 was the Sinking Fund account,
$40,000 temporary outdoor relief of the poor,
$42,979.44 for public schools, pursuant to chapter
516, laws of 1855; $80,123.61 of this was the pro-
portionate part of the Police expenses apportioned to
the City of Albany for the fiscal year ending Octo-
ber I, 1866, and for deficiency to October i, 1865,
pursuant to section 46, chapter 554, laws of 1865.
At the meeting of the Board, November 28, 1865,
an interesting statement showing the war expenses
of the whole county during the war, which
amounted in grossto $4,485, 276.45. The statement
also shows that the county paid bounties, accord-
ing to different quotas, for the years 1862, 1863,
1864 and 1865, to 8,456 men. This, it will be
seen, does not include i86i,northe full number
of men enlisted in Albany County during the war.
A statement showing this will be found elsewhere in
this work. In addition to the above amount, hand-
money and other expenses were paid during the
years 1863, '64 and '65, amounting to $93,403.72.
The following table shows the bonds issued in
Albany County:
96
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
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On December 5, 1865, on motion of Mr. Mc-
Harg, the salary of the District Attorney from and
after the first of January, 1866, was fixed at the
sum of $3, 500 per annum.
A voluminous document, containing the names
of all persons licensed to sell liquor during the
year down to December 5, was presented, from
which we make the following recapitulation :
Albany.— First Ward, i22;Second Ward,75;Third Ward,
96; Fourth Ward, 103; Fifth Ward, 47; Sixth and Eight
Wards, 118; Seventh Ward, 90; Ninth Ward, 58; Tenth
Ward, 97; total, 806.
Towns. — Watervliet, 59; Berne and Guilderland, 21;
Bethlehem and New Scotland, 40; Coeymans and Westerlo,
15; West Troy, 112; Cohoes, 67; total, 314; city and towns,
1,120.
On December 6, 1865, the County Treasurer pre-
sented a CouNiY Budget amounting in all to $766,-
094.89.
On the 14th of December, Mr. Frederick, of the
Finance Committee, offered the following resolu-
tion :
" Resolved, That there be assessed upon the taxable
property of the county $766,094.89, the same to be applied
for the purpose mentioned in the County Budget as pre-
sented on the sixth of December; also the sum of §87,114.91,
for Audited Accounts."
Which resolution was adopted. Mr. Frederick
also reported the City Budget, as adopted by the
Common Council and presented to the Board on
the 2 2d of November, at $446, 703. 05, also the sum
of $8,423.06 for Audited Accounts, and the same
was adopted.
The equalization of Real Estate in the City and
County of Albany was fixed at the rate per acre :
Berne, 517.50; Bethlehem, $57.57; Coeymans, $35.50;
Guilderland, $37.50; Knox, $18; New Scotland, $38.50;
Reiisselaerville, $18.50; Westerlo, $19.50; Watervliet, $60.
The County Treasurer reports the receipts of
money this year to the amount of $1,083,013.66,
and the disbursements to the amount of $1,083,-
013.66.
The Argus and The Express were designated for
the
county papers for 1866,
and the Albany County Democrat, Freie Blatter and
Evening Post were authorized to publish the
County Audits.
The Board adjourned, sine die, December 14,
1865.
The proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of
the county of Albany at the annual meeting held
at the City Hall, in the city of Albany, May 8,
1866.
Members present :
First Ward, Robert J. McCormick ; Second Ward, James
Brice ; Third Ward, John W. Harcourt ; Fourth Ward,
Abraham Koonz ; Fifth Ward, Barent P. Staats ; Sixth
Ward, David Rose ; Seventh Ward, David Brest ; Eighth
Ward, John McElroy ; Ninth Ward, Mathias J. Severance ;
Tenth Ward, Christopher W. Bender ; Berne, David Con-
ger ; Bethlehem, William Kimmey ; Coeymans, John B.
Shear ; Guilderland, Stephen V. Frederick ;- Knox, Peter
Schoonmaker ; New Scotland, Nicholas A. Delong ; Rens-
selaerville, George H. Laraway ; Watervliet, William J.
Wheeler ; Westerlo, Charles Bently. Chairman, George
H. Laraway ; Clerk, Owen McDermott ; County Physi-
cian, Dr. B. P. Staats ; Doorkeeper, Christian Hartline.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
97
Death of Gerrit Van Olinda. — The board
being thus organized, Dr. Staats arose and an-
nounced the death of Mr. Gerrit Van OHnda,
long a useful and honored member of the board
from Watervliet.
After the transaction of some business the board
adjourned to June 19, 1866.
Special Session.
On Tuesday, June 19, the board met pursuant
to Chapter 607 of the laws of the State of New
York fori 866.
Jurors' Pay. — Mr. Prest, from the finance com-
mittee, offered the following in regard to pay of
grand and petit jurors :
" Whereas, The Legislature of the State of New York,
on the 31st of March, 1866, passed an act which reads as
follows : The several boards of supervisors in this State
may, at their first or any subsequent meeting after the
passage of this act, direct a sum not exceeding two dollars
a day to be allowed to every grand and petit juror, for
attending the courts of record held within their several
counties ; and they may also direct an allowance to be
made to such jurors for traveling in coming and returning
from such courts, not exceeding five cents a mile; there-
fore,
"Resolved, That the county treasurer be authorized and
directed to pay to every grand and petit juror who shall
have been regularly drawn from the box since June i,
1866, provided by law for attending the courts of record
held in and for the said County ot Albany, the additional
sum of fifty cents for each day's attendance, and also that
each juror who shall have been so drawn as aforesaid
shall be allowed five cents per mile for coming to and
returning from the City Hall, the place of holding the
several courts of record for this county."
At November session, Nov. 13, 1866, the board
met pursuant to adjournment as a board of can-
vassers, the members all being present. Having
completed the canvass the board adjourned until
the 14th.
At this meeting the comptroller presented the
following communication :
Comptroller's Office, Albany, Sept. 29, 1866.
Contest Concerxixg Clerk. — It will be seen
that Owen McDermott was elected clerk of the
board at the annual meeting. This was done
against considerable opposition, which was not
quieted by his election. The matter rested, how-
ever, until the special session of June 19, when
Mr. Kimmey presented the following :
" Whereas, The appointment of the present clerk of this
board was forced upon the board against the wishes ot a
large majority of its members; and
" Whereas, Said board are not satisfied, and do not con-
sider said clerk competent to fully discharge the duties ot
his position; therefore
"Resolved, That George V. Thacher be, and he is hereby
appointed clerk of said board for the ensuing year, in place
of Owen McDermott, removed."
After considerable discussion the resolution was
adopted by a vote of eleven ayes and seven noes.
The board voted Mr. McDermott the sum of
$100 for his services.
The following communication from the Comp-
troller of the State was read by the Clerk :
To the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors of the County
of Albany :
Sir: — The Board of Equalization of Taxes, in pursuance
of chapter 312 of the Laws of 1859, have fixed the aggre-
gate valuation of property in your county at the sum of
$42,403,645, upon which amount a State tax of $235,870.28
must be levied for the current year, being 5-j*j- mills on the
dollar, for the following purposes, viz, ;
For Schools, |4^ of a mill, per chapter 555, Laws of 1864.
For General Purposes, i^ mills, per chapter 677, Laws
of 1866.
For Canals, | of a mill, per chapter 271, Laws of 1859.
For Canals, ^j of a mill, per chapter 219, Laws of i856.
For Extension of Chenango Canal, -f^, °f ^ rcSA, per chap-
ter 649, I^aws of i865.
For Champlain Canal, -^j of a mill, per chapter 156,
Laws of 1866.
For Bounty Debt, 2j mills, per chapter 325, Laws of
1865.
Total, 5y»5mills.
Your obedient servant,
Thos. Hii.lhouse,
Comptroller.
P. S. — The non-resident taxes credited to your county for
1865 amount to $537.76.
Referred to Finance Committee.
A communication was received from Mr. Mc-
Dermott, the removed Clerk of the Board, stating
that by his removal he had sustained pecuniary
loss, and he asked the Board for an appropriation
to indemnify him in some degree for the injury
sustained by such removal . 1 his elicited a spirited
debate. The friends of Mr. McDermott insisted
that his removal was the result of personal and
political hatred. The communication was referred
to the Committee on Grievances.
Buildings for the Insane.
At a meeting of the Board, November 20, Mr.
Staats offered the following :
Resolved, That a committee be appointed from this Board
to confer with a committee of the Common Council of the
City of Albany, for the purpose of erecting suitable accomo-
dations for the insane of the county, and to apply for such
Legislative aid as maybe necessary to accomplish the above
object.
l\Ir. Staats, in support of said resolution, said :
That "not only humanity, but the best interests of the
county require that suitable buikhngs be erected for the
insane; that our State institlitions are entirely inadequate
to contain half the applicants for admission, and that the
price of admission was exorbitant. We are paying six
thousand dollars a year to the Utica Asylum, besides having
over one hundred in our Alms House, without the means of
proper care and treatment. That a building properly con-
structed, and a law permitting the taking of boarders from
other counties, would be a self-sustaining institution."
The resolution was adopted.
The City Budget was presented November 21,
which amounted in all to $496,832.
Excise. — James A. McKown, in 1858, was ap-
pointed, upon the recommendation of a committee
of the Board of Supervisors and his Honor the
IMayor of the City of Albany, a Special Police Con-
stable, for the purpose of reporting violations of
the Excise law, and was also reappointed for the
same duty in the years 1859, i860, '61, '62, '63
and '64; and that from 1859 to 1864, inclusive, he
received the following amount : $1,820.50. And
he also received from the county for licenses granted,
for the same time, the amount of $137,028.63.
98
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
At a meeting of the Board, November 28, the
account of Henry Fitch, Sheriff, was presented, in
which he claimed $17,131.72, which account was
allowed at 115,131.72.
County Budget. — On December 7, 1866, the
County Budget was presented, which amounted
to $876,053.28.
Anti-Rent Difficulties. — During the year 1866,
the anti-rent difficulties in the county had increas-
ed to such proportions that the Sheriff was obliged
to call on the military to aid in serving and en-
forcing processes. This was attended with con-
siderable expense to the county, and we give the
following claims as an interesting item in the his-
tory of the anti-rent difficulties :
Claimed. Allowed.
Leonard & Bradt $1,295 7^ $1.26859
Edward Scannell l.o5.'5 00 576 00
Tenth Regiment, N. G. S. N. Y. .. 992 25 992 25
Company F, 25th Regiment " . . 762 24 762 24
Company C, " " " . . 626 40 626 40
Company G, " " " .. 256 92 256 92
Lord & Thornton 500 02 498 02
Albany & Susquehanna R. R. Co. . 228 80 228 80
John Cutler 157 00 150 00
Augustus Brewster 122 00 80 00
Walter S. Church 115 00 Disallowed.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, held
December 14, 1866, the Treasurers Annual State-
ment of Receipts of money for the year 1866 was
presented, which amounted in all to $1,355,794.62.
He disbursed the sum of $1,355,794.62. He
also reported a balance on hand December i,
1866, of $14,658.20.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of the
City and County of Albany at the annual meeting,
held at the City Hall, in the City of Albany, May
14, 1867.
The following were the members present :
First Ward, Robert J. McCormick; Second Ward, Michael
Delehanty ; Third Ward, Jonathan R. Herrick ; Fourth Ward,
William Orr; Fifth Ward, Barent P. Staats; Sixth Ward,
Alexander A. Edmeston; Seventh Ward, Michael Lyman;
Eighth Ward, Michael D. McGue; Ninth Ward, M. Joseph
Severance; Tenth Ward, Christopher W. Bender; Bethlehem,
George C. Adams; Berne, Adams J. Warner; Coeymans,
John B. Shear; Guilderland, Hiram Griggs; Knox, Peter
Schoonmaker; New Scotland, Nicholas Uelong; Rensse-
laerville, George H. Laraway; Westerlo, Charles Bentley;
Watervliet, Wm. J. Wheeler.
Chairman, Wm. J. Wheeler.
Clerk, George V. Thacher.
County Physician, Dr. Barent P. Staats.
Doorkeeper, Edward Dooley.
On May 15 the Board met according to ad-
journment, and in the usual order of business the
Chairman announced the standing committees for
the ensuing year.
After some immaterial business, the Board ad-
journed.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors at the
City Hall, in the City of Albany, pursuant to ad-
journment.
November 12, 1867, all the members being
present. After discharging their duties as Count}'
Canvassers, the Board adjourned.
On November 19 the Board met according to
adjournment, at which meeting the City Budget
was presented, which amounted to $493,202.
Grand Jurors. — The apportionment of Grand
Jurors according to the census of i860 was as
follows :
First Ward, 24; Second Ward, 13 ; Third Ward, 15 ; Fourth
Ward, 10; Fifth Ward, 6; Sixth Ward, 9; Seventh Ward, 17;
Eighth Ward, 21 ; Ninth Ward, 22; Tenth Ward, 28; Bethle-
hem, 19; Berne, 8; Coeymans, 8; Cohoes, 23; Green Island,
4; Guilderland, 9; Knox, 5 ; New Scotland, 9; Rensselaerville,
9; Westerlo, 9; West Troy, 23; Watervliet, 16; total, 300.
REGISTRY LAW.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors held
Dec. 5, 1867, Mr. Staats made an attack upon the
registry law, asserting in an address on the subject
that the law was very onerous and expensive, and
did not answer any good or useful purpose.
On December 6 the County Budget was pre-
sented, amounting in all to $776,990.21, to which
was added audited accounts of $1,334. 15.
COUNTY treasurer's REPORT.
Stephen Frederick also submitted his annual
statement of money received and disbursed from
the first day of January, 1867, to Dec. i, 1867,
which showed that he had received from all sources
$886,414.58; that he had paid out during that
time the sum of $886,414.58.
The equalization of the value of real estate in
the County of Albany was fixed by the committee
of equalization as follows :
Berne, per acre, $17.50; Bethlehem, per acre, $57.50;
Coeymans, per acre, $35.50; Guilderland, per acre, $37.50;
Knox, per acre, $18; New Scotland, per acre, $38; Rens-
selaer, per acre, $18.50; Westerlo, per acre, $19.50; Water-
vliet, per acre, $60.
It was also adopted that in the city of Albany
the assessed valuation be the equalized valuation.
After a spirited debate it was resolved that the
County Treasurer be authorized to borrow $100,000
upon the credit of the county to pay bonds due
March i, 1868.
Percentage of Taxation. — The following was
reported as the percentage of taxation in the city
and several towns, which was agreed to :
City, 3.56; city west of Partridge street, 3.09; city west
of Allen street, 3.00; Berne, 3.60; Bethlehem, 1.86; Coey-
mans, 1.84; Guilderland, 2.96; Knox, 3.08; New Scotland,
2.30; Rensselaerville, 2.18; Westerlo, 2.48; Watervliet,
1.72; West Troy, 2.04; Cohoes and Green Island, 2.04.
Adopted.
Annual Session of 1868— May 12, 1868.
Supervisors present :
First Ward, William J. Weaver; Second Ward, Lawrence
Carey; Ihird Ward, John Kelly; Fourth Ward, John C.
Feltman; Filth Ward, Barent P. Staats; Sixth Ward,
Alexander A. Edmeston: Seventh Ward, Bernard Kavan-
augh; Eighth Ward, Henry T. O'Connor; Ninth Ward,
Edward Whitty; Tenth Ward, Christopher Bender; Berne,
James A. Reamer; Bethlehem, George C. Adams- Coey-
mans, John B. Shear; Guilderland, Hiram Griggs; Knox,
Peter Schoonmaker; New Scotland, Samuel Patton- Rensl
selaerville, William Magivny; Watervliet, William J.
Wheeler. William J. Wheeler was elected chairman-
George V. Thacher, clerk; Dr. Barent P. Staats, county
physician ; William Doody, doorkeeper.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
99
On Wednesday, May 13, the Chairman an-
nounced the standing committees.
BAD CONDITION OF THE COUNTY JAIL.
The Chairman presented a communication from
Hon. Henry Smith, District Attorney, showing the
lamentable condition of the County Jail. He says :
" In the main apartment you will find sixty male pris-
oners, including some children, confined in one common
room, where those youthful in years, and those who have
committed their first criminal error, perhaps those who are
entirely innocent, are exposed to the influences, and often
to the physical tortures, of the most depraved of men.
" In another room, of about fifteen by eighteen, you will
find some twenty-two females of various ages, even to ex-
treme old age ; some reasonably tidy and others repulsively
filthy; some apparently well and others suffering from loath-
some diseases, crowded together in a space where there is
scarcely room for all to lie down at once. In short, you
will find a state of things that would shame a semi-civilized
community, and would not be tolerated by the people of
this county for one hour if they could for a moment look in
upon the appalling horrors of that fearful den, kept under
their authority, for the detention of persons accused of
crime. This state of affirs, ' ' Mr. Smith continues, "is no
fault of the Sheriff or Jailer, but results from want of suitable
rooms."
Mr. Smith's report of the condition of the jail
produced the most profound sensation throughout
the city and county, resulting, as we shall see, in
an entire change in the management of the jail. A
special committee was appointed with power to
expend at least $4,000.
The following was adopted :
Resolved, That the Superintendent of the Capital Police
be and is hereby instructed to notify the several captains
and sergeants of the Police of the Town of Watervliet to
convey prisoners under sentence to the Penitentiary, in
place of leaving them at the County Jail.
A Special Meeting was held June 16, 1868.
The principal business under consideration was
the improvement of the County Jail. The follow-
ing resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That the Special Committee, to whom was re-
ferred the necessity of altering the County Jail, be author-
ized to receive proposals in accordance with the plans sub-
mitted to the Board, with the additional story with a wing
on the east side, as presented by Mr. Edmeston, at an ex-
pense not exceeding $2,500.
NOVEMBER SESSION.
The Board convened as County Canvassers,
November 10, 1868, all the Supervisors present.
After concluding the canvass, the Board adjourned
until Wednesday, November 11.
Mr. Edmeston offered the following :
Resolved, That the County Treasurer be and he is hereby
authorized to pay to the contractors upon jail improvement
the sum of $4,000, upon the said contractors presenting
certificates, signed by the architect and Chairman of the
Committee on Jail Improvement, stating that such sum is
actually due them.
Which was adopted.
Mr. Reamer offered the following :
Whereas, The enlargement of the County Jail during the
summer has been a source of great inconvenience to the
Jailer, and attended with considerable extra expense, he
having been obliged to send his family into the country for
several months ; therefore
Resolved, That the County Treasurer be authorized to
pay Albert Gallup extra compensation as Jailer of the
County of Albany.
Which was adopted.
Grand Jurors. — On December 8 Mr. Shear pre-
sented the following apportionment of Grand
Jurors in and for the County of Albany:
City — First Ward, 21; Second Ward, 11; Third Ward, 11;
Fourth Ward, 10; Fifth Ward, 6; Sixth Ward, 9; Seventh
Ward, 14; Eighth Ward, 21; Ninth Ward, 21; Tenth Ward,
30. Towns — Berne, 7; Bethlehem, 16; Coeymans, 10;
Guilderland, 11; Knox, 6; New Scotland, 9; Rensselacr-
ville, 9; Westerlo, 8; Cohoes, 15; Green Island, 5; West
Troy, 24; Watervliet, 16.
City Budget. — Mr. Bender presented the City
Budget. This amounted, in gross, to the sum of
$616,611.37, of which the sum of $82,766,87 was
the proportionate part of Police expenses appor-
tioned to the City of Albany for the fiscal year end-
ing October I, 1869, pursuant to section 45, chapter
544, laws of 1865.
Improvements on Jail. — Mr. Edmeston, from
the Special Committee on the improvements of the
Jail, presented a report showing, among other
things, that the total cost of the entire improvements
on the Jail amounted to $8,142.18.
Official County Papers. — The Argus and Ex-
press were, on ballot, designated as the official
county papers.
County Budget. — On December n the County
Budget was presented, which amounted to $585,-
168.29. O'"^ motion of Mr. Gregg it was
Resolved, That there be levied and assessed upon the
taxable property of the County the sum of $660,000, being
the amount mentioned in the County Budget presented this
day to the Board, and including the audited accounts of
this Board.
The resolution was adopted.
Death of Supervisor Reamer. — On the as-
sembling of the Board in the afternoon of Decem-
ber II, Supervisor Schoonmaker arose and, in
touching language, announced the death of Super-
visor Reamer, of Berne. The tribute he paid to his
memory was as just as it was eloquent and impres-
sive. He closed by saying:
" I feel a bereavement which will cast a deep gloom over
all who are numbered as his acquaintances. A political
antagonist and a neighbor, never has an event occurred to
mar the harmony of our intercourse, and no man could have
been taken from us whose loss all would more deeply
deplore."
He then submitted an impressive preamble, fol-
lowed by equally impressive resolutions, touching
the exemplary life and useful career of the deceased
Supervisor. Among the resolutions was one to
the effect that the Chairman's and Clerk's desks
and the vacant chair of the deceased be draped in
mourning. It was also resolved that the Board at-
tend the funeral in a bod}', and to adjourn until
Tuesday next at 3:30 p. m.
Mr. Feltman, in seconding the resolutions,
which were adopted, paid a well-deserved tribute
to the memory of the deceased.
Treasurer's Annual Statement. — On Decem-
ber 15, 1868, the Board met pursuant to adjourn-
100
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ment, and Stephen V. Frederick presented his an-
nual statement of moneys received and disbursed
from the ist day of December, 1867, to the ist day
of December, 1868, which amounted in all to
$857,492.54; disbursements amounted to $857,-
492.54. His report showed a balance in his hands
of $1,537-70.
County Bounty Fund. —
Receipts:
Balance on hand $3,313 0°
Proceeds of sale of County Bonds 150,000 00
Premiums 3,6i8 76
Transferred from General Fund 213,000 00
$37o,°3i 76
Dislmrsemenls:
Cash paid bonds due March i, ]858 1248,100 00
Cash paid bonds due March i, 1867 2,200 00
Six per cent, interest on $29,000 870 00
Coupons due March i, 1868 58,329 25
Coupons due September i, 1868 53,744 00
Coupons due March i, 1867 267 75
Coupons due September i, 1867 1,603 °°
Coupons due March i, 1865 105 00
Coupons due September i, 1865 299 25
Certificate of bond to Ira Heaphy 552 50
Certificate of bond to Nelson Van Patten to
S. Tuttle 587 50
Interest on $30,000 to Loan Committee 2, 100 00
Balance 1,273 26
$37°.o3i 76
Excise. — The whole number of licenses granted
in the County for the year 1868 was 640.
The County was divided this 3"ear into three
licensed districts, each placed in charge of one excise
commissioner. Mr. S. F. Powell was one; Mr. E.
Newcomb was the second; Mr. Gonsalus was the
third
The whole number of licenses granted in Mr.
Powell's district was 161, at $30 each, making
$4,830.
The whole number issued in Mr. Newcomb's dis-
trict was 159 ; 157 of which were at $30 each, one
at $150, and one at $75.
The whole number in Mr. Gonsalus' district,
was 140, as follows :
West Troy, 55 ; Cohoes, 33 ; Green Island 6 ;
Watervliet, 16 ; Seventh Ward, 30 ; total,
140, at $30 each, amounting to $4,200 00
Paid county treasurer 3,55° 00
Balance on hand $650 00
Sum total of Mr. Powell's district $4,830 00
" " " " Newcomb's district 4,935 00
" " " " Gonsalus' district 4,20000
Total $13,965 00
Total amount paid to county treas-
urer by Mr. Powell $3, 500 00
Total amount paid to county treas-
urer by Mr. Newcomb 4, 105 00
Total amount paid to county treas-
lu-er by Mr. Gonsalus 3,55° 0°
$11,155 00
Total S2,8io 00
Ttie excise question this year, and for several
years previous, was a matter of great embarrass-
ment and expense to the county. A large number
of suits for the violation of excise laws had been
commenced. Numerous judgments had been
obtained without any return to the county, and at
a very heav}- expense to the taxpayers. This sub-
ject occupied much of the time of this session.
Finally on Jan. 6, 1869, on motion of Mr. Weaver,
the Board resolved to settle all judgments now on
file for violation of the then present excise law for
the sum of twenty-five cents on the dollar upon all
sums represented by such judgment and costs, pro-
vided the amount was paid to Geo. V. Thacher,
the present Clerk of the Board, on or before the
first day of April, 1869.
Mr. Staats introduced a resolution denouncing
the excise law, and moved that the committee on
application to the Legislature be requested to pre-
pare a law which will invest the whole power of
excise in the Police Commissioners so far as the
police districts exist in this county, and that where
they do not exist the supervisors of the several
towns shall grant licenses for the sale of malt and
alcoholic liquors. This resolution was adopted.
]\lr. Weaver moved that the following be added
to the resolution relative to judgments obtamed by
the Excise Commissioners :
Resolved, That if it be found that any of the parties
against whom these judgments are held are in such cir-
cumstances that they are utterly unable to pay the same,
that such non-payments be, upon the recommendation of
the supervisor of the ward or town in which such parties
reside, canceled for the sum of one dollar.
Adopted.
When it is known that each of the defendants in
those judgments could, on executions issued
upon them, have been arrested and imprisoned for
non-payment, the lenity of the Board in regard to
them will be fully appreciated. After some other
business the board adjourned sine die.
Proceedings of the Annual Spring Session of the
Board of Supervisors of the City and County of
Albany, held in the City Hall, in the City of Albany,
May II, 1869.
Members present :
First Ward, Wm. J. Weaver; Second Ward, Lawrence
Csrey; Third Ward. Aaron B.Pratt; Fourth Ward, John C.
Feltman; Fifth Ward, Wm. Haskell ; Sixth Ward, Alexander
A. Edmeston; Seventh Ward, John Fitzgerald ; Eighth Ward,
James D. Walsh; Ninth Ward, Christian Schurr; Tenth
Ward, Dr. GallcE; Berne, Alfred Hungerford; Bethlehem,
George C. Adams; Coeymans, JohnB. Shear; Guilderland,
Hiram Griggs; Knox, Peter Schoonmaker; New Scotland,
Nicholas B. Houck; Rensselaerville, William ilagivny;
Watervliet, Wm. J. Wheeler; Westerlo, Julius Thayer.
Chairman, Wm. J. Wheeler.
Clerk, Charles J. Pease.
County Physician, Milton M. Lamb.
Doorkeeper, Anthony Daug.
The Board met according to adjournment on
May 13, 1869. The minutes of the last meeting
read and approved.
The Chairman then announced the Standing
CojiiiiTTEES for the ensuing year.
After conducting some business, the Board ad-
journed till the
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
101
NOVEMBER SESSION.
On November 9, 1869, the Board convened ac-
cording to adjournment; all the Supervisors present.
In the absence of Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Shear was
chosen Chairman /ro leni.
After discharging the duties of County Canvass-
ers, the Board adjourned.
At the meeting held November 10, an interesting
statement in regard to taxes in the County was pre-
sented.
Mr. Weaver presented this statement to the
Board, in the following manner :
ALBANY CITY.
We here find that the assessed value of real and personal
estate for the City of Albany has increased from 1 860 to
1868 §1,118,426, being an increase of four and one-half per
cent. ; while the equahzed value in the same period has in-
creased $3,158,461, being an increase of thirteen and one-
sixteenth per cent.
Now, while the assessed value of the City of Albany has
increased four and one-quarter per cent., the assessed value
of all the towns combined has increased eighteen and one-
sixth per cent., and while the equalized value for the City of
Albany has increased thirteen and one-sixteenth per cent,
the increase in all the other towns combined is but nine and
one-half per cent.
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In the above table nearly $1,000,000 of the in-
creased assessed value in the town of Watervliet is
credited to the year 1868.
City Budget — For the year i5
all to 1601,188.29.
amounted in
The salary of the County Phj'sician was fixed
by resolution at the sum of $500 per annum.
County Budget. — The county budget for the
3'ear 1869 amounted in all to 1583,517.98.
County Treasurer. — Mr. Theyer presented the
bond of County Treasurer-elect Alexander Kennedy,
Esq. It was signed by Jonathan R. Henrick,
Jas. A. McDonald and Philip O'Brien. It was in
the penalty of $100,000.
The supervisor of the town of Coe}'mans was
authorized to borrow on the credit of the town the
sum of $2,000 to pay damages and expenses in
rebuilding and repairing bridges and roads damaged
by a flood in the said town.
Excise. — The Commissioners of Excise, Messrs.
E. Newcomb, J. Rejaiolds and G. W. Gonsalus,
reported the following as the whole number of
licenses and amounts of money received for the
same for the year 1869 :
Whole number granted at $30 410
" 10 27
■' 75 I
" 150 I
Total number in the county 448
As follows: 419 at $30 $12,570 00
27" 1° 27000
I " 75 75 00
I " 150 15000
Total receipts $13,065 00
Paid county treasurer 11, 163 00
County Treasurer's Statement. — The County
Treasurer transmitted his annual statement of
money received and disbursed from the first day of
December, 1868, to the first day of December,
1869, showing a balance on hand :
Receipts from all sources $818,158 54
DISBURSEMENTS.
Resolution $305 89
Audit accounts 130,640 1 1
Total with remainder of
disbursements $818,158 54
Stephen V. Frederick, County Treasurer, in ac-
count with County of Albany :
1868. Dr.
Dec. I, to balance on hand $1,273 26
March I, to net proceeds from sale of Albany
County bonds 253,761 55
Transferred from general account 205,000 00
$460,034 81
1869.
December, to balance $1,130 56
1869. Cr.
Paid bonds due March, 1869 $348,000 00
" " " ". 1868 70000
" interest on $29,000 (6 per cent.) 87000
" coupons of 1867, 1868, 1869 109,33425
By balance i, 130 56
$460,034 81
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of
Albany city and count)' at the annual meeting held
103
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
at the City Hall in the City of Albany, May lo,
1870.
The members present were :
First Ward, Wolfgang Meyer ; Second Ward, Frederick
Schifferdecker ; Third Ward, Wm. J. Weaver ; Fourth
Ward, George P. Lynd ; Fifth Ward, Thomas H. Craven ;
Sixth Ward, John C. Feltman ; Seventh Ward, Abraham
B. Garfield ; Eighth Ward, Henry R. Haskins; Ninth Ward,
James Bartley ; Tenth Ward, Thomas Kanary; Eleventh
Ward, John R. Stewart; Twelfth Ward, John McKenna;
Thirteenth Ward, PhilipFrederick; Fourteenth Ward, M. H.
Kenneally; Fifteenth Ward, David W. Seeley; Sixteenth
Ward, George B. Hoyt.
COHOES.
First Ward, Joseph Coleman ; Second Ward, W. Taylor
Dodge; Third Ward, John Scully ; Fourth Ward, Solomon
Dotter.
TOWNS.
Berne, Alfred Hungerford ; Bethlehem, George C.
Adams ; Coeymans, John B. Shear ; Guilderland, lliram
Griggs; Knox, Peter Schoonmaker ; New Scotland, Alonzo
B. Voorhees; RensselaervUle, Wm. Magivny; Watervliet,
Wm. J. Wheeler; Westerlo, Orson L. Hannay. Chairman,
Wm. J. Weaver; Clerk, Charles J. Pease; County Physician,
Milton M. Lamb; Doorkeeper, Daniel McClary.
After the transaction of some unimportant busi-
ness the Board adjourned.
A special meeting of the Board took place in the
Common Council Chamber, at which all the mem-
bers were present. Ihis meeting was called for
the purpose of hearing a report from the special
committee appointed to take charge of the altera-
tion of the Supervisors' room. A somewhat heated
discussion arose, after which the report was read,
showing that the work had been let to Messrs.
Norman and Treadwell, architects, of Albany, who
made plans and specifications for the work which
had been adopted.
They advertised in the county papers for pro-
posals for the work as follows :
For carpenter work.
For carpenter and mason work.
For carpenter, mason work and painting.
For mason work.
For painting.
The committee had awarded the work as fol-
lows :
Carpenter work to George Martin, Troy, for $963 43
Mason work to Alex. Shanelley for 70 00
Painting to Wm . Griffin 184 00
Total 51,217 42
The committee sold the old furniture and
carpets at auction for $79, less $7.90 expenses.
Fall Session. — The Board convened November
5, 1870. A full Board present, except Supervisor-
Fredericks.
Ax Interesting Question touching Excise. —
at a previous meeting of the Board, a resolution
was adopted denying the Commissioners of Excise
the right to employ counsel to prosecute suits for
them and conferring the right to employ counsel
for them upon the Law Committee of the Super-
visors. The Commissioners denied the right of the
supervisors to interfere in the matter. Litigation
ensued and the case finally terminated in the Court
of Appeals, which court decided that the Commis-
sioners of Excise had the power to employ counsel
to prosecute such claims as they decided were
proper to prosecute for any violation of the excise
law. On Nov. 21, 1870, the report of the Com-
mittee on Equalization was presented. It is an
interesting and instructive report, too long, how-
ever, to be inserted in this work; but the reader is
referred to pages 37-38 of the journal of the Board
of Supervisors for 1870 for the tabulated report,
and to pages 39, 40, 41, 42, 43. 44, 45 for the pro-
ceedings of the Supervisors, and the opinion of the
Attorney General in relation to the said report.
On November 28, Joseph C. Y. Paige, City
Chamberlain, made a report to the Supervisors of
the county, pursuant to chapter 77, section 43,
laws of 1870, that according to his estimate it
would require for the expenses of the District
Attorney's office for the ensuing year ending Oct.
31, 1871, the sum of $3,000 for the following pur-
poses, viz. :
Salaries of two special officials at Si, 200 $2,400 00
Traveling and other necessary expenses 600 00
Total $3,000 00
Grand Jurors. — On December i, 1870, Mr.
Adams, from the committee appointed to appor-
tion the Grand Jurors for the County of Albany,
reported as follows :
First Ward, 8; Second Ward, 8; Third Ward, 9; Fourth
Ward, 13; Fifth Ward, 10; Sixth Ward, 14; Seventh Ward, 6 ;
Eighth Ward, 10; Ninth Ward, 8; Tenth Ward, 6; Eleventh
Ward, 13 ; Twelfth Ward, 9 ; Thirteenth Ward, II; Four-
teenth Ward, 9; Fifteenth Ward, 11 ; Sixteenth Ward, 11.
-Berne, 7; Bethlehem, 15; Coeymans, 10; Knox, 6;
New Scotland, 9 ; Rensselaerville, 9 ; Guilderland, 1 1 ;
Westerlo, 8 ; Cohoes, First Ward, 7 ; Cohoes, Second
Ward, 5; Cohoes, Third Ward, 8; Cohoes, Fourth Ward, 5;
Green Island, 5 ; West Troy, 24 ; Watervliet, 15.
City Budget. — On December 5 the City
Budget was presented to the Board, which
amounted in all to $675,573, $195,730 of which
was for the support of Public Schools, pursuant to
chapter 444, laws of 1866.
County Treasurer. — On December 7 Alexan-
ander Kennedy, County Treasurer, transmitted his
annual statement of money received and disbursed
from January i, 1870, to December i, 1870.
The receipts amounted to $891,000 67
The disbursements were 891,000 67
equalization of assessments, county- of alban-y',
ANNUAL session OF 187I.
The Board convened pursuant to statute, at the
City Hall in the City of Albany, Tuesdav, May
9, 1871. Supervisors present:
ALBANY'.
First Ward, Peter Halpen ; Second Ward, Frederick
SchifTerdecker ; Third Ward, William J. Weaver ; Fourth
Ward, Richard Bortle ; Fiftli Ward, Thomas H. Craven ;
Sixth Ward, John C. Feltman ; Seventh Ward, Ira Porter ;
Eighth Ward, Henry R. Haskins ; Ninth Ward, Andrew
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
103
Kean; Tenth Ward, Andrew R. Hunter; Eleventh Ward,
John McHafEe; Twelfth Ward, John McKenna; Thirteenth
Ward, Edmund J. Lord ; Feurteenth Ward, Michael H.
Kenneally; Fifteenlh Ward, Jacob H. Ten Eyck; Sixteenth
Ward, Patrick H. Daly.
First Ward, Joseph Coleman ; Second Ward, W. Taylor
Dodge ; Third Ward, John Scully ; Fourth Ward, Solomon
Dotter.
Berne, William Zeh; Bethlehem, Albertus W. Becker;
Coeymans, John B. Shear; Guilderland, Hiram Griggs;
Knox, Peter Schoonmaker; New Scotland, Robert Taylor;
Rensselaerville, Walter R. Tanner; Watervliet, Emmet
Flagler; Westerlo, Warren Rosenkrans.
The following were the officers chosen for the
year 1871 :
President, William J. Wlieeler; Clerk, Charles L. Pease;
County Physician, Dr. Milton M. Lamb; Doorkeeper, Ed-
ward J. Flanagan.
Standing Committees. — On May 10, 1871,
the President announced the Standing Com-
mittees.
Fall Session. — The Board met according to
adjournment, November 14, 1871, all members
being present. After attending to the duties re-
quired of them as a Board of Canvassers, they ad-
journed.
County Judge's Salary. — On November 21,
1 87 1, a communication was presented to the Board
of Supervisors, signed by Hon. Hamilton Harris,
Hon. Wm. L. Learned, Hon. Amasa J. Parker,
Hon. Lyman Tremain, Hon. Samuel Hand, War-
ren S. Kelley, Esq., Simeon W. Rosendale, Esq.,
M. Frothingham, Esq., N. Swartz, Esq., and
nearly every member of the profession in the city,
setting forth that the duties of the County Judge
would thereafter be very largely increased, in con-
sequence of the enlarged jurisdiction given to the
County Courts by the late amendments of the Con-
stitution of the State, and that a salary of $5,000
per year would be no more than an adequate com-
pensation for the performance of the duties of
County Judge ; and, therefore, as a matter of
justice to the occupant of the office as for the
dignity of the position, they respectfully ask the
Board to fix the future salary of that office at a
sum not less than $5,000. In accordance with
this communication a resolution was adopted
fixing the salary of County Judge on and after
the ist day of January then ne.xt at $5,000, in
quarterly payments.
The County Treasurer transmitted his annual
statement of moneys received and disbursed from
the 1st of December, 1870, to the ist of Decem-
ber, ibi7i, showing a balance on hand.
The whole amount of such receipts amounted
to the sum of $1,164,420.11; the disbursements
amounted that year to $1,164,420.11.
Equalized valuation of the City and County of
Albany :
President Weaver, from the Committee on Equal-
ization of Ta.xes, made the following report, which
was adopted :
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annual spring session, 1872.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of the
City and County of Albany, held at the City Hall,
in the City of Albany, May 14, 1872. Members
present:
ALBANY.
First Ward, Charles A. Dennison; Second Ward, Peter
Hal pen; Third Ward, Moses Wliite; Fourth Ward, Thomas
H. Craven; Fifth Ward, Francis N. Sill; Sixth Ward,
Horatio P. Prime; Seventh Ward, Marshall Tebbutt;
Eighth Ward, John Daly; Ninth Ward, James McMurray;
Tenth Ward, Leopold C. G. Kshinka; Eleventh Ward,
John McHaflie; Twelith Ward, William Hutchinson; Thir-
teenth Ward, Edmund J. Lord; Fourteenth Ward, Jacob
H. Ten Eyck; Fifteenth Ward, George B. Hoyt; Sixteenth
Ward, Robert S. Dumont.
First Ward, Michael Sherlock; Second Ward, W. Taylor
Dodge; Third Ward, James McGuirk; Fourth Ward,
William Nelligan.
TOWNS.
Berne, William Zeh; Bethlehem, Albertus W. Becker;
Coeymans, Cornelius Van Derzee; Guilderland, Hiram
Griggs; Knox, Peter Schoonmaker; New Scotland, Robert
Taylor; Rensselaerville, William R. Tanner; Watervliet,
Emmet Flagler; Westerlo, Orson L. Hannay.
Mr. Flagler offered the follo\ving resolution :
Resolved, That the following-named persons be and are
hereby appomted permanent officers of the Board of Super-
visors of Albany County for the ensuing year:
President, Hiram Griggs; Clerk, William Anderson;
County Physician, James F. McKown; Doorkeeper, Richard
B. Hagadorn.
At a meeting of the Board May 15, 1872, the
Chairman announced the standing committees.
104
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
At a meeting of the Board December 7, 1872,
the Chairman from the Committee on Equaliza-
tion reported as follows :
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Peter Halpin, Committee.
Report adopted.
The City Budget was also presented at this
meeting.
Mr. Schoonniaker, Chairman of the Finance
Committee, moved that $200,000 of the war debt
of the County be funded, which motion was
adopted.
Coi XTY Budget. — A motion was presented order-
ing that the sum of $771,626.31 be levied and
assessed on the taxable property of the Count}- of
Albany, to be applied for various purposes, among
which were the following :
State and school tax $452,323 39
Support of Alms house 15,000 co
Support of Patients in State Lunatic Asylum. . 25,000 00
Supervisors and officers 13,000 00
Pnncipal due on County bonds 174,000 00
Audited accounts iio.oco 00
Contingents 15,000 00
Making with other items $971,626 39
Less the sum of $200,000 ordered funded by the
Board.
The ratio of taxation for State and County pur-
poses was fixed by the Board at $1.54. The ratio
of taxation in the City of Albany, City of Cohoes,
and the several towns was fixed as follows :
City of Albany, $4.10; City of Cohoes, $1.72; Berne,
$3.06; Bethlehem, $1.70; Coeymans, $1.80; Gilderland,
S2.88; Knox, $2.00; New Scotland, $1-64; Rensselaerville,
$3.00; Westerlo, $2.40; Watervliet, S2.24.
The great looseness in the form of accounts for
legal services which had been presented to the
Board, and also in the manner ot their verification,
led to the following by Mr. Kshinka :
Resolved, That no accounts for legal services rendered in
any proceedings before any Justice of the Peace or Police
Justice, shall be audited by the Board of Supervisors of
Albany County, unless certified by the Justice before whom
such proceedings shall be had that such services were ac-
tually necessary and rendered at his request, and all such
accounts shall be accompanied by a statement showing the
re?ult of the proceedings in each case; which resolution was
adopted.
The salary of the District Attorney was fixed and
established at $4, 500 per annum, commencing on
the 1st of January, 1872.
Mr. Schoonmaker, from the Finance Committee,
reported the following :
Resolved, That there be levied upon the taxable property
of Albany the sum of $867,562.15 for the following pur-
poses:
City Budget $631,441 57
Police Department 1 16,500 00
Park Commissioners 61,864 56
Citycharges 11,79429
Unpaid Taxes due the County 45,961 73
Total $867,562 15
The Board adjourned December 19.
1873 ANNUAL SPRING SESSION.
The board met at their rooms in the City Hall,
Tuesday, May 13, 1873.
Supervisors present:
ALIIANY.
First Ward, Charles A. Dennison; Second Ward, John
Lyons; Third Ward, Moses White; Fourth Ward, James
Macfarlane; Fifth Ward, Alexander H. Wands; Sixth
Ward, Horatio P. Prime; Seventh Ward, Marshall Tebbutt;
Eighth Ward, John Daly; Ninth Ward, James Condon;
Tenth Ward, Leopold C. G. Kshinka; Eleventh Ward, John
McHaffie; Twelfth Ward, Wm. E. Murphy; Thirteenth
Ward, Edmund J, Lord; Fourteenth Ward. Jacob H. Ten
Eyck; Fifteenth Ward, Charles L. Pease; Sixteenth Ward,
Warren S. I^ow.
COHOES.
First Ward, Silas Owen ; Second Ward, George E.
Simmons; Third Ward, James McGuirk; Fourth Ward, Cor-
nelius Vandercook.
TOWNS.
Berne, William Zeh; Bethlehem, Albertus W. Becker;
Coeymans, Cornelius Vanderzee; Guilderland, Hiram
Griggs; Knox, Tunis Slingerland; New Scotland, Horace
T. Dcvereux, Watervliet, Jesse C. Dayton; Westerlo,
Orison L. Hannay. Chairman, Hiram Griggs; Clerk,
Michael J. Powers; County Physician, Dr. J. F. McKown.
This session of the Board of Supervisors in its
organization and appointments resembled the
Assembly in many respects.
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
105
Among the matters of resemblance, two pages
were on motion appointed, and their appointment
was given to the Chairman, and seats were drawn.
Spectators were impressed with the dignity, abiUty
and courtesy which characterized the proceedings
of the Board. It was indeed in all respects what
the Legislature of the capital county of the State
ought to be.
After the usual routine of business the Board
adjourned.
Special Session. — August 20, 1873, 'he Board
met in special session. On the 26th of August the
Supervisors met the State Board of Assessors at
Albany. This meeting was the only business trans-
acted at this session, and that was ot little impor-
tance.
Fall Session. — The Board met November 11,
1873; all the members present. After concluding
their business as canvasseis they adjourned till
November 12, and proceeded with the regular
order of business, presentation of petitions, of
accounts, reports of standing committees and mis-
cellaneous business.
A communication was read from N. K. Hopkins,
Comptroller of the State, stating that the Board of
Equalization of Taxes, in pursuance of chapter 312
of the laws of 1859, had fixed the aggregate
valuation of property in Albany County at the
sum of !i;49,63i,oo6, upon which a State tax
of $344,935.49 had to be levied for the then
current fiscal year beginning October i, 1S73,
being ()^\ mills on the dollar, for the following
purposes :
Mills.
For schools i|^
For general purposes i^
For bounty debt 2
For new Capitol i J
For asylums and reformatories y^
For canal floating debt under
chap. 171, laws 1859 -J
For new work on canals and
extra repairs \
For payment of awards by
Canal Appraisers and Canal
Commissioners, pay certifi-
cates of indebtedness and
deficiency in sinking fund... .jL
F'or academics and union
schools ^-jr
chap.
Laws of
756
1
1S73
1873
1873
1873
1873
76s
1873
766
1873
708
1873
76s
1873
Total.
The following interesting report shows the
amount which had been contributed from criminals
by way of fines and penalties to the treasury of the
Count}' during the year 1873 :
From Court of Oyer and Terminer and Court of
County Sessions $575 00
Amount due County Treasurer last report 55 °°
By amount paid County Treasurer S630 00
From Court Special Sessions $1,514 28
Amount due City Chamberlain last report 182 00
$i,6g6 28
IJy amount paid City Chamberlain 1,633 28
By amount due " " $63 00
COUNTY TREASURER S REPORT.
The County Treasurer's report from January i
to November 29, 1873, inclusive, shows that the
receipts to that time were |i, 21 1,922.53; the dis-
bursements were $1,211,922.53. The amount on
hand as per report was $52,500.
Printing Accounts. — Among the accounts for
printing was the Times printing account, which
was allowed and audited at $1,648.25. The
amount paid the Argus Company for printing was
allowed at $3,868.04.
Henly & Co. were also allowed the sum of
$1,690.36 for printing; the h\\yi.x\y Knickerbocker,
$789-75; Albany Evening Post, $627.75; Albany
Counly Democrat, $209.25; Albany Publishing
Compan}', $861.75; William Bean, $320; making
a sum total of $9,955. 14.
War Loan Bonds. — As there was to fall due on
the istofMarch, 1874, the sum of 8183,000 of War
Loan Bonds of the County, the payment of which
would largely increase the rate of taxation, already
excessively large, it was proposed that the Finance
Committee borrow, on the credit of the County,
that sum and issue Count}' bonds therefor, with
interest payable semi-annually, and the principal
in three annual installments, payable March i,
1881, 1882 and 1883. That such bonds be issued
in the sums of $100, $500 and $1,000 each.
Coroners. — The amount of Coroners' and Phy-
sicians'fees for holding /o^/ mortem examinations
from December 31, 1868, to December 31, 1873,
inclusive, amounted to the sum of $13,742. As
these bills were yearly in the increase, many of the
members of the Board pronounced the charges ex-
orbitant, and therefore proposed to make the office
of the Coroner of Albany County a salaried office,
giving the Board of Supervisors power to determine
the amount.
The assessment roll of the city this year showed
a total value of real estate to be $29,417,870; per-
sonal, $4,970,457.50; total, $34,388,327.50.
The assessment roll of the City of Cohoes for
the year showed a total valuation of real estate to
be $3,084,208; personal, $378,400; total, $3,462,-
608.
The assessment rolls of the towns in the County
of Albany showed a total valuation of real estate to
be $11,610,523; personal, $1, 158,899. 17; making
a grand total of $12,769,422. 17.
Grand totals of Albany, Cohoes, and the towns
in the county, $50,610,357.67.
Homeopathic Hospital. — The sum of $1,000
was ordered to be paid by the County Treasurer
toward the Homeopathic Hospital.
106
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
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City Budget. — The amount levied upon the tax-
able property of the City of Albany this year was
$201,444. 1 1 ; as follows :
Police Department $116,500 00
Park Commissioners 35.43' 0°
City charges 15.013 0°
Unpaid taxes due county 34.5°° 1 1
Total $201,444 II
There was levied on the taxable property of the
county this year the sum of $955,162.49, less
$150,000, ordered funded by the Board, the same
to be applied to the salaries of officers, etc. The
largest item in the making of this account is the
State and school tax, which amounted to $344,-
935-49-
Publishing the Audits. — The Sunday Press,
the Cohoes N'ews, and Times and Pos/, were desig-
nated as papers to print the count}- audits.
New County Buildings. — On December 10,
1873, Hon. Amasa J. Parker and Hon. Henry
Smith addressed the Board concerning the erection
of a new county building. Among other things,
Judge Parker recommended that the lot fronting
on Maiden lane, between the City Hall and jail,
be obtained for the purpose of erecting thereon a
suitable county building, so that prisoners could
be conducted immediatelj' from the jail to the
court-room without danger of escape, and with no
undue exposure. It would seem that the conve-
nient causeway between the jail and the New City
Hall was the result of Judge Parker's suggestion,
referred to in his address.
The County Treasurer's report for the year 1873
shows that his receipts amounted to $1,211,922.53;
the disbursements amounted to $r, 21 1,922.53; the
balance on hand was $52,500.
Town Audits. — The town audits for this year
were as follows :
Berne $3,618 87
Bethlehem 2,933 ^5
Coeymans '.954 ^9
Guilderland 2,024 68
Knox 762 II
New Scotland 1,050 5 1
Rensselaerville 4.368 22
Westerlo 1,423 91
Watervliet 46,875 85
Election accounts and town elections :
Cohoes City, election accounts arising in the sev-
eral wards at the general election of 1873. . . $688.89
Albany City 362,007.51
1874 SPRING SESSION.
The Annual Spring Session of the Board of Su-
pervisors for this year commenced on Tuesday,
May 12. Supervisors present :
First Ward, Augustus Whitman; Second Ward, Peter
Lasch; Third Ward, John H. Finn; Fourth Ward, James
Macfarlane; Fifth Ward, James Allanson; Sixth Ward,
Horatio P. Prime; Seventh Ward, Worthington Poland;
Eighth Ward, John Daly; Ninth Ward, John Kirkpatrick;
Tenth Ward, George Messer; Eleventh Ward, Edward
Kays; Twelfth Ward, John H. Grogan; Thirteenth Ward,
Charles H. Smith; Fourteenth Ward, Jacob H. Ten Eyck;
Fifteenth Ward, Charles L. Pease ; Sixteenth Ward, War-
ren S. Low, Jr.
COHOES.
First Ward, Thomas O'Dea; Second Ward, George E.
Simmons; Third Ward, James Quirk; Fourth Ward, Mau-
rice Fitzgerald.
TOWNS.
Berne, George H. Reinhart; Bethlehem, Albertus W.
Becker; Coeymans, Nelson Schermerhorn ; Knox, Hiram
Gage; Guilderland, Hiram Griggs; New Scotland, Henry
H. Meed; Rensselaerville, Horace T. Devereux; Westerlo,
Daniel M. Wooster; Watervliet, Jesse C. Dayton.
The following officers were elected :
President, Jesse C. Dayton ; Clerk, Michael J. Powers ;
County Physician, Dr. D. V. O'Leary; Doorkeeper, James
McCormick.
At a meeting held May 14 the President an-
nounced the Standing Committees.
The Albany Argus and Express were appointed
to be the county papers for the ensuing year.
Drawing of Jurors. — It was
Resolved, That a wheel-box, similar to those usually used
in drafts for military purposes, be procured, to be used by
the County Clerk, Judge and Sheriff in the drawing ot
Grand and Petit Jurors; that these officers superintend such
drawing ; that any member of this Board may at any time
visit said box and see that all the names are placed therein.
Fall Session. — The Board convened on No-
vember 10, 1874, all the members being present.
After discharging their duties as County Canvassers
the Board adjourned.
The County Buildings. — The committee to
whom the subject of erecting County Buildings was
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
107
committed submitted a very able and elaborate re-
port. They reported a building providing accom-
modation for all the County officers of the Tenth
regiment, a County Court-room much larger than
the present one, and a smaller Court-room which
might be used when, as frequently occurs, several
Courts are in session at the same time. If the
building was entirely fireproof it would cost
$164,000; if only basement and first floor fireproof,
$124,000.
To this the cost of property to be purchased of
private parties had to be added. The site was
between the City Hall and the County Jail, running
through from Pine street to Maiden lane, and was
owned in part by the City of Albany, the County
of Albany and private parties.
Assessed Value of Property. — The assessed
value of real estate in this county for the year T869
was $35,345,497. The State Board of Equaliza-
tion placed the equalized valuation at $40,000,000,
being $4,654,503 above the assessed value.
The assessed value of real estate for the year
1873 was $44, 188,85 1
Wliile theequahzed was placed at 43,161,203
Being less than the assessed $1,027,648
Thus it will be seen that in 1870 the county was
equalized above assessed $4,654,503
While in 1873 the equalized was less than 1,027,648
Making a sum of $5,682,151
The Chairman presented a communication,
showing the number of days which had been oc-
cupied by the different Courts in the city during
the 3'ear :
Special Term, 16 days; General Term, 5 1 ; Circuit and
Court of Oyer and Terminer, 102; County Court and Court
of Sessions, 95 ; Special Session Supreme Court, 54— mak-
iug in all 318 days.
City Budget — Amounted this year to the sum of
$732,230.83.
The amount of uncollected personal tax was
$18,717.14.
Unlicensed Physicians. — The following was
adopted :
Resolved, That hereafter this Board will not allow any
physician's claim unless he be a member of a county medical
society, or has received a license to practice his profession
from some medical college or board of censors.
The annual account ofN. D. Wendell, Treasurer
of the Count}', shows receipts from all sources
amounted this year to $1,250,840.19. Disburse-
ments were $1,250,840. 19. The balance on hand
was $57,000.00.
Albany Police Force. — The sum of $114,000
was designated as the sum required to defray the
expenses of the Police force of the City of Albany
for the year ending November 30, 1875, pursuant
to the provision of Sec. 37, Chap. ']'] of the Laws
of 1870.
The Special Committee appointed to make the
apportionment of Grand Jurors for the different
cities and towns reported as follows :
AI.HANY CITY.
First Ward, 8; Second Ward, 10; Third Ward, 10; Fourth
Ward, 14; Fifth Ward, 10; Sixth Ward, 11; Seventh Ward,
7; Eighth Ward, 13; Ninth Ward, 9; Tenth Ward, 11;
Eleventh Ward, 13; Twelfth Ward, 10; Thirteenth Ward,
II; Fourteenth Ward, n ; Fifteenth Ward, 10; Sixteenth
Ward, II.
1 OWNS.
Bethlehem, 11; New Scotland 8; Guilderland, 10; Coey-
mans, 9; Berne, 6; Rensselaer, 7; Westerlo, 6; Knox, 5.
COHOES CITY.
First Ward, 9; Second Ward, 8; Third Ward, 9; Fourth
Ward, 5; Green Island, 5; West Troy, 21; Watervliet, 12.
ASSESSMENT ROLLS.
City of Albany, for 1875.
Value of real property $30,386,889 00
" personal property 4,284,050 00
Total $34,670,939 00
City of Cohoes.
Value of real property $3,182,06900
" personal property 425,909 00
Total $3,607,968 00
Towns.
Value of real property $ 1 1 , 734, 1 74 60
" personal property 1,128,038 60
Total $12,862,212 20
Grand total of real and personal property. $5 1, 140, 110 20 '
ALBANY COUNTY WAR LOAN BONDS.
A Tabular Statement of Principal and Interest coming due
yearly from i8j ^ to i88 b, inclusive. Principal pay-
able March i. Interest payabte sevii-annually on the
first days of March and September.
1875-*
1876.
Principal.
Interest.
Principal.
Interest.
$174,900 00
71,600 00
$71,600 00
,<;i26,ooo 00
70,000 00
$70,000 00
$246,500 00
$196,000 00
.877.
1878.
Principal.
Interest,
Principal.
Interest.
$150,000 00
6i,200 00
$61,200 00
$250,000 00
50,700 00
$50,700 00
$211,200 00
$300,700 00
1879.
1880.
Principal.
Interest.
Principal.
Interest.
$87,000 00
33,000 00
$33,000 00
$87,000 00
27,000 00
$27,000 00
$120,000 00
$114,000 00
* Leaving $1,000,000 outstanding after thobe due in 1875 are paid.
108
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1881.
1882.
Principal.
Interest.
Principal.
550,000 00
17,500 00
Interest.
$50,000 00
21,000 00
$21,000 00
$17,500 00
$71,000 00
$67,500 00
1883.
1884.
Principal.
Interest.
Principal.
Interest.
$50,000 00
14,000 00
$14,000 00
$50,000 00
10,500 00
$10,500 00
$64,000 00
$60,500 00
1885.
1886.
Principal.
Interest.
Principal.
Interest.
$50,000 00
7,000 00
$7,000 00
$50,000 00
3,500 00
$3,500 00
$57,000 00
$53,500 00
1875.
-ANNUAL SPRING SESSION.
The Board met at their rooms in the City Hall,
Tuesday, May 11, 1875. Supervisors present:
First Ward, Charles Kirchner; Second Ward, Peter
Lasch; Third Ward, Samuel J. Mee; Fourth Ward, James
Macfarlane; Fifth Ward, Peter Kennear; Sixth Ward, E. C.
Koonze; Seventh Ward, H. R. Haskins; Eighth Ward,
William Dwyer; Ninth Ward, John Kirkpatrick; Tenth
Ward, James Rooney; Eleventh Ward, Edward Kays;
Twelfth Ward, William J. Carroll, Charles Gaus; Thirteenth
Ward, Charles H. Gaus; Fourteenth Ward, WiUiam H.
Haskell ; Fifteenth Ward, Charles L. Pease; Sixteenth
Ward, Warren S. Low, Jr.
COHOES.
First Ward, Thomas O'Dea; Second Ward, Frank Brown,
Jr.; Third Ward, Thomas B. Golden; Fourth Ward, Solomon
Dotter.
TOWNS.
Berne, George H. Reinhart; Bethlehem, John Wemple;
Coeymans, Nelson Schemerhom; Knox, James M. Chesebro;
Guilderland, Hiram Griggs; New Scotland, Tunis Slinger-
land; Rensselaerville, Horace T. Devereux; Westerlo,
Daniel M. Wooster; Watervliet, Jesse C. Dayton.
OFFICERS.
President, Henry R. Haskins; Clerk, M. J. Powers;
County Physician, Dr. D. V. O'Leaiy; Doorkeeper, John
McGrath, Jr.
After drawing seats and the appointment of pages
the Board adjourned until the ne.xt day, when the
President named the Standing Committees.
Jail at West Troy. — After the announcement
of the Standing Committees Dr. Buffington was ap-
pointed Physician at West Troy.
The several justices of the peace of the county
were on motion directed to forward to the Board,
by the 1 5th of November, their next report of the
names of all persons sentenced to confinement in
the Albany jail since January i, 1875.
Extra Session. — An extra session of the Board
convened August 3, 1875, for the purpose of con-
sidering the census claims. All the members were
present. After full consideration and settlement
of this matter the Board adjourned until the fall
session.
Fall Session. — This session convened Tuesday,
November 9, 1875, all the members present
except President Haskins, whereupon Hiram Griggs
was elected president /ro tem.
City Budget. — On November 30 the city
budget was received from Martin Delehanty, Clerk
of the Common Council, which amounted m gross
to $599,05046. Under a recent act the adoption
of the report of the budgets required a vote of two-
thirds of all the members. As two-thirds of the
members present voted in favor of the budget, it
was adopted.
County Treasurer's Report. — On December
2 the County Treasurer submitted the annual
report, showing that the money received by him
during the year from all sources amounted to
$1,146,128.92; disbursements, $1,146,128.92.
This report was submitted to the Finance Com-
mittee.
Sealer of Weights and Measures. — On a formal
ballot J. D. Burger was elected sealer of weights
and measures for the then ensuing year.
JivENiLE Delinquents. — By the laws of 1874,
page 570, section 29, boards of supervisors, as we
have seen, in the several counties, are empowered
to determine the compensation of officers conduct-
ing juvenile delinquents to the House of Refuge,
and of lunatics to the Lunatic Asylum. A resolu-
tion was therefore presented to the Board fixing the
compensation fees for such services as follows:
For conveying one prisoner $20 00
Two prisoners on one day 35 00
County Budget. — On December 7, 1875, the
county budget was presented and adopted, which
amounted in gross to 5739,667.40; this sum was
less amount funded $100,000. The following
was adopted:
Resolved, That there be levied upon the taxable property
of the city of Albany the sum of $839,367.40, less one hun-
dred thousand dollars ordered funded by the Board, and
that the same be applied according to the amounts named in
the said budget.
Physicians and Coroners Again. — The difficulty
and embarrassment connected with the fees of phy-
sicians and coroners continued, notwithstanding
strenuous efforts to adjust the difficulties, until De-
cember 23, 1875, when the Board went into Com-
mittee of the Whole, Mr. Haskell in the chair, on
the following resolution:
Resolved, That all physicians of this county shall receive
for their services, when attending post viorlem examinations
by order of a coroner, the following fees :
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
109
For viewing the body and external examinations, and a
certificate given to show cause of death, three dollars.
For viewing a body as to external appearances, with de-
scription of bruises, cuts, etc., five dollars.
Post mortem examination of thoracic cavity and dissection
of heart and lungs, seven dollars.
Post mortem examination of thoracic and abdominal cavi-
ties, with dissection of their respective organs, ten dollars.
Post mortem examination of thoracic and abdominal
organs and dissection of brain, fifteen dollars.
Examination as to sanity, five dollars.
Examination microscopically of the muscular tissues, as in
trichinosis, by order of the Board of Health, twenty-five
dollars.
The title was fixed, " Regulating the fees of physicians of
Albany County." This resolution was ordered to a third
reading.
On Januarj' 6, 1876, the Board went into Com-
mittee of the Whole on the following:
Resolved, That no coroner of the county shall hereafter
order 3. post mortcvi examination of any case unless there is
a suspicion that death has been caused by foul play or other
mysterious cause, nor until he shall have consulted with the
District Attorney of the county or his deputy, and received
the opinion of those officers as to the propriety of such ex-
amination.
No claim- for post mortem examination shall be hereafter
audited unless bearing the affidavit of the coroner that the
services therein charged were in fact rendered, and the
certificate of the County Physician and District Attorney or
his deputy that such examination was, in their opinion,
necessary. Hereafter the coroner shall be allowed no fee
for mileage while attending an inquest within the limits of
the city in which the coroner resides.
The title was fixed, "An act providing for the manner of
holding /(7j^ wortoK examinations," and was ordered to a
third reading.
The Annual Spring Session of the Board of Su-
pervisors was held at the City Hall, in the City of
Albany, May 9, 1876.
The following members present:
ALBANY CITY.
First Ward, Augustus Whitman; Second Ward, Tohn
Lyons; Third Ward, Robert J. McCormick; Fourth Ward,
Edward A. Maher; Fifth Ward, Wm. J. Flynn; Sixth Ward,
E. C. Koonz; Seventh \\'ard, James Young; Eighth \\'ard,
Wm, Dwyer; Ninth Ward, John Kirkpatrick; Tenth Ward,
Thomas Hyde; Eleventh Ward, Edward Keays; Twelfth
Ward, William A. Carroll; Thirteenth Ward, Charles H.
Gaus; Fourteenth Ward, Wm. H. Haskell; Fifteenth Ward,
Patrick H. Daly; Sixteenth Ward, D. J. Norton.
First Ward, Thomas Murphy; Second Ward, Frank
Brown, Jr. ; Third Ward, Thomas B. Golden; Fourth Ward,
Joseph Stewart; Fifth Ward, George E. .Simmons.
Berne, T. J. Wood; Bethlehem, John Wemple; Coey-
mans, James N. Powell; Guilderland, Hiram Griggs; Knox,
James M. Cheseboro; New Scotland, D. J. Raynsford;
Rensselaerville, Albert T. Moore; Westerlo, D. M. Wooster;
Watervliet, J. C. Dayton.
The calling of the roll of members proceeded
until Wm. Dwyer, of the Eighth Ward, was called,
when Mr. Wm. Rahill presented a protest against
calling the name of an)' person from the Eighth
Ward, as Supervisor, except his own, and sub-
mitted a certificate of that office from the Common
Council of the City, and also the certificate of the
County Clerk that he had duly qualified as required
by law.
The Board adjourned till afternoon, when a
somewhat bitter contest ensued over the matter. A
motion to adjourn was lost; but after more argu-
ment an adjournment until evening was agreed to.
At five o'clock, there being no quorum, the Board
adjourned.
In formal session, November 20, 1876, the Board
convened; the Board was present with the excep-
tion of Messrs. Brown and Moore.
The Board assembled to take action in regard to
the death of Michael J. Powers, late Clerk of the
Board.
Appropriate resolutions expressive of esteem were
presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr.
Wm. J. Flynn, which were adopted.
At a meeting held November 21, 1876, the
Board proceeded to ballot for officers, which re-
sulted as follows:
President, Wm. H. Haskell.
Clerk, Daniel Fitzpatrick.
Journal Clerk, John Marcellus.
Doorkeeper, George Carroll.
County Physician, John M. Bigelow.
The President announced as pages Charles Sands
and John Arthur.
At the afternoon session the President announced
the list of Standing Committees.
At a meeting of the Board December 4, 1876,
THE Annual Report of the County Treasurer,
showing receipts and disbursements of the office
for the year ending November 30, 1876 :
Balance on hand at last report $1,700 03
Total receipts Si,o8i,oo8 16
DiSBURSEMlvNTS :
State general tax $327,817 40
Rejected taxes 784 33
$328,601 73
Oty of Albany.
School fund $45,864 00
Alms house 20,000 00
District Attorney's office. . . 2,500 00
Water rents, 1875 \\,^\<) 55
r-, fri. $79.38355
City of Cohoes.
Schoolfunds $9,723 44
County Towns.
School funds $27,058 87
Audited accounts 140 807 6t;
Asylum accounts 51,627 aa
Court expenses 4[!96q 02
Salary account ^r 76, „,
Balance :::;::, f^l4,V(>
Other Items not here included which make
"P^i total $1,081,008 16
Estimate of disbursements for December. . . . 50.000 00
The Chairman presented the following resolu-
tion :
Resolved, That the Board of Supervisors of the County
be and are hereby requested to cause to be raised, assessed
and collected by fax upon the taxable property in the City
of Albany, in the manner provided by law, the followino-
sum: $609,409.25. "
110
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Then follows a table setting forth the different
uses for which the sum is to be expended.
The Mayor, Hon. A. Bleecker Banks, presented
the following amendment, which was accepted :
I approve all the items in the foregoing, except the follow-
mg, to which 1 object :
Homeopathic hospital $2,000
Albany hospital and dispensary 3,000
St. Peter's hospital and dispensary 3,ooo
S8,ooo
Leaving the sum to be raised by tax at
$601,409.25.
The sum of $c,ooo was apportioned to the
Committee on Roads and Bridges for the different
towns in the county.
At a meeting of the Board Friday, December 8,
the Committee on Finance reported favorably on
the adoption of the following :
Resolved, That the Finance Committee be and they are
hereby authorized to borrow on the credit of the county the
sum of $100,000, to pay a portion of the bonds maturing
during the year 1877, and to issue therefor county bonds
with interest at six per cent., payable semi-annually, and
the principal payable March i, 1889 and 1890, §50,000
each; and that each bond be signed by the Chairman of this
Board and the County Treasurer; and that such bonds be
issued in the sum of Si, 000 each; and that the bonds be sold
at public auction on the 15th of February, 1877, the sale to be
advertised for two weeks in the official county papers; and
that the Finance Committee receive proposals for engrav-
ing and printing such bonds, and let the same to the lowest
responsible bidder; and that the Finance Committee pay to
the County Treasurer the proceeds of the sale of said
bonds.
The F'inance Committee were also directed to
apply to the next Legislature for a law authorizing
this County to issue bonds to the amount of $100,-
000, to replace in part the amount coming due
March i, 1877.
The following is a statement of the real and
PERSONAL property of Albany County as assessed in
1876:
City of Albany.
Total real estate $31,759,294 00
Total personal 3.857.850 00
Grand total $35,617,144 00
City of Cohoes.
Total $3,273,913 00
Total personal 420,200 00
Grand total $3,694,113 00
Towns.
Total real estate $12,006,691 00
Total personal 1,022,100 68
Grand total 13,028,791 68
The grand total of Albany, Cohoes and towns :
Real estate $47,039,898 00
Personal 5.3°°. 15° 68
Grand total 1:52,340,048 68
Report on equalized valuation of real estate
per acre in the towns of the. County are as follows:
Berne, $17.45; Bethlehem, $65.20; Coeymans, $40;
Guilderland, $28,35; Knox, $16; New Scotland, $39.50;
Rensselaerville, $18.25; Westerlo, $19.77; Watervliet,
S>5-73.5^-
It was also adopted that the rates of taxation be
fixed as follows:
City of Albany, for that portion added to the city in 1870,
$2.18; portion west of Allen street, $2.38; remainder of the
city, $3.38.
On each $100 of the assessed valuation for city
and county purposes:
For the town of Berne, $2.74; for the town of Bethlehem,
$1.53; for the town of Guilderland, $1.60; for the town of
Knox, $1.66; for the town of Rensselaerville, $1.96; for the
town of Westerlo, $2.04; for the town of Coeymans, $1 50;
for the town of Cohoes, $1.36; for the town of Watervliet,
$2.08; for the town of New Scotland, $1.36.
At a meeting of the Board, December 13, the
balloting for papers to publish the -audits at $60
per paper. The following were the papers
designated: Argus, Cohoes Daily News, Evening
Journal, Rensselaerville Press, Cohoes Democrat,
Evening Times, Morning Express and Albany
Herald.
The death of Warren S. Low, a former member
of the Board of Supervisors, was announced by
Mr. Norton, who offered a preamble and resolu-
tions, which were copied and transmitted 10 the
family of the deceased.
The proceedings of the annual spring session of
the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of
Albany, held May 8, 1877.
Members of new Board:
ALBANY CITY.
First Ward, Jacob Steigleman; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, Edward H. Long; Fourth Ward,
Edward A. Maher; Fifth Ward, Wm. J. Flynn; Sixth Ward,
James A. Shattuck; Seventh Ward, James Young; Eighth
Ward, Michael J. McDonald; Ninth Ward, Mathew J.
Tiernan; Tenth Ward, John Hedrick; Eleventh Ward,
Isaac N. Lansing; Twelfth Ward, William H. McCall;
Thirteenth Ward, Charles H. Smith; Fourteenth Ward,
Charles R. Knowles; Fifteenth Ward, Patrick H. Daly;
Sixteenth Ward, Wm. H. Murray.
First Ward, Thomas Murphy; Second Ward, Frank C.
Reavy; Third Ward, Frank Tessier; Fourth Ward, John P.
Weber; Fifth Ward, George E. Simmons.
Berne, Frederick W. Conger; Bethlehem, W. C. Hotal-
ing; Coeymans, J. H. Powell; Guilderland, J. C. Grant;
Knox, J. M. Chesebro; New Scotland, D. V. S. Raynesford;
Rensselaerville, Albert T. Moore; Watervliet, Jesse C.
Dayton; Westerlo, D. M. Wooster. President, J. C. Day-
ton; Clerk, Thomas H. Craven; County Physician, William
Geoghegan, Jr.; Journal Clerk, Wm. E. Murphy; Sealer of
Weights and Measures, Philip Madden ; Doorkeeper, James
Nolan.
The Board adjourned till May 8.
The Supervisors convened at 2.50 o'clock on
Wednesday, May 8; the minutes of the former
meeting read and approved, after which the Presi-
dent made the announcement of standing com-
mittees for the ensuing year.
Mr. Daly offered the following, which was
adopted:
Whereas, At a meeting ot the Board of Supervisors held
December 8, 1874, a resolution was adopted authorizing
the governors of the Albany Hospital to execute a mort-
gage on the hospital lot and buildings in this city to the ex-
tent of $30,000;
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
Ill
Whereas, The said hospital is in an embarrassed condi-
tion, judgments are recorded against the hospital, and the
property is advertised to be sold at sheriff's sale; therefore.
Resolved, That a committee of three members be ap-
pointed, together with the District Attorney, to look after
the interest of the County.
Messrs. Flynn, Daly and Knowles were appointed such
committee.
BALLOTING FOR THE ELECTION OF COUNTY PAPERS.
The Argus and Times were chosen as Counl_v
papers.
Board adjourned.
Fall Session. — November 13, 1877, the Board
convened. All members present. On motion of
Mr. Maher the Board adjourned as a Board of
Supervisors, and agreed to meet as a Board of
Canvassers November 14.
trouble with newspaper publishers.
B}' the provisions of chapter 2 1 5 of the laws of
1870, it was made the duly of each supervisor in
the State, at the annual meeting of the boards, to
appoint printers for publishing the laws of their
respebtive counties. The act provides that the act
shall be made as follows :
Each member of the Board shall designate by ballot one
newspaper printed in the county to publish the laws, and the
paper having the highest number of votes, and the paper
having the next highest number of votes, shall be the papers
designated for printing the laws; provided such papers be of
the opposite politics and fairly represent the two political
parties into which the people of the county arc divided; and
if said papers so balloted for and chosen are not of oppo-
site politics, and do not tairly represent the two principal
political parties into which the people of the county are
divided, such balloting and such choice shall be of no effect,
and the balloting shall continue until two papers, if there be
such in the county, are chosen that meet the requirements
above set forth.
It was claimed that the Board and each meinber
thereof entirely neglected the said law and its in-
structions, whereupon a mandamus was served
upon the Chairman of the Board to compel obedi-
ence to the said law in the case of The People ex
rel. Jacob C. Culyer vs. The Board of Supervisors
of Alban}' County, Peckham and Tremain, attor-
neys for relator.
After the reading of the mandamus Mr. Flynn
said it was quite clear that the Board must pro-
ceed to a designation of papers, and he presumed
the matter would be satisfactorily disposed of at
their next meeting.
At a meeting of the Board, held November 20,
on motion of Mr. Shattuck, the Board proceeded to
billot for count}' papers, which ballot resulted in
the election of the Argus and Express as county
papers for the ensuing year, thus ending all further
difficulty in the matter.
At the meeting of the Board December 4, the
Chairman presented the
treasurer's REPORT OF RECEIPTS.
Balance on hand at last report $44,646 26
Total amount of receipts $1,071,547 25
Disbursements $1,071,547 25
Balance on hand $78, 79^ 49
December 6, 1877, the Chairman presented the
following communication from the citizens of
Albany :
To Hon. Jesse C. Dayton, Chairman of the Board of Super-
visors of Albany County.
Dear Sir : The undersigned citizens and taxpayers of
tl:e City of Albany have been pleased to see that your Board
has disallowed the large claims presented by various news-
paper proprietors for the unauthorized publication of laws,
proceedings, etc. The allowance of such illegal charges has
been a great grievance and is becoming absolutely intoler-
able. We trust that your Board will firmly adhere to its de-
cision in spite of any clamor and denunciation in which the
disappointed parties may indulge. We trust, too, that it
will in a like manner discountenance and disallow all im-
proper and illegal charges from whatever source they may
come. By so doing, although you may incur the ill-will of
baffled raiders on the county treasury, you will receive the
support and praise of all good citizens.
Dated December 5, 1877.
This communication was signed by twent3'-one
of the first citizens of Albany, and was ordered
filed.
Also the following communication from Mr.
Nathan D. Wendell, County Treasurer :
The following is a statement of the balance due the county
from the several cities and towns at this date, November 30,
1877:
City of Albany $17,734 87
City of Cohoes 2,216 09
Town of Berne 2,566 77
Town of Bethlehem 1,058 57
Town of Coeymans 61 91
Town of Guilderland 2 13 92
Town of Knox 93 83
Town of New Scotland 3 1 93
Town of Rensselaerville 2, 191 92
Town of Westerlo 489 33
Town of Watervliet 715 58
Total $27,469 72
The report of the Committee on Assessment
Rolls presented the following report :
The assessed value of the real and personal property in
the county as assessed in 1877 is as follows :
Total assessed value of real and personal property :
City of Albany $36,164,284 co
City of Cohoes 3,641,494 00
Towns 12,773,362 40
Grand total $52,580,135 40
On the 7th of December Mr. Lansing offered the
following, which was adopted ;
Whereas, The term of office of Supervisors is fixed by law
at one year; and
Whereas, The duties of said officers are onerous and of
grave responsibility, and members of the Board are held to
a strict accountability by their immediate constituency, and
it is impossible for a Supervisor to learn the whole duties in
one term ; and
Whereas, The said Board of Supervisors should be a con-
tinuous body, and the members thereof should be elected for
a term of three years, similar to the Senale of the United
States, one-third expiring every year; therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Committee on Application to the Leg-
islature petition that body on behalf of this Board, at the
next session, for an act making the election of Supervisors
of this county for a term of three years, and one-third there-
of expiring and electing yearly.
On December 8 the President from the Com-
mittee on Equalization presented the following
stateinent :
112
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The equalized valuation of real and personal
property in the City of Albany amounts to. .$34,357,310 90
City of Cohoes amounts to 4,041,494 00
Towns 14, 181,330 50
Total $52,580, 13s 40
On December 27 Mr. McDonald called up a
resolution naming the following papers as papers
designated to publish county audits ; Argus, Times,
Freie Blatter, Albany Cotmty Democrat, Morning Ex-
press, Rensselaer Press, Coeymans Herald, Albany
Evening Post, Albany Herald, Cohoes Daily News.
Mr. Smith moved to amend by making the
amount to be paid for the same f 60 per paper.
Adopted.
Adjourned December 28, sine die.
ANNU.'VL SESSION, MAY I4, I878.
Supervisors present.
ALBANY.
First Ward, Frederick U. Bresler; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, John Bowe; Fourth Ward, Timothy
J. Sullivan ; Sixth Ward, Ignatius Wiley ; Seventh Ward ,
James Young; Eighth Ward, Michael J. McDonald; Ninth
Ward, William Wright; Tenth Ward, Herbert R. Stark-
weather; Eleventh Ward, Isaac N. Lansing; Twelfth Ward,
William H. McCall ; Thirteenth Ward, Charles R. Smith;
Fourteenth Ward, Charles K. Knowles; Fifteenth Ward,
Patrick H. Daly; Sixteenth Ward, James Stackhouse.
•COHOES CITY.
First Ward, William O'Brien; Second Ward, Truman W.
Reynolds; Third Ward, Daniel Sullivan; Fourth Ward,
Lucius Alexander ; Fifth Ward, George E. Simmons.
TOWNS.
Berne, Frederick W. Conger; Bethlehem, William Flag-
ler; Coeymans, John A. Hunt; Guilderland, John C. Grant;
Knox, William J. Haverley; New Scotland, D. V. S. Rayns-
tord; Rensselaerville, Albert T. Moore; Watervliet, Je.sse
C. Dayton; Westerlo, Daniel W. Wooster.
Jesse C. Dayton was elected Chairman; Thomas
C. Cravan was elected Clerk; Dr. |. R. Boulware
was elected County Physician; Patrick H. McCaf-
fery, Doorkeeper.
The following gentlemen were elected Coroner's
Physicians, by ballot :
Dr. R. H. Starkweather, Dr. L. C. B. Grave-
line, Dr. J. W. Moore, Dr. Henry E. Mereness.
JOINT BOARD.
A joint meeting of the Supervisors of the County,
together with the Mayor and Recorder of the City,
was held at Supervisors' rooms May 15, pursuant
to chapter 152, laws 1844.
Present, Hon. M. N. Nolan, Ma3-or; Hon. Wm.
S. Paddock, Recorder,* and all the Supervisors of
the County and City. The Mayor acted as Presi-
dent and the Recorder as Secretary.
The matter of the large number of industrious,
worthy mechanics out of employment, caused by
the general depression of business, owing, as was
alleged, to the interference of prison labor with
legitimate trades, was presented to the meeting by
Mr. Daly, who offered a resolution that a com-
mittee be appointed to inquire into the manner in
*See Biography of Recorder Paddock, in another part of this work,
under head of Legal Biographies.
which contracts were made for labor, and the com-
pensation received for the same by the Superin-
tendents of the Penitentiary ; the quantity, quality
and value of the manufactured articles, and the
relative cost of the labor on such articles compared
with the cost of labor of similar articles produced
by our local manufacturers ; the effect of prison
labor as conducted in this institution on skilled
labor in the County ; the effect on our local manu-
facturers engaged in the production of such articles
as produced by the convicts in said Penitentiary ;
and in what manner, if an}', it affected the skilled
labor employed by them ; also to investigate as to
the general and financial management of the affairs
of the institution, and that the said committee
have power to send for persons and papers.
After an animated debate Mr. Daly's motion
prevailed, and the Mayor appointed the following
committee to act with the Mayor and Recorder, as
provided in the preamble and resolution : Messrs.
Dal}', Maher, Rowe, Bresler and Young.
The meeting then adjourned.
On Thursday, May 16, 1878, the Chairman
announced the Standing Committees, 6.
FALL SESSION, NOVEMBER 12, 1878.
All the Supervisors present.
The session continued on, with one or two brief
adjournments, until January 10, 1879, when it
adjourned sine die.
According to the annual report of N. D. Wen-
dell, County Treasurer, the money received by
him during the year from all sources amounted
to $1,078,885.76. The amount disbursed by him
was $1,078,885.76.
Estimated disbursements for December, 1878 :
Supervisors' salaries and accounts $20,000
Salaries County Officers 5, 000
Asylum Accounts 5,000
Court expenses 10,000
Audited and miscellaneous 10,000
$50,000
REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY ASSESSED IN ALBANY
COUNTY IN 1878.
City of Albany $36,342,890 00
Cohoes 3,620,426 00
Towns 12,717,524 %%y^
Grand totals $52,680,840 58^
Equalized valuation of real and personal property
in 1878 was :
Albany City $34,458,018
City of Cohoes 4,041,494
Towns 14,181,328
Grand totals $52,680,840
RATE OF TAXATION.
lierne, $2.24; Bethlehem, $1,12; Coeymans, ^1.14;
Guilderland, $1.56 ; Knox, Sr.36 ; New Scotland, $1.08 ;
Rensselaerville, $1.62; Westerlo, $1.66; City of Cohoes,
$1.10. ' ' J'
Stationery.— The stationery furnished the Cir-
cuit Courts, Special Term, and the Countv Courts,
for three years ending December 31, 1878, was
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
113
as follows: 1876, $2,078.60; 1877, $2,135.41;
1878, $1,310.43.
1879. — The annual spring session of the Board
of Supervisors met May 13, 1879; '^^ following
members present :
ALU AN V CITY.
First Ward, Henry Hoffman; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, John Bowe ; Fourth Ward, E. A.
Maher; Fitth Ward, T. J. Sullivan; Sixth Ward, Ignatius
Wiley; Seventh Ward, James Young; Eighth Ward, Rich-
ard Rhatigan; Kinth Ward, Stephen P. Eastman; Tenth
Ward, H. R. Starkweather; Eleventh Ward, W. H. Gay-
lor; Twelfth Ward, W. H. McCall; Thirteenth Ward,
John B. Slingerland; Fourteenth Ward, Wlieeler B. Melins;
Fifteenth Ward, Michael E. Higgins; Sixteenth Ward, Wm.
H. Murray.
CO HOES CITY.
First Ward, William O'Brien; Second Ward, John H.
Pynes ; Third Ward, Peter Grandjean; Fourth Ward,
John Groves; Fifth Ward, George E. Simmons.
Berne, Frederick W. Conger; Bethlehem, Wm. Flagler;
Coeymans, John A. Hunt; Guilderland, John C. Grant ;
Knox, I. W. Chesebro; New Scotland, D. V. S. Raynsford;-
Rcnsselaerville, Albert T. Moore; Watervliet, John Reiley ;
Westerlo, A. C. Requa.
President, Edward A. Maher; Clerk, Thomas H. Craven;
Journal Clerk, John C. Morgan; County Physician, Dr.
James L. Babcock ; Doorkeeper, Michael Hayden ; Cor-
oner's Physicians, Dr. H. R. Starkweather, Dr. Wm. H.
Murray, Dr. P. J. TCeegan, Dr. G. H. Billings.
The members proceeded to ballot for C'ounty
papers. The Argus and Evening Journal were de-
clared elected as such.
Mr. Sullivan offered a resolution appointing
Joseph Levi as .Scaler of Weights and Measures for
.\lbany County, which was adopted.
The President announced the Standing Commit-
tees.
At a meeting; of the Board held May 15, Mr.
Higgins offered a resolution recommending five
members of the Board to form a committee to inquire
into the manner and mode of making contracts in
the Albany County Penitentiaiy, and that they have
power to send for persons and papers, and to em-
ploy counsel to ascertain what powers this Board
has in that institution.
Report of ex-County Treasurer Wendell from date
0/ his last report, Novemljer jo, iSyS, to
January I, iSyg:
RECEIPTS.
Balance on hand November 30, 1878 $14,621 78
From collectors 3i77i 00
City of Albany, tax 1877 37i775 94
City of Albany water rents of 1878 4,208 55
Redemption of land sold for taxes 7,912 85
Temporary loan 35, 000 00
L. Hotaling, District Attorney, costs collected. 203 71
Account back taxes for towns 4' 95
S103.535 78
UISIiURSEMENTS.
Audited accounts §17,440 82
Mrscellaneous 430 73
,$17,871 55
Brought forward $17,871 55
Salaries 4,980 75
Interest 3,208 33
Redemption of land sold for taxes 5,436 36
Publication of tax list 485 00
Marshall Infirmary 65 00
Jurors $914 30
Constables 2,6ig 50
J. Fencham 276 00
.Stenographer 120 00
Court Crier 252 00
Justices 158 50
Court orders 198 20
$4,618 50
Bonds paid 5,600 00
Coupons paid 203 00
Balance paid Henry Kelly, Treasurer-elect. . . 61,067 29
Sio3,535 78
Redistributing the County. — A special meet-
ing held June 17, 1879, was held to re-apportion
Assembly Districts, twenty- eight members being
present.
The Board proceeded to redistribute the County
according to law, and discharged their duty in a
most satisfactory manner.
The proceedings were published at the dme in
the daily papers, and they may be found fully pub-
lished in the proceedings of the Board of Supervis-
ors for the year 1879, page 23.
Treasurer's Report. — At a meeting of the
Board December 2, the President presented de-
tailed report, showing the receipts and disburse-
ments of the office from January i to November
30, 1879, one month having been included in the
report of Mr. Wendell, the late Treasurer :
Total receipts $843,298 50
Total amount paid out 5844,286 30
Total amount disbursed $744,286 30
Total amount received 843, 208 50
Leaving treasury overdrawn 5087 80
The following balances are due the County at
this date, viz. :
City of AUjany $28,901 14
City of Cohoes 4^002 07
Town of Berne , 002 14
Bethlehem^ ■."■.■.::;:: 67898
Guilderland rg, Qg
Knox .'...'.'.'..'. 371 85
New Scotland 119 14
Rensselaerville 2 752 i;8
Town of Westerlo 651 01
\Vestervliet !.'.".' i.'.' i!! ! 2, 137 64
'r°''''' 543,189 59
The Town of Coe3'mans has a credit balance of
$113-74.
At the meeting of the Board held December 5,
the report of the Committee on Assessment Rolls
was received, and the amount assessed on real and
personal property in the
City of Albany for 1879 is $37,647,975 00
City of Cohoes for 1879 3,591,098 00
Fownsm 1879 12,192,128 21
Making a grand total of 553,431,201 21
114
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The Committee on Equalized Valuation pre-
seated the following report :
Equalized value of real and personal propert}' in
the
City of Albany for 1879 $33,746,992 40
City of Colioes for 1879 5,341,100 00
TOWNS.
Berne $699,074 30
Bethlehem 2,224,973 56
Coeymans 1,344,564 79
Guilderland 1,218,169 08
Knox 469,717 50
New Scotland 1,564,741 43
Rensselaerville 746,371 00
West Troy and Green Island 2,972,978 51
Watervliet 2,857,945 76
Westerlo 744,482 88
Grand total $53,731,201 21
Destructiox of the City Hall by Fire. —
On the loth da}' of February, 1880, the City Hall
was destroyed b}' lire. *
Special Meeting of the Board. — On Febru-
ary 16, 1880, the Board convened a special session
in the Justices' Court-rooms, City Buildings; the
meeting convened in pursuance of a written call
signed by all the members of the Board for the pur-
pose of taking such steps as the Board might deem
necessar}' in view of the destruction of the Cit\'
Hall by fire. All the members of the Board were
present.
The ])roceedings were \txy interesting. Many
valuable communications from the most eminent
citizens were read, among which were the proceed-
ings of a meeting of the Albany Bar held at the
Justices' Court-rooms, City Buildings, on the nth
day of February, 1880, at which the following reso-
lution was adopted:
Resolved, That the site of the City Hall, recently de-
stroyed by fire, is the most appropriate and convenient for a
building for the County Court and Comity officers, and the
members of the Albany County Bar hereby unanimously
urge the Board of Supervisors to take immediate steps
toward the erection of said building or another upon the
City Hall site for the use of the County Courts and officers.
Henry Smith,
Chairman.
Wm. p. Rudd, 1 <-. . .
Alpheus T. Bulkley, [ ^"^^l""'^'-
The Board had been strongly urged to jjurchase,
or lease, the property in the City known as Martin
Hall for the use of the County and Cit}' offices.
The members of Albany Bar, deeming this building
as entirely unfit for such purposes, by reason of its
location and construction, united in a written pro-
test against purchasing or leasing it, directed to the
Board, urging upon the members not to consider
further the proposition to do so.
An interesting letter from Hon. W. L. I.earned
to Edward A. Maher, Esq., Chairman of the
Board, relative to the packages of half-burned and
wet package of papers rescued from the City Hall
while burning. Judge Learned recommended some
immediate action to prevent them from being
entirely ruinetl.
* For a more full description of City Hall, old and new, see chapter on
Public Buildings.
" If allowed to dry in their present condition," he said,
"they will stick together and, perhaps, mildew so as to be
utterly illegible. They should be taken to some safe and
dry place, opened carefully, spread out separately to dry.
As Clerk of the Court and as President of the Board you
know the great value of these papers, and as such Chair-
man you can give some official direction to the necessary
expense. I cannot think that there would be any hesitation
in paying whatever this most important work may cost. I
therefore beg leave to press on you, and through you the
County Clerk, the necessity of immediate action."
The public spirit and forethought of Judge
Learned in thus calling attention of the Board to
the important matter contained in his letter was
warmly commended by the public. As the Board
acted upon his timely recommendation, papers and
documents of immense value were saved to the
County.
deserved recommexdation to w. b. melius.
E. A. Maker, Esq.— Dear Sir : We think the Board of
Suijervisors should by resolution, or in some other
expressive manner, while commending ihe firemen and
others who so bravely worked to save the property of ihe
city and county from the fire at the City Hall, not omit to
speak specially of the great and extraordinary services of
W. B. Melius, to whose exertions we are all indebted for the
preservation of the most valuable records.
Hamilto.n Harris,
R. W. Peckham,
T. J. Van Alstyne,
L. Hotai.ing,
v.. Countryman.
This reference to the services of Mr. Melius by
these distinguished citizens was eminently just, and
shows how generously ihey appreciated his almost
superhuman efforts. The members of the Board,
acting under the recommendation of this letter,
adopted a handsomel}- worded preamble and reso-
lutions expressive of their high appreciation of the
valuable services of 'Six. ]Melius in thus saving the
property of the city and county.
Mr. Melius has been connected with the County
Clerk's office, officially, at least eighteen years, and
in all, for twenty-five 3ears. No man understands
the records of the County as fully as he.
The fire in the City Hall broke out about one
o'clock on the morning of the loth of February.
It was bitterly cold, and an icy wind was blowing.
Mr. Mt^ius was one of the first to reach the clerk's
office, and began the work of rescuing the precious
volumes containing the records of mortgages, deeds,
judgments, decrees, etc.; notwithstanding the
blinding and almost suffocating smoke that filled
the room, he passed 700 volumes, weighing from
1 2 to 16 pounds each, through a narrow window in
the searching room to a place of safet}'. A few-
moments after the last one was passed out the
flames swept fiercely and destructively through the
rooms. The loss of these records would be im-
mense and irreparable to all owners of real estate
situated in the County of Albany and to all persons
interested in mortgages, decrees and judgments
contained in these volumes.
Mr. Melius was quite overcome with his efl"orls
and had to be assisted in reaching his home.
Intkrest of the County in the City Hall
Building. — Measures were taken at this meeting to
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
115
ascertain what interest the County of Albany had
in the City Hall building then lately destroyed by
fire, and Hon. R. W. Peckham was employed to
assist a committee a[)pointed for the purpose of
ascertaining the said interest of the County.
Books of Record of the County. — The County
Clerk was by resolution authorized to make true
and perfect copies of all the books of record of the
County mutilated, damaged and defaced in the
then recent burning of the City Hall, and that he
be paid the ordinary legal rates by the Count)'
Treasurer, and he was furdier authorized to re-
arrange, sort and label all papers disarranged and
confused by the same fire, and that he be reason-
ably compensated therefor. Mr. Melius was, on
motion, authorized to assist the County Clerk in
the foregoing designated work.
Other important business touching the matters
growing out of the destracdon of the City Hall was
transacted; also at the adjourned meeting held
March i, i88o, other important measures were
taken in regard to the same, which will be found
in the MS. record of proceedings of the Board, from
page 9 to 20, inclusive.
i88o. — Annual Spring Session held at riieir
rooms, No. 38 Beaver street, May 11, 1880.
The followmg members of the Board were present:
First Ward, Henry Hoffman; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, John Bowe; Fourth Ward, E. A.
Maher; Fifth Ward, T.J Sulhvan; -Sixth Ward, Ignatius
Wiley; Seventh Ward, James Young; Eighth Ward,
Richard Rhatigan; Ninth Ward, Stephen I'. Eastman;
Tenth Ward, H. R. Starkweather; Eleventh Ward, W. H.
Gaylor; Twelfth Ward, W, H. McCall; Thirteenth Waid,
John B. Slingerlaiid; Fourteenth Ward, Wheeler B. Melius;
Fifteenth Ward, M. E. Higgins; Sixteenth W.ird, W. H.
Murray.
COHiiES.
First Ward, Wm. O'Brien; Second Ward, John H.
Pynes; Third Ward, Peter Grandjean; Fourth Ward, John
Cirovcs; Fjftli Ward, George IC. Simmons.
TOWNS.
Berne, Frederick W. Conger; Bethlehem, William
Flagler; Cocymans, John A. Hunt; Guilderland, John C.
Grant; Knox, J. W. Chesehro; New Scotland, D. V. S.
Raynsford; Rejisselaerville, Albert T. Moore; Watervliet,
John Reiley; Westerlo, A. C. Requa.
At the election of a chairman of the Board for
the ensuing year suggestions were made as to the
legality of the election of the members of the Board
for the term of two years, whereupon the following
oflScers were elected for the ensuing year.
Edward A. Maher, President; John A. Mangan, Journal
Clerk; Thomas H. Craven, Clerk; Dr. James L, Babcock,
County Physician; Michael Hayden, Doorkeeper; Edgar
Palmer, Sealer of Weights and Measures. The following
gentlemen were elected coroners: Dr. W. H. Murray, Dr.
A. R. Starkweather, Dr. P. J. ICeegan, Dr. G. H. Billings.
NIGHT WATCHMAN FOR COUNTY CI.ERk's OFFICE.
At a meeting of the Board, May 12, the Presi-
dent presented a communication signed by a large
number of the leading citizens of Albany request-
ing that the services of a night watchman at the
County Clerk's office should be continued, and
they further recommended that the night watch-
man be made a permanent employee.
On motion of Mr. Bowe it was resolved to
authorize the County Clerk to continue the
services of night watchman until otherwise directed
by the Board, his salary not to exceed $75 per
month.
The Board met according to adjournment on
November 22, when Mr. Weaver presented the
following report of the Committee on State
Equalization :
Albany County assessed value of real estate
for the year 1878 $47,702,870
Equalization in the year 1879 at 64,295,172
Equalization overassessed value $16,592,302
The Board of Equalization of Taxes, in pursu-
ance of chapter 312, laws of 1859, fi.xed the aggre-
gate valuation of property in Albany County at
the sum of $68,426,226, upon which a State tax of
$239,491.80 must be levied for the current fiscal
year commencing October i, 1880, being three and
one-half mills on the dollar :
Mills.
For schools 1
roff
For general purposes. .
For new Capitol y^
Canals 3^^!^
Chap.
Laws.
515
1880
5'5
1880
515
1880
248
1880
Total.
64-
A report giving a statement of the receipts and
disbursements of the County treasury was sub-
mitted on December 2, as follows:
Receipts and disbursements from December i,
1879, to November 30, 1880:
RECEIPTS.
Total amount received $996,299 gg
Disbursements gg6,299 99
Amount on hand 39,008 46
The amount of real and personal property
assessed in Albany County in 1880:
City of Albany, real and personal $37,085,425 00
" " Cohoes, " " 3,648,093 00
Towns, real and personal 12,330,250 26
Grand total $53,063,768 26
On December 6 the President received the fol-
lowing statement from the Count)' Treasurer, being
the balance due the County at that date:
City of Albany S42, 193 55
*' Cohoes 1,620 45
Town of Berne 3j039 50
'* Bethlehem 12 30
" Coeymans 42 86
" Guilderl.and 458 01
Knox ig7 94
' ' New Scotland 1 2 1 94
" Rensselaerville 2,849 74
" Westerlo 581 22
Watervliet 4,66418
Total.
THE El.lUAl.IZED VALUATION FOR l8So.
S55.163 69
City of Albany, real and personal.
'• Cohoes " " .
■532,883,306 03
- 5-394,927 56
Makuig a total 553,063,'
26
116
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
On January 5, 1881, Mr. Murray, in a well-
worded resolution, made a motion that a tax of
$100.08, assessed on the premises No. 117 Beaver
street, in this cit}', and used by Dr. John Swin-
burne as a Dispensary, be canceled, and the
Board of Assessors were directed to omit said
property from its lists of taxable property and
assessment roll, so long as the ptoperty is retained
for dispensary dr hospital purposes.
This was unanimously adopted, inasmuch as Dr.
Swinburne is known to devote largely of his own
time and money to the charitable care of the sick
poor of the city, and employing assistants, and
keeping and sustaining a private dispensary wholly
from and upon his own personal means, for the
purpose of relieving the sick poor and unfortunate
of the city.
Adjourned January 24, 1881.
Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors at the
annual meeting held May 10, 1881, in Martin
Hall. Members present :
First Ward, Augustus Whitman; Second Ward, John
Ryan; Third Ward, William Casey; Kourth Ward, Edward
A. Maher; Fifth Ward, George L. Thomas ; Sixth Ward,
John Parr; Seventh Ward, James Young; Eighth Ward,
Michael J. Hayden ; Ninth Ward, James A. Lynom; Tenth
Ward, Mathew C. Clark; Eleventh Ward, William V,. Scotl;
Twelfth Ward, William Guinan; Thirteenth Ward, Joseph
C. Griffin ; Fourteenth Ward, Robert Geer; Fifteenth
Ward, Michael E. Higgins; Sixteenth Ward, Wm. H. Mur-
ray; Seventeenth Ward, Frank Brennan.
First Ward, John Clark; Second Ward, John H. Pyncs;
Third Ward, C. M. Nadeau; Fourth Ward, John Groves;
Fifth Ward, Charles Knott.
Berne, Frederick W. Conger; Bethlehem, W. C. Hota-
ling; Coeymans, Estes H. Strevell; Guilderland, Aaron
Fuller; Knox, Izrahiah Chesebro; New Scotland, Henry H.
Meed; Rensselaerville, Hercules Sayre; Watervliet, John
Reilly; Westerlo, Anson C. Requa.
President — Edward A. Maher.
Clerk — Thomas H. Craven.
Journal Clerk — John. C. Mangan.
County Physician— Dr. U. B. La Mcure.
Doorkeeper — James A. McCotter.
Coroners' Physicians — Doctors P. J. Keegan, H. R.
Starkweather, R. D. Clark, G. H. Billings.
Sealer of Weights and Measures — Edgar Palmer.
Counsel for Overseer of Poor — Martin D. Conway.
Pages— John Ward, Joseph Foy.
County Papers. — Argus and Express.
COMMISSIONERS TO REPAIR OR REBl'ILD CITY HALL.
By the laws of 1880, Chapter 285, M. H. Nolan,
Edward Maher, Barclay Jermain, Charles Van
Bentheusan, Robt. C Pruyn, C. P. Easton, Erastus
Corning and Leonard (}. Hun were appointed
Commissioners to repair or rebuild the City Hall
in this city. The names of the gentlemen com-
posing this Committee was the highest guarantee
that the important duties committed to them would
be performed with the utmost ability, exactnes.s
and dispatch.
At this meeting of the Board, in pursuance of
Section 8 of the said act of 1880, this Committee
presented a succinct and ably drawn petition to
the Board, requesting that body to direct the issue
of bonds of the County of Alban)-, to the amount
of $145,000, to be negotiated by the Chairman of
the Board of Supervisors and the Treasurer of the
county, at such times and in such amounts as may
be required by the Commissioners ; such bonds to
be signed by the Chairman of the Board of Super-
visors and the Treasurer, to bear semi-annual in-
terest at the rate of four per cent per annum, and
payable, one-third thereof in twenty years, and one-
ihird thereof in twenty-two years, from the date of
their respective issues.
The Commissioners presented a resolution to the
Board, in conformit}' with the said petition, which
directed that the said sum of $145,000 be paid, as
stated above, to wit: $50,000 in the year 1901,
$50,000 in 1902, $45,000 in 1903.
Committee on Coroners and Physicians. — This
Committee is very important, and for a time was
very onerous, requiring a clerk ; but by the law
touching the salaries of physicians appointed to
make post morleni examinations, and by a law of
the Board letting by contract the burial of paupers
under said contract, the Committee were relieved
from much of their labor, so it became unnecessary
to keep a clerk, and a resolution was presented for
the discharge of the clerk, but it was tabled ;
whereupon it was moved by Mr. Higgins that a
clerk be elected, and John P. Masterson was
elected clerk to the Committee. Adopted.
Special Meeting, August 12, i88r. — Called
under a written request and signed by all the mem-
bers of the Board, to enable the Finance Commit-
tee and County Treasurer to borrow money to
meet deficiencies and transact such other business
as might be necessar}'. The sum required was not
to exceed $120,000, and was for the purpose of
paying State tax, which was to fall due on the ist
of September then next. This amount was directed
to be raised in conformity to the foregoing.
State I3oard of Health. — At a meeting,
November 15, an important communication was
received from the State Board of Health in regard
to the amendments of laws designed to secure
the complete registration of births, marriages and
deaths, and especially to give the greatest possible
accuracy to the record of the causes of death and
burial of ihe dead.
The Board of Equalization of Taxes fixed the
aggregate valuation of properly in Albany County
at $67,372,736, upon which amount a State tax of
$151,588.66 was to be levied for the current fiscal
year commencing October i, 188 1, being 2\ mills
on the dollar, for the following purposes :
For Schools jYff mills, per Chap. 453, Laws 1881.
" General purposes. ^ " " " 453, <. ,g!ji.
"Canals ^ " ■■ - jg^^ « igy,.
Total 2} mills.
The non-resident taxes credited to the County
for 1880 were $202.92.
At a meeting of the Board November 21, 1881,
a communication was read in regard to the State
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
117
Board of Assessors and the Stale Board of Equal-
ization.
The assessed valuation of real estate in Albany
County in 1880 $49,151,808
Personal estate 3,91 1,960
Total $58.063,768
To the assessed valuation the Stale Board have
added $14,308,968; this made the equalized valua-
tion of real estate $63,460,776; to this add the per-
sonal, $3,911,960, which makes the sum $67,372,-
736, upon which we pay a State tax this year.
In the year 1881 there was added to our assess-
ed valuation , $14,695,025
In the year 1880 14,308,968
An apparent reduction of $386,057
The increase in the assessed valuation of the
whole State for 1880 was $24,935,164, or .0107
per cent.
The increased assessed valuation of Alban\'
County for 1880 was but $18,000, or .0004 per
cent. It should have been quite as much as that
of the State.
An article contained in the Evening Journal,
signed "H.," containing alleged misstatemenls
touching the acts of the Board relative to the print-
ing of 250 copies of its rules, was made the subject
of a question of privilege in order that the said
statement should be prompdy refuted. It was de-
nounced and proven to have done injustice to the
Board.
A communication was also received from Dr.
John Swinburne asking to be relieved from taxes
assessed on his private hospital, which was granted.
Arsenal. — The estimates of the expense of fit-
ting up for rooms in the arsenal for the benefit of
the militar}' of the cit}'.
The contract was awarded by the proper Com-
mittee, so far as building lockers, etc., was con-
cerned, at $2,439.
Election Notice. — The Argus and Morning
Express were designated as papers to publish
election notices.
The Treasurer's Account, for the year
ending November, 1881, was presented
December 2, 1881, showing the receipts of
his office for that time to be $1,032,444 88
Disbursements $1,032,444 88
Statement of real and jiersonal property
assessed in the County of Albany, 18S1:
Real $61,422,635
Personal 7>5°7. 755
Total $68,930,390
On December 8, on motion of Mr. Conger, a
resolution was adopted authorizing the Finance
Committee to borrow, on the credit of the County,
the sum of $50,000 to pay bonds in like amount
maturing March i, 1882, and to issue therefor
county bonds bearing interest, not to exceed 4 per
cent, per annum, payable semi-annually, the prin-
cipal payable Marcli i, 1904. The said bonds
M'cre to be registered or coupon, and they were to
be sold at public auction on February 15, 1882,
after being advertised two weeks.
Equalized Valuation of Albany Co., 1881 ;
alhanv city.
Real estate $48,886,198 00
Personal 7)507)755 00
Total 856,393,953 00
Cohoes City real estate $9,455,072 00
" " personal estate 336,64400
Total 9,791,716 06
Albany City, Cohoes and towns,
real estate $81,453,069 25
" " personal 8,889,220 18
Grand totals $90,342,289 43
State and County Tax. — The rate of State and
County tax was fixed by resolution at fifty-four
cents on each $100 of the equalized valuation of
this count)'.
Special Meeting. — Monday, December 12, 1881,
a special meeting convened pursuant to a call pre-
viously made for the purpose of fixing the rate of
the city of Cohoes, and of the town of Watervliet.
The rate of taxadon for the city of Cohoes for 1881
was fixed at 1 1.2 5 upon each $100. The rate for
Watervliet for 1881 was fixed as follows :
On each Sioo of the assessed valuation:
Watervliet, First District $75
West Troy and Green Island 68
District Attorney's Report. — D. Cady Herrick
presented his report of the costs received by him,
and also a statement of the fines imposed since
January i, 1881, which by recapitulation shows as
follows:
Costs and judgments $1,526 26
Fines in Oyer and Terminer 275 00
" " County Sessions 409 00
" " Special Sessions 95400
S3, 155 26
Cohoes Jail. — By resolution the County Treas-
urer was authorized to pay the city of Cohoes $500
for rent of jail pursuant to Sec. 15, Chap. 60,
Laws of 1 88 1.
Previous to the adjournment of the Board, on
December 20, 1881, Supervisor Geer, in a pleas-
ing and finely worded speech, on behalf of the
members of the Board, presented President Maher
an elegant watchchain and charm. Mr. Maher
received it with a very feeling and appropriate
address. Supervisor Murray then arose, and, on
behalf of the members of the Board, presented
Mr. Thomas H. Craven, Clerk of the Board, with
a valuable silver service.
In presenting it, Mr. Murray made some timely
and exceedingly well received remarks touching
the high esteem in which Mr. Craven was held by
the Board. The latter thanked the Board in a very
118
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
happy manner. The whole proceeding gave great
satisfaction to the Board and public.
The Board of Supervisors of the city and county
met at their Annual Session at their rooms in Music
Hall, May 9, 1882.
The following members were present:
CITY OF ALBANY.
First Ward, Agustus Whiteman; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, Wm. Casey; Fourth Ward, Edward
A. Maher; Fifth Ward, John Cook; Sixth Ward, John D.
Capron; Seventh Ward, Edward Koark; Eighth Ward,
Michael J. Hayden; Ninth Ward, Daniel J. Murphy; Tenth
Ward, Mathew C. Clark; Eleventh Ward, Alfred Booth;
Twelfth Ward, William H. McCall; Thirteenth Ward,
Joseph C. Griffin; Fourteenth Ward, Robert Geer; Fifteenth
Ward, James Skillicorn; Sixteenth Ward, Alonzo B. Voor-
hees; Seventeenth Ward, Thomas J. Reilly.
COHOES.
First Ward, John Clark; Second Ward, Frank Rockwell;
Third Ward, Charles M. Nadeau; Fourth Ward, John
Groves: Fifth Ward, Neil Morris.
TOWNS.
Berne, Thomas J. Wood; Bethlehem, W. C. Hotaling;
Coeymans, Estes H. Strevel; Guilderland, Aaron Fuller;
Knox, Wm. J. Haverly; New Scotland, Hiram Becker;
Rensselaerville, Hercules Sayre ; Watervliet, Joseph Ander-
son; Westerlo, Anson C. Requa.
President, Edward A. Mayer.
Clerk, Thomas H. Craven.
Journal Clerk, John A. Lawless.
County Physician, Dr. R. D. Clark.
Doorkeeper, Bernard Ross.
Coroner^' Physicians, Drs. H. R. Starkweather, P. H.
Keegan, M. J. Lewi and G. H. Billings.
County Sealer of Weights and Measures, John Powers.
Counsel for Overseers of the Poor, Mr. D. Conway.
County Papers, Daily Argus and Daily Express.
After considerable business relative to peniten-
tiary matters, of which we shall give an account in
another place, the Board adjourned.
At a special meeting held May 24 the President
announced the Standing Committees for the ensuing
year.
At a meeting of the Board held July 27 it was re-
sojved that the office of the Coroners of Albany
County should be located in the rooms of the Su-
pervisors, and that John P- Masterson be and he
was appointed a clerk to said Coroners, his duties
to assist as clerk to each of said Coroners in their
official duties, and to keep a record of and file each
inquisition; also to act as Clerk to the Committee
on Coroners and Physicians of the Board, the
salary not to exceed $100 per month, the County
Treasurer to pay the same.
At a meeting held November 14 the Clerk pre-
sented the following statement :
The Board of Equalization of Taxes have fixed the
aggregate valuation of property in the County of Albany at
the sum of $74,051,676, upon which amount a State tax of
$181,426.61 must be levied for the current fiscal year begin-
ning October [, 1882, as i^rovided in chapter 312, laws of
1859, and amendments thereto, by chap. 351, laws of 1814,
being 2 .^^ mills on the dollar, for the following purposes:
For schools i y^ir ™i"s, chap. 296, laws 1882
For general purposes .. . y^j " " 296 " 1882
F'or canals /,% " " 208 " 1882
Total 2f^^ mills.
Non-resident taxes credited to Albany County for 1881
amounted to $19.74-
On November 21 Mr. Weaver, from the Com-
mittee on State Equalization, presented the follow-
ing statement :
Equalized valuation of real estate of Albany
County for the year 1881 $63,460,776
Amount the County should have increased to
retain its relative proportion with other coun-
ties in the State 1,906,772
The amount it would then have been equalized
on real estate for 1882 $65,367,548
The amount it is equalized for 1882 65, 162,456
Amount of reduction $205,092
Amount of Albany County's increase $1,906,772
Amount added by State Board of Equalization . 1,701,680
Difference in favor of Albany County .
$205,092
The amount of State tax for this year is $29,837.94
greater than last year, and is accounted for as follows :
Increase of personal estate $4,977,260
Increase of real estate 1,701,680
$6,678,940
This amount, multiplied by la'st year's rate,
2% mills on the dollar, produces $15,027.61
Total amount of equalized real and personal
($74,05 1,676) for 1882, multiplied by one-fifth
of a mill, the Increase over 1881 14,810.33
S29.837-93
On November 28 the Clerk presented the Annual
Report of the Coroners.
The report of Richard Scully shows that from
October 16, 18S1, to November 10, inclusive, there
were 33 post mortem examinations with juries con-
ducted before him. Peter Lasch reports 44 inquests
held by him during the 3'earsof 1881-2 with jurors.
The first annual report of James McCann states
that he held 30 inquests during the year 1882, from
January 22 to November 24.
Richard Johnson reported 19 inquests held by him
since November 24, 1 881, to September 26, 1882.
On December 4 Mr. Sayre, from the Committee
on Assessment Rolls, presented the following:
Statement of the Real and Personal Prop-
erty in Albany County as assessed in i88z.
Total real in City of Albany .
Total personal " "
61,117,810 00
6,432.332 00
Real in City of Cohoes $3,410,079 00
Personal" " 361,50000
S67,55o>342 00
3,771,579 00
Towns, real estate $17,076,329 73
personal 1,053,33493
18,129,66466
Grand total 589,451,585 66
It was also resolved to raise by tax on property in
the City of Albany the sum of $720,789.37 for the
several contingent expenses of the city for hospitals,
nurseries and temporary out-door relief of the poor,
and for rebuilding Beaver Creek arch, at Philip
street.
On December 8 Mr. Requa, from the Committee
on Equalization, presented the following report,
which, on the next meeting, December 9, was
adopted:
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
119
EQUALIZED VALUATION OF 1882.
City of Albany, real $48,977,620 00
" " personal 6,432,53200
$55,410,152 00
City of Cohoes, real $9,472,697 00
" " personal 361,50000
— ^ 9>834.i97oo
Towns, real £1,604,218 73
" personal 7,847,366 93
Grand total, includint; towns $89,451,585 66
On December 14 a special session of the Board
met at two p. m., pursuant to a call of the Presi-
dent.
The object of this call was "for the purpose of
taking suitable action regarding the death of the
wife of Supervisor Geer, of the Fourteenth Ward."
A motion was made to appoint a committee of
three to draft resolutions to be reported at evening
session. Messrs. Voorhees, Capron and McCall
were named by the President as such committee.
On motion the Board adjourned.
At the evening session Mr. Voorhees reported
the following:
Resolved, That the members of this Board most sincerely
sympathize with their associate, Robert Geer, in the irre-
parable loss he has sustained in the death of his wife, and
extend to him the assurance of their heartfelt sorrow.
At the meeting of the Board, held December 22,
that body tendered their most cordial thanks to
their efficient President, Edward A. Maher, for
the impartial manner in which he had presided
over their deliberations; and they collectively and
individually conveyed to him in the resolution the
official and personal assurance of esteem and
regard.
It was further resolved that the members of the Board
"not only recognize but fully appreciate the invaluable
services of the attentive, courteous and competent Clerk,
Thomas H. Craven, and that we not only deem it a pleasure,
but feel it to be a duty, to thus publicly and officially recog-
nize our obligations to him for the faithful and conscientious
performance of his important duties."
After a very pleasant but brief address from the
President the Board adjourned s-OTg die.
1883. — Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors
of Albany County at their annual meeting, May 8,
1883. Members present :
ALBANY CITY.
First Ward, George J. Goetz; Second Ward, Thomas
Powers; Third Ward, Wm. Casey, Fourth Ward, Patrick
Cuddy ; Fifth Ward, Peter J McGowan ; Sixth Ward,
Andrew Vanderzee; Seventh Ward, Edward Roark; Eighth
Ward, Michael J. Hayden; Ninth Ward, Daniel J. Murphy;
Tenth Ward, Frederick Stackman; Eleventh Ward, Alfred
Booth; Twelfth Ward, Wm. H. McCall; Thirteenth Ward,
Joseph C. Griffin; Fourteenth Ward, Robert Geer; Fifteenth
Ward, James Skillicorn; Sixteenth Ward, Edwin Ellis;
Seventeenth Ward, Thomas Reilly.
CITY OF COHOES.
First Ward, Marcus Kennedy; Second Ward, Truman
W. Reynolds; Third Ward, Charles M. Nadeau; Fourth
Ward, Jared H. Blair; Fifth Ward, Neil Morris.
Berne, Thomas J. Wood; Bethlehem, John L. Winne;
Coeymans, Lansing Shear; Guilderland, Aaron Fuller;
Knox, Charles G. Frink; New Scotland, Hiram Becker;
Rensselaerville, Hercules Say re ; Watervliet, Nicholas Kane ;
Westerlo, Anson C. Requa.
President, Anson C. Requa; Clerk, Thomas H. Craven;
Journal Clerk, John J. Dunphy; Doorkeeper, John J. Mc-
Caffrey; County Physician, U. B. La Moure; Counsel to
Overseer of Poor, George Parr; County Sealer of Weights
and Measures, Jacob S. Scrafford.
At a meeting of the Board, held May 24, the
President announced the Standing Committees.
At the next meeting, November 14, the balloting
for coroners' physicians resulted as follows :
Dr. J. H. Moore, Dr. F. L. Classen, Dr. D. P. Shevelin
and Dr. G. H. Billings.
The Argus ■s.xiA Journal were declared as County
papers.
Charles L. Pease was appointed Committee Clerk
to this Board.
It was resolved that the regular sessions of the
Board should be held on Monday, Tuesday,
\\'ednesday and Thursday at 8.15 p. m.
The Clerk presented the following statement :
The Board of Equalization of Taxes, in pursuance of
chapter 312 of the laws of 1859, fixed the aggregale valua-
tion of property in Albany County at the sum of $76,442,516,
upon which amount a State tax of $248,438.18 must be
levied for the current year, commencing October i, 1883,
as provided in said act and amendments thereto, by chapter
351, laws of 1874, being Si^a, mills on the dollar, for the
following purposes:
Schools 'tbtit "ii"s, per chapter 376, laws 1883.
General purposes. . i^W,,- mills, per chapter 376, laws 1883.
For Canals 'rffo^ff mills, per chapters 373, 471, 495,
laws 1883.
Total .
mills.
The non-resident taxes credited to tlie County for 1S82
amoinit to $273.50.
Coroners' Reports. — The Second Annual report
of James J. McCann gives the number of inquests
held by him during the years 1882-3 to be 44.
The Third Annual report of Richard Scully for
the same years shows 1 6 cases.
Coroner Thomas Nolan reported 12 inquests
held by him during the year 1883, from January
8 to October 30.
The Third Annual report of Coroner Peter Lasch
shows that 40 inquests were held by him durino-
the years 1882-3, fro^n December 2, 1882, to No°
vember 16, 1883.
At the meeting of the Board held November 12
the President presented the
Report OF THE Committee ON State Equaliza-
tion.— There had been two tables presented by
the State Assessors to the State Board of Equaliza-
tion for adoption, but neither were accepted. On
October 10 a table was presented which was further
amended, and the Committee adopted ; it was as
follows :
Assessed valuation of real estate $81,604,218
Deduction made from real estate 13,009,060
Equalized real estate $68,595, '49
Personal estate 7 g^y o5y
Total equalized real and personal, as corrected. $76,442, 5 16
Making a reduction, as between the tables of
October 4 and 10, of $912,879
120
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The Clerk presented the following :
Bonds of the City of Albany to the amount of $100,000,
bearing interest at the rate of seven per cent., were issued
for the construction of the High School building, the prin-
cipal of which is payable in ten annual installments of
$10,000 each. There will be required for the said annual
payment $10,000, and ior interest on bonds $1,050, as fol-
lows : Six months' niterest on $20,000, $700, and six months'
interest on $10,000, $350.
The Committee on Assessment Rolls presented
the following report :
Statement of the Real and Personal Property of Aibaiiy
County as Assessed in 188^.
City of Albany, real estate $60,750,120 00
" " personal 6,480,735 00
Total $67,230,855 00
City of Cohoes, real $3,403,827 00
" " personal 399,99000
Total $3,803,817 00
Towns, real estate $20,338,235 18
" personal 1,107,89600
Total $21,446,131 18
Grand total $92,480,803 18
jMr. Fuller, from the Committee on Equalization
of Ta.Kes, presented the following report :
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At a meeting of the Board December 7 the
following was adopted :
Resolved, That the rate of taxation be fixed as follows for
the following towns and the City of Cohoes for the year
1883 on each $100 of the assessed valuation :
Berne, $1.04; Bethlehem, $1.36; Coeymans, $1.42; Guil-
derland, $1.34; Knox, $1.44; New Scotland, 82 cents;
Reiisselaerville, 86 cents; Westerlo, 66 cents; Watervliet,
1st district, 86 cents; Watervliet, 2d district. West Troy
and (Jrecn Island, 78 cents; City of Cohoes, $1.76.
County Treasurer's Report. — Robert Gallup,
Count}' Treasurer for the County of Albany, states
in his report that the amount on hand at last re-
port was $1,050. 53. This amount, together with
all receipts of the office for the year ending No-
vember 30, 1883, amounts to $928,229.81. The
disbursements for the same time amount to
$928,229.81, including a balance on hand of
$19,591.61.
The Board adjourned January 11, 1884, after
tendering sincere and heartfelt thanks to President
Anson C. Requa, and the Clerk, Thomas H.
Craven, who replied in very eloquent addresses.
1884. — Annual Spring Session held at their
rooms in the New City Hall, in the City of Albany,
May 13, 1884. Members present:
ALBANY CITY.
First Ward, George J. Goetz; .Second Ward, Michael J.
Nolan; Third Ward, William Casey; Fourth Ward, Patrick
Cuddy; Fifth Ward, Peter J. McGowan; Sixth Ward,
Thomas C. Jeffers; Seventh Ward, Marshall Tebbutt;
Eighth Ward, Michael J. Haydcn; Ninth Ward, Wm. F.
Reedy; Tenth Ward, Frederick Stackman; Eleventh Ward,
Meredith Burke; Twelfth Ward, James J. Wise; Thirteenth
Ward, Joseph C. Griffin; Fourteenth Ward, Robert Geer;
Fifteenth Ward, John T. Bi-ady; Sixteenth Ward, James
Stackhouse; Seventeenth Ward, George Holler.
First Ward, Marcus Kennedy; Second Ward, Truman W.
Reynolds; Third Ward, Charles M. Nadeau; Fourth Ward,
John P. Weber; Filth Ward, George W. Smith.
Berne, Thomas J. Wood; Bethlehem, John L. Winne;
Coyemans, Richard S. Blodgett; Guilderland, Aaron Fuller;
Knox, Charles G. Frink; New Scotland, Charles Wood;
Rensselaerville, Jacob B. Norwood ; Watervliet, Nicholas T.
Kane; Westerlo, Anson C. Requa.
Chairman, Anson C. Requa; Clerk, Thomas H. Craven;
Journal Clerk, Elbert E. Richmond; Doorkeeper, Joseph
Johnson; County Physician, Dr. U. B. La Moure; Coun-el
to Overseer of Poor, Tliomas F. Connor; Sealer of Weights
and Measures, Jacob S. Scrafford.
A recess was taken till the afternoon, when a
joint meeting was called.
The committee appointed introduced Hon. A.
Bleecker Banks, Mayor, and Anthony Gould,
Recorder.
The Mayor acted as Chairman and the Recorder
as Secretary of the meeting, and Mr. T. H. Craven
Clerk.
IMr. Greer offered a resolution in which the
Superintendent of the Penitentiary should be le-
quested to furnish the Board with copies of all con-
tracts made by him for the labor of prisoners; also
lor copies of contracts made with the United States
and with counties in regard to the terms on which
HISTORY OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
131
their prisoners are maintained in that institution,
etc.
It was also resolved that the Superintendents and
Inspectors of the Penitentiary be and are pro-
hibited from renewing existing contracts, or making
an}' new ones, for the maintenance of prisoners of
other counties or of the United States.
Working Men's Assembly. — This organization,
one of the most important in the Cit}- of Albany,
often memorialized the Boartl in regard to matters
touching the interests of the laboring classes,
always respectfully. The\' were always given
a respectful hearing.
Special Meeting. — On August i8 the Board
met to take action relative to the death of William
Casey, Supervisor of the Third Ward, City of
Albany. A committee of five, consisting of Messrs.
Brady, Nolan, Goetz, Cudd\- and Stackman, was
appointed to draft suitable resolutions.
Mr. Brady addressed the Board in touching and
appropriate language, and at the close of his ad-
dress the Committee presented their resolutions,
which were adopted. The address and resolutions
are in ever}' respect worthy the character of Mr.
Casey, while they reflect great credit upon their
authors and are embellishments to the records of
the Board of Supervisors of the County.
The Board thereupon adjourned.
Regul.vr Session of the Board of Supervisors
met at the City Hall, November 12, 1884, for the
fall session. AH members present.
The election of Coroners' Phj'sicians then took
place. The following were elected:
Drs. S. C. Heale}', Frederick L. Classen, J. H.
Billings, Wm. Hagedorn.
County Papers. — The ballot for the County
papers for the ensuing year resulted in the election
of the Argus and Express.
On motion the salary of the Coroners' Ph3'sicians
was fixed at $600 per annum, their term of office
to begin November 20, 1884.
Annual Report of the Coroners. — The an-
nual account of Michael H. Murray shows 29 in-
quests held by him during 1884; James C. Mc-
Cann shows 28 inquests; Richard Scully, 17;
Thomas Nolan, 9; Peter Lasch, 2; total, 85.
A71 Unconstitutional Law relative to Grand Jurors.
— By chapter 532 of the laws of 1881, an impor-
tant innovation was made relative to the selection
of Grand Jurors in Albany and one or two other
cities in the State. It provided :
That the duties assigned the Supervisor, Town Cicrk or
Assessors by the Revised Statutes in regard to Grand
Jurors should be performed by the Recorder of the City of
Albany. It provided that in Alljany County Grand Jurors
should, after the passage of that act, be drawn from the
box containing the names of Petit Jurors selected for said
County, in the same manner as Petit Jurors, and that there-
after no separate list of Grand Jurors should be prepared
for said County. Under thi.s law a Grand Jury was drawn
which convened for the May Term of the Albany Oyer and
Terminer for 1882, .at whicli Term, and by said Grand Jury,
one James Dempsey, and two others, were indicted for
iG
On that trial they were convicted, and the verdict was ap-
pealed from to the General Term of the Supreme Court,
where the conviction was affirmed. From the judgment of
the Supreme Court an appeal was taken to the Court of
Appeals, where the judgment of conviction was set aside
on several points raised by the counsel for the prisoners,
but chiefly on the ground that the Act of 1881, to which we
referred, was imconstitutional, in that the bill resulting in
the act was a private or local bill and against the provisions
of Article 3, Sec. 18, of the Constitution as amended No-
vember 3, 1874, which provides that the Legislature shall
not pass a private or local bill in any of the following cases:
Selecting, Drawing, Summoning or Im-paneling Grand or
Petit yurors. — As this provision is qualified by Section 25
of the same article, which provides :
" Sections 17 and 18 of this Article shall not apply to any
bill or the amendments to any bill which shall be reported
to the Legislature by Commissioners who have been ap-
pointed pursuant to law to revise the Statutes ; that the
Statutes show that there had been no such officers as ' Com-
missioners who had been appointed pursuant to law to re-
vi.sc the Statutes ' subseciuent to May i, 1878, and, there-
fore, said chapter 532 could not have been reported as pro-
vided for in said section 25 ; "
The counsel for the defendants, Mr. E. J. Meegan,
brought all the Acts of 1870, 1873, 1874, 1876 and 1877 in
regard to the amendment of the Code and of the various
constitutional amendments touching the Political Code, the
Penal Code,- the Code of Civil Procedure and the Civil Code
into consideration against the constitutionality of the Act of
1881, to which we have alluded, and, as we have said, the
Act in regard to the drawing of Grand Jurors in the County
of Albany was declared unconstitutional. It therefore be-
came the duty of the Supervisors of Albany County for 1884
to select Grand Jurors for the then ensuing year, under the
general law, which requires that the Board shall prepare a
list of 300 men between the ages of twenty-one and sixty,
owners of real estate either in their own names or in that of
their wives, or assessed on personal property for at least
the sum of $250, and inhabitants of the town or ward in
which they were selected.
The importance of the foregoing to this work, and to the
general reader, will be appreciated. We have presented
the subject at some length, because it is not only one of the
most interesting but important matters found in the history
of Supervisors of Albany Comity.
Citizens' Association of Albany. — We have occa-
sionally alluded to this highly important organiza-
tion. It is proper to add that it has been engaged for
some years, with the assistance of counsel, in the
examination of County charges, and the legal
grounds and authority for the same.
The citizens comprising this association have
alwaj's been of the highest standing. A careful ex-
amination of their work in regard to bills, especially
their work for 1884, convinces us, as it would all
who examine it, of the great value and usefulness
to the County of this association, and the conscien-
tious manner in which they discharged their dut}'.
The Executive Committee of it for 1884 were Mar-
cus T. Hun, C. P. Williams and Mathew Hale.
Increased Valuation of Real Estate. — The
Committee appointed to appear before the State
Board of Equalization in behalf of the interests of
Albany County reported that the total increased
assessed valuation of real estate of the State for the
year 1883 was $111,954,771, of which Albany's
portion would be §3,000,246. This, assuming
the equalization of 1883 correct, would have made
the equalization of 1884 as follows ;
132
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Equalization of real estate for 1883 $68,595,149
To which add above increase 3,000,246
$71,595,395
Equalization made by State Board, 1884 71,273,649
Reduction on equalization for 18S4 $321,749
Making the following statement of Alban)'
County for the j-ear 1884 :
Equalized valuation of real estate $71,273,649
To which add personal property 7,558,621
$78,832,270
While the foregoing statement is, to some ex-
tent, gratifying, yet it does not measure out to Al-
bany County that degree of justice to which it is
entitled.
Assessment of Property, 1884. — At a meeting
of the Board, December 2, ]Mr. Brady, Chairman
of the Committee of Assessments, presented a state-
ment of the real and personal property in the
County of Alban}', as assessed in 1884 ;
City of Albany, real $60,961,465 00
" " personal 6,339,417 00
Total $67,300,882 00
City of Cohoes, real $3,580,205 00
** *' personal 394,120 00
Total $3,974,325 00
Towns, real $21,909,250 29
personal 1.558,553 94
Total $23,467,804 23
Grand total $94,743,01 1 23
Equalized Valuation. — On December 4, Mr.
Fuller, from the Committee on Equalization of
Taxes, presented a statement exhibiting the
equalized valuation of the County of Albany for
the year 1884:
City of Albany, real estate $5r,g93,990
" " personal <'i339>4i7
Total 858,333,407
Cohoes, real estate $10,080,177
" personal 394, 120
Total $10,474,297
This amount, with the real and personal property
of the towns, which comprised the value of 301,-
328|- acres, amounted to:
Total real estate $86,450,920 29
** personal 8,292,090 94
Grand total $94, 743,01 1 23
Albert Gallup, County Treasurer, presented the
following communication to the President of the
Board :
"The following balances are due the County of
Albany, Dec. 4, 1884, as shown by the books in
the Treasurer's office :"
City of Albany $82,593 '2
' ' Cohoes 5, 102 65
Town of Berne 4,237 13
" Bethlehem 3^9 53
" Coeymans 1.05S 04
' ' Guilderland 288 47
' ' Knox 35 90
" New Scotland 146 85
" Rensselaerville 3.536 76
' ' Westcrlo 662 1 2
898,047 57
Town of Watervliet has a credit balance 260 14
Leaving amount due county $97,778 43
Rate of Taxation of City of Albany. — The
rate of taxation for the City of Albany was fixed as
follows upon each $100 of the assessed valuation
for City and County purposes;
City of Albany, for that portion added to the city in
1870, S1.03; portion west of Allen street, $1.04; remainder
of city, $2.04; corporations which pay State tax to Comp-
troller, 81. 78X.
The rate of taxation fixed for the town of Water-
vliet for 1884 on each $100 of assessed valuation:
Watervliet, First District, 72c.; Watervliet, Second
District, West Troy, Green Island, 75c.
treasurer's report.
The Treasurer's report of the County for the
year ending Nov. 29, 1884, shows the re-
ceipts in his office to have been $903, 149 38
Disbursements 903,149 38
Balance on hand $18,597 86
Burial and Headstones for Soldiers. — On
Januar}' 11, 1884, the Board adopted a resolution
requiring the Clerk to keep an account of the
amount paid for the burial and for headstones for
deceased soldiers of the late war, under section 4,
chapter 354, laws of 1884. In pursuance of said
resolution and said law, the Treasurer presented a
ver}- interesting and extended report showing the
number of soldiers who had died in the County of
Albany during the year 1884, the name of each
soldier, the company and regiment to which he
belonged, his age, time and place of death, the
amount of expenses paid for burial and to whom
paid. The report shows the number of soldiers
who died in the County during the year to be 46.
The burial expenses of each soldier was $35. The
total amount paid for these burials during the
year was 1 1,600.
preservation or public records and books.
On Dec. 17, 1884, Wm. D. Strevell, Clerk of
the Count}-, presented an interesting communica-
tion to the Board, stating that a quantity of valua-
ble record books removed from the Ci't}- Hall at
the time of the fire were scattered over the floor in
a confused condition in one of the rooms in the
tower of the new City Hall, where the}- had been
placed after its completion. The communication
also showed that further neglect would be highly
injurious to them; that Messrs. Wheeler B. Mehus
and Daniel Casey, long familiar with the records
of the County Clerk's office, had offered to arrange
the papers, records and books for thesum of |i,ooo;
THE BENCH AND BAR.
123
and it was strongly recommended that the sum be
appropriated for that purpose.
The Citizens' Association having examined the
records referred to in the communication, Hon. J.
Howard King, President of the Association,
indorsed the said communication, whereupon it
was adopted by the Board by a vote of 24 ayes to
I no.
It is gratifying to state that at this writing,
March 11, 1885, the work referred to in this com-
munication, important and difficult as it was, has
been completed in a most satisfactory manner, and
the books, papers and records are easily accessible
to all parties desiring to examine them.
The last proceedings of the Board which we have
been able to obtain were under date of Dec. 18,
1884, which includes the above.
Thus we conclude our history of the Board of
Supervisors of the County of Albany, embracing a
period of over a century and a half Notwith-
standing the difficulties we have encountered in
obtaining a regular line of records by lapse of
time, and the destruction of some by fire, we feel
it is not affectation to say that through the courte-
ous aid of the custodian of papers and documents,
and of the generosity of private citizens and former
officials who have valuable documents, we have
been able to present a history which must be of
much value and interest to the people of the
County.
THE BENCH AND BAR,
LEGAL HISTORY OF ALBANY COUNTY.
Bj' Ij. B. PH,0<J'r< )«,, Esci.
ALBANY has long been the seat of the law-mak-
ing power of the State ; here the great courts
of dernier ressort have held their sittings since the
adoption of the first constitution. Here, too, the
Supreme Court of the State, presided over by the
ablest jurists in the nation, has held its regular terms,
from 1777 down to 1885. Here, also, for nearly two
centuries, other important courts have pronounced
the laws.
Among the judges and lawyers who have con-
ducted these courts " there have been many diver-
sities of talents and abilities. There have been
those of the Bar who were listened to wholly for
their intellectual qualities, for the wit or the wis-
dom, the learning or the philosophy, which charac-
terized their efforts. There have been those whose
main attraction was a curious felicity and facility of
illustration and description, adorned by the richest
gems which could be gathered by historical re-
search or classic study. There have been those to
whom the charms of manner, the graces of elocu-
tion and the melody of voice were the all-sufficient
recommendation to applause. There have been
those who owed their success more to opportunity
and occasion, to some stirring theme or some ex-
citing emergency, than to any peculiar attributes
of their own. And we may say that there have
been those who combined in a large degree all of
these qualities."
In writing the history of the Bench and Bar of
Albany County one feels as though he was writing
the Bench and Bar of the State itself, such is the
commanding influence they have had and still have
in legal history. In entering on our duty we shall
begin with the first organization of courts of justice
in the county.
EARLY COURTS.
Courts of justice were organized in the colony
of New York by the English, under the authority
of the code known as the " Duke's Laws." The
principal courts were, at first, the Court of Sessions
and Town Courts, but very soon after authority was
given for the organization of Courts of Oyer and
Terminer. The Dutch Court of Burgomasters and
Schepens was changed to Mayor's Court.
The above comprised what may be called the
first judicial system, which existed from 1665 to
1683; we do not find the record of any Court of
03'er and Terminer, or of Court of Sessions, or of
Town Courts, that were held in the County of
Albany during this period.
The second judicial system existed from 1683 to
1691. The Town or Justices' Courts, Court of
Sessions and of Oyer and Terminer were continued,
and a Court of Chancery established.
The third judicial system was inaugurated in
1 69 1, and continued during the colonial period.
134
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
It preserves the courts previously established, and
added for the first time a Court of Common Pleas
and a Supreme Court.
The Court of Oyer and Terminer was made a
criminal side of the Supreme Court, as it is now of
the present Supreme or Circuit Court. We find no
record of the proceedings of any of those courts
of the County of Albany during this period of any
importance, excepting the Court of Common
Pleas, and some proceedings of a Court of Sessions
that seems to have existed. There was, during
this period, a Mayor's Court in the City of Albany
having civil and criminal jurisdiction, composed of
the Mayor and Aldermen.
In 1683 an act was passed "to settle courts of
justice," which directed a Court of Oyer and Ter-
miner to be held in the respective counties of the
province, composed of one judge, assisted by four
justices of the peace of each county.
In the City of New York and the City of
Albany, the Mayor, Recorder and four Alder-
men were associated with the judge. This
court had jurisdiction over all capital criminal
causes, trials at common law. It had appellate
jurisdiction of five pounds or upward ; the au-
thority for holding the court was derived from the
Provincial Governor ; the court was abolished May
6, 1691. Though this court held its sittings regu-
larly at Albany, no record of an}- importance can
be found of them.
Court of Sessions. — In 1683 an act was passed
directing that a Court of Sessions be held, by three
justices of the peace, in each of the twelve counties
of the province, as follows: In New York four times,
in Albany three times, and in the remainder of the
counties twice in each year. In the City of New
York this court was held by the Ma3'or and four
Aldermen. In the Cit}' of Albany it was held by
the Mayor and the Justices of the Peace. It deter-
mined all causes, civil and criminal, by a jury; but
actions exceeding five pounds could be removed,
upon application, to the Court of Oyer and Termi-
ner. Its officers were a marshal, a crier and a
clerk.
We find a record of a Court of Sessions held at
Albany in 171 7, as follows :
" At a Court of Sessions, held in the City
Hall of Albany, this 4th day of January,
1717.
"Present — Robt. Livingston, Jr., Esq., il/ajw.-'
Here follow the names of eight Justices of the
Peace who were associated with the Mayor in
holding the Court.
" The Court opened and the Grand Jury called,
who were sworn."
There were fifteen Grand Jurors present, and
Richard Kitchner was made foreman.
"The Grand Jury being sworn and charge
given, the Court adjourned until three o'clock in
the afternoon.
" The Court opened according to adjournment.
The Sheriff moves that Ruben Veghts, who was
summoned for a Grand Juryman, may be amerced
for not appearing, who is hereb}- amerced accord-
ingly.
"The Court adjourned till to-morrow morning."
The record shows that the Court met according
to adjournment the next morning.
' ' The Sheriff moves that Daniel Kitchner, who
was a constable of Half Moon & Schatkook, may
be amerced 1 3/1 8 for not appearing and attending
this Court, which was granted according!}-. "
The Court then adjourned sine die.
It appears that no business was transacted at
this Court except opening it, calling, charging and
swearing the Grand Jury, and amercing one juror
and a constable for non-attendance.
The next Court was held on the first day of
October, 1717, but no particular business was
transacted except organizing the Grand Jury.
" At a Court of Sessions, held in the City
Hall of Albany, this 4th day of October,
1721.
' ' Present — Myndert Schuyler, Esq. , Mayor,
and twelve Justices.
"Conradt Borghgaert and Elias Van Schaick,
being called to appear to answer to the indictment
brought against them by the Grand Jury for steal-
ing potatoes, they both appear. The indict-
ment was read to them and asked whether they
were guilty or not guilty. They plead not guilty.
The Petit Jury was called and sworn. Four wit-
nesses were sworn. The Jury went out and a
constable was sworn to keep them. The jury re-
turn and find Conradt Borghgaert and Elias Van
Schaick not guilty.
singular judgment.
' ' ]Mr. Collins, Attorney for the King, moves that
they be discharged, paying costs of suit ; the Court
give judgment for costs accordingly."
The Colonial Courts had a singular way of con-
ducting business. Here were two persons indicted
for stealing, who plead not guilty ; were brought
to trial before a jury, who pronounced them not
guilty ; whereupon the Attorney for his Majesty
the King of England moves that they be dis-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
125
charged, paying the costs of their trial, and the
Court directed a judgment to be entered against
them for the costs according!}', although found in-
nocent of any crime. The question occurs to us,
wliat would have been their fate had they been
found guilty ?
We find the following entry in the records
of the Court of Sessions, held on the 6th day of
June, 1722 :
"The Grand Jury sent in a presentment against
Jacob Vosburgh, Esq., for giving a judgment
which was not in his power, concerning a cow, the
goods of John Bernhard.
"Entered, that Peter Van Buren, Esq., acquaint
Jacob Vosburgh, Esq., of the presentment brought
against him, concerning the judgment, that he had
no business to give, that he may appear at next
Court of Sessions to make answer to ye same."
The following subpoena was issued in the case of a
negro woman, named Nan, arrested for willfully set-
ting on fire and burning the stable of Johanis Wen-
dell, of the City of Albany :
' ' City and County of Albany, ss. :
" George, By the grace of God, of Great Britain,
France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith,
&c.
"To Eliza Lansing and Hendric Ten Eyck. We
command you and every of }'ou that, all and sin-
gular, your business set aside, and all excuses ceas-
ing, you and every of you, in your proper persons,
be and appear before our Court of Sessions of the
City and County of Albany, in the City Hall
therein, on the third day of this instant July, at one
o'clock in the afternoon of that day, to testify all
and singular, those things which 3'ou or any of you
of your knowledge or notice may know in a certain
cause now depending before the said Court, and on
behalf of his Majesty, by bill or information, against
a negro woman, of Abraham Kip, of the citj', called
'Nan,' on suspicion of burning the stable of
Johanis Wendell, of the said cit}'. And of this you
and every one of you must by no means omit, un-
der penalty of ^100.
"Dated, in Albany, the second day of July, in the
eighth year of his Majesty's reign, A. D. 1722.
' ' Per cura,
' ' Philip Livingston. "
severe puin'ishment.
The negro woman Nan was brought to trial
at the time mentioned in the said subpoena, and
was convicted of burning the building therein
named, whereupon the following sentence was pro-
nounced :
" It having been adjudged that the said negro
woman, called 'Nan,' is guilty of the crime
charged against her ; she shall, therefore, within the
space of ten days, be whipped behind a cart, on
the naked back, twenty lashes, round this cit}', at
the places following : Before the City Hall ; at the
corner of the house of Jobs. Teller ; at the corner
of the house of Jacob Yetts, Jun. ; at the corner
of the house of Jobs. Ten Broek ; before the gate
of John Wendell, and before the gate of Anthony
Van Schaack, double the lashes ; then at the cor-
ner of the house of Stephanis Groesbeck ; at the cor-
ner of the house of Jan Jans Bleeker ; at the
corner of the house of Jobs. Bleeker, Jun. ; at the
corner of the house of Philip Livingstoji ; at the
corner of the house of John Manse, ; at the corner
of the house of the widow of John Dircks ; at the
corner of the house of Jacob Lansing ; at the cor-
ner of the house of Jobs. Dangler ; at the corner of
the house of Anna Mary Carnisie ; at the Great
Bridge, and then at the City Hall, five lashes ; after
that to be imprisoned for the space of one year,
unless her master will enter into bond and suffi-
cient security to export her out of this province,
and pay the charge of her imprisonment.
"Copy of this judgment given to a constable to
be executed."
RKFUSAL TO DRINK THE R0Y.\L FAMILy's HEALTH.
At a Court of Sessions held in the City of Albany,
at the City Hall, on the 4th day of August, 1722,
the Grand Jury sent up the following presentment :
"The jurors of our Sovereign Lord the King,
impaneled and sworn to enquire for the body of
the City and County of Alban)', on their oath pre-
sent Philip Verplanck, of the City of Albany, sur-
veyor, for that he, the said Verplanck, on the 28th
day of May last, without the gates of the said city,
at a bonfire, did make disturbance, and hindered
Myndert Schuyler, Esq., one of his Majesty's
Justices of the Peace of the said city and county,
in drinking the health of the Royal Family at the
said bonfire.
' ' (Signed) Johs. Mangael, Foreman. "
The following entry was made, at a subsequent
day of said term, and the case was thus disposed
of:
" Philip Verplanck, of this city, who was bound
over to appear at this Court by recognizance, being
called and appeared ; ordered that he be discharged
on paying the fees."
There are some records of the Colonial Court of
Sessions missing after the term of the Court held
January 8, 1723 ; but it continued to hold its reg-
126
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ular sessions down to 1775, when it was discon-
tinued by the opening scenes of the Revohition.
The Mayor's Court of Albany, to which we
have referred, was a very important tribunal; there
exists a pretty iull record of its proceedings in
Albany, entitled, " Minutes of the Mayor's Court of
Albany." Many persons are inclined to the opinion,
from some of the entries in these records, that it
had the jurisdiction and was a court of sessions;
we find no other record of a court of sessions of
that period.
In 1686 Albany was incorporated as a city, and
provisions were made for holding a Mayor's Court
three times a year. The Mayor, Recorder and four
Aldermen were associated with the judge in holding
the Courts of Ojer and Terminer. We shall give
some of the proceedings of this court hereafter.
The Supreme Court was originally established
in this State by Act of the Colonial Legislature,
May 6, 1691, and continued by limitation to 1698;
after this it was continued by proclamation, and
finally by ordinance of the Governor-General and
Council, dated May 15, 1699.
It was empowered to try all cases, civil or crimi-
iial, with jurisdiction and pro'cedure like the Eng-
lish courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas and
Exchequer, and was possessed of all the powers of
those courts ; but it had no equity side. By a sub-
sequent act of the General Assembly the judges
were made Judges of Nisi Prius, and annually
performed a circuit through the counties of the
State, at which time they had a commission of
Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery, in
which some of the county judges were joined.
Regular terms of Nisi Prius, or Trial Courts,
were held at Albany after the act of the Assembly
we have referred to. This was the Colonial
Supreme Court, with a Nisi Prius branch now
known as the Circuits.
We have briefly described the Courts during the
Colonial period. Among these Courts, the Court
of Common Pleas was one of the most important.
It was established in New York and Alban)- by the
Charter of 1686 ; by the Act of 1691, a Court of
Common Pleas was established in each count\- in
the State ; at first it was composed of one judge
and three justices, but in 1 702 it was ordered that
the judge be assisted by two or more justices in
holding the courts, all of whom were appointed by
the Governor, and held office during his pleasure.
It had cognizance of all actions, real, personal
and mixed, where the amount sued for exceeded
five pounds. Its-practice assimilated to the King's
Bench and Common Pleas at Westminster. Its
errors were corrected in the first instance by Writs
of Error into the Supreme Court. Appeals were
allowed to the Supreme Court for any judgment
where the amount involved exceeded twenty pounds.
The clerks were appointed by the Provincial Gov-
ernor— except the clerk at Albany, who, in some
instances, was appointed by the King.
The Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of ihe City
of Alban}-, or any three of them, were, in 1686,
ex-officio members of the Court of Common Pleas,
acting when no judge was present. On May 27,
1 69 1, Peter Schuyler was appointed the Presiding
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Alban}- ;
May 27, 1702, he was succeeded by John Abeel,
who served until October 14, 1702, when Peter
Schuyler was reappointed. Judge Schu}-ler pre-
sided for the long term of fifteen years, when, on
December 23, 171 7, he was succeeded by Killian
Rensselaer, who presided till 1726, -when Rutger
Bleecker succeeded him. Judge Bleecker pro-
nounced the laws from the bench of Common Pleas
till 1733, when he was succedcd by Ryer Gerritse,
who, on November 28, 1749, was succeeded by
Robert Sanders.
The court then consisted of Robert Sanders,
Esq., and Sybrant G. Van Schaick, judges ; John
Beekman, Leonard A. Gansevoort and Robert Rose-
boom, assistants. The first records which can be
found of the proceedings of this court that can be
regarded as reliable are as follows :
"At an Inferior Court of Common Pleas, held
in and for the City and County of Alban}-, at the
City Hall of the said city, on Tuesday, the 5th day
of June, 1750. Present —
" Robert Sanders, \ Esqr's.,
" Sybr't G. Van Schaick, j Judges.
John Beekman,
Leonard A. Gansevoort,
Robert Roseboom,
Assistants.
" Commission read. Court opened.
" The following were among the cases called :
" Gerret Borghgherdt, by A. Collins, his Attorney,
vs. Isaac Van Alstyne, by Richard Stevenson, his
Attorney.
" The Sheriff returns the venire ; the action de-
ferred till next Court, the Deft, being sick.
" Jacob C. Ten Eyck, b}- Richd. Stexenson, his
Attorney, vs. Albert Van Slyke, by A. Collins, his
Attorney, who Confesses Judgment to the Plaintiff
for the Sum of one hundred and forty-three Pounds,
one half Penny, with Lawful Interest, and costs.
Whereupon Judgment is Granted Accordingly.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
127
" The next case was France Claw, Junr. , b)' A.
Collins, his Attorney, vs. Joh's ^'^an Duesen, b)- A.
Crooke, his Attorney.
"The Sheriff returned the venire with a panel of
the Jury, who, being called, the following appeared,
and were sworn, ^iz. :
' ' Albertus Becker, Philip Shelters, Pietrus ]3oy;ar-
dus, \\'illiam Plase, HansT. Wilier, Oeorge Redin-
bergh, Richard Oliver, Philys Selt-Pagh, Martin
Cooper, Paul Dick, Kihan Stafle Iken, Benj'n
Hilton.
' ' Pleading read.
"The following evidence sworn for the Plaintiff."
Here follows the names of seven witnesses for the
plaintiff, one of them ("Isaac ^''osburgh) sworn on
his Voire Dire.'' Four witnesses were sworn for
the plaintiff.
"Declaration and A(fida\it of the widow Cobus
read for the plaintiff; Court duly addressed by
Counsel for the parties.
"Jury charged. Two Constables sworn to keep
the Jur}', and the Jury go out.
"France Claw, Junr., by Collins, vs. Joh's Van
Duesen, b)' Crooke.
" The Jury returned, and, asked if they were agreed
on their verdict, answered, 'Yes.' Being asked for
whom they found it, answered, 'for the Plaintiff,
Si.xteen Pounds damages, and Sixpence costs.'
Whereupon, Mr. Collins said ; ' May it please the
Court, the Pltf.'s Att'y remits eight Pounds of the
damages, being more than he sued for.' ^^'here-
upon, on motion of the Plaintiff's Attorney, the
Court grants Judgment for the remaining eight
Pounds and costs of suit."
The proceedings of the court at diat early da\-
were very similar to those in the courts at the pres-
ent time. For instance : The following is the
proclamation of the crier before the presiding judge
charges the grand jury ;
" Hear Ye ! Hear Ye ! All men or persons are
strictl}' charged and commanded to keep silent
whilst his Majesty's Commission of the Inferior
Court of Common Pleas is reading. "
Proclamation to open court :
"Hear Ye ! Hear Ye ! All men or persons that
have anything to do at this Inferior Court of Com-
mon Pleas, let them draw near, give their attention,
and they shall be heard."
Proclamation to adjourn the court :
" Hear Ye ! Hear Ye ! All men or persons that
have here appeared at this Court of Common Pleas
may for the present depart, and attend again as the
Court orders. "
Juror's Oath : " You shall well and truly try the
issue joined between A. B. , Plaintiff, and C. D. ,
Defendant, and a true \'erdict give according to the
evidence, so help \ou God !"
It appears that in those days there were two
constables sworn to attend the jury, with different
oaths ; one of. them was probably to sit at the out-
side door of the jury-room, and the other to sit by
the door on the inside. Their oaths will be re-
garded by the ofiGcers of the present court as some-
what singular. The outside constable's was as
follows :
GRAND juror's OATH.
"You shall go out with such jurors as shall have
leave of the Court ; you shall not suffer any person
to speak to them, neither shall you speak to them,
but bring them in presently, so help you God."
Constable's oath who attended the jury inside :
' ' You shall well and truly keep ever}- person sworn
on this jury together in some private and convenient
room, without meat, drink, fire,xandle or lodging,
or anything that shall minister to their comfort ;
and you shall not suffer any person whatever to
speak to them, or any of them, neither shall you,
\ourself, speak to them, unless it be to ask them
whether they be agreed on their verdict. So help
you God. "
One of the most stubbornlj' contested cases was
that of Masta Winne, who appeared in person
against Hendrick Van Buren, by Rutgert Corry,
his attorney. The case was tried by a jur}^, and a
large number of witnesses were sworn for the re-
spective parties. The jury found a verdict for the
defendant, upon which judgment was entered.
Whereupon Mr. Winne moved for forty days to file
his declarations, and the defendants moved for
forty days more to file their pleas, which the court
granted accordingly.
This procedure will hardly be understood by
lawj-ers of the present da)'. As we understand it,
however, this was the course adopted to remove
the case to an Appellate Court. When a party was
defeated, he asked leave to file his declaration or
plea, as the case might be. This compelled the
other party to do the same. At the expiration of
the time for filing the respective pleadings, and
they being filed, the case was appealed ; the pro-
ceedings were stayed on granting the first motion.
Judge Gansvort was one of the judges of the
Court of Common Pleas under the Federal Gov-
ernment.
128
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
At a Court of Common Pleas for the City and
County of Albany, held at the City Hall, in the
City of Albany, on the 2d"of October, 1759, Volkert
P. Douw was one of the judges of that court. This
is the first time we find Judge Douw occupying the
Bench of the Colonial Court of Common Pleas.
He continued to preside on the bench until Janu-
ary 10, 1 77 1, when hewas succeeded by Rensselaer
Nicolls.
The Colonial Court of Common Fleas continued
to hold its regular terms of court under the Colo-
nial laws until January, 1776, when the increasing
spirit of American Independence caused it to dis-
solve. Its last presiding judge was Henry Bleeker;
its last term began at the City Hall, in the City of
Albany, Januarj- 19, 1776.
LAST COLONIAL COURT.
There is a singular incident connected with the
recorded proceedings of this term. Opposition to
all manner of British rule, executive, legislative and
legal, had now nianifested itself to such a degree
that the judges and officers of the court at the term
about which we are writing organized under the
immediate fear of a popular outbreak. Neverthe-
less the court convened and proceeded with its busi-
ness. The sheriff returned a few writs, a few judg-
ments by confession and b}' default were taken, and
some unimportant business was transacted, when
the following cause was reached :
Solomon Eckkr
agst.
Harme Quackexboss.
The entry in the rule book then proceeds as fol-
lows : ' ' On motion of Peter W. Yates, attorney for
the defendants, ordered that the plaintiff show
cause at ." Here the entry is suddenly broken
off, probably by fear of the popular outbreak of the
Sons of Liberty, and it is the last proceeding of the
Colonial Court of Common Pleas.
On July 26 following the Declaration of Inde-
pendence was read in front of the City Hall to a
vast assembly of the citizens of Albany and the
surrounding country.
It is proper to add that the only attorney present
at the court we have described was Peter W. Yates.
Henry Ten Eyck was sheriff at this time, the last
under the English government ; Stephen De Lanc}',
clerk. The associate judges were John H. Ten
Eyck and Henry Van Schaack. Judge Van Schaack
had just been appointed. He was a law3er con-
trolling a very respectable practice.
It was the practice of the clerk of the Colonial
Court to enter in the common rule book at the
term of court the names of all the lawyers having
causes to dispose of, as follows:
" Mr. Gansevoort's rules." Then would follow a
list of his causes, and the manner in which they
were dispo.sed of Then would follow:
" !\Ir. Peter W. Yates," and his cau.ses and the
manner of their disposition, and so on.
At some of the terms the leading lawyers would
have from ten to twenty cases under their rules,
with a brief entry opposite each cause, like the fol-
lowing: "The deft in this cause has confessed the
action and suffered jud. before Judge Douw for
£(i 4S. 2d. damages, besides costs of suit. On
motion of Mr. Gansevoort, attorney for pl't'f, judg-
ment is ordered for the same." Often the entry
would be, " Interlocutory judgment."
PROMINENT LAWYERS.
Of the lawyers whose names most frequently
appear in those courts were Richard Gansvort, A.
S)'lvester, Mr. Corry, Robert Yates, Peter W. Yates,
Mr. Bleeker. The two Yateses, Robert and Peter
W., seem to have controlled for many years an ex-
traordinary amount of legal business.
The Court of Common Pleas which we have de-
scribed was establishsd in the State of New York
by the Provincial Governor and Council, IMay 15,
1699, and continued in the County of Albany
down to January 19, 1776. But we can find no
earlier record of the court than we have given.
This court had cognizance of causes above five
pounds, and, as we have seen, had three judges
and three assistant judges. \Vith some of the jus-
tices they held at the .same time a Court of General
Sessions of the Peace for the trial of criminals.
After the adoption of the first Constitution this
Court of Common Pleas was reorganized without
any material change in their procedure; it continued
in existence in this way until the adoption of the
Constitution of 182 1, when some changes were
made in it, one of which was increasing the number
of judges in soine counties to the number of
twelve.
The Constitution of 182 1 provided for the ap-
pointment by the Governor of five judges in each
county, of whom one was designated as First Judge.
This court continued until it was abolished by the
Constitution of 1846, and a county court instituted
in its place.
The First Judge of the Albany County Court of
Common Pleas was Volkcrt P. Douw. He was ap-
pointed First Judge of the county by a provincial
convention, by which he was commissioned Januarv
6, 1778.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
139
FIRST COURT AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
We have seen that Judge Douw was presiding
judge of the Court of Common Pleas for many
years; he served with ability and learning down to
May, 1775, when, moved by his patriotic spirit, he
declined to hold his office under the British Gov-
ernor-General of New York, and resigned.
Owing to the unsettled state of the country, few
courts were held under the Constitution of the State
until after the close of the war. We can find no
record of any court at which Judge Douw presided,
nor of any court in the County of Albany until
1785. In the meantime Judge Douw was by
reason of his age compelled to retire from the
bench, and on March 6, 1781, Abram Ten Broeck
was appointed by Gov. George Clinton First
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Albany
County. Peter Van Ness, John Price and John M.
Beekman were appointed associate judges or jus-
tices. The first record of the sittings of the Court
of Common Pleas in the County of Albany after the
Revolution, which can be found, is the following;
" At a Court of the Common Pleas, held for the
City and County of Albany, at the City Hall, in
the City of Alban}', on Tuesday, the loth day of
January, 1785. Present —
"Abraham Ten Broeck, Esq., First Judge.
' ' Peter Van Ness, Esq. , \
" John Price, >- Associate Judges.
" John M. Beekman, ;
"After organizing the court adjourned until the
19th day of Jan uar)', 1785.
"The court met pursuant to adjournment,
January 19, 1785. Present —
" Peter Van Ness, Esq., ■\
' ' John Price, >- Associate Judges.
"John M. Beekman, )
"On reading a license under the hand of Richard
Morris, Esq., for the admission of Killiaen Van
Rensselaer, Esq., to the bar of the Supreme Court,
ordered that the said Killiaen Van Rensselaer be
admitted an attorney and counsellor at law in this
court.
" Abraham Ten Broeck, Esq., First Judge, took
his seat. "
LAWYERS PRESENT.
Among the attorneys present at this court were
Mr. Visscher, who had a large number of causes
on the calendar; Mr. Gilbert, Mr. Gansevoort, Mr.
Wynkoop, Mr. Bay, Mr. Sill, Mr. Graham, Mr.
Sylvester and Mr. Lush. These gentlemen repre-
sented a large number of causes, of which there
17
were 131 on the docket; but none of them appear
to have been tried, although several were referred,
showing that the practice of trying causes in that
manner was as prevalent then as at the present.
There were several judgments taken by default,
and many " interlocutory judgments" entered. It
seems to have been a law term of the court, as there
is no record of a grand or a petit jury.
This term of court was succeeded by regular
terms thereof down to 1821. The following is a
list of the first or presiding judges of that court
down to 1846 :
Leonard Gansvort, appointed March 19, 1794;
John Taylor, appointed February 7, 1797; Nicho-
las N. Quackenboss, appointed January 13, 1803;
David McCarthy, appointed March 13, 1804;
Charles Cooper, appointed March 29, 1806; Jacob
Ten Eyck, appointed June 8, 1807; Apollo Moore,
appointed June 6, 181 2.
Mr. Judge Moore discharged the duties of this
office till March 15, 1828, when he was succeeded
by James L'Amoreaux, who discharged the duties
of the office till March 12, 1833, when he was
succeeded by Samuel Cheever. Judge Cheever
was, on the 17th day of iMay, 1838, succeeded by
Jacob Lansing, who presided till April 17, 1843,
when he was succeeded by Peter Gansevoort, who
held the office of First Judge until the court was
abolished by the provisions of the Constitution of
1846.
This court was continued without material
change by the Constitution of 1821 until its
abolishment in 1846. The judges were appointed
by the Governor and Senate for a period of five
years. By the Constitution of 1846 all judicial
officers were made elective.
The following is a record of the earliest Mayor's
Court we can find:
"At a Mayor's Court, held at the City of
Albany, at the City Hall of the said city, on the
20th day of May, 1760. Present —
"SybrantG. Van Schaick, Esq., Mayor.
"Jacob Ten Eyck, Esq.
"Jacob Lansing,
"Benson Turner, ) by Corry.
agl. [
"John Barron, ) by Yates.
"The sheriff returned the venire in the above
cause with the panel of the jurors annexed."
Then follow the names of twelve jurors, after
which appear the names of the witnesses sworn,
and the following entry: "The jury charged and
fCK, Esq., )
3, Esq., [
Aldermen.
130
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
retired under two constables. The jury returned,
and being asked whether they were agreed on their
verdict answered ' Yes;' being asked for whom
they found it, answered ' for the plaintiff, thirty-
nine pounds damages, and six pence costs.'
"On motion of Mr. Yates, attorney for the
defendant, the judgment being deferred until
next court. "
There were seventy-five causes on the calendar.
At this term ' ' Robert Yates produced license
appointing him an attorney at law for the Mayor's
Court and for the Court of Common Pleas for the
City and County of Albany, and was accordingly
admitted." Mr. Yates was one of the most dis-
tinguished lawyers of his times.
The last record of the Mayor's Court under the
Colonial government closes with the year 1768. It
was a court of much importance, and had, as we
have said, both civil and criminal jurisdiction.
After the adoption of the Federal Constitution an-
other Mayor's Court was organized for the City of
Albany, to which reference will be made hereafter.
The Supreme Court under the First State
Constitution. — On the 19th of February, 1777,
the " Convention of the Representatives of the
State of New York," assembled by adjournment to
Kingston, N. Y., and on the 20th of April suc-
ceeding adopted, agreeably to the recommenda-
tions of the Continental Congress, the first Constitu-
tion of the State of New York. In it the existence
of the present Supreme Court of the State was
recognized. On the 3d of May, 1777, the Con-
vention elected John Jay Chief Justice, and Robert
Yates and John Morin Scott Associate Justices.
Scott, however, declined, and John Sloss Hobart,
who received the next number of votes, was de-
clared elected. Judge Hobart was one of the most
distinguished men of his times. He was one of
"the Sons of Liberty," organized in the City of
New York in November, 1765, to oppose the exe-
cution of the Stamp Act. From that time till the
day of his death, February 4, 1805, he was con-
stantly in public life, serving in various legislative
and judicial offices, as United States Senator and a
Judge of the United States Court in New York.
When Hobart was appointed a Justice of the Su-
preme Court, Robert R. Livingston was appointed
Chancellor, and Egbert Benson Attorney-General.
Fifteen persons were, on the same da)', elected a
Council of Safety to carry on a temporar)- govern-
ment until the Constitution could be put into oper-
ation. On the 8th of Ma)-, 1777, a plan of gov-
ernment was reported, in ^^■hich were the names of
the above members of the Supreme Court, as were
those of the Chancellor and Attornej'-General, and
was adopted by the Convention. The plan also
provided for the election of a Governor, Lieuten-
ant-Governor, a Senate and an Assembly.
The Convention dissolved on the 13th of May,
and on the 14 th the Council of Safety went into
operation. On the 20th a commission for holding
Courts of 03'er and Terminer and General Jail De-
livery in the State, drafted by Chief-Justice Jay, was
issued by the Council. On the 5th of June follow-
ing the Council directed that, until Legislature
should otherwise provide, the Supreme Court
should sit at Kingston, and that the terms should
be the same as throughout 1774. These terms
were the same as provided for in the ordinance of
1760. The seal of the Supreme Court was like-
wise ordered to be delivered to the Council.
On the 9th of August, 1777, the first term of the
Supreme Court of the State under the Constitution
was held, and Chief-Justice Jay delivered the first
charge to the Grand Jury.
In 1778 the Judges of the Supreme Court were
empowered to devise a seal, and it was directed
that all proceedings of the Court should be before
the "People of the State of New York,'' instead
of, as heretofore, ' ' Before our Sovereign Lord the
King,'' etc.
On the 18th of May, in 1784, the first Grand
Jury of the Court of Oyer and Terminer after the
Revolution sat in the City of New York. Judge
Hobart, with whom was associated James Duane,
Ma3'or of the cit}', held the court ; Judge Hobart
delivered the charge to the Grand Jur}-.
First Court under the Constitution held at
Albany. — On January i, 1785, the terms of the
Supreme Court were directed to be held at Albany
on the last Tuesday of July and the third Tuesday
in October, and that in the City of New York on
the third Tuesday in January and April in every
year ; the April and October terms to continue for
three weeks, and the January and July terms for
two. Accordingly the first term of the Supreme
Court ever held in the City of Albany convened on
the last Tuesday of July, 1785. Hon. Richard
Morris, who had been appointed Chief Justice in
place of John Ja)-, presided.
From that time down to the present the Supreme
Court of the State has held regular terms, accord-
ing to appointment, in the Cit}- of Albany.
The most practical and, perhaps, the most per-
fect manner of presenting the history of the Bench
and Bar of Albany County is to give it in the lives
THE BENCH AND BAR.
131
of the judicial officers, the eminent jurists and law-
}'ers, who made that history. We begin with
ROBERT YATES.
Robert Yates was an eminent jurist, prominent
in the legal and legislative history preceding and
during the Revolution. With John Jay, John
Sloss Hobart, William Duer, Gouverneur Morris,
Robert R. Livingston and others, he was a mem-
ber of the memorable committee appointed on the
first of August, 1776, to prepare a form of govern-
ment for the then new State of New York. The
committee reported March 12, 1777, which report
was debated until April 20 following, when the
first constitution of the State of New York was
adopted. He was a member of the first Provincial
Congress, which assembled May 22, 1775, and
adjourned the following November. He was also
a member of the second Congress, which convened
February 12, 1776, and adjourned May 13 follow-
ing. On May 8, 1777, he was appointed a Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court of the State, serving till
October 28, 1790, when he was appointed Chief
Justice of the State. In 1787 Judge Yates was
appointed by the Legislature of the State, with
Alexander Hamilton and John Lansing, Jr., a del-
egate to the convention which formed the Consti-
tution of the United States. According to the
form of the resolution, they were appointed " for
the sole and express purpose of revising the Ar-
ticles of Confederation, and reporting to Congress
and the several legislatures such alterations and
provisions therein as shall, when agreed to in Con-
gress and confirmed by the several States, render
the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies
of government and the preservation of the Union."
Chief-Justice Yates and John Lansing withdrew
from the convention, because it did not more ef-
fectually secure the rights of the individual States;
they were anti-Federalists or Republicans.
"To these men and iheir copatriots the nation
is indebted for the ten important amended Articles
which were subsequently made a part of the Con-
stitution." Hamilton was the only delegate from
this State who signed it.
Judge Yates was also a commissioner to settle
the rival land claims of New York and Vermont,
also of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He was
born in 1738 and removed to Albany early in life,
where he spent the remainder of his days. He
died in 1801.
JOHN LANSING, Jr.
John Lansing, Jr., was born at Albany, on the
30th of January, 1785. He studied law with Robert
Yates, afterward Chief Justice, in Albany, and with
James Duane, in the City of New York.
In 1776 and 1777 he was the military secretary
of Major-Gen. Schu}'ler, Commander of the
Northern Department, and who was engaged in
the summer of the latter 3'ear in active operations
to resist the advance of Burgoyne. In a letter to
James Duane, dated at Saratoga (now Schuyler-
ville) on the 30th of November, 1776, Mr. Lan-
sing declined accepting, by reason of his holding the
above post under Gen. Schuyler, a commission
of lieutenant in the new levies of troops.
After being admitted to the Bar, Mr. Lansing
pursued the practice of his profession in the City
of Albany with great success.
From 1 780-1 to 1784 he was a member of
Assembly (the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Sessions) from
the City of Albany.
On the 3d of February, 1784, he was appointed
Member of Congress, under the articles of confed-
eration, and on the 26th of October following was
reappointed.
On the 13th of January, 1786, he was elected
Speaker of the New York Assembly. On the
28th of April following he, together with John
Haring, Melancthon Smith and Robert Yates,
was appointed (in place of John Jay and Walter
Livingston, resigned) on the commission that met
at Hartford, in that year, and made final decision
of the territorial claims of New York and Massa-
chusetts.
On the 29th of September, in the same year, he
was appointed, by the Council of Appointment,
]\Iayor of Albany.
In 1786 he was again elected Member of As-
sembl)' from the City and County of Alban}'.
On the 26th of January, 1787, he was once more
delegated a Member of Congress under the Confed-
eration.
On the 6th of March, in the same year, the New
York Legislature appointed Mr. Lansing, Alex-
ander Hamilton and Robert Yates to the Phila-
delphia Convention, which assembled on the 25th
of May, and framed a Constitution of the United
States. Mr. Lansing, together with Mr. Yates, was
opposed to the principles of the Constitution, as
presenting a system of consolidated government at
variance with the rights of the States. He retired
from the Convention with Mr. Yates, on the 5th of
July, 1787, before the Constitution had been defi-
nitely settled upon by that body, but not until it
was seen how it was to be established, and published
his reasons for so doing in a letter jointly with Mr.
Yates to Gov. George Clinton.
In 1788 Mr. Lansing was again a Member of
the New York State Convention which ratified the
Constitution from Albany County.
On the i2th of December, 1788, the Assembly
of the State of New York re-elected him Speaker.
By an act of March 6, 1790, he was appointed
by the Legislature one of the commissioners on
the part of the State of New York to seitle the
controversy of that State with Vermont; and on
the 28th of September following he was appointed
one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the
State.
In the succeeding year, by an act of the Leg-
islature passed on the 6th of July, Judge Lansing,
Abraham Van Vechten and Robert Yates were ap-
pointed commissioners to determine the claims of
citizens of the State of New York to lands situated
in Vermont, ceded by New York at the settlement
of the controversy, and what portion of certain
moneys ($30,000) each claimant should receive.
132
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
On the 15th of February, 1798, Judge Lansing
received the appointment of Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of the State, in place of Chief-
Justice Robert Yates, who had resigned under the
constitutional limit of sixty years.
On the 2 1st of October, 1801, Chief-Justice
Lansing was appointed Chancellor of the State of
New York, in place of Chancellor Robert R. Liv-
ingston, who had also resigned under the above
limit.
On February 4, 1804, Chancellor Lansing was
nominated by a Republican legislative caucus to
the office of Governor of the State of New York,
but in a letter of the i8th of that month he de-
clined the nomination.
On the 28th of January, 1817, he was appointed
a Regent of the University.
In 1824 he was chosen a Presidential Elector
from the City and County of Albany.
On December 8, 1829, Chancellor Lansing
visited the City of New York on business, which
detained him several days. He was a guest at the
City Hotel. The evening of December 12 was
dark and stormy. Having an important letter for
Albany, which he desired to mail, he left the hotel
with a view of depositing it in the mail box on
board a steamer that was to leave New York
that evening. He did not return to the hotel, and
was never seen or heard from after leaving it. It
is generally believed that he fell into the river and
was drowned, and yet his body was never re-
covered.
Fifty-five years have passed away and the mj's-
tery thathungover this sad event has been deepened
by the lapse of each succeeding year. The sudden
disappearance of a citizen so illustrious, whose long
life had been mostly devoted to the interest of the
State, produced a sensation at Albany as deep as
did that of the sudden death of De Witt Chnton,
a little less than a 3'ear previous. Although Chan-
cellor Lansing was in his seven t)'-sixth year at the
time of his death, he was vigorous and active in
mind and body. In person he was large and
handsome, with remarkably fine features. He was
a fascinating conversationalist, dignified and impres-
sive in his bearing.
He was married in 1 78 1 to Miss Ray, daughter
of Robert Ray, Esq., a distinguished citizen of the
City of New York; four children, all daughters,
were born to this marriage.
Chancellor Lansing was the author of a small
volume entitled "Reports of Select Cases in Chan-
cery, and in the Supreme Court of the State of New
York, in 1824 and 1828," viz., in Chancery, Lan-
sing V. The Albany Insurance Company, March
24, 1824; Egberts v. Lansing, September 7, 1822 ;
Lansing v. Goelet ; Supreme Court, Globe In-
surance Company v. Lansiog, February Term
1826.
ABRAHA]\I VAN VECHTEN.
Among the great American lawyers whose
names appear on the roll of the Albany Bar is that
of Abraham Van Vechten. No name is more
honored in the history of the State than his—
honored not only as a learned, eloquent and emi-
nently successful lawyer, but as a legislator whose
wisdom and profundity are seen in the enactment
of many of the laws that have given protection
and greatness to the State of New York.
He was born at Catskill, December 5, 1762.
He received his elementary education at Esopus,
now Kingston, New York, completing his educa-
tion at Kings, now Columbia College. At the
close of the revolutionary war he commenced the
study of law under the direction of Chancellor
John Lansing. He was one of the first lawyers
admitted tQ the Bar after the organization of our
government. Immediately after his call to the Bar
he opened an office at Johnstown, Montgomer_y
County, New York, but was soon invited to oc-
cupy a more extensive field in the City of Albany.
The high places at the Bar were then occupied
by gifted advocates, among whom were Hamilton,
Burr, Harrison, Jones and Livingston. But the
brilliancy of such names could not cast young Van
Vechten in the shade. He soon ranked among
the illustrious seniors as an equal and a compet-
itor for the highest professional eminence ; untir-
ing in his efforts, the naturally great powers of his
mind were continually developed and expanded.
His intellect was formed to grapple with the
most abstruse and difficult subjects of legal and
judicial investigation; and he early inured himself
to the most intense application of mental industry.
In acuteness and the ready comprehension of any
subject presented for his investigation, he had few
equals. Nature seemed to have furnished him with
powers eminently adapted to the illustration of
legal principles, but he made no display of legal
lore; his learning seemed incorporated with all his
thoughts. What he once read was well digested
and remained ever ready for application.
A large portion of his life was spent in the dis-
cussion of legal questions in our highest courts of
law and equity; he was always listened to with pro-
found attention by the ablest judges in the State
and nation. His arguments, clear and learned,
alwa3's elucidated and instructed, and greatly aided
the tribunals to which they were addressed in
coming to correct conclusions. His style was re-
markable- for perspicacity and strength, enforced
by thoughtful logic.
In his manner he was usually calm and unim-
passioned, yet earnest and forcible. His talents
were too conspicuous to allow him to confine his
eff"orts to the Bar. He was repeatedly chosen to
represent his fellow citizens in both branches of the
Legislature. The State Senate Chamber was the
theatre of some of his highest intellectual efforts.
As a member of the Court for the Correction of
Errors he has left behind him enduring monu-
ments of his legal learning.
On February 13, 181 3, he was appointed At-
torney-General of the State. He was the successor
of that illustrious lawyer, Thomas Addis Emmet.
In February, 1815, he was succeeded by Martin
Van Buren. The high and responsible duties of
Attorney-General were never discharged with more
ability and success than by Mr. Van Vechten.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
133
During the administration of Gov. John Jay,
that great statesman, in recognition of Van Vech-
ten's commanding talents as a lawyer, tendered him
— then one of the youngest members of the Bar — the
office of Judge of the Supreme Court of the State.
The offer was modestly declined, as Mr. Van
Vechten preferred to practice his profession instead
of presiding on the bench. The lawyer and the
student are often astonished at the vast number of
our reported cases heard in the Supreme Court and
Court for the Correction of Errors in which Mr.
Van Vechten represented one of the parties litigant.
" Over a half century his brilliant mind was con-
stantly shedding its light over the jurisprudence of
the State and nation. The Bar -long delighted to
accord to him its highest honors."
To the younger members of the profession he
greatly endeared himself by his kind and courteous
manners; and by all he was venerated as an illus-
trious model of professional excellence. In his
daily consultations with his clients he was em-
phatically a peacemaker. It was his constant
habit to advise the settlement of disputes without
recourse to litigation, allowing no selfish interest
to influence his advice or bias his mind in giving
his opinions.
He was Recorder of the City of Albany from 1797
to 1808; Regent from January, 1797, to 1823;
State Senator from 1798 to 1805; member of As-
sembly from 1 805 to 1 8 1 5 ; Attorney-General for the
year 1 8 10, and again appointed in 18 13 — serving
two years, and was a member of the Constitutional
Convention of 182 r.
His character as a citizen in the private walks of
life afforded a model of excellence. "He con-
stantl}' displayed in his intercourse with his neigh-
bors and acquaintances the most amiable social
qualities. To his other traits of character was
added one which is justly deemed of far the most
importance; he was a sincere believer in the
Saviour of the world and a venerated member of
the Dutch Reformed Church of Albany. In his
judicatories his parental counsels were received
with reverence as eminently calculated to promote
the peace and prosperty of the church. His dis-
interestedness was a prominent feature in his char-
acter and was the foundation of that unbounded
confidence which was reposed in him by all who
knew him."
On May 24, 1784, Mr. Van Vechten was united
by marriage to Miss Catharine Schuyler, daughter
of Philip P. Schuyler and Anna Wendell. This
union proved eminently happy, and Mr. \2.\\
Vechten's domestic life was proverbial for the
felicities it afforded.
JOHN V. HENRY.
John V. Henry was one of the earliest members
of the Albany Bar. He was admitted to practice
as an attorney at law at a term of the Supreme
Court held at Albany in January, 1782. Col.
Aaron Burr was admitted at the same term. On
the 14th of April following Mr. Henry and Burr
were admitted to practice as counselors at law.
The advantages of a finished classical and legal
education, united to great native mental powers,
very soon gave Mr. Heniy a commanding position
in his profession, and he rapidly attained a State
and national reputation, ranking with Hamilton,
Burr, Hoffman, Lansing, and other great lumina-
ries that adorned the Bar.
Possessing attractive elocutionary powers, con-
trolled by close and ready logic, enlivened and
strengthened by extensive readmg, stimulated by
ambition, it was natural that he should be attracted
to the political arena. Here his abilities were
speedily recognized and appreciated, and he be-
came a leader.
In 1800 he was chosen Member of Assembly for
Albany County. By re-election he represented this
county in the Assembly in the Legislature 01
1 801-2. He was the acknowledged leader of the
Federal party in those bodies. So moderately and
so justly did he govern and exercise his political
sentiments that he gained the esteem and friendship
even of his political opponents, with a very few ex-
ceptions. Hence his great influence in the Legis-
lature.
In Januar)', 1800, Mr. Henry was appointed
Comptroller by John Ja)', then Governor of the
State. As he was emintntly qualified for the duties
of this office, his appointment was very popular.
George Clinton, who had been Governor from
1777 down to 1794, w'as in 1795 succeeded by Jay,
elected in the Gubernatorial election of that year.
Gov. Jay was re-elected in 1798. In 1801
Gov. George Clinton was re-elected. Mr. Clin-
ton, though apparently friendly to Mr. Henry,
suddenly removed him from the office of Comp-
troller. At the time of this removal the Governor
had been in office but a few months. Mr. Henry's
successor was Elisha Jenkins, a merchant of Hud-
son, N. Y. — a man in every sense Mr. Henry's in-
ferior. This appointment of Jenkins was made at
the instance of Ambrose Spencer, at that time a
political boss, with powers equal to any of the
modern rulers of political parties. Spencer after-
ward became a Judge of the Supreme Court and
Chief Justice of the State, ranking among the
greatest and purest of American judges.
Though Mr. Henry's removal from office greatly
disgusted him, we must, on the whole, regard it as
a fortunate circumstance in his life. It caused him
to adopt an irrevocable resolution never again to
accept any office, but devote himself entirely to the
practice of his profession. This resolution gave
him that commanding position at the Bar of the
State and nation we have already described.
For many years his practice was confined to the
General Term of the Supreme Court, the Court for
the Correction of Errors, and in the United States
Supreme Court.
To use the language of another, "The great
superiority of Mr. Henry as an advocate consisted
in his skill in condensing his arguments — in saying
everything which could be said in favor of the posi-
tion he wished to establish with the fewest words.
These words were selected in the best possible
manner. He never used a word except the very
best to express his ideas. He was not generally
134
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
florid, and seldom aimed at brilliancy, though, if
the occasion required, he could be impressive,
brilliant and powerfully eloquent." He continued
to devote all his time, talents and energies to his
profession until the 22d day of October, 1829, when
he was suddenly removed from the scenes of his
earthly labors and ambition by the hand of death.
We give the following account of Mr. Henry's
death as we find it in the Albany Gazelle of October
24, 1829:
"Mr. JohnV. Henry, one of the most distinguish-
ed lawyers in the State, is no more. He attended
the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning ; on his
way from the court-room at the Capitol, about 1 1
o'clock in the forenoon, when opposite the resi-
dence of Chandler Starr, in State street, he was
seized with an apoplectic fit. He was taken into
Mr. Starr's and medical aid was immediately ren-
dered. He lingered until half-past two o'clock
yesterday afternoon, when his mighty spirit was
yielded up to the God who gave it. His age was
about sixty-four.
"The death of Mr. Henry is a public calamity.
The tears his family shed over his lifeless form fall
not alone. Those who respect the probity, the in-
dependence, the gallant bearing, and the high
talents which sometimes redeem human nature
from suspicion, must also lament the fall of such a
man as this, in whom these traits were so happily
combined.
"And so depart, with fearful rapidit}-, the sages,
the statesmen and the jurists of our da3^ Clinton
and Wells, and Emmet and Henry, have, in their
turn, ceased to be. And what a lesson to mankind
do their sudden deaths impart. One by one the
wise and virtuous fall into the deep gulf of Time,
and yet thousands tread thoughtlessly on the sol-
emn verge.
"The Supreme Court of the Slate, in session in
the City of Albany, adjourned on Friday without
doing any business in consequence of the death of
John V. Henry."
At this time John Savage was Chief Justice,
William L. Marcy and John Wood worth were
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court.
At the opening of the court on Friday morning, the
day after Mr. Henry's death, that great lawyer,
Daniel Cady, in the presence of those illustrious
judges, and distinguished lawyers from all parts
of the State, arose and in a voice indicative of the
deepest sorrow announced the death of Mr. Henry.
So sensible and deep was Mr. Cady's emotion that,
with all his commanding powers of eloquence and
his usual self-control, he could at first hardly pro-
ceed with his announcement. Gaining composure,
he pronounced a beautiful and touching eulo y
upon the distinguished deceased. He concluded by
moving that the court adjourn until the ne.xt day.
The Chief Justice, after observing that the motion
of Mr. Cady accorded well with the feelings of the
court, who deemed it due the memory of so dis-
tinguished a lawyer as Mr. Henry that diis mark
of respect should be shown, directed that the court
adjourn until the ne.xt day.
JOHN V. N. YATES.
This distinguished lawyer, scholar and politician
was a son of Chief-Justice Robert Yates. He was
born at Albany in 1779. After receiving a liberal
education he entered the office of John V. Henry,
under whose tuition he prepared for the Bar.
After receiving his degree as Attorney at Law, he
began practice in Alban)'. With the advantages of
extraordinary talents, an excellent classical and
legal education and influential friends, he rapidly
made his way to the front rank of his profession.
In 1803 the Legislature appointed him one of
a committee with John Cuyler and Charles D.
Cooper to report an estimate of the cost of a State
and Court House in Albany.
On March 7, 1804, they submitted their report
to the Legislature, and it was adopted.
On April 6 following an act was passed author-
izing the erection of the building.
Li 1808 he was appointed a Master and Exam-
iner in Chancery. In June, 1 808, he was appointed
Recorder of the City of Albany.
In January, 1809, he was removed, to make
place for Mr. Graham, and was restored in 18 11,
serving till July 8, 1816, when he was again
removed, as before, for political purposes. In the
administration of this office Mr. Yates exhibited
rare judicial abilities.
In April, 1818, he was appointed Secretary of
State, serving till February 13, 1823, when he was
re-appointed, serving till 1826, when he was suc-
ceeded by Azariah C. Flagg.
In the administration of this office he exhibited
abilities which commended him largely to public
favor.
In 1808 Mr. Yates became embroiled in a mem-
orable legal contest with Chancellor Lansing.
This contest grew out of an attempt of the Chan-
cellor, in his official capacity, to punish Yates for
malpractice and contempt of court. The case
was seriously important in many senses, one of
which brought the Court of Chancery and the
Supreme Court of the State in collision.
At the time of which we are speaking Yates was
a Master in Chancery. By the ninth section of the
act then in existence concerning Attorneys, Coun-
selors at Law and Solicitors in Chancer)', all these
officers were forbidden to bring any action in the
name of another attorney or solicitor, without his
knowledge and consent.
At this time Yates was not a solicitor of the
Court of Chancery, but began an important suit in
that court, using the name of one Peter W. Yates,
a solicitor, without his knowledge, against the
statute. Complaint was presented to Chancellor
Lansing, who granted an order for the arrest of
Yates. He insisted that he appeared as solicitor
with the consent of Peter W. Yates, but that gen-
tleman denied the consent.
Mr. Yates excepted to the issuing of the order
for an arrest ; he insisted that the charge against
him was a crime ; that the Court of Chancery had
no criminal jurisdiction ; that whether he was
guilty or not was a question which the consti-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
135
tution provided should be tried by a jury. But the
Chancellor took a different view of the case. Mr.
Yates was denied bail, and sent a prisoner to the
old Albany jail.
He was highly popular with the people, and
his imprisonment caused great excitement.
He was a proud, high-minded man, inflexible in
his purposes, ardent in carrying them into execu-
tion, and he determined to contest what he deemed
to be the high-handed course of the Chancellor to-
ward him, and he carried his determination with
unequaled earnestness into effect. He retained
Thomas Addis Emmet as his counsel, who applied
to Judge Spencer for a writ of habeas corpus for the
release of his client from imprisonment, which was
granted, and, after a full hearing, Mr. Yates was
discharged. Whereupon, by order of the Chancel-
lor, Mr. Yates was re-committed to prison, on the
ground that the Supreme Court had no right to in-
terfere with the proceedings of the Court of Chan-
cery. The General Term of the Supreme Court
opened about that time at Albany, and Mr. Emmet
immediately moved in open court for another writ
of habeas corpus to bring before it the body of Mr.
Yates. He was brought before the court, and after
a full argument the first and second arrests of Yates
were sustained, and he was remanded to prison.
The case was immediately removed to the Court for
the Correction of Errors, the Chancellor using every
effort to prevent the allowance of the writ ; but
he was defeated and the case was brought to argu-
ment in that court. A judgment of the court was
finally rendered, declaring the arrest of Yates illegal
and directing his discharge. Soon after being re-
manded to jail he obtained bail. The case will be
found in 6 Johnson's Reports, 335. Yates imme-
diately brought an action against Lansing for false
imprisonment, and another long legal contest en-
sued, in which the Chancellor succeeded on the
ground that he was not liable, as he acted in a
judicial capacity.
Mr. Yates was afterward appointed by the Legis-
lature to add notes, references and succinct mat-
ters touching the laws under our colonial govern-
ment to the revised laws of New York of 18 13 — a
duty which he discharged with singular ability and
success.
He was afterward the recipient of many distin-
guished official positions.
Mr. Yates was a valuable contributor to the lit-
erature of his country, and until a short time pre-
vious to his death the productions of his pen
added largely to his own honor and to that of the
city in which he lived. He died in Albany, January
10, 1839, ^o^d sixty 3'ears.
• MARTIN VAN BUREN.
Martin Van Buren was born in Kinderhook,
then in the County of Albany, now Columbia,
December 5, 1782. Li his boyhood he exhibited
a love of knowledge, a fondness for books, "a
quickness of apprehension, a shrewdness of obser-
vation ; but the limited means of his father denied
him the advantages for an education, except those
taught in a common school. " He soon mastered
all the branches taught in that humble institution
of learning, and became a teacher in the common
schools. In this occupation he acquired the means
of defraying the expenses of an education at the
Kinderhook Academy for two or three years. In
this institution he acquired an excellent English
education and became a very fine Latin scholar.
"Asa student," says one of his biographers,
"young Van Buren was distinguished not only for
his industry and application, but for his unwilling-
ness to take anything upon trust, and his conse-
quent habit of investigation and reflection. He
was fond, too, of argumentative discussions; he
had never studied dialectics as taught in the schools
and knew but little about Aristotle or Locke, yet
he was a natural logician, and handled the weapons
of those whose very names he was ignorant with great
skill and ability. He was ambitious to surpass his
companions in extemporaneous speaking and
English composition; many were the encomiums
he received for his excellence in these branches."
Mr. Van Buren, like Ben Jonson, who pursued
his classical studies with a trowel in his hand, was
alwajs a student; always found time, especially in
his earlier j'ears, to devote to classical studies. A
desire to become a lawyer by profession was his
early ambition, so strongly indulged that he began
his legal studies at the early age of fourteen. His
preceptor was Francis Sylvester, Esq., a leading
member of the Bar. He pursued his legal studies
with unwearied diligence and much success. At
the age of eighteen he began to try causes in
justices' courts, those tribunals which afford the
legal student such a field for improvement in public
speaking, in examining witnesses, in arranging
testimony and in sharpening the perceptive facul-
ties. He soon became famous as an advocate in
these courts, acquiring a large and lucrative prac-
tice therein. He often met as opponents the lead-
ing members of the Columbia Bar, whose respect
he gained by the exhibition of his rare abilities, his
courteous and high-toned bearing.
While a student he was an active politician and
gave his allegiance to the Democratic party. His
regard and admiration of Thomas Jefferson were
almost unbounded. In the great contest between
Adams and Jefferson, he advocated and defended
the Republican principles with much ardor and
ability. Though yet in his teens, he addressed
Republican gatherings, wrote resolutions, memo-
rials and pamphlets. In the autumn of 1800,
when only eighteen years of age, he represented the
Democrats of his native town in a Congressional
convention. Mr. Van Buren completed the last
year of his studies in the office of William R Van
Ness, of the City of New Y'ork, one of the brilliant
lights of the Bar, and subsequently one of the
justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
for the Southern District of New York. At a term
of the Supreme Court of the State, held at Albany,
October, 1803, Martin Van Buren was called to
the Bar. After remaining in Albany a few months
he returned to Kinderhook and actively besran his
professional career. The Columbia County Bar at
this time was one of the strongest and most brilliant
136
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
in the State. Here William W. Van Ness, Elisha
Williams, Thomas P. Grosvenor and Jacob Rustin
Van Rensselaer, all of them prominent Federal-
ists and distinguished lawyers and politicians,
seemed to stand in the way of Mr. Van Buren's
professional and political advancement.
He was a Democrat; they were Federalists.
They belonged to the aristocratic families of the
county and State; Van Buren to the humbler
ranks of life. They were wealthy and powerful;
Van Buren was poor, with nothing to rely upon
but his own energy and talents; these, it seems,
were sufficient; with them he won his way to dis-
tinction, triumphing over his powerful and disdain-
ful rivals. His business increased, his clientage
daily became more numerous and influential, and
it was not long before he became the acknowl-
edged leader of the Columbia Bar.
In the meantime he was as active, energetic and
powerful in politics as he was in his profession.
Space will not permit us to enter into any descrip-
tion of his splendid and eventful career; but from
1808 to 1837 the history of that career is the
political history of the State; at least, that history
could not be perfectly written with the career of
Martin Van Buren omitted.
On the 20th of March, 1808, he was appointed
Surrogate of the County of Columbia. The manner
in which he discharged the duties of this office
largely enhanced his professional reputation.
About this time he removed to Hudson, a measure
which contributed largely to his advantage. At
this time Elisha Williams, undoubtedly the most
gifted and eloquent lawyer of his time, whose
magnificent oratory rendered him famous at the
American Bar, was a resident of Hudson. Martin
Van Buren soon became the rival of this great
lawyer. In order to grapple with his formidable
opponent Van Buren was compelled to submit to
the most intense study; when the day's work was
ended, after a little rest, he retired to his study and
gave himself to his books with such deep applica-
tion that frequently the dawning day paled the
light of his lamp. In this way he successfully
armed himself to meet his antagonist in the arena
he had entered.
His great success at the bar, his acknowledged
abilities as a politician, soon led him to that legisla-
tive career which gradually advanced him to the
most exalted position in the nation. In 18 12 he
was nominated by the Democrats of the Middle
Senatorial District, of which Columbia County was
a part, as their candidate for State Senator. He
was opposed by a no less distinguished opponent
than Edward P. Livingston, then a member of
the State Senate. Mr. Livingston was a Democrat ;
but there was something in his connection with
the Bank of America which rendered his nomina-
tion distasteful to the Democrats, or a large ma-
jority of them, and they refused to renominate
him, preferring Van Buren. Nevertheless he re-
ceived the nomination, and received the support
of the entire Federal party, together with the
friends of Gov. Lewis. This was a powerful
combination, but ^'an Buren overthrew it, after a
desperate struggle ; but his majority was onlj' two
hundred in a poll of over 25,000.
He entered the State Senate at an extra session,
November 3, 1812, and became the leader of his
party in that branch of the Legislature. From
this time he remained almost constantly in public
life down to the time of his retirement from the
Presidential chair.
In the spring of 1 816 he was re-elected to the
Senate, and shortly afterward became a resident of
the City of Albany. This removal became neces-
sary on account of the great increase of his profes-
sional business, and to give him greater facilities
for discharging his official duties.
In 1817 Benjamin F. Butler, his distinguished
pupil, who reflected so much honor upon his pre-
ceptor, became his law partner, forming one of the
most influential legal firms in the State.
On February 6, 1821, Mr. Van Buren was
elected by the Legislature a Senator in Congress.
Thjs .caused him to partially withdraw from his
practice, leaving his large business to Mr. Butler.
He was occasionally employed in very important
cases, among which were the cases of Wilkes vs.
I.yon, argued in the Court for the Correction of
Errors in 1823, and that of Varick vs. Johnson,
argued in the same court in 1828 ; reported in 2
Cowan, 338 ; 2 Wendell, 166. These cases have
always been read by the lawyer and the student
with great interest and profit. The arguments of
Mr. Van Buren appear at length in them. The
briefs were prepared by Mr. Butler.
Mr. Van Buren appeared for the last time before
a jury in the trial of the Astor case, and that of the
Sailor's Snug Harbor, in the fall of 1827. His
speech in the State Senate on the disputed accounts
of Gov. Tompkins — the last he ever delivered
in that body — was a memorable and magnificent
production.
The Constitutional Convention of 1821 was
composed of the ablest men connected with the
great political parties in New York. Among
them were James Kent, Rufus King, Am-
brose Spencer, Abraham Van Vechten, Elisha
Williams and Peter R. Livingston. Foremost
among these was Martin Van Buren. He took
part in all the important discussions, and estab-
lished the claim of his friends that he was a high-
minded, gifted, eloquent and independent states-
man. In his speeches there was none of that ad
caplandiwi eloquence calculated to touch the pas-
sions of the multitude ; they were the offsprings of
research, of an enlarged and liberal mind, with
statesman-like views. In the Senate of the United
States, then composed of the ablest and most illus-
trious statesmen of the nation, Mr. Van Buren
took a commanding position. *
He was early committed against the policy of
distribution of the public lands, subsequently advo-
cated with so much zeal and ability by Mr. Clay.
He was never friendly to a high protective tariff",
but voted for the tariff" of 1824, though not entirely
satisfied with all its details. He delighted to repeat
the witty remark of John Randolph concerning
the tariff movement of 1827-8, which he regarded
THE BENCH AND BAR.
137
almost wholly of a political character. "That
tariff," said Mr. Randolph, "does not refer to
manufactories of any sort or kind, except to the
manufacture of a President of the United States."
After the death of Mr. Clinton, in February,
1828, Mr. Van Buren became Governor of the
State, but on being appointed Secretar}' of State
under President Jackson, he resigned the Governor-
ship. This event took place March 12, 1829.
He subsequently became Vice-President of the
United States, and at a Democratic National Con-
vention held at Baltimore in Ma}-, 1835, he was
unanimously nominated a candidate for President
of the United States. Col. Richard M. Johnson
was nominated for Vice-President. !Mr. Van Buren
was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1837, and
entered upon the duties of his great office.
The subject of the abolition of slavery constituted
an important feature in his inaugural address ;
the agitation of this great question had begun in
the 3-ear 1834-5 in the Northern States. Mr. \'^an
Buren and his friends strongly opposed the move-
ment. Though he brought to the office much
ability as a statesman, the highest and most consci-
entious patriotism, there were many unfortunate
circumstances that tended to render his adminis-
tration in a measure unpopular. We cannot sa}'
that at this time his opposition to the anti-slaver}'
question injured him as much as has been alleged.
The measure had not then been far enough ad-
vanced in a political sense to have a bearing upon
his administration. What tended most to injure
it was the terrible revulsion, or financial crisis,
which prostrated the industry and commercial in-
terests of the nation. The Whig ])arty adroitly
took advantage of this unfortunate state of things
and attributed the financial depression of the coun-
try to the policy of Mr. ^'^an Buren's administra-
tion. This resulted in his defeat for re-election in
1840 and the elevation of Gen. Harrison. He
retired from the Presidential chair to private life.
His nomination by a wing of the Democratic party
at Buffalo in 1848, and his defeat, are events too
well known to need an}- description here.
BENJAMIN F. BUTLER.
Benjamin F. Butler, an historic name in the
State and Nation, a lawyer of the highest ability,
a scholar of rare endowments, and a citizen of
great purity of character, was born at Kinderhook,
in the County of Columbia, December 17, 1795.
His father was a merchant at that place ; a man of
strict integrity, industrious in his vocation, and
honorable in his relations to the society in which
he lived.
The early years of young Butler were passed in
attending a common district school and in assist-
ing his father in his store. He was a boy of re-
spectful manners and an intellectual turn of mind.
While engaged in the store, he became a favorite
of a learned and distinguished Presbyterian clergy-
man, who resided near his father ; from this
gentleman he received his first knowledge of
books and the rudiments of a classical education.
At the age of fourteen, Benjamin, already far
18
advanced in his studies, was sent to Hudson
Academy, where he remained several years, an
energetic and successful student. When his aca-
demic course was ended, he entered the office of
Martin Van Buren, then a }'oung lawyer who had
been at the Bar but a few years, but who was
regarded as a young man of great promise, and
who had already secured a respectable position at
the Columbia Ikr. This was in the year 181 2.
In the }eai 18 16 Mr. ^''an Buren removed to
Albau}-, where he entered upon his extraordinary
official career. Young Butler accompanied him.
In 18 18 Mr. Butler was called to the Bar, and im-
mediately became the partner of Mr. ^'an Buren,
a relation which existed until February, 1821,
when Mr. Van Buren was appointed a Senator in
Congress. In 1827 Mr. Butier was united in
marriage to Miss Allen, a young lady of many
accomplishments and many mental and personal
attractions. She was a sister of the gallant Lieuten-
ant William H. Allen, who distinguished himself
in the engagement between the frigate "United
States" and the British ship-of-war "Macedonia,"
in 181 2, and who was afterward killed by pirates
in the Gulf of Mexico.
The firm of Van Buren & Butler was the most
distinguished legal firm in the State. The senior
member stood at the head of the State Bar, and his
practice at the United States Supreme Court and
his position as a Senator in Congress gave him a
national reputation.
JMr. Butler, with his unwearied industry, tena-
cious memory and active intellect, followed rapidly
in the footsteps of his preceptor and former partner.
Among the important cases which, by Mr. Van
Buren's retirement from the firm, were left for Mr.
Butler to conduct, were Wilkes vs. Lyon and
Vm-ick vs. Johnson. These cases attracted great
attention throughout the State, and for a consider-
able time occupied the attention of the Court for
the Correction of Errors.
The labor necessary to their preparation for argu-
ment was immense ; but Mr. Butler brought to the
task that industry and research for which he was so
distinguished. After several weeks of labor he
placed in the hands of Mr. Van Buren a thoroughly
arranged, exhaustive and perfect brief Mr. Van
Buren argued the cases, assisted by ]\Ir. Buder.
For two years after his admission to the Bar Mr.
Butler confined himself to the Circuit Courts, at-
taining a highly respectable reputation as a jury
law}-er. He first appeared in a General Term of
the Supreme Court in October, 1820, when he
argued the case of the People vs. Foote ; his oppo-
nent was the late Thos. J. Oakley, who then ranked
among the great lawyers of the State. Soon after
this, he argued, in the same court, the celebrated
case of the President and Directors of the Bank of
Auburn vs. Blanchard et al. , his opponent was
Daniel Cady, an illustrious character in the legal
history of the State.
One of Mr. Butler's first cases in the Court for
the Correction of Errors was that of Mauahain vs.
Gibson — a case of historic importance. The op-
posing counsel was that giant of the Bar, J. V.
138
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Henry. In the celebrated case of Troup vs. SniHh,
and that of Morton vs. Cragan, Mr. Butler was
associated with Samuel A. Talcott, one of the bril-
liant ornaments of the New York State Bar.
Mr. Butler appeared so often in the Supreme
Court that a history of his cases he conducted in
that court would fill several volumes.
On February 19, 182 1, he was appointed
District Attorney of Albany County, discharging
the duties of this office till January, 1825, when he
was succeeded by Edward Livingston.
Though the labors of this office were heavy, and
for one so young its responsibilities great, Mr.
Butler's success was in proportion to his labor, and
he retired from the office with the well-earned
commendations of the public. Before his official
term expired, a law was passed by the Legislature
of 1824, appointing Chancellor Kent, Erastus Root
and Benjamin F. Butler commissioners to revise
the laws of the State ; but these gentlemen did not
enter upon the duties thus assigned them, as the
Legislature of 1825 passed an act by which Mr.
Butler, John Duer and Henry Wheaton were made
commissioners to revise the statute laws. Not long
after the passage of this act, Mr. Wheaton was ap-
pointed charge d'affairesXo the Court of Berlin, and
John C. Spencer was appointed in his place.
As was said by a distinguished member of the
Bar, "the selection of Mr. Butler, who had then so
recently commenced his practice, for a position so
high and responsible, carried with it the evidence
of the high estimation in which he was held by the
Legislature. It was an undertaking of great hazard
to his professional reputation, as well as an im-
mense labor. It involved for a time the entire
sacrifice of his business, as he was obliged to devote
his time almost exclusively to that business. He
undertook it, and, notwithstanding the prejudices
it at first encountered, it was carried to a successful
termination."
In the language of Judge Kent, "All who knew
the indomitable energy of John C. Spencer will
naturally believe that his spirit pervaded the whole
work ; but, judging from internal evidence, I can-
not avoid believing that much of the essential excel-
lence of the Revised Statutes, and more of the
labor which adapted them to our general sjstem of
jurisprudence — the plan and order of the work, the
learning of the notes, the marginal references, and
the admirable index which accompanies it — should
be ascribed to the labor, the patient touches of
unwearied art, bestowed by Mr. Butler. The
statutes, however, reveal the learning, skill, labor
and ability of each of their great authors."
Three years later a new edition of the statutes
was deemed necessary, and the revisers were once
more called to the work of revision. The whole
existing statute laws of a general nature, all the acts
of the Legislature passed since the year 1825,
were carefully examined ; the statutes themselves
critically reviewed and re-arranged, with annota-
tions and references made by the Supreme Court,
the Court of Chancery and the Court for the Cor-
rection of Errors.
This new edition was reported to the Legislature
at its annual session in the winter of 1836, and by
appropriate acts was passed as the Statutes of the
State of New York. Other editions have succeeded
it, embracing acts since passed. They are volumin-
ous but indispensable works in the library of a
practicing law3'er.
Mr. Butler was elected a member of the Legisla-
ture of 1828, and left on its records indubitable
evidence of his ability as a legislator.
In 1833 Mr. Butler was appointed commissioner,
with Theodore Frelinghuysen, to settle the long-
disputed boundary line between Ncm' York and
New Jerse}', and brought this difficult question
to a highly satisfactory adjustment. In the autumn
of 1833, before the labors of the New Jersey
commission were terminated, Mr. Butler was ap-
pointed Attorney-General of the United States, in
place of Roger B. Taney, appointed Chief Justice of
the United States. A few days before Mr. Butler's
departure for Washington to enter upon the duties
of his office, the citizens of Albany, without distinc-
tion of party, assembled and publicly expressed
their regard for his virtues as a citizen and their ad-
miration of his talents as a lawyer. Among those
who addressed the meeting were Stephen Van Rens-
selaer, Abraham Van Vechten and Harmanus
Bleecker.
In October, 1836, while discharging his duties
as Attorney-General, Mr. Butler was appointed
Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Jack-
son. He discharged the duties of the two offices
until the 4th of March, 1837. In the Department
of War there was at this time a large accumulation
of business, owing to the Seminole war; but Mr.
Butler, by his assiduity and S3'Stematic method,
brought up the arrears of business, and left the de-
partment in a satisfactory state to his illustrious
successor, Felix Grundy, of Tennessee.
The legal opinions rendered by Mr. Butler while
Attorney-General are still read and admired for
their profundity in substance, their perfection in
diction ; they are also established as reliable prece-
dents.
On the 4th of March, 1837, President Van Buren
entered upon the duties of his administration. Mr.
Butler continued to discharge the duties of Attor-
ney-General until January, 1838, when he resigned
and returned to the practice of his profession.
Within a few months, however, the office of United
States District Attorney for the Southern District of
New York became vacant, and Mr. Butler was ap-
pointed to fill that oflice. He discharged these
duties until the inauguration of President Harrison,
when he resigned. When President Polk assumed
the executive chair he tendered Mr. Butler the
office of Secretary of ^^'ar, but the off'er was respect-
fully declined for reasons which were entirely satis-
factory to the President. Not long after, however,
the President tendered to Mr. Butler the office of
United States District Attorney for the Southern
District. This position Mr. Butler did not hesitate
to accept, as it did not interfere with the duties of
his profession. He discharged these official duties
until after the election of Gen. Taylor, when he
THE BENCH AND BAR.
139
was removed for political reasons. In the mean-
time Mr. Butler had become a citizen of the City
of New York.
In the summer of 1856 he made a visit to Eng-
land, but returned very soon to complete a profes-
sional engagement of great importance. This was
the great case of Levit vs. Curtis, -which had been
before the court for a long time, and was then
pending in the Court of Appeals. He was com-
pelled to terminate his European tour in order to
conduct the argument of the case at a term of the
court then approaching.
In 1835 the Council of the University of the Cil}'
of New York having decided to establish a faculty
of law in that institution, Mr. Butler was requested
to prepare a plan for its organization. He com-
plied with the request, and on the 29th day of May,
1835, submitted to Rev. J. N. Mathews, then
Chancellor of the University, a document entitled
" A Plan for the Organization of a Law Faculty
and for a System of Instruction in Legal Science in
the University of the City of New York." His
plan was warmly approved by the Council and
promptly accepted by the most flattering resolu-
tions.
Mr. Butler continued to devote his entire ener-
gies to the duties of his profession ; but it was ap-
parent to his friends that his health was rapidly
failing, and they prevailed upon him to visit Europe
again. Accordinglj', in October, 1868, he em-
barked on the steamer Arago, bound for Havre,
intending to remain abroad two 3'ears. On the
29th of October he landed at Havre. He visited
Harfleur and Rouen, and on the 3d of November
he arrived at Paris. The ne.xt day he wrote a long
and interesting letter to his son, \Mlliam Allen
Butler, Esq. In the evening of that day he was
taken ill, and his disease rapidly progressed, and
finally, on the 8th of November, his earthly career
ended.
GREENE C. BRONSON.
Among the illustrious legists whose names em-
bellish the roll of lawyers of Albany County is
Greene C. Bronson, who for twenty years and uj)-
ward was a gifted and successful contestant at the
Albany Bar.
He was born at Utica, Oneida County, N. Y.,
in 1789. He began his practice at Utica about
the year 18 15; he early developed a peculiarly
strong judicial mind and method, in recognition of
which he was, oaApril 13, 1819, appointed Surro-
gate of Oneida County. He discharged the duties
of this office for two 3'ears with singular ability. In
the fall of 1 82 2 he was elected member of Assembly
from Oneida Count}', and was honored by the posi-
tion as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. The
next year he was tendered a renomination, but de-
clined, and devoted himself to his profession.
On February 27, 1829, he was appointed Attor-
ney-General ot the State, the successor of Samuel
A. Talcott, universall}- acknowledged one of the
greatest of American lawyers. I\Ir. Bronson dis-
charged the duties of this office till January 12,
1836, when he was appointed one of the Justices of
the Supreme Court, ^^'e should have said that
about the time he was appointed Attorney-General
he removed to Albany, where he resided over
twent)' successive years.
On March 5, 1845, he was appointed Chief Jus-
tice of the State, in place of Hon. Samuel Nelson,
appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States. Few members of the American
Bench rank higher than Judge Bronson ; the opin-
ions written by him alwa3-s command the respect
and admiration of the student and the practitioner ;
the ingenuity and e.xactness with which they are
written, their polemical strength and the extent of
their erudition, are hardly equaled by those of any
other judge. He occupied the Bench as Chief
Justice two years, when he resigned, and was suc-
ceeded by Samuel Beardsley, the last of the Chief
Justices under the Constitution of 1821.
In 1853 he was appointed Collector of the Port
of New York, and removed from Albany to that
cit}'. In 1859 he was Corporation Counsel for the
City of New York, serving until 1863, when he re-
tired to private life.
In politics Judge Bronson was a Democrat, and
during the divisions of the Democratic party into
Hard Shell and Soft Shell factions, he was the
leader of the Hard Shell wing. Some of his
speeches delivered in defense of his position created
marked attention throughout the nation for the
skill ot their argument, the beauty and strength of
their diction, and, more than all, for their boldness,
and, as the opposition journals termed, for their
audacity.
Judge Bronson died in the City of New York,
September 3, 1863.
MARCUS T. REYNOLDS.
During a period of twent3'-six years Marcus T.
Reynolds was one of the leading members of the
Albany Bar. The history of his career during that
time is the history of the Supreme Court, Court for
the Correction of Errors and the Court of Appeals.
For ten 3'ears previous to that time he often ap-
peared in the different courts that held their sit-
tings in Alban3' ; an examination of the reports
of the cases argued in the Appellate Courts of the
State from 18 17 to 1853 shows that Mr. Reynolds
represented more cases adjudicated in the Supreme
Court and Court of Errors than almost an3' other
law3'er in the State.
He was born at Florida, Montgomery County,
N. Y., December 22, 1788. When he was ten
years of age he was placed in a high school at
Canajoharie, where he remained three years. Leav-
ing Canajoharie, he entered a collegiate school at
Utica, where he was fitted for college. In 1805 he
entered Union College, from whence, in 1 808, he
was graduated, standing second in his class.
While in college he developed those polemical
and elocutionary talents, that keen and sparkling
wit, which distinguished him as an advocate. Hav-
ing graduated, he began the study of law in the
office of that truly great law3-er, Matthias B. Hil-
dreth, of Johnstown, N. Y. Mr. Hildreth was for
several years Attorney-General of the State.
140
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Young Reynolds was a particular favorite with
his learned preceptor, who spared no pains in
advancing his student in acquiring that knowledge
necessary for a profound and successful lawyer.
On October 12, 181 1, Reynolds was called to the
Bar. About this time Addison Gardner, Samuel
Stevens, John A. Collier, Charles O'Conor,
William H. Seward, Ogden Hoffman and Alonzo
C. Page were called to the Bar.
Mr. Reynolds began his practice at Johnstown,
N. Y. ;here he was compelled to contend with
Daniel Cady, of whom it may be said he was a
gladiator in the legal arena of uncommon prow-
ess. Other eminent lawyers became the antago-
nists of Mr. Reynolds, and in contending with
legal giants he rapidly grew to be one himself
He continued to practice at Johnstown until
1828, when he removed to Albany, where he spent
the remainder of his life, and where he retained
that position which has given him an undying fame
in the legal history of the State.
The legal speeches of Mr. Reynolds were
natural, easy, replete with argument, never too
artificial, and recherche. His gestures were very
few, generally with his right arm and forefinger,
occasionally dropping the palm of his left hand
upon the table, if one was before him ; if not, he
balanced it before him in an easy, natural manner.
He had the faculty of passing from ' ' grave to
gay, from lively to severe," with surprising facilit}'.
This is illustrated by his arguments in cases like
Mabee vs. Peck, and cases like The People \'s, Lani-
prey. So widely did these intellectual efforts differ
from each other that a stranger would naturally
have believed them to be the productions of
different minds. The former case involved the
consideration of mere abstract questions of law,
and his argument abounded in nothing but reason,
reneved by no lucid narration — no appeal to the
feelings — no address to the imagination, and yet it
was an intellectual triumph ; those who listened to
him could hardly think it possible for a feeling of
pathos, sympathy or pleasantry ever to enter his
bosom, so thoroughl)' prosaic was his speech.
Lamprey was tried for the murder of his own
nephew. There were many circumstances in the
case which appealed strongly to sympathy, and
Mr. Reynolds interposed a powerful and successful
defense, founded not only upon the facts, but
upon grave and intricate questions of law. His
address to the jury was an inimitable specimen of
legal oratory. It was often enlivened by momen-
tary displaj's of wit and humor ; it abounded in
exquisitely wrought passages, in which pathos and
argument were interlused. Even on the discussion
of the legal questions in this case, ' ' he cast the
playful hues of his fancy ; " so that it was diflicult
to determine whether at the bar he was the giant
or magician — Briareus or Prospero.
He carried his cases by being thoroughly imbued
with them himself, and then, by a clear and well-
defined statement to court and jury, imparting the
impression that he had no doubt of the right of his
case. Before a jury he had a sort of magnetic power,
by which he photographed his own ideas and rea-
sons upon the minds of the jury.
Many years before his death he was thrown from
a horse ; the fall produced an injury to one of his
knee-pans of such a serious character that ampu-
tation became necessary. Immediately after the
accident he was taken into a store, and the wound
was examined by one of the most skillful surgeons
in Albany, who became convinced that amputation
must inevitably follow, and he so informed the suf-
ferer, stating further that perhaps it had better be
done on the following day.
"I wish you to proceed instantly. I cannot have
the matter upon my mind," said Reynolds. The
surgeon obeyed. This was before chloroform was
used by surgeons, but Mr. Reynolds submitted to
the operation without a groan. After the loss of
his leg he generally conducted his causes sitting.
In person he was slightly above the ordinary
stature ; his frame was slender, but well propor-
tioned ; in his earlier years his form was more
athletic. His face was thin ; his high forehead
evinced intellectual power ; he lived a life of devo-
tion to his profession, never seeking or holding
public office. Simple and retired in his tastes and
habits, a warm and generous friend, an open and
manly adversary. Many of the religious, charita-
ble and literary institutions of Albany are indebted
to him for pecuniary aid and valuable assistance.
For many years he was a member of St. Peter's
Church, and for a long time one of the vestry.
In his social relations, Mr. Reynolds possessed
those qualities which accompany a refined and sen-
sitive mind, causing him to be greatly beloved
in the sacred circle of home.
He died on the 13th of July, 1864, in the seven-
ty-seventh year of his age.
Ten years previous to his death, owing to ill
health, he retired from the Bar, and nearly with-
drew from former associations and society. At last
his splendid intellect vanished, and his last years
were passed in mental darkness.
SAMUEL STEVENS.
It would be impossible to give a history of
the Bar of Albany without some description of
Gen. Samuel Stevens. From the year 1837
down to the adoption of the Code of Procedure
Samuel Stevens, Marcus T. Reynolds and Nicholas
Hill were, perhaps, three of the most prominent
lawyers in the State. They were constantly engaged
in the principal courts, often on the same side,
but more frequently opposed to each other.
Gen. Stevens was a lawyer of rare accomplish-
ments, an advocate of great power. Like Ogden
Hoffman, he contrived to give interest to a dry de-
tail of facts by a happy adaptation of his mind to
them ; he could, on the instant, select from a
variety of matters those which would make the best
appearance and be least exposed to observation
and to answer. " He could estimate the probable
case which was hid in his adversary's brief, and
prepare his own to elude its force." As a speaker
he was as effective before the court as either Hill or
Reynolds ; as a jury lawyer he was more successful
THE BENCH AND BAR.
141
than the former, because he was more emotional,
more vivacious and more vehement. His gesticu-
lation was active and frequent, and he often illus-
trated his argument with a humorous story which
contained force and point; his good nature always
prevailed at the Bar, accompanied by an incisive
wit ever at his command, ever agreeable, because
it never descended to offensive satire. In his man-
ner he was what might be called free and easy ;
like Martin Grover, when at the Bar, his mouth was
always occupied by a quid of tobacco, by no
means infinitessimal in size. He was popular with
the people, and thus he had one quahty of the suc-
cessful politician. He was first known to the polit-
ical world as one of the ablest and most eloquent
supporters of DeWitt Clinton in the State.
In 1825 he represented his native county, Wash-
ington, in the Assembly, and although one of its
youngest members, he was regarded as the leader
of the Clintonian party in that body. In 1827
he was again elected to the Assembly. In Feb-
ruary of that year he delivered a speech in the
House on that part of the Governor's Message
which referred to internal improvements. This
speech gave him a State reputation as an ingenious
reasoner and an accomplished legislative debater.
He afterward identified himself with the Whig
party, and in the I.egislativc Caucus held in Feb-
ruary, 1839, was strongly sustained for candidate
for Attorney-General ; Willis Hall, of New York,
was, however, the successful candidate, on a vote
of 45 to 42. He was never again before the pub-
lic for an\- civil office, excepting once when he was
nominated for Lieutenant-Governor.
In personal appearance Gen. Stevens differed
materially from both Hill and Reynolds ; he was
short, thickset, tending to corpulency ; his eye-
lids were always partly closed, as though they were
affected by the light. He was of nervous tempera-
ment, active, energetic and restless.
The names of Hill, Reynolds and Stevens are
strongly associated together ; at the Albany Bar
there was scarcely a case of impc)rtance tried
in which one of the three did not appear as
counsel.
Gen. Stevens was not so long identified with
the Albany Bar as Hill and Reynolds, but he has
left on its history a name and fame of which this
Bar may be justly proud.
He was for a time a partner of James Edwards,
Esq., a distinguished member of the Albany Bar,
and afterward he was the law partner of Peter
Cagger, under the firm name of Stevens & Cagger,
which became one of the most powerful in the
State, and continued for several years.
JOHN C. SPENCER.
John C. Spencer, ranking among the ablest of
American law3'ers, was for many years a member
of the Albany Bar. Here he achieved his greatest
legal and political triumphs. His name is not
only identified with the legal but with the political
history of the State.
The political career of De Witt Clinton is largel}-
blended with that of John C. Spencer.
He was born at Hudson, N. Y., August i 2, 1786;
he was a son of Ambrose Spencer, to whom we
have often referred in this work. From his earliest
years he was accustomed to the society of distin-
guished, learned and gifted men. His first knowl-
edge of politics was drawn from witnessing the con-
test of our great American polidcians who flour-
ished in the early part of the present century. He
saw how causes were tried by witnessing the legal
contests of Hamilton, Burr, Hoffman, Emmet and
other great lawyers.
He prepared for college at Hudson Academy,
and entered Union College in 1799. During his
collegiate course a friendship began between him-
self and Dr. Nott — afterward for many years the
distinguished president of that college ■ — which
warmed as it ripened, and continued until the death
of Mr. Spencer.
As a student young Spencer was distinguished
for close and thorough application to his studies,
for the same thoughtful reserve, the same dignified
reticence, which marked his character as a lawyer,
legislator and cabinet minister.
In July, 1803, at the age of seventeen, Spencer
graduated with scholarly honors e.xceedingly grati-
fying to all his friends. On leaving college he
began the study of law with his distinguished
father. In July, 1809, he was called to the Bar ;
very soon after this he was united in marriage to a
daughter of James Scott Smith, a highly respected
citizen of New York City. Miss Smith was a lady of
rare accomplishments, with that high cast of char-
acter which eminently qualified her for the wife of
John C. Spencer. At this time Western New York,
though mostly a wilderness, was attracting the at-
tention of the enterprising and intelligent people of
the eastern and southern parts of the State. The
beauty of its scenerj', embellished by lakes, rivers
and hills, with their grand old forests, and its
prospects for speedy settlement and future great-
ness, were vividly portrayed by tourists.
Among those who decided to emigrate to that
country was l\Ir. Spencer, and in September, 1809,
he became a resident of Canandaigua. With a
few law books and fifteen dollars in money he
began that professional career which has rendered
his name memorable in the State and nation.
He used to describe, in a pleasing manner, the
first dinner of which he and his wife partook in
their "own hired house" at Canandaigua.
" Our meal was served on a plain kitchen table.
I was seated on a cheap, old-fashioned chair — the
only one we boasted of— and Mrs. Spencer occu-
pied a common wooden stool. But everything on
the table, though simple, was nicely cooked, and
we enjoyed our meal with a relish never equaled
at the more sumptuous repasts of our more pros-
perous days."
In 1809 Ontario County embraced within its
limits all that territory included within the Coun-
ties of Yates and Wayne, together with all that
part of Monroe and Livingston lying east of the
Genesee River. After Mr. Spencer became a resi-
dent of Western New York the population rapidly
increased, and its great agricultural and other ad-
142
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
vantages developed to a surprising degree. The
Ontario Bar became one of the most eminent in
the State, at the head of which Mr. Spencer always
stood.
In February, 1818, he was appointed by Gov.
Tompkins Prosecuting, or District, Attorney
for the five western counties of the State. It was
a position of great responsibility and labor, but he
discharged his duties with great alacrity and suc-
cess. In the spring of 1 8 1 7 he was elected a rep-
resentative in Congress, taking his seat in that
body December i, 181 7, remaining in the House
during its fifteenth session. While in Congress he
received the nomination for United States Senator
by the Clintonian members of the Legislature.
Col. Samuel Young and Rufus King were his
opponents. He received 64 votes, Col. Young
57; but Mr. King was elected. For a politician as
young as Mr. Spencer then — only twent3--eight
years of age — this development of strength was
exceedingly flattering to him. In the autumn of
18 1 9 he was elected member of Assembly, and
when the Legislature convened on January 2, 1820,
Mr. Spencer was chosen Speaker. He was re-
elected in the fall of 182 1, and again a candidate
for Speaker, but was defeated by a few votes. He
was elected to the Legislatures of 183 1 and 1833.
Mr. Spencer represented the old Seventh Sena-
torial District in the State Senate from 1825 to the
close of the year 1828. He left the impressions of
his great learning and genius on the records of
both branches of the Legislature of this State, and
many enactments of importance which make a
prominent part of our legal structure owe their
existence to his learning and genius.
In 1826 the abduction of Morgan created an
unparalleled excitement in the State. To secure
the conviction of the abductors the great abilities
of Spencer were invoked, and he was appointed by
Gov. Van Buren a special public prosecutor for
that occasion.
But so skillfully and so secretly was the crime
committed that all efforts of Mr. Spencer, aided
by the power of the State, failed to bring the cul-
prits to justice, and the mystery which hung over
the affair at that time rests upon it now. Out of
it grew the Anti-Masonic party, the foundations of
which were laid by Thurlow Weed, William H.
Seward, John C. Spencer, Frederick Whittlesy,
Bates Cook and others. For a time it was very
powerful, particularly in the western part of the
State. It was short-lived, however, and soon
withered away, or, rather, was absorbed by the
Whig party, which was founded on broader princi-
ples of State polity.
Mr. Spencer, with Seward, Weed and others,
became leaders of the ^^'hig part}'.
In the autumn of 1836 he removed from Canan-
daigua to Albany, where he resided the remainder
of his life. He aided materially in the election of
Gen. Harrison, who died ver)' soon after assum-
ing the executive chair. John Tyler, who suc-
succeeded him, appointed Mr. Spencer his Secre-
tary of War, and though the \\'hig party dissolved
all connection with Tyler, Spencer continued to
adhere to him through his administration. He
advocated the election of Gen. Taylor and
the election of Gen. Scott. After the Presiden-
tial election of 1852 he never mingled in politics.
This, in brief, was the career of John C. Spencer
as a politician ; the history of his legal career
would fill volumes. A distinguished part of
his legal work was in the part he took as one of
the revisers of the New York Statutes. Gov.
Clinton died on February 28, 1828. Before his
death he appointed commissioners for the revis-
ion of the Statutes ; they were John C. Spencer,
John Duer and Benjamin Y. Butler. These gen-
tlemen were selected for their high standing as
law)ers, regarded, as they were, as the most
learned of the profession in the State. The success-
ful manner in which they discharged their duty is
too well known to need comment here. The Re-
vised Statutes of the State of New York are grand
and enduring monuments of the genius, the learn-
ing, the purity and wisdom of John C. Spencer,
John Duer and Benjamin F. Butler. Though,
through the innovation of subsequent law-makers
and codifiers, many of their sections have been re-
pealed, yet man)' remain, indispensable to the
practicing lawj-er.
In 1849 '^s ^^'^s appointed one of the codifying
commissioners, but to the great regret of the judi-
ciary, the profession and the public he declined
the appointment and retired to private life.
Few men were more beloved in Albany than
Mr. Spencer ; its public interests seemed to be his
interest, and his relations to its society were of the
most pleasing nature. To his efforts the Albany
Hospital owes, in a measure, its existence. As
was said by a distinguished citizen of Albany,
speaking of the hospital, " Its interests and welfare
never ceased to occupy his mind ; and I have no
doubt his agency in its foundation was a rich con-
solation on his bed of death."
The State Asylum for Idiots is another institu-
tion which owes much to his influence and
generosity. In many other benignant and public
matters his name is honorably identified. He con-
tinued the dispenser of charities, public and
private, until his death.
About the middle of May, 1854, he visited the
City of New York, being then an invalid. While there
his disease took a more violent and dangerous
turn, which rendered it apparent that the life of the
great statesman and law3'er was about to close. He
lingered until about the 20th of May, when he
quietly and peacefully passed away. He was then
in the sixty-eighth year of his age.
In the lovely cemetery of Albany, among all the
beautiful and artistic monuments which embellish
it, speaking its silent language of respect for the
dead, none is oftener visited, none elicits more
veneration, or brings up historic associations more
vividly, than the shaft which commemorates the
spot where repose the remains of John C. Spencer.
JAMES EDWARDS.
Mr. Jajies Edwards was a member of the
Albany Bar, whose professional acquirements,
THE BENCH AND BAR.
143
scholarly attainments and high character gave him
a State reputation.
He was born in Greenfield, Saratoga, N. Y.,
December 9, 1799. He removed to Albany in
1816 ; here he began the study of law in the office
of his uncle, Hon. Alfred Foote, at that time one
of the most eminent lawyers in Albany. In 1822,
at a term of the Supreme Court held in Alban}', he
was admitted to the Bar, and soon afterward
formed a partnership with Gen. Samuel Stcxens,
whose biography appears in this work. The busi-
ness of the firm was large and important, extend-
ing into very many of the counties of Central and
Southern New York.
To use the language of the Albany Argus, "Mr.
Edwards brought to his practice many admirable
qualifications. He was always distinguished for
his sound practical judgment, his solid legal attain-
ments, his promptness and accuracy in business,
energy, firmness and integrity of character,
and conscientious fidelity to the interests of his
clients. Among his clients and friends and the
citizens of Albanj' he was always regarded as
a most substantial, upright and leading man. He
was kind-hearted, true in his friendship, warm and
generous in his sympathies, ever open to the
appeals of the poor and suffering, and ever seeking
to rule his life in accordance with Christian princi-
ples. He was a liberal-minded, public-spirited
and valuable citizen, alwa3's seeking a warm inter-
est in all measures for the promotion of public in-
terests. "
Mr. Edwards died suddenly on May 21, 1868,
aged sixty-nine jears.
AZOR TABOR.
AzoR Tabor was born at Knox, in the County of
Albany, May i, 1798. After a careful and thor-
ough classical education he entered the office of
John Lansing, Chancellor of the State, where he
prepared for the Bar. After his admission to prac-
tice he opened an office at Albany. A prosperous
and distinguished legal business opened to him,
and he pursued a long and honorable career at the
Bar. He ranked among the ablest law3'ers of the
State, discharging the duties of a very large legal
practice with fidelity and capacity, which com-
manded universal approbation.
His chosen profession was his almost exclusive
pursuit. From this he was rarely tempted to turn
aside. The only position he ever held was State
Senator from the Albany district. He was elected
in November, i85i;took his seat in the Senate
July 6, 1852, closing his Senatorial career Decem-
ber 31, 1854. As a member of the Judiciary Com-
mittee— as an occasional debater — he exhibited
that power and compass of mind, that extraor-
dinary condensation of language, which rendered
him so distinguished at the Bar. But as his am-
bition was confined to his profession, he had no
taste for legislative honors, and, declining a re-
nomination, he left the Senate and a most honor-
able Senatorial record, to pursue without interrup-
tion his duties at the Bar.
In April, 1833, he formed a jiartnership with that
accomplished lawyer and highly esteemed citizen,
Amos Dean. This relation was highly advanta-
geous to both parties and continued several years.
In 1854, owing to failing health, he retired from
the profession and became a resident of Knox, his
nati\c town, where, on June 10, 1855, he died.
As has well been said, " his life was that of an
honest, earnest, able man, and he left a memory
upon which there is no stain."
In the character of Azor Tabor the strength and
vigor of manhood was softened by the gentleness
of manners and tastes which belong to and adorn
the other sex. We may say without afl^ectation that
tiie history of the Albany Bar is enriched and em-
bellished by his learning, his unostentatious and
yet powerful eloquence, and by his virtuous and
blameless life.
AMOS DEAN.
Amos Dkan was born at Barnard, Vt., January
1 6, 1 803. Like many other prominent lawyers and
jurists of this State, he acquired his early education
in the common schools, where he prepared for the
great calling of teaching. Engaged in this occupa-
tion, he sustained himself while pursuing his
academic course preparatory to entering college.
He entered Union College in 1823, and graduated
from thence in 1826.
At this time his uncle, Jabez D. Hammond, a
distinguished lawyer and writer, was in partnership
with that illustrious judge, Alfred Conkling.
Mr. Dean began the study of law in their office;
he was a diligent student; one of those who de-
lighted in the nice distinctions and the philosoph}^
of the law as a science. Intricate and dry as is the
study of law to some, to 3'oung Dean it had
attractions that amounted to fascination; and so he
came to study it as a matter of recreation, blending
instruction with delight. Long before his admis-
sion he had the gratification of hearing his uncle
say: "Amos is a very thoroughly read law3'er
alread3'. "
He was admitted to practice at the May Term
of the Supreme Court in 1829, and went at once
assiduously and earnestiy to the work of his pro-
fession.
For several 3'ears, and during the earlier period
of his practice, he was associated with Azor Tabor,
then recognized as one of the most eminent of the
Albany Bar. Sa3's the Albany Evening Journal :
" Professor Dean never assumed to attain celebrit}'
as an advocate before juries. While he possessed
marked abilities as an orator, which could have
been educated to an eminent order by practice, his
instincts and tastes led him to another field of in-
dustry in his profession. His amiability of dispo-
sition, his natural reserve, his kindly nature, his
guilelessness and his overflowing charity repelled
him from the theatre of professional strife and con-
flict. He was peculiarly adapted to the duties of
the office and the counsel room. Here he became
eminent for wisdom, prudence and sagacit3f.
These qualities, added to that higher and nobler
one of an unimpeachable integrity, brought to him
clients, success and fame.
144
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
' ' Professor Dean was a scholar by education,
study and taste. This led him to appreciate the
benefits of a popular education, and to aid in its
popular advancement. Impelled by such purposes,
he conceived, in early manhood, the plan of estab-
lishing associations for the mental improvement of
young men.
"In 1833 he gathered about him a few young
friends of kindred tastes in an office in Albany, and
there planted the germ of the "Albany Young
Men's Association." From this beginning hun-
dreds of kindred institutions that have since blest
the country by their beneficent influences abroad.
"Upon the organization of this association, Mr.
Dean was unanimously selected as its first presi-
dent. By the energy and sagacity of his adminis-
tration the foundation of that noble edifice of pop-
ular education, from which, for so many years, so
much moral and intellectual light has been shed
upon the youth of our city, and which has been
the model for so many like structures in all sec-
tions of the Union.
"In 1833 he was associated with Drs. March and
Armsby in establishing the Albany Medical College;
from that time to 1859 he held in it the position of
Professor of Medical furisprudence. When the
law department of our university was established
Mr. Dean was wisely and appropriately chosen one
of its professors. In this sphere, so well adapted
to his tastes, his talents shone out most brightly.
His pupils, scattered all over the land, bear testi-
mony to the value of his instruction.
"Professor Dean has attained considerable emi-
nence in the field of authorship and literature. In
early life he delivered a series of able and interest-
ing lectures on phrenology, a science then in its
infancy. These lectures \\'ere afterward embodied
in a book.
" In early life he was the author of a Manual nf
Law, which proved a valuable aid to business men.
He delivered several valuable addresses and lec-
tures upon subjects of public interest. In 1833 '""^
delivered the Annual Address before the Albany In-
stitute. He pronounced a eulogy upon the death
of Jesse Buel before the State Agricultural Society,
and an Annual Address before the Senate of Union
College. But his greatest achievement in literature
was not given to the world, because of his death.
This was the History of Civilization, upon which he
had been engaged for several years previous to his
death.*
" His industry, research and ability gave assur-
ance of the merit and attraction of his work.
' ' We have spoken of Professor Dean only as a
professional and public man. If we sought to add
panegyric to what we have said, we should speak
of his qualities as a man and of his virtues in
private life. Herein, if possible, his character was
higher and nobler than in any other walk of life.
"To the qualities which we have described he
united a pleasing address, a quiet demeanor, a
generosity of sentiment and an absence of guile
*Since the death of Professor Dean, his great work, upon which
he spent so many years, has been published in seven octavo vol-
umes.
that endeared him strongly to the circle of his
companionship. "
Such was the tribute paid to Professor Dean by
that eminent journalist of the State, Thurlow Weed.
Those who remember Professor Dean — and there
are many still in Albany who do — will bear ample
testimony to the truth and fitness of Mr. Weed's
beautiful sketch of his life.
HENRY G. WHEATON.
Fn the year 1828 Mr. Wheaton graduated with
the highest honors at Union College, and immedi-
ately commenced the study of law at Albany. At
the May term of the Supreme Court he was ad-
mitted to practice and opened an office at Albany.
As he had been an ardent, close and apprecia-
tive student both in law and in the classics, as he
possessed those mental endowments so necessary
for a lawyer, he rose rapidly to distinction.
As has been said of Mr. Wheaton by another
intimately acquainted with him, " He was accom-
plished in mind and manners, irreproachable in
character and habits, and elevated in aspirations.
All who saw him enter upon the batde of life an-
ticipated for him a prosperous, brilliant and hon-
orable career. He married an attractive young
lady, descended from one of the oldest and most
wealthy families in Albany, and lived in a style be-
coming his position and prospects. He devoted
himself industriously to his profession, of which he
soon became an ornament." He took rank with
Reynolds, Stevens, Tabor and other leading members
of the Albany Bar. By many he was regarded the
superior of either of those exceedingly able lawyers,
especially before a jurv.
He represented Albany County with marked
ability in the Legislatures of 1835, 1840 and 184 i.
We have said he was in the Assembly of 1835.
]\rr. Wheaton was a candidate for Assembly in the
autumn of 1834 for Albany County. His opponent
was Da\ id G. Seger. The canvass was very close,
and each candidate claimed the certificate of elec-
tion; but it was given to Mr. Wheaton, and he took
his seat in the Assembly, January 6, 1835. Mr.
Seger, however, contested his seat with such suc-
cess that on January 9, 1835, Mr. Wheaton was
ousted and Seger took his seat. The former and
his friends, of which he had many, alwa)'S insisted
that Seger succeeded by partisan influence, and
not on the merits of his case. They afterward
pointed contemptuously to what they had deemed
(but with how much reason we are unable to state)
Mr. Seger's humble career as a legislator, in con-
trast with what Mr. Wheaton would have been, and
what it subsequently was.
As we have said, he was elected to the Legisla- .
tures of 1840 and 1841, and was regarded as one of
the most eloquent and influential members of the
Plouse in both of those sessions. Some of his
speeches made on its floor are almost unrivaled as
specimens of legislative eloquence.
On INlarch 30, 1841, Mr. Wheaton was ap-
pointed District Attorney of Albany County. He
made a useful and exceedingly able public prosecu-
tor. It was an unfailing custom in those days to
THE BENCH AND BAR.
\\h
appoint none but the most eminent and successful
advocates to the office of District Attorney. It
was justly regarded as a most important and re-
sponsible position — the people's advocate, com-
pelled, in the discharge of his duties, to oppose the
strongest and most gifted of the profession. In
the year 1855 the management of a large estate in
the City of New York compelled him to take up
his residence there. The care of this property and
some unfortunate turns it took greatly impaired his
health, rendering him despondent.
On August 26, 1865, Mr. Wheaton, in attempt-
ing to cross the railroad track near Yorkville,
caught one of his feet in what is known as a frog,
and was thrown to the ground. Before he could
extricate himself an approaching train passed over
him, instantly killing him.
NICHOLAS HILL.
It is said in the Bench and Bar of Neiv Fork
that Nicholas Hill, in some of his characteristics,
resembled John C. Spencer; they were both men
of strong intellectual powers, active, restless men
of vast research, vigorous logic, unwearied industry
and capable of immense mental labor. Both were
wanting in imagination; both were learned, close,
critical polemical lawyers. But here the analogy
ends; for much of the power which impelled Spencer
to action was political ambition; this led him
into a career which in a measure subordinated his
professional zeal to politics, to divide his great
talents and learning between the Bar and the polit-
ical arena, between the duties of the legislator and
the Minister of State.
]Mr. Hill, on the contrary, concentrated all his
mental powers upon his profession; this gave him
a mastery at the bar which few men are capable of
attaining. He disliked politics, and there was
nothing in official position that could attract him
from the sphere to which he had devoted himself
He was ambitious, but his ambition was confined
to his profession; all his study and reading was
subservient to that ambition; therefore his knowl-
edge of the law, his power of applying it to prac-
tical use, of wielding its subtleties with lacility, and
separating truth from error in a manner which ren-
dered him unqualed at the bar of the State, and
we may say of the nation.
His life was unvaried by those events which excite
the ambition of the politician and the statesman.
It was spent over books, in the contests of the
forum, before learned and venerable judges, whose
deliberations were aided and enlightened b}- his
learned and powerful arguments.
Nicholas Hill was born in the County of Mont-
gomer}'. New York, October 16, 1806. His
father was a revolutionary soldier, who, on leav-
ing the army, became a useful preacher of the
gospel.
Young Llill early exhibited a love of books, a
quick comprehension of their contents, an unusual
tenacity of memory. An indomitable energy and
perseverance enabled him, with the aid of his
father — who was an accomplished scholar — to
acquire a very excellent classical education.
19
Choosing the legal profession for his avocation in
life, he began the study of law with Daniel Cad}', of
Johnstown, with whom he prepared for the Bar.
After obtaining his degree as an Attorney at Law,
he commenced piactice at Amsterdam, New York,
meeting with but little success, his practice being
largely confined to the justices' court. At length
he removed to Saratoga, New York, where he made
the acquaintance of that illustrious judge, Esek
Cowen, "whose life and career seemed to ofl"er
that example of singleness of purpose, devotion to
his profession and unwearied industr)- upon
which he molded his career." Judge Cowen soon
discovered in Hill those mental qualities which
constitute a successful lawyer, and he gave him
his influence and advanced his professional interests
in many ways. At length he formed a copart-
nership with Sidney Cowen, Esq., a son of Judge
Cowen. Associated with Mr. Cowen, he prepared
that great work known to the legal profession
throughout the nation and in England as Cmven
(s' Hill's Notes io Phillips on Evidence, which re-
mains a lasting monument to the ability, energy,
industry and learning of its authors — a work which
may be considered a law library by itself.
'I'he unassuming manner and native modesty of
Mr. Hill tended at first to retard his progress at
the Bar. Though a close and powerful reasoner,
he did not possess those showy elocutionary qual-
ities which dazzle the multitude and bring a lawyer
rapidly into notice.
Though he loved the forum and delighted in its
contests, yet there were many of the attributes of
the retiring scholar in his nature, and hence he
derived the most sincere pleasure in the silence and
retirement of his study.
He had many qualities which constitute the
successful jury lawyer, and gradually attained a
high position as an advocate. Marcus T. Reynolds
and Samuel Stevens, for several years his great
rivals in the profession, had been distinguished at
the Bar of the Supreme Court in banc and in the
Court for the Correction of Errors a long time be-
fore Mr. Hill was known in either of those tri-
bunals.
But from his first appearance there he created a
very favorable impression on the minds of all the
members of the Court. In the case of Tilden vs.
Gardiner, which was one of the earliest argued by
him before the General Term, his argument was
listened to with profound attention by both the
Bench and the Bar. "We shall hear from that
man very often hereafter," said Chief-Justice Nelson
to Judge Bronson, as he was folding the papers in
the case, after the conclusion of Mr. Hill's remarks.
Doubtless the reputation which the Notes to Phillips
on Evidence had given aided him in gaining the
confidence of the judges, and in obtaining the ap-
pointment of State Law Reporter in 1841. The
manner in which he prepared these reports greatly
enhanced his reputation. They are characterized
by the same methodical and expansive mind which
is conspicuous in all his works.
He was one of the most accomplished and accu-
rate pleaders in the State, and few exceeded him
14G
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
in the faculty of analyzing a complicated question
or clinching a contested conclusion. These quali-
fications greatly aided him in the labors of report-
ing the adjudicated cases of the State Courts, en-
abling him to adjust them so that the student or
the practitioner could determine at a glance the
real points decided in them. Soon after receiving
this appointment, he removed to Albany, Mhere he
resided the remainder of his life.
He occupied the position of State Reporter five
years, when his increasing legal business compelled
him to resign. Soon after his resignation he
formed a copartnership with Peter Cagger and
John K. Porter, constituting a firm which com-
bined every variety of legal talent — a firm which
was distinguished for its capacity and for the vast
amount of legal business which it controlled.
Each of its members possessed attainments which
gave them superiority at the Bar, or in whatever in-
tellectual field they chose to enter.
Mr. Hill devoted himself to the General Term
and the Court of Appeals; at length his business at
the latter Court increased to such extent that he
was compelled to confine himself almost exclusively
to that tribunal.
Mr. Hill's manner at the Bar was calm, dig-
nified, natural and unassuming. The vivacity and
strength of his mind, his prodigious quickness of
conception, his plain but ready language, rendered
him an effectual speaker in the forum. He gained
the attention of the jurors by the natural force of
reason; his language was never above or beyond
them; it went direct to their understanding. He
considered the case at bar with them, viewed it
from their stand-point, and he "dexterously ac-
commodated himself to what he detected to be the
passing mood of each of the twelve," leading them
instead of driving them to their conclusions.
One of the most powerful weapons which an ad-
vocate can use is candor. This was possessed by
Mr. Hill, and it was, indeed, formidable in his
hands. Without any parade of learning, he con-
vinced the judges that he had examined every
phase of the question he was arguing, and was,
therefore, capable of enlightening their minds and
aiding them in their deliberations; hence he was
strong at Nisi Prius, still stronger before the Court
in banc.
His habits of life were regular and frugal, the
only excess in which he indulged being his in-
tense, never-ceasing application to his books, the
study of his cases and his briefs.
At length the physical powers of Mr. Hill, which
were never strong, began to yield to constant and
unrelaxed labors ; with the flight of each week this
became more and more apparent, until finally his
friends persuaded him to suspend his professional
toils. He yielded to their advice, and they soon had
the satisfaction of seeing his bodily strength and
vigor return and his energies revive ; thus he con-
tinued for several weeks, until he believed himself
able to resume his usual duties. But, alas ! Even
at the moment when hope was highest, with the
prospect of returning health, he suddenl}' fell be-
fore the destro}-er, and Nicholas Hill was numbered
with the dead. This sad event occurred on the
first day of May, 1859. He was then in the fifty-
fourth year of his age — at that period when he yet
had 3'ears of activit)', labor and usefulness before
him.
The intelligence of his death produced the most
profound sorrow throughout the State, particularly
among the members of the legal profession. When
it was announced in the Court of Appeals, in that
arena where he had so long been a prominent con-
testant, where he had occupied a place since the
organization of the court, a scene of sorrow un-
equaled on such occasions and in such places
followed.
Mr. Hill's death was announced in the Court of
Appeals, by Hon. John H. Reynolds, in a eulo-
gium which will never be forgotten. He was emi-
nently qualified for that delicate and responsible
dut}'.
Mr. Reynolds was one of the ablest members of
the Albany Bar; a man of rare argumentative
powers, enlarged and liberalized by scholarly train-
ing and set off by literary accomplishments. He
had been the law partner of Mr. Hill, and knew
him, perhaps, better than any other man, and was
tenderly attached to him.
Mr. Reynolds' professional endowments, his pure
and elevated character, endeared him to his brethren
of his profession ; in a word, he was one of those
whose names adorn the history of the Albany Bar.
PETER CAGGER.
Few members of the Albany Bar left a brighter
or more lasting record, not only as a lawyer, but in
all that makes up an esteemed and useful citizen,
than Peter Cagger.
He was born at Albany, July 6, 1812. His
parents were natives of Ireland, where his father
was extensively engaged in business. Before the
birth of Mr. Cagger, his father removed his family
to the United States, and for a brief period were
residents of the City of New York, but they soon
removed to Albany, where they spent the remainder
of their lives.
We cannot describe the career and character of
Mr. Cagger in more fitting language than the fol-
lowing, written by a distinguished journalist of
Albany :
"The record of Mr. Cagger's life exhibits a series
of happy antitheses. A Democrat of the Demo-
crats, the bold, sagacious and widely known par-
tisan, almost upon all occasions the sole daring
manager of the interests of a great party, and the
absolute controller of its fortunes and destiny —
local. State and national ; he was so happily con-
stituted as to attract, without effort, in seasons of
fierce political excitement, the most potential among
those of antagonistic sentiment, and to number
among his friends his most bitter political oppo-
nents. A Catholic of the Catholics, his very name
a tradition and a household word among the people
of his faith ; largely identified with the earh- histor\-
of the old church in Albany ; an intelligent', consci-
entious and faithful believer, he was, 'at the same
tune, the chosen confident, the familiar friend, the
THE BENCH AND BAR.
147
trusted, most honored and reliable adviser of
many whose peculiar religious bias might have
suggested other counsel and far different associa-
tions. To the young, to the middle-aged, his co-
temporaries, and to ihe old there was something
so genial, so magnetic and so inspiring about Peter
Cagger that the abrupt intelligence of his sudden
and unlooked-for death will be clothed with addi-
tional pain. We might detail, if we chose, un-
numbered instances of his kindness, his noble
charities, the beautiful traits and Christian influ-
ences which accompanied him through the years
which Providence has bestowed, and which will
live before Heaven, and before men, perhaps, when
the record of the lawyer has faded, and the mem-
ory of the politician is extinct. The poor, the
widow, the orphan, the unprotected, never appealed
to him in vain ; the tears of his own fatherless and
bereaved family will mingle, as it were, with a tide
of grief from hidden sources, and the hearts his
own kind heart made happy, and the homes his
liberality blessed, will keep his memory bright when
even the marble has crumbled upon his grave."
Michael Cagger, the elder brother, was a young
man of great promise, of thoughtful, philosophic
mind, and attracted the attention of distinguished
men, who discovered in him unmistakable elements
of future greatness. He died in the very prime of
life. William Cagger, another brother, was for a
time engaged in business in Albany, and afterward
in the New York Custom House, in which position
he died. Mr. Cagger married Maria Maher,
daughter of James Maher, well known for a con-
siderable period as State Librarian, and in the War
of 1812 as the gallant Captain of the "Irish
Greens," a military company originating in Albany
and which bore a prominent part in the famous con-
flict at Sackett's Harbor. A daughter, the sole
remaining issue of this marriage, survives him. '
At an early period of life he was placed in the
then celebrated law office of Reynolds & Woodruff.
Even as a clerk his remarkable administrative
capacity began to manifest itself, and the efficiency
of his labors was occasionally recogriized in the
most handsome manner by the distinguished princi-
pals of that powerful firm.
Mr. Cagger afterward associated himself with
Mr. Samuel Stevens, and the firm name of Stevens
& Caggerbecame speedily potential in legal circles.
After a successful practice of some years, Mr.
Stevens, a very able man and the peer of renowned
lawyers in the legal arena, yielded to excessive
labor ; and shordy after his decease a new legal
firm, that of Hill, Cagger & Porter, was established,
which will go down to posterity as one of the most
remarkable combinations of alaility and fitness for
the several departments of a great law office ever
known in the annals of the State.
"The great intellect of Hill shone in the court of
last resort, where his genius coruscated, and in
which his profound learning, and the unbending
integrity of his character, secured reverence even
of the Bench ; the commanding eloquence, the
penetrating mind, the admirable sagacity of Porter
took easy precedence of all others at Nisi Prius;
and the extraordinary administrative talent of Cag-
ger, ready at once and at a moment's beck for
abstruse pleadings, for the minutiae of petty liti-
gation, with its inexhaustible fund of device and
ingenuity ; instinctively prepared for all combina-
tions, of finance, of politics, and at home in im-
portant business negotiations — all these things com-
bined to make this famous trio so constituted as if
every requisite and possible demand had been fore-
seen and provided for."
In the midst of his successful career as a lawyer
and pohtician Mr. Cagger was suddenly summoned
from earth. On the 6th of July, 1868, while riding
with a friend in the City of New York, he was
thrown from his carriage and instantly killed.
This distressing event cast a gloom over his
native city, whither his remains were tenderly car-
ried.
At the time of his death Mr. Cagger was fifty-six
years of age.
IRA HARRIS,
Distinguished as a lawyer, judge, and Senator
in Congress, was born at Charleston, Montgomery
County, N. Y., May 31, 1802. His father was
Frederick Waterman Harris; his mother's maiden
name was Lucy Hamilton. When he was six years
old his parents removed from Charleston and be-
came residents of Preble, N. Y. Here his father be-
came one of the extensive landowners in the County
of Cordand. Ira prepared for college at the Homer
Academy, and in September, 1822, became a
member of the Junior class in Union College, from
whence he was graduated in 1824. He im-
mediately entered the office of Augustus Donnelly,
a highly respectable counselor at law, of Homer,
N. Y. , where he remained one year, and then went
to Albany, N. Y., where he continued his legal
studies under that great jurist, Ambrose Spencer.
He continued with Judge Spencer until his call to
the Bar in 1827. Opening an office in Albany,
he began his practice under favorable circum-
stances. At the end of six months he formed a co-
partnership with Salem Dutcher, Esq., one of his
associates in college, which proved to be a very
successful relation. It continued until 1842, when
it was dissolved by the removal of Mr. Dutcher to
New York. His next law partner was Julius
Rhoades, Esq. His knowledge of law, his rare
professional accomplishments, brought him rapidly
before the public. As an equity lawyer he stood
pre-eminent.
In the autumn of 1844 he was elected to repre-
sent Albany County in the Assembly. In 1845 he
was re-elected, and in the spring of 1846 was
chosen as a delegate to the Constitutional Conven-
tion which assembled in June that year. In this
body, as in the Legislature, Mr. Harris took a very
conspicuous position. In the fall of 1846 he was
elected to the State Senate, but after serving one
session he was elected a Justice of the Supreme
Court, and resigned his seat in the Senate for one
on the Bench. At the expiration of his term, then
four years in duration, he was elected for the full
term, which had been extended to eight years. To
148
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
use the language of another, "It was not until his
elevation to the Bench that the abilities of Judge
Harris were fully displayed. He exhibited profound
knowledge of the law, much judicial capacity and
severe, though courteous, impartiality."
His charges to juries were models of excellence
in the clearness with which the facts proven and the
law bearing upon them were presented. The pub-
lished opinions of Judge Harris during the twelve
years he sat upon the Bench evince extensive learn-
ing and strength of reasoning.
Upon leaving the Bench he spent a year in
Europe. On his return home he was, in 1861,
elected to the Senate of the United States. His op-
ponents for this distinguished position were Horace
Greeley and Wm. M. Evarts. In the Senate his
abilities were recognized; he was placed upon the
Committee on Foreign Relations, the Judiciary,
and the Select Joint Committee on the Southern
States. He soon became the intimate and trusted
friend of President Lincoln. In the darkest hours
of his administration Mr. Lincoln always found
light in the co-operation of Senator Harris, and in
his moments of despondency sympathy and sup-
port. During the civil war Senator Harris was
most efficient in raising a regiment of cavalry for
the Union, which was called after his name, as was
also a regiment of infantry.
In 1868 the Senatorial term of Mr. Harris ex-
pired and he returned to private life, having won
the distinction of a wise, useful American statesman.
Hardly had he become accustomed to his home life
when he was again summoned by his fellow
citizens into public service. He was again elected
to a seat in a constitutional convention — the con-
vention of 1867. In this body he especially dis-
tinguished himself in his famous speech on
"Government of Cities. " When this convention
adjourned Judge Harris had been in public life
over twenty-three years.
He had been connected with the Albany Law
School from its organization in 1850, and lectured
to the students whenever his official duties permit-
ted. He now accepted the appointment of Profes-
sor of Equity Jurisprudence and Practice, devoting
himself wholly to the school down to the time of
his death, which took place December 2, 1875.
The lectures of Judge Harris proved eminently
popular and useful. He was for many years Presi-
dent of the Board of Trustees of Union College;
he was President of the Albany Medical College,
and of the Board of Trustees of Vassar College; he
was one of the founders of the Rochester Universit}'
— its first and only Chancellor.
Among the public addresses of Judge Harris was
an oration delivered on the occasion of a jubilee
anniversary of the old academy at Homer, a lecture
delivered at Albany upon the life and character of
Roger Williams. For many years he held the
office of deacon in the Emanuel Church in Albanj-,
and was also President of the American Baptist
Missionary Union.
In 1869 he conferred the degrees upon the stu-
dents at the commencement exercises of Union
College. On the 2d of December, 1875, Judge
Harris was summoned from the scenes of earth
"to that better land." His death caused great
sorrow at Albany and throughout the State ; his
funeral was one of the largest that ever took place
in the city. The Bench and the Bar testified their
respect for his memory, and for his brilliant career
as a lawyer, judge and citizen, in eloquent and ap-
propriate eulogies. All classes of citizens united
in honoring the departed jurist, statesman and
esteemed citizen.
Judge Harris was a brother of Hon. Hamilton
Harris. He left a widow, two sons and four
daughters. Col. William Hamilton Harris, the
eldest son, served thirteen years in the U. S. Army,
and afterward, at his own request, was honorably
discharged. Capt. Ira Harris, his other son,
served' ten years in the U. S. Navy. Resigning his
commission, he became an extensive iron manufac-
turer at Kansas City, Missouri.
RUFUS W. PECKHAM
was a learned, distinguished lawyer and jurist.
His early training was favorable to the develop-
ment of his strong mental powers, and the scenes of
his professional activity were propitious for their
exercise.
He was called to the Bar at a brilliant period in
its history. He studied his profession under the
instructions of illustrious jurists, and among his
companions were those whose names are bright on
the historic page.
He was born at Rensselaerville, in the County of
Albany, December 30, 1 809. In his early boyhood
his father removed to Otsego County, near
Cooperstown, where young Peckham grew into
manhood. Like most boys at that period, he was
sent to the common district school — that time-
honored and still valuable institution —to attain a
primary education. When he was thirteen years
of age he became a student in Hartwick Seminary,
under the management of Rev. Dr. Hazelius. In
this institution he prepared for college. In 1825,
when in his sixteenth year, he entered Union Col-
lege, taking an advanced standing, which enabled
him to join the graduating class of 1827.
"While in college he displa3-ed a degree of
natural quickness and talent which enabled him
easily to maintain a high rank in a class distin-
guished for scholarship. He early manifested a
taste for military pursuits, and while in college de-
voted a portion of his time to the study of military
tactics, his proficiency in which secured for him
the rank of captain in the celebrated battalion of
Union College Cadets, one of the most highly
creditable organizations in point of soldierly bear-
ing and discipline in the entire State. Throughout
life he exhibited the bearing and many of the
characteristics of the trained soldier, and was pos-
sessed in an eminent degree of the qualities of
moral and ph3'sical courage which remained dis-
tinguishing traits down to the last moment of his
life."
Having a brother, who was a distinguished
physician, living in Utica, he went to that city for
the purpose of preparing to enter the legal profes-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
149
sion. At this time Greene C. Bronson and Samuel
Beardsley — whose names are indissolubly connect-
ed with the learning and dignity of the old Supreme
Court, and with the honors and erudition of its
Bench — were practicing lawers, as a legal firm,
which ranked first in the State of New York.
It was in the office of these gentlemen that
young Peckham studied his profession. It is a
singular coincidence that these eminent lawj'ers
and their student should each in after life attain
high judicial honors, and pronounce the law frorn
high appellate courts of the State, the student from
the court of dernier ressort, leaving a record over
which the practitioner and the legal student love
to linger.
The advantages of such tutorship of these emi-
nently learned and gifted lawyers was duly appre-
ciated by young Peckham, and it left its impress
upon his whole professional career. He was
guided by them up to a distinguished professional
position. He continued with them until 1830,
when he was called to the Bar. This event took
place immediately after attaining his majority. Six
years later, on January 6, 1836, Greene C. Bron-
son was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court
of the State, and on March 5, 1845, he was made
Chief Justice of that Court.
Early in February, 1844, Esek Cowen, one of
the most illustrious of American judges, then a
Judge of the Supreme Couit, died, and Samuel
Beardsley was appointed to succeed him on the
Bench, a fit representative of his great predecessor.
In 1845 Greene C. Bronson departed this life,
and Samuel Beardsley was appointed Chief Justice
in his place. Before Judge Bronson and Judge
Beardsley ascended the Bench they were both the
recipients of high official honors. The former was
appointed Attorne3'-General of the State, serving
from February, 1821, till February, 1829, when be
was succeeded by Mr. Beardsley, who served till
January, 1836. In 1831 Mr. Beardsley was elected
to Congress, serving in the Twenty-second, Twenty-
third, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-eighth Congress.
During his service he became, as has well been
said, one of the pillars of President Jackson's ad-
ministration.
After his admission to the Bar Mr. Peckham
became a partner of his brother, George W. Peck-
ham, Esq., who had then become a member of
the Albany Bar. The firm was prosperous from
the beginning. The Albany Bar, alwa3-s brilliant,
learned and commanding, was especially so at this
time. With its powerful gladiators young Peckham
was compelled to contend in his struggle for the
eminence he attained. In the contests with such
opponents he derived strength and courage, which
at length made him their equal. Among his com-
petitors were Marcus T. Reynolds, Samuel Stevens
and H. G. Wheaton, then the principal jury lawyers
at the Albany Bar. It was not long before Peck-
ham was regarded as a successful rival, found on
one side or the other of most of the leading cases
tried at the Albany Bar. He was what may be
called an eloquent, terse, logical, legal orator.
In 1839 he was appointed by Gov. IMarcy
District Attorney of Albany County, discharging
its duties with singular ability till 1841, when he
was succeeded by Henry G. Wheaton.
In 1845 he was a candidate for Attorney-General,
his opponent being John Van Buren, by whom he
was defeated by a single vote.
In 1852 he was elected a representative in Con-
gress from the City and County of Albany; he took
his seat on January 2, 1853, serving through the
administration of President Pierce.
'Although a life-long Democrat, and elected by
the Democratic party, he refused to be bound by
party ties when the interests of the nation were at
stake, and exercised an independence as wise and
honorable as it was fearless. He opposed the
passage of the Nebraska bill by voice and vote ; his
-thorough grasp of the problems of the day enabled
him to discern the effects which that measure would
be likely to produce — an effect -which he foretold
with wonderful accuracy." After retiring from
Congress he continued the practice of his profession
in Albany, associating himself with Lyman Tre-
main, then a young lawyer, but who afterward
won a name conspicuous in the history of the
State.
In 1859, accompanied by Chief-Justice Beards-
ley, he visited Europe. On his return in the fall of
that year he was elected a Justice of the Supreme
Court, serving his term ot eight years. He was
unanimously re-elected; before this term closed he
was elected a Justice of the Court of Appeals. Few
American judges possessed rarer judicial accom-
plishments than he. The truth of this remark is
fully sustained by the legal reports of the State.
"On the 5th ot November, 1873, Judge Peckham
and his wife sailed for Europe on the ill-fated
steamer Ville du Havre, of the French line, which,
on the 2 2d of the same month, when in mid-ocean,
collided with the British ship Loch Earn, and
went down in the darkness ot the night, carrying
two hundred and twenty-six souls into eternity;
among those who perished were Judge Peckham
and his affectionate wife. Even the awful nature
of the impending calamity served but to bring out
those noble qualities of heart and soul for which he
had through life been distinguished. In this su-
preme hour of peril his tall form took its place
among the helpless and abandoned ones. Grasp-
ing his loving wife by the hand, he endeavored to
sustain and cheer those around him, and, uttering
those memorable words which, borne to us by a
survivor, have sent a thrill of admiration over two
continents, ' If we must go down, let us die
bravely !' sank into the deep waters of the At-
lantic."
Judge Peckham was twice married. His first
wife, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Lacy, formerly
Rector of St. Peter's Church, Albany, was the
mother of his two sons, Wheeler H. Peckham,
of New York, a distinguished lawyer, and Rufus
W. Peckham, of Albany, now one of the Justices
of the Supreme Court of the State.
The profession throughout the State, and we
may say largely throughout the nation, testified
its high respect for the memory of Judge Peck-
150
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ham and their sorrow for his death in expressions
of grief and in tributes of respect and admiration.
Memorial services were held in St. Peter's
Church, Albany, in his honor, December 14, 1873,
and were attended by a vast number of friends and
sympathizers.
The judges of the Court of Appeals attended in
a body, wearing mourning badges on their left
arms. The whole service was intensely impressive.
Perhaps no better description of Judge Peckham
can be given than that which we copy from the
sermon delivered at the funeral by Rev. W. A.
Snively, rector of the church:
"Beneath the courtly dignity of his manner and
the almost austere aspect of his outward bearing,
there was a heart of almost feminine tenderness, a
truly reverent spirit and an amiability and a patience'
which no'contradiction could exhaust. His integ-
rity was not an official assumption — it was a per-
sonal fact. The rectitude of his judicial character
expressed itself in the daily relations of life, in the
amenities of social intercourse, and in the intima-
cies and refinements of his own generous hospitality.
Even in the freedom of recreation from professional
toil there was no lowering of his personal dignity
and his courtly bearing ; and in the sacredness of
his home and the intimate relations of personal
friendship, that dignity was sweetened by a tender-
ness, a simplicity and an affection which in such a
combination are as beautiful as they are rare. And
the closing hour of his earthly life blended both of
these characteristics as with the same breath he
cheered and sustained the hearts around him that
were paral)'zed by fear and spoke his last recorded
words, which showed that even in that supreme
moment he was his own grand and heroic self"
LEWIS BENEDICT.*
Col. Lewis Benedict, son of Lewis and Susan
Benedict, was born at Albany, N. Y., September
17, 1817.
His early studies were prosecuted at Cayuga
County, N. Y., but his preparation for college was
made mainly at the Albany Academy. In 1834
he entered the Sophomore class of Williams Col-
lege, and was graduated in 1837. Immediately
after graduating he entered the office of the late
John C. Spencer, at Canandaigua, where he com-
pleted his legal education.
In Januar}-, 1841, he was licensed to practice at
a General Term of the Supreme Court, held at
Albany. He commenced practice in that city,
and quickly took a respectable position at the
Albany Bar. In 1845 he was appointed City At-
torney, and at the expiration of his term was re-
appointed.
In 1847 he was appointed Judge- Advocate-Gen-
eral on the staff of Gov. John Young. In 1848
he was elected Surrogate of the Cit}- and County
of Albany for the term of four years. His entire
vote greatly exceeded the strength of his party. In
*The author is under obligations to a " Memorial of Brevet Brigadier-
General Lewis Benedict, Colonel of the i62d Regiment, N. Y. V. I.,"
published in 1864, for some of the facts in this sketch.
1849 he received- the appointment of Judge-Advo-
cate-General from Gov. Hamilton Fish.
In 1852, and also in i860, he was the candidate
of the Whig party for the Recordership of the city,
and shared in the defeat of its nominees.
In 1854 he was appointed, by the Controller,
one of a board of commissioners charged to as-
certain and report concerning the pecuniary and
other conditions of the several state prisons, and
also to devise laws for their better regulation and
discipline. The results of the labors of this com-
mission are contained in a voluminous report
made to the Assembly in 1856.
In the fall of the year 1 860 he was nominated
by the Union men of his district for member of
Assembly and elected, being the only Union can-
didate returned from the county at that time.
This was the last public position of a civil character
held by him.
Both the beginning and the end of his life de-
velop the same characteristics — great fondness for
ease and recreative enjoyments — yet with ready
power to subordinate such tastes, or repress them
altogether, in obedience to the claims of any se-
rious engagements.
As a boy, he was noted for his zeal and diligence
in study, and not the less for enterprise in play.
His collegiate career resembled his academic; it
was successful to whatever degree he chose to make
it. A classmate, now president of a college, de-
scribing him, says : " It is doing injustice to none
of his classmates that in mind, as in person, he had
no superior among them all. His rank as a
scholar was high, and he could have made it
higher. His mind was quick and clear, and he
learned with great facility. His critical power was
unusual, and no one could detect the weak points
of an argument or the incorrect use of teiTns
sooner than he."
He graduated with distinction, and three years
afterward was appointed to deliver the Master's
oration.
While a student at law he maintained sufficient
ardor of pursuit to enable him to acquire a knowl-
edge of the elements of that science; but his taste
for general literature was decided enough to save
him engrossment by studies purely professional.
The uncommon facility with which he acquired
knowledge — the result of his quick perception
and retentive memory — ^afforded him intervals to
indulge his tastes without neglecting his proper
studies; he therefore read much besides law, and
digested well what he read.
On his admission to the Bar, Marcus T. Rey-
nolds, then in the zenith of his professional fame,
received him as his law partner, and elevated him
at once to a high position in the practice. Other
connections and associations occurred to make his
entrance upon his professional career one of the
most promising that could fall to the lot of a young
practitioner.
The City Attorneyship, which Col. Benedict held
two terms, was the first political appointment he
ever received. From that time, ho\\ever, he was
actively and earnestly a political partisan, and ap-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
151
peared less and less in the forum and more and
more in the committee-room and upon the hus-
tings. The tersest record of his political labors
would be the history of every party struggle, State
or national, that occurred from his entrance into
political life until he joined the army. He was
always a leader. He was often delegate to con-
ventions, State and county ; chairman of commit-
tees, general and local ; a prolific author of
addresses and resolutions, and a frequent speaker
at political assemblages.
He was acute in his perceptions of the qualities
of men, and accurate in his estimate of moral
worth.
In his various public services he manifested capa-
bilities which provoke regret that they were not
also used for purposes of a less general character.
The judicial duties of the Surrogate are not gener-
ally appreciated; yet there is no jurisdiction within
which more complex or nice questions present
themselves for adjudication, to say nothing of the
enormous pecuniary interests and the multitudi-
nous personal rights which are involved.
The clearness of his mind and the equity of his
convictions receive some illustrations from the cir-
cumstance that, of the many judgments pronounced
by him during the term he held the office, but one,
and that made in the beginning of his official
career, is known to have been reversed.
In the Legislature Col. Benedict took a highly
honorable position. As the Chairman of the In-
surance Committee, he exhibited useful administra-
tive abilities. On the floor of the House, as a
speaker, he always commanded respect and atten-
tion. He never addressed the Speaker unless he
was master of the subject he proposed to present
or advocate.
He was in the Legislature at that period when
every lover of the Union began to feel the peril it
was approaching. As no one loved the Union of
States more deeply than Col. Benedict, none was
an earlier or a more active supporter of it.
As early as January, 1861, Gov. Morgan endeav-
ored to impress upon the Legislature the im-
mediate necessity of placing the State on a war
footing. Col. Benedict comprehended the impor-
tance of prompt action, for he anticipated the com-
ing conflict. He therefore sustained the Governor
with all his ability and eloquence.
He rejoiced when the President called for volun-
teers, but regretted that the number was so small.
Writing to a friend after that call, he said : "The
sentiment of the North is not satisfied with the
present call for troops. The Government would
be justified in demanding three hundred thousand
men. "
Upon this call Gov. Morgan, by a special mes-
sage, requested the action necessary on the part
of the Legislature, and that body responded by
"An Act to Authorize the Embodying and Equip-
ment of a Volunteer Militia, and to Provide De-
fense." This act was passed April 16, 1861.
This act authorized the enlistment of thirty thou-
sand men, and appropriated three millions of dol-
lars for the purpose.
The passage of this act was largely due to the
energies and exertions of Col. Benedict
It was largely through his instrumentality that
the selection and appointment of officers of the
organization contemplated by the act was directed
to be made, according to Sec. 11, Art. 11, of the
Constitution, the importance of which was that the
force should have a voice in the choice of officers
to command it.
After this Col. Benedict gave all his time to the
imperiled Union.
Col. Benedict had had considerable experience
as a citizen soldier, and stood high among the
efficient and well-drilled officers of the accom-
plished military corps of Albany, and had been
promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of
the City Cavalry. Soon after leaving the Legisla-
ture, in the spring of 186 1, he decided to enter
the service of his country in the tented field. The
New York Fire Department, while recruiting the 2nd
Fire Zouaves, conferred upon him the Lieutenantcy
of the proposed regiment. He was commissioned
in June, 1861. The regiment was ordered to
Washington, where it arrived on the 24 th of July.
Difficulty having occurred as to what brigade it
should be attached, it was finally decided, after
some delay, by the War Department, to attach it
to the Excelsior Brigade, after which the regiment
was known as the 73d Regiment, Excelsior Brigade.
During the Winter of 1861-2, the regiment did
picket duty and ad\'anced itself, by constant drill,
to be one of the most competent and accomplished
in the brigade.
The affection with which Col. Benedict was re-
garded by his men was demonstrated by daily
incidents, and never more touchingly then when
some of his wild boys preferred to share the hor-
rors of a rebel prison with him than to leave him
in his helplessness on the field of Williamsburg.
The history of his career as a soldier from that
time until he fell in batde is one of singular,
almost thrilling, interest.
After his capture at Williamsburg, he was taken
to Richmond, and afterward to Salisbury, N. C.
His imprisonment ended after several months by an
exchange. In September, 1862, one month after
his exchange, he was commissioned Colonel of the
i62d (3d Metropolitan) Regiment. In October
following the regiment proceeded to New Orleans ;
but owing to various mishaps to the fleet, it did
not reach the city until December. In January,
1863, he was designated Acting Brigadier, and in
that capacity was actively employed, rendering
important service previous to the siege of Port
Hudson, where he was conspicuous in most
of the terrible fights during that memorable
siege. He was foremost in the terrible slaugh-
ter of June 14, 1863. When it was decided to
storm the fort. Col. Benedict was given command
of the Second Battalion, selected to serve "as
the forlorn hope." This selection was a tribute to
his coolness and courage. From that time forward
he followed Gen. Banks through all his marches
and victories. His last command, the 3d Brigade
of the ist Division and 19th Corps, was composed
152
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of the 1 1 6th, i62d and 165th New York, two
Maine regiments and an independent battery. No
brigade fought more courageously or did more to
turn the tide of battle.
The Red River campaign under Gen. Banks
will ever be read with the deepest interest. It pre-
sents a series of bloody battles almost unequaled
in the heroic conduct of the officers and soldiers
engaged in it. When the army reached Pleasant
Hill, about the 7th of April, there occurred a series
of conflicts unparalleled in the history of the war.
On the 9th of April, 1864, the final contest of the
campaign took place. It was a day long to be
remembered, a day when the tide of battle repeat-
edly changed, when the surging columns of the
enemy were driven from their position, to return
reinforced to a terrible and often successful charge,
and so the conflict continued.
" In the conflict on the slope, and perhaps in
the vielee of that critical moment, when the rein-
forced enemy caused our line to hesitate and even
to recoil, and the fortunes of the day seemed
doubtful, when by almost superhuman efforts on
the part of the officers the men were rallied to
that frantic charge which gave victory to the Union
arms and saved its army, its navy and its juris-
diction in the Southwest."
In this charge Col. Benedict, leading his
brigade, in full view of the whole line of the enemy,
fell pierced with several bullets. He was first
wounded in the right arm and soon his horse was
wounded; but still he pressed on, and in a few
moments was shot through the head and died
instantl}'.
No death could have produced more profound
sorrow in the army, nor have occasioned a greater
loss to it. When the intelligence of his death
reached Alban}', the home of his youth, where he
was so generally beloved, it wrapped the city in
general gloom.
On May 2, 1864, his remains reached this
city and were received by a committee of the Com-
mon Council. Another committee met the remains
on their arrival in New York City and accom-
panied them home.
The respect paid by the authorities and citizens
of all classes to the dead soldier attested the high
esteem in which he was held and the sorrow felt
for his death.
On May 7, 1864, the members of the Albany
Bar convened at the Capitol in large attendance to
do honor to his memory. Hon. Rufus W. Peck-
ham was called to the chair. Messrs. Wolford and
Edwards were made secretaries. A series of
eloquent resolutions were adopted, expressing the
estimation in which Col. Benedict was held by
his brethren of the profession. An eloquent, im-
pressive eulogium was pronounced by the Hon.
Lyman Tremain, followed b}' remarks from Hon.
John K. Porter, Hon. Clark B. Cochrane, Hon.
Hale Kingsley, Isaac L. Edwards, Esq., and Hon.
C. L. Austin. The press of the city also paid the
memory of Col. Benedict brilliant tributes of
respect, and he was finally laid at rest amid tears
and benedictions of the people of his native city.
LIST OF LAWYERS- IN ALBANY CITY IN
1884.
J. J. Acker, 496 Broadway.
George Addington, 25 North Pearl.
George W. Albright, Beaver Block.
Albright* Stanwix, 10 Beaver Block
Wm. A. Allen, 18 Douw's Building.
Arthur L. Andrews, 444 Broadway.
Buel C. Andrews, 14 North Pearl.
Austin Artcher, 18 Douw's Building.
Frederic Baker, 1 1 9 State.
Isaac B. Barrett, 50 State.
E. A. Bedell, Attorney-General's Office.
Edwin P. Bellows, 119 State.
James W. Bentley, 18 South Pearl.
James J. Bennett, 52 State.
Richard W. Brass, 73 State.
Edward J. Brennan, Chapel, corner Maiden Lane.
Walter M. Brown, 55 State.
C. J. Buchanan, Chapel, corner Maiden Lane.
A. 'T. Bulkley, 25 North Peari.
Eugene Buriingame, 452 Broadway.
Henry D. Buriingame, 50 State.
Fred W. Cameron, 37 Maiden Lane.
Duncan Campbell, 6 Tweddle Building.
Lewis Cass, 55 State.
Chase & Delehanty, 25 North Pearl.
J. H. Clute, -12 Tweddle Building.
Alden Chester, 18 and 19 Tweddle Building.
J. H. Clute, 12 Tweddle Building.
Win. K. Clute, City Building.
Mark Cohn, 29 North Peari.
A. J. Colvin, 3 North Peari.
L. Lorenzo Conley, 7 Partition, E. A.
Thos. F. Connor, Beaver Block.
Joseph A. Conway, 82 State.
Martin D. Conway, 116 State.
John T. Cook, 37 Maiden Lane.
J. F. Cooper, 24 North Pearl.
Edwin Countryman, 99 State.
Monroe Crannell, 69 State.
Walters. Cuder, 192 North Pearl.
Franklin M. Denaher, 78 State.
Edwin G. Day, 31 North Pearl.
F. B. Delehanty, 25 North Pearl.
John A. Delehanty, 3 Douw's Building.
Philander Deming, 12 Jay.
DeWitt & Spoor, 35 to 38 Tweddle Building.
George Downing, 94 State.
Herbert T. Downing, 94 .State.
Draper & Chester, 18-19 Tweddle Building.
Louis Dreyer, 75 State.
Z. A. Dyer, 44 State.
James W. Eaton, Jr., 17 Museum Building.
Jerome W. Ecker, 78 State.
James J. Farren, 49 State.
George W. Featherstonhaugh, 3 1 North Pearl.
\\'alter D. Frothingham, 69 State.
Worthington Frothingham, 69 State.
J. E. Gallup, 94 State.
John J. Gallup, 94 State.
George N. Gowev, 72 Hudson avenue.
Scott D'M. Goodwin, r. 6 Albany Savings Bk. Bldg.
Anthony Gould, 55 Slate.
Cliftbrd D. Gregor3-, 99 State.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
153
George Stuart Gregory, 49 State.
J. Wendell Griffing, 864 Madison avenue.
Alfred A. Guthrie, 3 North Pearl.
W. R. Guthrie, 77 State.
John Gutmann, 80 State.
Mathew Hale, 25 North Pearl.
William H. Hale, 59 North Pearl.
Lewis B. Hall, Room 6, 89 State.
Daniel P. Halpin, 37 Tweddle Building.
Fred. C. Ham, 74 State.
Thos. H. Ham, 74 State.
A. Hamilton, 29 North Pearl.
Samuel Hand, 25 North Pearl.
Ira Harper, 41-42 Tweddle Building.
Frederick Harris, 20-23 Tweddle Building.
Hamilton Harris, 20-23 Tweddle Building.
Julius F. Harris, 31 North Pearl.
William B. Harris. 82 Livingston avenue.
Samuel S. Hatt, 86 State.
Nathan Hawley, 30 Douw's Building.
Hawley & McNamara, 82 State.
William Hayes, 21 Green.
D. C. Herrick, 5 Douw's Building.
Isban Hess, 1 1 Douw's Building.
Albert Hersberg, 7 Albany Savings Bank Building.
W. S. Hevenor, 9 Douw's Building.
B. R. Heywood, 79 Chapel.
George D. Hill, 3 North Pearl.
Wm. J. Hillis, 18 South Pearl.
N. P. Hinman, 49 State.
G. R. Hitt, 55 State.
Henry T. Homes, 25 Tweddle Building.
Lansing Hotaling, 74 State.
Wm. F. Hourigan, 40 State.
Leonard G. Hun, 25 North Pearl.
Marcus T. Hun, 25 North Pearl.
Oliver M. Hungerford, 74 State.
C. B. Hatchings, 15 Douw's Building.
G. D. Hurlbut, 119 State.
Robert Imrie, 93 State.
Charles M. Jenkins, 452 Broadway.
J. B. Jermein, 2 James, corner State.
James C. Johnson, 55 State.
Frank Kampfer, 80 State.
'W. S. Kelley, 17 Tweddle Building.
J. M. Kimball, Beaver Block.
Charles B. King.
Dwight King, 108 Hudson avenue.
J. H. King, 69 State.
Wm. H. King (patent law a specialty), 3 1 N. Pearl.
Leonard Kip, 24 Tweddle Building.
George W. Kirchwey, 7 Museum Building.
C. Krank, 74 State.
Amo F. Krumbholz, 76 State.
L. C. G. Kshinka, 50 State.
Desmond S. Lamb, 18 Beaver.
A. & W. Lansing, 26-27 Tweddle Building.
Peter C. Lansing, 320 Clinton avenue.
Herman S. Lary, Bank Building, Greenbush.
I. & J. M. Lawson, 11 Maiden Lane.
J. A. Lawson, t,'] Maiden Lane.
W. L. Learned, 298 State.
H. C. Littlefield, North Pearl, corner Pleasant.
Orville S. Long, 9 Douw's Building.
Wm. Loucks, 50 State.
20
Wm. J. Mackesey, 18 South Pearl.
John F. Manson, 68 State.
Manson & True, Ferry, cor. Broadway, Greenbush.
H. S. McCall, 5 Douw's Building.
H. S. McCall, Jr., 5 Douw's Building.
John T. McDonough, 114 State.
W. C. McHarg, 50 State.
James A. McKown, 114 State.
Wm. H. McNaughton, 44-45 Tweddle Building.
James C. Mathews, 18 South Pearl.
J. W. Mattice, 9 Tweddle.
P. F. Mattimore, 841 Broadway.
Charles W. Mead, 86 State.
Edward J. Meegan, Beaver Block.
Thomas A. Meegan, Beaver Block.
Payton F. Miller, 25 North Pearl.
Charles H. Mills, 44-45 Tweddle Building.
Charles W. Mink, 225 Green.
G. W. Miner, Albany Savings Bank Building.
N. C. Moak, Chapel street, corner Maiden Lane.
John F. Montignani, 73 State.
W. D. Morange, 69 State.
Judson H. Morrey, Jr., 62 Tweddle Building.
Wm. T. Murray, Room 8, Museum Building.
Max Myers, 72 State.
Wm. D. Murphy, 421 Clinton avenue.
Edward Newcomb, 5 Albany Savings Bank Build'g.
M. C. G. Nichols, 187 Livingston avenue.
Nathaniel Niles, 7 Albany Savings Bank Building.
Frank S. Niver, 99 State.
Norton & Bentler, 73 State.
John C. Nott, 50 State.
Edward W. Nugent, 52 State.
Myer Nussbaum, Albany Savings Bank Building.
Smith O'Brien, 9 Tweddle Building.
John J. Olcott, 69 State.
John B. O'Malley, Rooms 7-8, 44 State.
Myron H. Oppenheim, Tweddle Building.
Leonard Paige, 55 State.
Parker & Countrjman, 99 State.
A. J. Parker, Jr.
George Parr, 74 State.
R. W. Peckham, Room 7 Albany Sav. Bank.
John DeWitt Peltz, 35-38 Tweddle Building.
John C. Pennie, 149 Madison avenue.
A. B. Pratt, 94 State.
Charles H. Ramsey, 71 State.
Joseph H. Ramsey, 71 State.
Rankin & Featherstonhaugh, 3 1 North Pearl.
Wm. F. Rathbone, 79 Chapel.
Cornelius B. Reardon, 24 North Pearl.
Edward T. Reed, 39 Tweddle Building.
Hugh Reilly, 29 North Pearl.
Dexter Reynolds, 25 North Pearl.
Simon W. Rosendale.
S. C. Rodgers, 52 Tweddle Building.
Edward D. Ronan, 34 Tweddle Building.
Wm. P. Rudd, 20-23 Tweddle Building.
J. G. Runkle, 18 High.
James M. Ruso, 52 Tweddle.
Joseph W. Russell, Jermain's Building, 2 James st.
J. H. Sand, 1 14 State.
Bleecker Sanders, 24 North Pearl.
H. T. Sanford, 74 State.
Thomas Say re, 443 Broadway.
154
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Robert G. Scherer, 73 State.
Wm. M. Scott.
Andrew G. Seelman, 80 State.
Osgood H. Shepard, 443 Broadway.
S. O. Shepard, 443 Broadway.
Hiram E. Sickels, 25 North Pearl.
George W. Smith, 74 State.
Horace E. Smith, 43 Tweddle Building.
Stuart G. Speir, Museum Building, Room 9.
C. T. F. Spoor, 35 to 38 Tweddle Building.
Nathaniel Spaulding.
B. I. Stanton, 22 Tweddle Building.
David H. Stanwix, Beaver Block, Room 10.
J. Stedman, 443 Broadway.
P. A, Stephens, 78 State.
John B. Steele, Jr.
Henry E. Stem, 37 Maiden Lane, Room 2.
George H. Stevens, 48 Tweddle.
John A. Stephens.
Clarence Strevell, 24 North Pearl.
Elliott I. Stiles, 5 Partition, E. A.
Henry C. Stryker.
J. B. Sturtevant.
Geo. V. Thatcher.
Wm. W. Thompson, 74 State.
Geo. L. Thompson, 444 Broadway.
C. M. Tompkins, Albany Savings Bank Building.
Tracey & Cooper, 24 North Pearl.
A. H. Tremain, 13 Tweddle Building.
George M. True, 66 State.
Lucien Tuffs, Jr. , Beaver Block.
Thomas J. Van Alstyne, 9 Douw's Building.
Andrew Van Derzee, 14 Tweddle Building.
W. Bayard Van Rensselaer, 25 North Pearl.
Abram Van Vechten, 3-5 North Pearl.
Lansing Van Wie, 16 Second avenue.
Alonzo B. Voorhees, 73 State.
Fletcher Vosburgh.
Isaac H. Vrooman, 282 Hamilton street
Edward Wade, 93 State.
Frederick E. Wadhams, 33 Tweddle Building.
R. B. Wagoner, 86 State.
Augustus H. Walshe, 85 Hawk.
John W. Walsh, 79 Chapel.
Walter E. Ward, i"] Maiden Lane.
Hiram L. Washburn, Jr., 44 State.
Cyrus Waterbury, Jr. , 44 State.
Robert H. Wells, 94 State.
Jacob Wendell, 184 Elm.
W. S. Whitmore, 86 State.
Thos. F. Wilkinson, 16 Douw's Building.
John S. Wolfe, 14 North Pearl.
Bradford R. Wood, 25 Tweddle Building.
J. Hampden Wood, 25 Tweddle Building.
Horace I. Wood.
Francis H. Woods, 1 1 6 State.
O. M.Wright, 25 North Pearl,
Edwin Young, 79 Chapel.
William A. Young.
MEMBERS OF THE ALBANY COUNTY BAR
SIDE THE CITY OF ALBANY.
BERNE.
Z. B. Dyer, Edward V. Filkiii,
John D. ^Vllite.
OUT-
COEYMANS.
C. M. Barlow,
W. Scott Coffin,
J. M. Harris,
James F. Crawford,
Charles F. Doyle,
Peter G. Falardo,
George H. Fitts,
Lawrence B. Finn,
Isaac W. Hiller,
Murray Hubbard,
Hiram Griggs,
S. Springstead,
Cornelius Vanderzee,
Gerrit Witbeck.
Lawrence Faulk,
Farley Fisher,
Geo. F. Alexander,
L. R. Beekley,
E. L. Blood,
James W. Boyle,
John H. Gleason,
F. L. Getty,
J. D. Hallen,
William Hollands,
C. D. Hudson,
Isaac W. Lansing,
Rosin J. House,
John E. McLean,
Peter D. Niver,
James R. Stevens,
Earle L. Stimson,
Henry A. Strong,
James Wallace.
GUILDERLAND.
Atchison Mitchell.
NEW SCOTLAND.
B. H. Staats.
RENSSELAERVILLE.
Norman W. Faulk,
William R. Tanner.
WESTERLO.
Alonzo Spaulding.
WEST TROY.
A. D. Lyon,
Eugene McLean,
Volkert J. Oathout,
D. J. O'SuIlivan,
Isaac B. Potter,
Alfred W. Richardson,
Thomas F. Riley,
Peter A. Rogers,
Elias Van O'Linda,
James W. Warford.
GREEN ISLAND.
James R. Torrance.
JUDGES AND OTHER COURT OFFICERS
For Albany County, or Residents of the County.
Masters of Colonial Court of Chancery.
John Abeel and Evert Banker, Oct. 13, 1705 ; P. P.
Schuyler, 176S.
Chancellors of State Court of Chancery.
John Lansing, Jr., Oct. 21, 1801 ; James Kent, Oct 25,
1814 ; Reuben H. Walworth, April 22, 1828.
Chief Justices from Albany County of the Supreme
Court from 1777 to 1847.
Robert Yates, September 28, 1790; John Lansing, Jr.,
February 15, 1798; James Kent, July 2, 1804; Smith
Thompson, February 3, 1814; Ambrose Spencer, February
9, 1819; Greene C. Bronson, March 5, 1845.
Puisne Justices of Supreme Court.
Robert Yates, May 8, 1777; John Lansing, Jr., September
28, 1790; Ambrose Spencer, February 3, 1804; Greene C.
Bronson, January 6, 1836.
A Circuit Court was created by the Constitution
of 1 82 1. It was the Nisi Prius, or Trial Court of
the Supreme Court. The State was divided into
eight districts or circuits, corresponding to the
Senatorial Districts. At least two Circuit Courts
and Courts of Oyer and Terminer were required to
be held in each county annually, the Circuit Judge
presiding. Each of the Circuit Judges was to ap-
point a clerk for the Court of Equity, to be held
by each judge respectively.
Circuit Judges from Albany County.
William A. Duer, April 21, 1823; James Vanderpoel,
January 12, 1830; Amasa J. Parker, March 6, 1844.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
155
The Constitution of 1846 abolished the old Su-
preme Court, the Court of Chancery, Court for the
Correction of Errors, and the Circuit Courts; insti-
tuting a Court of Appeals, a Supreme Court with
an Equity side, and retaining the Court of Oyer
and Terminer. The Judges of these Courts were
all made elective.
Judges of the Court of Appeals /row the County of
Albany.
Alexander S. Johnson, November 5, 185 1; John K.
Porter, Jan. 2, 1865; Rufus W. Peckham, May 17, 1870;
Samuel Hand, June 11, 1878.
Judges of the Supreme Court under the Constitution
of 1846.
Ira Harris, June 7, 1847; Elisha P. Hurlbut, June 7, 1847;
Malbone Watson, June 7, 1847, and Nov. 8, 1853; AmasaJ.
Parker, June 7, 1847; Ira Harris, November 4, 185 1; Deo-
datus Wright, April 20, 1857; Rufus W. Peckham, Novem-
ber 8, 1861; William L. Learned, June 21, 1869; Rufus W.
Peckham, Jr., November 6, 1883; William L. Learned, No-
vember, 1884.
Judge Peckham is a son of Hon. Rufus W.
Peckham, a judge of the Court of Appeals, who
was a passenger on the steamer Ville du Havre,
which, on the night of November 22, 1873, ^^
mid-ocean, collided with the British iron ship Loch
Erin. Two hundred and twenty-six souls, among
whom were Judge P. and his wife, were drowned.
Court of Common Pleas and Special Sessions.
A Court of Common Pleas was established in
Albany County by the provisions of the Dongan
Charter, 1686. A Court of Common Pleas was es-
tablished in each County by an act of the Colonial
Legislature in 1691. The first State Constitution
retained the Court of Common Pleas, varying its
procedure to accord with the State Government.
The Constitution also organized a Court of Ses-
sions, it being the criminal side of the Common
Pleas, as the present Court of Sessions is the crimi-
nal side of the County Court. The judges were
appointed by the Governor and Council of Ap-
pointment down to 182 1, when the latter body
was abolished, and the Common Pleas judges were
appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice of
the Senate, down to the Constitution of 1846, which
abolished the Court of Common Pleas, created a
County Court, a Court of Sessions to be presided
over by one County judge in each County elected
by the people. It provided for the election of two
justices in each County who, with the County judge,
constituted a Court of Sessions for the trial of
criminals. These session justices, with a justice of
the Supreme Court, constituted the Court of Oyer
and Terminer in each County for the trial of crimi-
nals of a higher grade.
We give the names of the First Judges of the
Court of Common Pleas during its existence, fol-
lowed by the County Judges appointed or elected
since under the first Constitution of 1777, and of
the Constitution of 1846 :
Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of Albany, or any
three of them, from i6S6.
Peter Schuyler, May 27, 1691; John Abeel, May 27, 1702;
Peter Schuyler, Oct. 14, 1702; Killiaen Van Rensselaer,
Dec. 23, 1717; Rutger Bleecker, Dec. 23, 1726; Ryer
Gerritse, Dec. 23, 1733; Robert Sanders, Nov. 28, 1749;
Sybrant Goose Van Schaick, Jan. 5, 1758; Rensselaer
NicoU, May 14, 1762; Abraham Ten Brock, March 4, 1773;
Walter Livingston, March 22, 1774; John H. Ten Eyck,
March 21, 1775; Volkert P. Douw, Jan. 6, 1778; Abram
Ten Broeck, March 26, 1781; Leonard Gansevoort, March
19, 1794; John Tayler, Feb. 7, 1797; Nicolas N. Quacken-
bush, Jan. 13, 1803; David McCarty, March 13, 1804;
Charles D. Cooper, March 29, 1806; Jacob Ten Eyck,
June 8, 1807; Apollos Moore, June 6, 1812; James L'Amo-
reaux, March 15, 1828; Samuel Cheever, March 12, 1833;
John Lansing, May 17, 1838; Peter Gansevoort, April 17,
1843; William Parmelee, June, 1847; Albert D. Robinson,
Nov., 185 1 ; George Wolford, Nov., 1859; Jacob H.Clute,
Nov., 1863; Thomas J. Van Alstyne, Nov., 1871; John C.
Nott, Nov., 1883.
Court of Probate.
By an Act of 1787, Surrogates were empowered
to be appointed, the Judge of the Court of Probates
holding jurisdiction in cases of decease out of the
State, or of non-residents within the State. On
March 10, 1797, an act was passed providing that
the Court of Probate should be held in Albany,
and that the judge and clerk should remove the
books, papers and documents of that court to that
city, and reside there. This court held appellate
jurisdiction over the Surrogate's Court, On March
21, 1823, it was abolished, and its jurisdiction
conferred on the Chancellor, who exercised it until
the Court of Chancery was abolished in 1846.
Its jurisdiction was then conferred on the new
Supreme Court. The records of this court were
deposited in the office of the Court of Appeals at
Albany. The following are the Albany County
Judges of the Court of Probate :
Leonard Gansevoort, April 5, 1799; T. Van Wyck Gra-
ham, March 16, 1813; Gerrit Y. Lansing, July 8, 18 r6.
Surrogates.
Surrogates, under the first Constitulion, were ap-
pointed for an unlimited period by the Council of
Appointment, and an appeal lay from their decis-
ions to the Judge of the Court of Probates of the
State. Under the second Constitution they were
appointed by the Governor and Senate for four
years, and appeals lay from their decisions to the
Chancellor.
The Constitution of 1847 abolished the office of
Surrogate, except in counties where the population
exceeded 40,000, and devolved its duties on the
County Judge. In counties exceeding this popu-
lation the Legislature may authorize the election of
Surrogates. They are elected for six years, and
are allowed to take the acknowledgment of deeds
and administer oaths in the same manner as County
Judges.
Surrogates of Albany County.
John DePeyster, April 3, 1756; William Hannah, Novem-
ber 18, 1766; Peter Lansingh, Decembers, 1766; Stephen
DeLancey, September 19, 1769; John De Peyster, March
23, 1778; Henry Oolhoudt, April 4, 1782; John De
P. Douw, April 4, 1782 ; Abraham G. Lansing,
March 13, 1787; Elisha Dorr, April 12, 1808 ; John
H. Wendell, March 5, 1810; Richard Lush, June 11,
1811 ; John H. Wendell, March 3, 1813; George Merchant,
March 17, 1815; Christopher C. Yates, April 19, 1815;
Ebenezer Baldwin, July 7, 1819; Abraham Ten Eyck, Jr.,
February 19, 1821; Thomas A. Brigden, April 11, 1822;
Anthony Blanchard, April 9, 1831; Moses Patten, Febru-
156
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ary 28, 1840; Anthony Blanchard, February 28, 1844;
Lewis Benedict, Jr., June, 1847; Orville H. Chittenden,
November, 1851; James A. McKown, November, 1855;
Justus Haswell, November, 1859; Israel Lawton, Novem-
ber, 1863; Peter A. Rogers, November, 1871; Francis H.
Woods, November, 1883.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
This officer was at first Assistant Attorney-Gen-
eral. The counties were divided into districts, in
which he had jurisdiction; hence the name of Dis-
trict Attorney. The act of February 12, 1796,
divided the State into seven districts; that of 180 1,
into thirteen districts. By the laws of 1 8 1 8, each
county was constituted a separate district for the
purposes of this office. Under the second Consti-
tution, District Attorneys were appointed by the
Court of General Sessions in each county. Under
the Constitution of 1846, they were made elective.
Abraham Van Vechten, February 16, 1796; Samuel S.
Lush, April 6, 1813; David L. Van Antwerp, June 21, 1818;
Samuel A. Foote, July 3, 1819; Benjamin F. Butler, Febru-
ary ig, 1821; Edward Livmgston, June 14, 1825; Rufus W.
Peckham, March 27, 1838; Henry G. Wheaton, March 30,
1841; Edwin Litchfield, March 30, 1844; Andrew J. Colvin,
March 21, 1846; Samuel H. Hammond, June, 1847; An-
drew J. Colvin, November, 1850; Hamilton Harris, Novem-
ber, 1853; Samuel G. Courtney, November, 1856; Ira
Shafer, November, 1859; Solomon F. Higgins, November,
1862; Henry Smith, November, 1865; Rufus W. Peckham,
Jr., November, 1868; Nathaniel C. Moak, November, 1871;
John M. Bailey, November, 1874; Lansing Hotaling, No-
vember, 1877; D. Cady Herrick, November, 1880.
COUNTY CLERKS.
The County Clerk, during the colonial period,
was Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Clerk of
the Peace, and Clerk of the Sessions of the Peace,
in his own county. Under the first State Consti-
tution, it was his duty to keep the County Records,
and act as the Clerk of the Inferior Court of Com-
mon Pleas and Clerk of the Oyer and Terminer.
These last duties were conferred upon him by the
Act of February 12, 1796. The seals of the Coun-
ty Clerk were the seals of the Court of Common
Pleas in their respective counties. County Clerks
are now Clerks of the Supreme Court, Court of
Oyer and Terminer, County Court and Court of
Sessions. The term of office since the adoption
of the Constitution of 1821 has been three years.
Ludovicus Cobes, 1669; Robert Livingston, 1675; Johan-
nes Cuyler, March 2, 1690; Robert Livingston, i6gi; Wil-
liam Shaw, i6g6; Robert Livingston, 1705; PhiUp Living-
ston, 1721; John Colden, February 23, 1749; Harme Gan-
sevoort, September 25, 1750; "Witham Marsh, 1760; Stephen
De Lancy , January 25, 1 765 ; Leonard Gansevoort, May 8,
1777; Matthew Vischer, 1778; Richard Lush, September 29,
1790; Charles D. Cooper, March 3, 1808; William P. Beers,
February 28, 1810; Charles D. Cooper, February 5, 181 1;
John Lovett, March 3, 1813; George Merchant, March 31,
1815; Henry Truax, June 6, 1820; George Merchant, Feb-
ruary 19, 1821; L. L. Van Kleeck, November, 1822; Conrad
A. Ten Eyck, November, 1828; Henry B. Haswell, No-
vember, 1837; William Mix, November, 1843; Lawrence
Van Dusen, November, 1846; Robert S. Lay, November,
1849; Robert Harper, November, 1852; Robert Bab-
cock, November, 1855; Smith A. Waterman, November,
1 861; Giles K. Winne, February 9, 1865; Isaac N. Keeler,
June 20, 1868; John McEwen, November, 186S; Albert C.
Judson, November, 1871; William E. Haswell, November,
1874; John Larkin, November, 1877; William D. Strevell,
November, 1883.
SHERIFFS.
This officer, during the colonial period, was ap-
pointed annually by the Governor-General and Colo-
nial Council. Under the first Constitution, he was
appointed annually by the Council of Appointment,
and no person could hold the office for more than
four successive years ; he could hold no other office,
and must be a freeholder. Since the adoption of
the Constitution of 1821, he has not been required
to be a freeholder, is elected for three years, and is
ineligible for the next succeeding term.
John Manning, April 6, 1665 ; Gerrit Swart, Aug. 17,
1668 ; Andrew Draeyer, Oct., 1673 ; Michael Siston, Nov.
4, 1674 ; Johannes Provoost, Oct., 1677; Richard Pretty,
Oct., 1678; Lodovicus Cobes, Oct., 1679; Richard Pretty,
Oct., 1680 ; Caspar Teller, March i, 1691 ; John Apple,
Dec. I, 1692 ; Simon Young, June 19, 1696 ; Johannes
Groenendyke, Oct., 1698 ; John Williams, Oct., 1699;
Jonathan Broadhurst, Oct, 1700 ; Jacobus Turk, Oct.,
1702 ; David Schuyler, Oct., 1705 ; Henry Holland, Oct.,
1706 ; Thomas Williams, Oct., 1712 ; Samuel Babington,
Oct., 1716; Gerrit Van Schaick, Oct., 1719; Henry Hol-
land, Oct., 1720 ; Philip Verplanck, Oct., 1722 ; Thomas
Williams, Oct., 1723; Goose Van Schaick, Oct., 1728;
James Stephenson, Oct., 1731 ; James Lindsay, Oct.,
1732; Henry Holland, Oct., 1739; John Rutger Bleecker,
Oct., 1746; Jacob Ten Eyck, Oct., 1747 ; 'Xhomas Wil-
liam.";, Oct., 1748 ; Richard Miller, Oct., 1749 ; Abraham
Yates, Oct., 1754 ; Abraham Yates, Jr., Oct., 1755 ; Jacob
Van Schaick, Oct., 1759 ; Hermanns Schuyler, June 18,
1761 ; Henry Ten Eyck, Oct., 1770 ; Hendrick J. Wendell,
Sept. 27, 1777 ; John Ten Broeck, March 22, 1781 ;
Hendrick J. Wendell, Nov. 29, 1782 ; John Ten Broeck,
Sept. 29, 1786 ; Peter Gansevoort, Jr., Sept. 29, 1790 ;
John Ostrander, Jr., Sept. 29, 1792 ; John Given, Sept.
29, 1796 ; Hermanus P. Schuyler, Feb. 25, 1800 ; John J. .
Cuyler, Jan. 28, i8oi ; Hermanus H. Wendell, Jan. 12,
1803 ; Lawrence L. Van Kleeck, Feb. 28, 1807 ; Solomon
Southwick, Feb. 10, 1808 ; Jacob Mancius, Feb. 13, 1810 ;
Peter P. Dox, Feb. 12, 181 1 ; Jacob Mancius, Feb. 23,
1813 ; Isaac Hempstead, March 17, 1815 ; Leonard H.
Gansevoort, March 6, 1819 ; Cornelius Van Antwerp, Feb.
12, 1821 ; Cornelius Van Antwerp, Nov., 1822 ; C. H. Ten
Eyck, Nov., 1825,; John Beckey (removed Oct. 5, 1829),
1828 ; Asa Colvard, Nov., 1829 ; Albert Gallup, Nov.,
1831 ; Angus McDuffie, Nov., 1834; Michael Artcher, Nov.,
1837 ; Amos Adams, Nov., 1840; Christopher Batterman,
Nov., 1843 ; Oscar Tyler, Nov., 1846; William Beardsley,
Nov., 1849 ; John McEwen, Nov., 1852 ; William P.
Brayton, Nov., 1855 ; Thomas W. Van Alstyne, Nov.,
1858 ; Henry Crandall, Nov., 1861 ; Henry Fitch,
Nov., 1864; Harris Parr, Nov., 1867 ; George A. Birch,
Nov., 1870 ; Albert Gallup, Nov., 1873 ; John Wemple,
Nov. 6, 1876 ; James A. Houck, Nov., 1879 \ Wm. H.
Keeler, Nov., 1882.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
157
Hon. AMASA J. PARKER.
AMASA J. PARKER.
Amasa J. Parker was born June 2, 1807, at
Sharon, Parish of Ellsworth, Litchfield County,
Conn., where his father, the Rev. Daniel Parker, was
settled for twenty years as a Congregational clergy-
man. On both sides Mr. Parker traces his de-
scent from families distinguished in the early history
of New England, sharing in the perils and occupa-
tions of Indian warfare, and, at a later day, in our
Revolutionary struggle. His maternal grandfather,
Thomas Fenn, of Watertown, Conn., represented
that town for more than thirty sessions in the
Legislature of his State.
The Rev. Daniel Parker removed 'into New York
State with his family, when his son Amasa was nine
years of age.
Great pains were taken with his education, and
under the personal instruction of his father, as well
as of other capable teachers, he completed, with
great thoroughness, a full collegiate course of study,
and in June, 1823, when but sixteen years old,
though having the personal appearance of more
advanced age, he was appointed Principal of the
Academy located at the City of Hudson, an institu-
tion chartered by the Regents of the University of
this state, and entered immediately upon the duties
of the position. He remained there four years,
and on the first of May, 1827, resigned his place
to prosecute the study of the law. During the last
year of his service in the academy, he had entered
the office of Hon. John W. Edmonds, but his du-
ties elsewhere gave him but little time for his legal
studies.
He was eminently successful in his labors as
principal of the Academy. Under his charge the
institution acquired distinction and attracted stu-
dents from different and distant parts of the coun-
try. He resigned his trust with the various depart-
ments of the academy full of students and in the
height of its prosperity, because he felt that the
time had come for him to devote his whole atten-
tion to the necessary preparation for his intended
profession.
An incident occurred when he was in charge of
the academy worthy of mention. The friends of a
rival and successful institution in a distant town of
the same county, in order to promote its interests,
made capital of the fact that the principal of the
Hudson academy was not himself a graduate of
any college. To put such an objection at rest,
young Parker, in the summer of 1825, presented
himself at Union College; submitted to an exam-
ination for the whole college course of study, and
graduated with the class of 1825. The singular
fact occurred that one of his own former students
graduated with him in the same class.
On resigning the charge of the academy in May,
1827, Mr. Parker entered the office of his uncle,
Amasa Parker, Esq., an eminent lawyer of Delhi,
Delaware County, who had been established there
many years. Upon his admission to the Bar in
October, 1828, he entered into a copartnership
158
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
with his uncle, and the firm of A. & A. J. Parker
(well known to the profession throughout the
State) was not dissolved till Mr. Parker's appoint-
ment to the Bench in March, 1844.
During all that time Mr. Parker was engaged in a
large professional business, perhaps more extensive
and varied than that of any other country law of-
fice in this state. He soon acquired a professional
standing that secured him a large practice as counsel
in the highest courts of the state. He attended quite
regularly the circuits of Delaware, Greene, Ulster and
Schoharie counties, and occasionally those held in
Broome, Tioga and Tompkins counties, and in
other counties more distant, as well as the stated
Terms of Chancery and of the Supreme Court, as
the printed reports of those courts show. It has
been said, by those acquainted with the subject, that
at the time of his appointment to the Bench he had
tried more cases at the Circuit than any other law-
yer of his age in the State.
Mr. Parker always insisted that his success, in
establishing a large practice as attorney and
counsel, was owing to his promptness, system and
method rather than to .any other peculiar talent.
It was the rule of his life never to fail to answer a
business letter on the same day on which it was re-
ceived, to send to his client a check for money
collected by the first mail, and never to fail in keep-
ing an appointment at the precise time fixed for it.
This latter practice he never omitted on the bench,
having rarely if ever failed to open his Court at
the precise hour appointed. In this way he en-
forced the most punctual attendance of counsel,
parties and witnesses, and by it he was enabled to
accomplish much more business.
During the fifteen years of Judge Parker's prac-
tice, before he was appointed to the bench, he
mingled somewhat actively in political contests of
the day. In the fall of 1833 he was elected by the
Democratic party to the Assembly without opposi-
tion, and served in 1834. In 1835 he was elected
by the Legislature of this State a Regent of the
University of the State, being then twenty-seven
years of age, and was the youngest person ever
elected to that distinguished trust. He held it for
nearly ten years, and resigned it when appointed to
the bench. In November, 1836, he was elected
to the Twenty-fifth Congress to represent the dis-
trict then composed of the Counties of Delaware
and Broome. This time also he ran without op-
position, no candidate being nominated by the
opposite party. He entered upon the duties of
the office at the extra session held in September,
1837, and served during the three sessions of
that Congress. These were exciting and some-
times stormy sessions. The Sub-Treasury measure
was proposed by Mr. Van Buren at the extra ses-
sion of 1837, and was warmly advocated by Mr.
Parker and others, but it did not secure the sup-
port of all the Democratic members. Upon it
Congress was very nearly divided, and ques-
tions were frequently decided by the casting
vote of the Speaker, Mr. Polk. It was not till
a later Congress, when the measure had become
better understood, that it was passed into a law,
and it still remains in force, its wisdom being now
admitted by all parties.
During his service in Congress, Mr. Parker was
actively engaged in the duties it imposed, on com-
mittees and in the discussions in the House. His
speeches on the Mississippi Election case, on the
Sub-Treasury bill, on the Public Lands, on the
Cilley and Graves duel and on other subjects, are
•reported in the proceedings of that Congiess.
Hiram Gray, Richard P. Marvin, Henry A. Foster,
Arphaxad Loomis, John T. Andrews and Amasa J.
Parker were the last six survivors from this State
of that memorable Congress.
Mr. Parker, at the close of his term, returned to
the practice of his profession.
In the autumn of 1839 he was nominated as a
candidate for State Senate from the Senatorial dis-
trict then corresponding nearly in boundary to the
present Third Judicial District of this State. There
were two vacancies to be filled in addition to the
term then expiring. There were, therefore, three
Senators to be chosen. The year before, Alonzo
C. Paige had been elected by less than fifty majority.
But on this occasion the three Democratic candi-
dates were all defeated by a majority little more
than nominal.
In the spring of 1834 Mr. Parker was appointed
District Attorney of Delaware County, which place
he held for three years and till the expiration of
his term, and was not a candidate for reappoint-
ment.
The later incidents of Judge Parker's life are
more familiar to our readers. He was appointed,
by Gov. Bouck, Circuit Judge and Vice-Chancellor
of the Third Circuit on the 6th of March, 1844, and
immediately removed to the City of Albany, where
he has since resided. He held that office till the
spring of 1847, when it was terminated by the
adoption of the Constitution of 1846. He was
then elected in the Third Judicial District a justice
of the Supreme Court of this State for a term of
eight years.
At no time in the history of this State have the
judicial labors devolved upon a judge been more
difficult and responsible than those which he was
called on to discharge during his twelve years of
judicial service. It was during this time that the
Anti-Rent excitement which prevailed throughout
a large portion of his judicial district was at its
height, crowding the civil calendar with htigation,
and the criminal courts with indictments for acts
of violence in resisting the collection of rents.
The trial of "Big Thunder," before Judge
Parker, at Hudson, in the spring of 1845, lasted
two weeks, and the jury failed to agree. When
the next Court of Oyer and Terminer was held in
that county, Judge Parker was engaged in holding
the Court in Delaware County, and Judge Ed-
monds was assigned to hold the Columbia Oyer
and Terminer in his place. At that Court "Big
Thunder" was again tried and was convicted and
sent to the State prison.
In the summer of 1845 Osman N. Steele, Under
Sheriff" of Delaware County, while engaged with a
posse in his-official duties in the collection of rent
THE BENCH AND BAR.
159
due from Moses Earle, at Andes, in that county,
was violently resisted by about two hundred men
armed and disguised as Indians, and was shot and
killed by them. Intense excitement prevailed in
the county. A great struggle followed between
those who resisted and those who sought to en-
force the laws.
On the 25th of August, 1845, Gov. Wright de-
clared the County of Delaware in a state of insur-
rection, and a battalion of light infantry was de-
tailed to aid the civil authorities in the preservation
of order and the making of arrests. At the in-
quest held on the body of Sheriff Steele and at a
Court of General Sessions, the whole subject was
fully investigated. Some indictments were found
for murder, but most of them were for manslaughter
and lesser offenses.
Over two hundred and forty persons were in-
dicted, most of whom were arrested and in custody
awaiting trial at the then approaching Oyer and
Terminer.
The regular jail and two log jails, temporarily
constructed for the purpose, were filled with
prisoners. Under these discouraging circum-
stances, and with armed men stationed in the
Court room and throughout the village to preserve
order, Judge Parker opened the Oyer and Terminer
at Delhi on the 2 2d of September, 1845. A brief
statement of these proceedings and an extract from
the charge of Judge Parker to the Grand Jury will
be found in the History of Delaware County, by
Jay Gould, published in 1856 and dedicated to
Judge Parker.
After charging the Grand Jury he gave notice
that, whatever time it might take, he should con-
tinue to hold the court till every case was tried
and the jails were cleared.
The indictments were prosecuted by the District
Attorney, assisted by John Van Buren, then At-
torney-General, and by Samuel Sherwood, a dis-
tinguished member of the Bar, then of New York,
but who formerly resided at Delhi, and the prison-
ers were defended by able counsel, among whom
were Samuel Gordon, Mitchell Sandford and
Samuel S. Bowne.
John Van Steenburgh was first tried and con-
victed of murder. Edward O'Connor was next
tried with a like result. Both were sentenced to
be executed on the 29th of November, then next;
four others were convicted of felony and sent to the
State Prison for life, and thirteen were sent to the
State Prison for different terms of years. A large
number who had been engaged in resisting the
sheriff, but who had not been disguised, pleaded
guilty of misdemeanors. Some of these were fined,
but as to most of them, and as to some who plead-
ed guilty of manslaughter, sentence was suspended,
and they were told by the Court they would be
held responsible for the future preservation of the
peace in their neighborhoods, and were warned
that if any other instance should occur of resisting
an ofiBcer, or of a violation of the statute, which
made it a felony to appear for such purpose armed
and disguised, they would at once be suspected,
and might expect to be called up for sentence.
Under this assurance they were set at liberty, and
it is but justice to them to say that they became the
best possible conservators of the peace, and that no
resistance of process by violence has ever since oc-
cured in that count}'.
At the close of the third week of the court, all
the cases had been disposed of No prisoners
were left in jail except those awaiting execution or
transportation to the State Prison ; the military
were soon after discharged, and the log jails taken
down, and peace and good order have ever
since reigned in the county.
A report of the trial of Van Steenburgh, with a
note referring to the business of that court, will be
found in / Park, Cr. Rep., jp. The sentences of
Van Steenburgh and O'Connor were subsequently
commuted by Gov. Wright to imprisonment for
life ; and, about a year later, all those in the state
prison were pardoned by the successor of Gov.
Wright.
Great credit was awarded to Judge Parker for
his successful discharge of the delicate and difficult
duties devolved upon him at the Delaware Oyer
and Terminer, and at the next commencement the
degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred on him by
Geneva College.
As has been stated. Judge Parker's services as
Circuit Judge and Vice-Chancellor terminated in
1847 by the adoption of the new state constitu-
tion of 1846, under which an elective judiciary
succeeded to the exercise of the judicial powers of
the state. In all the counties of the Third Judicial
District, meetings of the Bar were held, and com-
plimentary addresses to Judge Parker were signed,
approving his judicial course, and from his associ-
ates on the Bench of the Rensselaer Oyer and Ter-
miner he received a similar earnest recognition of
his services and of their personal respect.
Judge Parker was one of four Justices of the
Supreme Court, elected in the Third Judicial Dis-
trict in June, 1847, being chosen by a very large
vote; and he entered upon the duties of this office
on the first of July, 1847. During his term, he
served one year, during the year 1854, in the Court
of Appeals. His term of service as a Justice of the
Supreme Court expired on the 31st of December,
1855. His opinions in causes pending in that
Court will be found in the first twenty-one volumes
of Barbour's Supreme Court Reports. In the year
1854 Judge Parker served in the Court of Appeals,
and was there associated with Judges Gardner,
Denio, Alexander S. Johnson, Allen and others.
His opinions in that court are reported in ist and
2d volumes of Kernaris Reports. Among- those
most worthy of reference, is the case of Snedeker
vs. Warring, reported in 2d Kernan, 170, a case
which attracted much attention at the time, for the
reason that it presented a very nice question, and
one that had not been before decided either in this
country or in England. It was finally decided on
the authority of cases adjudged under the civil law
on the continent of Europe. It involved the
question whether a statue, colossal in size, erected
as an ornament on the grounds in front of a coun-
try residence, and securely attached to the earth b)-
160
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
its weight, was real or personal property. The
case was argued by very able counsel, and it hap-
pened, by the practice of the Court, in turn, to
fall to Judges Johnson and Parker to write opin-
ions. At the close of the argument, as the
judges were separating for the day, in a few words
of consultation that took place between the judges
who were to write, Judge Johnson said he had an
impression that the statue was real property.
Judge Parker said his impression was that it was
personal. A month later, after both the judges
had spent much time at the State Librar)' in exam-
ining the authorities, but without having again
spoken together on the subject, and after each had
written his opinion, ready to be read and discussed
at the next meeting of all the judges. Judge Parker
met Judge Johnson and said to him: " I have
changed my opinion, and have come to the con-
clusion that the statue is real property." And Judge
Johnson said in answer, "and I have changed
mine, and have concluded it is personal property. "
When the meeting of the judges was held for con-
sultation soon afterward, both opinions were read
after discussion; the vote stood four and four, and
thus it remained till near the end of the year, when
on further discussion and consideration, five voted
with Judge Parker and two with Judge Johnson,
and the case was decided
Judge Parker was nominated by the Democratic
Convention for re-election in the autumn of 1855,
Ambrose Z. Jordan being the candidate of the
Republican Party, then newly organized, and
George Gould that of the "Know-Nothing," an
American party. Prominent members of the last
named party proposed to nominate Judge Parker,
but he declined beina: its candidate. A very small
vote was cast for Mr. Jordan, but Judge Gould
was elected. That was the year when the American
"Know-Nothing" party, suddenly springing up,
swept the State by large majorities. Judge Parker
was very largely ahead of his ticket, Iseing beaten
by the American candidate by only about a thou-
sand votes ; while the state officers on the American
ticket in the same judicial distj-ict had a majority
of several thousand.
Judge Parker then resumed the practice of his
profession at Albany, and though afterward re-
peatedly offered nominations for the Supreme
Court and for the Court of Appeals, when the
Democratic party to which he belonged was in the
majorit)' in his district and in the State, he always
declined, and preferred the independent practice of
his profession.
In the fall of 1856 he was nominated by the
Democratic State Convention for the office of Gov-
ernor. The opposing Republican candidate was
John A. King. Erastus Brooks was the "Ameri-
can " candidate. Though Judge Parker received
several thousand majority in the judicial district
where he was beaten the year before by about a
thousand majority, he was defeated in the State,
Gov. King being elected by a heavy majority. Mr.
Buchanan, who was elected President that year by
the votes of the other States, and against whom the
majority in the State of New York was nearly ten
thousand votes more than the majority against
Judge Parker, who ran largely ahead of his ticket,
tendered to the latter offices of distinction, which
the latter declined. And later in his administra-
tion, he nominated him for U. S. District Attor-
ney for the Southern District of New York, and the
nomination was confirmed by the U. S. Senate,
without reference, but Judge P. refused to qualify,
preferring his own private professional practice.
In the fall of 1858 the Democratic State Con-
vention again nominated him for the office of Gov-
ernor. His Republican opponent was E. D.
Morgan, who was elected by about 17,000
majority, though Judge Parker ran again largely in
advance of the rest of the ticket.
Since that time Judge Parker has not been a
candidate for any office except that he was elected
in 1867 a delegate from the County of Albany to
the State Constitutional Convention, in which he
served in the years 1867 and 1868, as a member of
the judiciary and other committees. The judiciary
article framed by that convention was the only por-
tion of the constitution finally adopted by the
people.
On Judge Parker's retirement from the Bench,
he engaged at once in the practice of his profession
at Albany, taking into partnership in 1865 his son,
Amasa J. Parker, Jr., and adding to the firm in
1876 Ex-Judge Edwin Countryman, under the
name of Parker & Countryman. He devoted him-
self with great industry and success to his profes-
sional duties. He had a great love for his pro-
fession and for the principles upon which the law
and its administration are founded. He was en-
gaged in a large professional practice and in many
of the most important cases that have come into
the courts, as is shown by the State and Federal
Reports. Among the most notable litigations in
civil cases was a question of the right to tax
National Banks, which he argued before the Supreme
Court of the United States, m the employment of
the city of New York, reported in 4 Wallace Rep. ,
244 ; and in this State, the title of Trinity Church
to property in the city of New York; the Levy will
case, reported in ^s N. Y., <)'] ; the famous con-
troversy between the Delaware & Hudson Canal
Company and the Pennsylvania Company; and
that of the boundary line between the States of
New York and New Jersey, reported in /^z N. Y.
Rep., 283. He rarely engaged in criminal cases,
and his defense of Cole for the murder of Hiscock,
and his acting in two or three other murder cases,
were exceptional. He declined a retainer of
$5,000 off"ered him to act as counsel in the defense
of Tweed.
With the late Judge Ira Harris and Amos Dean,
he engaged, in 1851, in the founding of "the
Albany Law School," which established a high rep-
utation under their government and care, and he
continued for about twenty years one of the pro-
fessors in that institution, and resigned only be-
cause of the pressure of his professional practice.
He had found time while on the bench and after-
ward for preparing for the press some law books
which he thought needed, among which were six
THE BENCH AND BAR.
161
volumes oi Reports of Criminal Cases. He also,
assisted by two other gentlemen of the profession,
edited the fifth edition of the Revised Statutes of
this State.
He was an earnest advocate of the reforms inau-
gurated in the State Constitutional Convention of
1847, by which the Court of Chancery was abol-
ished and law and equity powers were vested in the
same tribunal, and the practice of the courts sim-
plified. He visited Europe in 1853 while similar
reforms were under consideration in England, and,
at the request of Lord Brougham, he addressed the
Law Reform Club of England at its annual meet-
ing, explaining to its members the results of his
experience on the Bench in regard to the changes
that had been made in this St^te, especially as to the
administering of law and equity in the same Court.
In politics he was, throughout his whole life, an
active member of the Democratic party. Believ-
ing thoroughly in the principles of that party as
founded by Jefferson, and that their success was
indispensable to the welfare and prosperity of the
country, he advocated them with earnestness, but
always with due respect for the judgment of those
who differed from him.
He labored strenuously to avert the catastrophe
of civil war, and presided at the famous State
Democratic Convention held at Tweddle Hall, in
Albany, in February, 1861. He always believed
afterward, as he believed then, that with temperate
counsels, on the part of the Republican leaders
then about entering upon the control of the Fed-
eral Government, civil war could have been
avoided; but when the first blow was struck at Fort
Sumter, and rebellion was thus inaugurated, he did
not hesitate to regard the die as cast, and became at
once an earnest advocate of a vigorous prosecution
of the war on the part of the Government, and
freely contributed his own money and time to the
raising of men and means for that purpose.
But his patriotism did not prevent his earnest
protest against what he deemed the gross abuse of
power practiced, for merely partisan purposes, by
high Federal officials, in the making of unnecessary,
arbitrary arrests of Northern men, whose only of-
fense was an honest and independent difference of
opinion, and a free confession of it, on subjects of
mere party difference in no way involved in the
prosecution of the war to put down the rebellion.
This tyrannical exercise of power and gross viola-
tion of the right of personal liberty he stoutly re-
sisted, and not only denounced it on the stump, at
the hazard of his own personal liberty, but he
freely gave his professional services to obtain re-
dress for such wrongs.
A notable instance of this character occurred in
the case of Palin vs. Murray, tried at the Greene
Circuit before Judge Ingalls in June, 1864, by
Judge Parker as counsel for plaintiff, in which a
jury composed of men of both political parties gave
to this plaintiff for such an arrest and false imprison-
ment a verdict of $9,000 damages. An attempt was
made to remove this case, after verdict and judg-
ment, forretiral, into the U. S. Circuit Court, under
an act of Congress that had been conveniently
21
passed for the purpose of defeating such recoveries.
Judge Parker insisted that the act was unconstitu-
tional, being in violation of the seventh article of
the amendments of the U. S. Constitution, and
under his advice the State authorities refused to
make a return to the writ of error. Application
was then made to the U. S. Circuit Court to com-
pel the return, and on demurrer, a peremptory man-
damus was adjudged. To review that judgment
a writ of error was brought by Judge Parker, and
the case was removed into the United States Su-
preme Court held at Washington. It was first
argued, in that court, in February, 1869, by Judge
Parker for the plaintiff in error, and by Mr. Evarts,
then Attorney-General of the United States, for the
defendant in error.
The Judges were divided upon the question and
ordered a re-argument, which took place in Feb-
ruary, 1870, Attorney-General Hoar then appearing
for the defendant in error, and Judge Parker again
arguing for the plaintiff in error. The judgment
of the U. S. Circuit Court was then reversed and
the unconstitutionality of the act of Congress was
established.
The case is reported in 9 Wallace U. S. Rep., 274.
During a long life of professional labor. Judge
Parker never lost the tastes acquired in early life for
classical study and literary pursuits, and he was in
the habit of setting apart a stated portion of his
time for such purposes. He enjoyed an occasional
return to the reading of the Greek and Roman
authors ; and those, with the attention given to the
current literature of the day and a mingling in the
duties of social life, afforded him an agreeable re-
laxation from severer studies and a healthful change
to the mind. These tastes brought him in con-
nection with the educational institutions of the State,
in several of which he served for many years as a
Trustee.
Among other duties of that character, he was for
many years President of the Board of Trustees of
the Albany Female Academy, President of the
Board of Trustees of the Albany Medical College,
a Trustee of Cornell University, and one of the
Governors of Union College.
When a member of the Assembly in 1834, Mr.
Parker, as chairman of a select committee, had made
an elaborate report urging the establishment of a
State Hospital for the Insane, which led to a more
full consideration of the subject by the people,
though it was not till several years afterward that
the first State Hospital for the Insane was estab-
lished. Doubtless it was owing to the interest Mr.
Parker had taken in the subject that he was, after-
ward, appointed by Gov. Fen ton one of the Trustees
of the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane
at Poughkeepsie, a trust which he held till 1881,
when he resigned, and Gov. Cornell appointed the
son of Judge Parker in his place.
Judge Parker married, in 1834, Miss Harriet
Langdon Roberts, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
and of his large family of children, Mrs. John V. L.
Pruyn, Amasa J. Parker, Jr., Mrs. Erastus Corning
and Mrs. Selden E. Marvin, all residents of Albany,
still survive.
162
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
HAMILTON HARRIS.
While a biographical memoir ought to be strict-
ly adapted to its subject in all its lights and shades,
it ought also, with a certain measure of indepen-
dence in the writer, to be adapted as far as possi-
ble to various tastes.
The reflective man will read it for instruction,
the frivolous for amusement, and the critic, accord-
ing to his disposition either to detect faults or to
display its beauties.
The first will require fidelity in the narrative;
the second, variety in the incidents, and the third,
a watchful attention to the rules of good writing.
But, after all, the success of the biographer depends
upon the character he describes, just as the pencil
of the artist depends for success on the contour of
the features he reproduces upon canvas.
In entering upon the duty of presenting to all
classes of readers the life and career of Hamilton
Harris, such are the facilities presented in the mind,
character and career of our subject, that we feel a
consciousness that the fault will be ours if the men-
tal portrait we are about to give is deficient in its
lineaments or wanting in that which truth de-
mands; for there are elements in his character
which should render the task successful.
No name is more conspicuously associated with
the Albany, and we may well say with the State
Bar, than his. Few lawyers have brought to the
Bar a more energetic mind, a more fortunate com-
bination of legal and scholarly acquirements, or
stronger or more practical administrative abilities.
" All professions," says Burke, " particularly the
legal, narrow and dwarf the intellect by chaining it
rigidly to rules, precedent and procedure." Doubt-
less Mr. Harris has felt the full force of this re-
mark, for he has always found time in the midst ot
his most engrossing political and official duties to
continue his early classical studies, and a critical
reading of history, and the productions of the great
English writers. In literature as well as law he
has submitted to the most laborious and persever-
ing process of private study.
In the preparation of this biography reference
has been had to the public journals of the day, from
which extracts have been freely made.
Hamilton Harris was bom at Preble, Cortland
County, N. Y., May i, 1820. His parents were
natives of the State of New York, but his father was
of English and his mother of Scotch descent At
an early period in the history of Cortland County
they settled at Preble, and they may therefore be
regarded as pioneers of that delightful part of the
State. When old enough, young Harris began his
education in the common school of his native
town, and after mastering all the branches taught
there, he entered Homer Academy. After success-
fully pursuing his studies in that institution for a
time, he became a student in the Albany Academy,
where he completed a preparatory course for col-
lege. He entered Union College in the class
which graduated in 1841. At college he was
known as a diligent and successful student. We
are assured that there was much in his collegiate
course that pointed to future success in life. He
was vigorous in health, elastic in spirits, in temper
enthusiastic yet self-governed, with powers active
and well disciplined, and thus he was in every
way fitted to enter upon this critical era of his life
well prepared for the intra-moenial influences
which surrounded him.
The little strifes, rivalries and jealousies of
Union were encountered with the same equanimity
of temper with which he encountered the more en-
grossing rivalries and contests of the Bar, and his
own rank in scholarship was from the beginning to
the conclusion of his collegiate career of the high-
est order.
In 1 84 1 he was graduated with a high reputa-
tion as a classical scholar. He distinguished him-
self at the commencement exercises by a veiy able
and admirably delivered address. The magnitude
of the subject was equaled by the maturity of
thought which he brought to its consideration, and
it was indeed as strong in reasoning as it was ele-
gant in diction.
All of the college productions of Mr. Harris in-
dicate his conviction that language is not merely
the dress, but the very body of thought ; that it is
to the intellect what the muscles are to the princi-
ples of physical life ; that the mind acts and
strengthens itself through words ; that it is chaos
till defined and organized by language. The at-
tempt to give clear, precise utterance to thought is
one of the most effectual processes of mental dis-
cipline. Of his graduating address we shall have
occasion to speak hereafter.
Through all his college course it was evident
that the mind of Mr. Harris was gravitating to-
ward the legal profession. At this time the Hon.
Ira Harris, his brother, afterward one of the ablest
and most eminent of the Judiciary of the State and
a United States Senator, was and had been for a
long time in the midst of an extensive practice at
the Albany Bar. Young Harris entered his law
office as a student, where he carefully and labori-
ously prepared for his admission to the Bar. His
call to practice took place in 1845. Having de-
cided to make Albany his future residence, he
opened an office in that city and began the practice
of his profession.
Though surrounded by learned, experienced and
gifted rivals, the progress of his reputation was soon
a matter of common remark ; he seemed to pos-
sess a natural adaptation for legal polemics ; he
entered the contests of the Bar with an industry
which no excess of toil could weary, and with a
self-command and practical ability which showed
that he possessed in exlenso the qualities and ac-
quirements which would soon render him an
accomplished advocate. He gradually exhibited a
masculine eloquence which ignored superfluous
decoration and fancy, alike strong in reason, at-
tractive in ethical beauty and logical skill.
The following are his business connections which
have diversified his legal life. In 1848 he became
a partner with Hooper C. Van Vorst, afterward a
Judge of the Common Pleas of New York City.
This relation was dissolved in 1853 by the removal
THE BENCH AND BAR.
163
of Mr. Van Vorst to the City of New York. Soon
after this he was associated with Samuel G. Court-
ney, a son-inlawof Daniel S. Dickinson, and for
several years United States District Attorney for the
Southern District of New York.
In 1857 he formed a copartnership with those
brilliant lawyers, Clark B. Cochrane and John H.
Re}'nolds. This was one of the strongest legal
firms that ever existed in Albany.
During this connection Mr. Cochrane and Mr.
Reynolds both became Members of Congress. The
copartnership ended with Mr. Cochrane's death in
1867, but Mr. Harris and Mr. Reynolds continued
their association till the latter's death in 1875.
Mr. Harris has now associated with him in the
practice of his profession his son, Frederick Harris,
and William R Rudd.
In the autumn of 1853 he was nominated and
elected District Attorney of Albany County, serv-
ing until January i, 1857. Mr. Harris' adminis-
tration of this important office is remembered as
largely enhancing his reputation and advantageous
to the public. During his administration he
conducted several of the most important and
stubbornly contested prosecutions for murder ever
tried at the Albany Bar ; indeed, we know of few
more important cases in legal history.
Among these was the trial of the People vs.
Hendrickson, indicted for the murder of his wife
by poison, in 1853, and the several trials of Mc-
Cann for the murder of his wife in 1856.
Mr. . Harris entered upon his duties as District
Attorney of Albany County on the first day of Jan-
uary, 1854. Hendrickson had been tried and con-
victed of murder in the first degree, but the prisoner,
through his counsel — Hon. John K. Porter — had
brought error to the Court of Appeals, and it had
not been argued when Mr. Harris entered upon
his duties, and the duty of conducting it in the
Appellate Court fell upon him.
Mrs. Hendrickson died suddenly at Bethlehem
on the morning of March 7, 1853. She was dis-
covered by her husband dead in bed, at about two
o'clock in the morning. He aroused the family,
who saw by her appearance that she had been dead
but a few moments. In the evening of that day,
at the Coroner's inquest, Hendrickson stated
under oath the circumstances of her death. He
said he went to church with her in the afternoon of
the day previous, returning in the evening ; his
wife complained of ill-health, retiring about eleven
o'clock. He awoke at about two in the morning
by a noise in the barn. On speaking to his wife,
he found her motionless, and her face cold ;
thinking her dead, he alarmed the family.
When asked as to his having been in Albany, he
said : "I was there two weeks ago last Saturday."
" Have you been there since .?" After pretending
to reflect, he said : " Oh, yes, I think I was there
one week ago last Saturday." " Have you not
been there since .? He replied : " I was there last
Saturday." When asked what he went for, he
said he took a load of timber to the mills there ;
his brother was with him ; he then gave the names
of the different places he visited with his brother.
He did not remember going to Springstead's drug
store, nor any other drug store. When the ques-
tion was again directly put to him, "Were you not
in some drug store in Albany ?" he was in a some-
what reclining position in his chair, as if grieving ;
the. question seemed to startle him, and, after some
hesitation, he finally replied: " I do not remember. "
On the trial, the People offered to prove the state-
ments of Hendrickson before the coroner. The
evidence was objected to as inadmissible, but the
Court admitted it under an exception. The Peo-
ple offered to prove, as a motive for the act, that
Lawrence Van Duzen, the father of Mrs. Hen-
drickson, by his last will, gave all his property to
his wife for life, with a remainder over, one-half to
his only son, the other half to be equally di-
vided between Mrs. Hendrickson and her sister.
This evidence was objected to, but admitted under
an exception. This case required in the counsel
for the People, not only great legal learning, but
a thorough acquaintance with medical jurispru-
dence, particularly in the science of toxicology,
as it was insisted that the victim died from
the effects of strychnine. Hendrickson was con-
victed, as before stated, and sentenced to be
hanged.
The duty of conducting this case in the Appel-
late Court placed Mr. Harris in a most responsible
position, involving much labor and learning.
The counsel for the defense relied upon their ex-
ceptions to the admission of the evidence we have
referred to as involving sufficient error to give them
a new trial.
The exhaustive and admirably prepared brief of
Mr. Harris, and its logical reference to authorities,
on which was founded a very able argument, fully
sustained the rulings of the Judge at the trial, and
in due time the decision of the Court was handed
down, affirming the conviction of Hendrickson.
The case was reported in 10 N. Y. Reports, 13.
The trials of McCann, for the murder of his wife,
which took place July 8, 1856, was another great
case. On the morning following her death, the
dead body of Mrs. McCann, the wife of the prison-
er, was found on the floor of one of the rooms in
the house occupied by him and his wife, with a
ghastly wound over the right eye, which fractured
the skull and opened the brains. There were
eight wounds on her head, disfiguring her to such
an extent that those who knew her best could
hardly recognize her. Suspicion at once fell upon
McCann. There were- several strong motives
proven that induced him to commit the murder,
and it was evidently done with deliberation — as the
law has it, "with malice prepense." He was in-
dicted and brought to trial at a Court of Oyer and
Terminer, in November, 1856. Mr. Harris as
District Attorney appeared for the People ; Hon.
Lyman Tremain, Hon. Rufus W. Peckham and
J. M. Kimball, Esq., conducted the defense,
which was insanity. It was insisted by the defense
that McCann killed his wife while suffering from
delirium tremens, under the delusion that he was
resisting the attack of persons determined to kill
him. There were several circumstances proved
164
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
which the defense insisted established this theory,
one of which was that McCann used two axes in
killing his wife, or rather that he killed her with
one ax and chopped her to pieces with another ;
that he seized them both to fight the men whom
he believed were assaulting him. He made no
attempt at flight, but remained near the body of
his victim nearly all night. Neither did he make
any attempt to conceal the body.
The defense of delirium tremens was held to be
no defense until Chief-Justice Story laid down
the law which settled that a man committing a
crime, suffering under this disease, is not responsible
for it.
The defense summoned to the trial some of the
ablest physicians of the times, including Dr. Alden
March, Dr. Thomas Hun, Dr. S. O. Vanderpoel,
Dr. J. Swinburne and Dr. B. P. Staats.
It is said that Mr. Tremain never in the course
of all his practice made a more powerful defense
-than on this trial. Mr. Harris, however, was
equal to the occasion. His cross-examination and
examination of the medical witnesses might easily
have caused a stranger to believe him some emi-
nent physician, experienced in treating cases of in-
sanity, so ready was his understanding of that
disease.
The medical testimony was. of great value, and
has been repeatedly used as precedent in similar
cases, particularly that of Dr. Hun. It is doubt-
ful whether the subject of delirium tremens was
ever more admirably dissected or more ably ex-
plained than on this trial.
McCann was convicted and sentenced to be
hanged.
The execution was fixed by the judges on Janu-
ary 23, 1857. A few days before the execution
was to take place his counsel removed his case to
the General Term, where the conviction of McCann
was affirmed. From the judgment of the General
Term his counsel brought error to the Court of
Appeals, and after argument of Messrs. Peckham
& Tremain on the part of the defense, and of Mr.
Harris on the part of the People, a new trial was
ordered.
The new trial commenced in November, 1857.
Another long and exciting contest took place, re-
sulting in the disagreementof the jury. In March,
1858, McCann was again placed at the bar for
trial, and for the third time the public interest was
aroused over this truly great case. This trial, like
the second, resulted in a disagreement of the jury,
there being eleven for conviction and one for ac-
quittal. The jury deliberated nearly sixty-three
hours, and during all this time the one juror stood
alone against the pressure of his fellows.
To use the language of a leading journal of the
day :
"The case was summed up for the defense by the Hon.
R. W. Peckham in a most admirable manner. He was
followed by Hon . Hamilton Harris on the part of the Peo-
ple. The intense earnestness and powerful eloquence of
this gentleman gave him in this case, as in all others, great
influence with the jury."
A proposition was finally made to have McCann
plead guilty to manslaughter in the first degree.
which was accepted by Mr. Harris, and the pris-
oner was sentenced to State Prison for life. Thus
ended a trial which is without precedent in the
criminal trials of the State. The case is reported
in 16 N.Y. Reports, 58, and is regarded as an im-
portant and leading one.
Among other important murder cases which Mr.
Harris conducted were those of The People vs.
Phelps, The People vs. McCrossen, The People
vs. Dunnigan and The People vs. Cummings.
In all these cases Mr. Harris was opposed by the
ablest lawyers of the time. The success that at-
tended him sufficiently attests his accomplishments
as a prosecuting officer. The comments of the
press upon the manner in which he conducted his
arduous duties are gratifying testimonials.
One important criminal case in which Mr.
Harris appeared against the prosecution was the
case of The People vs. Reimann, indicted for com-
plicity in the murder of Emil Hartung. Reimann
was at first indicted as accessory before the mur-
der, the principal being Mrs. Hartung, wife of the
deceased, but he was subsequently indicted as
principal for causing Hartung's death by adminis-
tering to him arsenical poison. The case created
great interest ; indeed, there were features in it
which invested it with dramatic interest.
Mr. Harris appeared for the defense ; the prose-
cution was conducted by District Attorney Ira
Shaffer, assisted by Samuel G. Courtney.
Mrs. Hartung had been convicted of the murder
of her husband by poisoning, and was sentenced to
be hanged. It was contended by the counsel for
the People that Reimann was her guilty paramour.
She was a handsome and attractive woman, with
whom Reimann was passionately in love, and he
aided in the taking off of her husband, to permit
him to marry her. Much time was consumed in
obtaining a jury, and more in taking the evidence.
After the people rested, Mr. Harris made a motion
for the discharge of Reimann on the ground that
the evidence was insufficient to convict him. The
motion was supported by an elaborate and cogent
argument, to which Mr. Courtney replied with
force and eloquence. The Hon. George Gould,
who presided at the trial, after a learned and criti-
cal review of the whole evidence and the argument
of the respective counsel, granted Mr. Harris'
motion, and Reimann was discharged. But there
were two more indictments against him ; one for
being accessory before the fact, the other for being
accessory after the fact, and he was remanded to
jail. A motion soon followed to admit him to bail,
and another sharp legal contest ensued. He was
finally discharged.
A history of the causes celebres in which Mr.
Harris has been engaged has filled volumes, inter-
esting to both practitioner and student. From
1816 down to 1876 there had been forty-three
murder cases tried in the County of Albany, and
Mr. Harris appeared as the leading counsel in no
less than ten, either for the People or the defense.
Though he is not what might be termed a
criminal lawyer, it has been his fortune, as we have
seen, to be engaged in very many important crimi-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
165
nal trials. This practice has always had strong at-
tractions for accomplished legal minds ; it gives
ample room for the exercise of well-disciplined
imagination and sympathy ; it gives scope to a
critical knowledge of the Statute laws, common
law and the law of evidence. It requires a deep
insight into the springs of human action ; therefore
no man can become a really successful criminal
lawyer without becoming equally successful in
other departments of practice.
By a well-sustained progress Mr. Harris has at-
tained a reputation in the trial and argument of
civil actions that ranks him among the ablest law-
yers of his time.
As he advanced in his profession he devoted
himself exclusively to civil business, to the entire
exclusion of the criminal, and the result has been
that he has enjoyed for a long time an extensive
and lucrative practice as well as a high reputation
in the courts. The reported cases in the Supreme
Court and the Court of Appeals argued by him
show in some degree the extent of the business and
the magnitude of the cases in which he has been
engaged and the important questions of the law
which he has argued. The following quotations
from leading newspapers express the public esti-
mate of Mr. Harris as an advocate. The Albany
Press of January 6, 1884, in a review^ of the law-
yers of Alban)', says of Mr. Harris: " He is an
able and adroit lawyer, logical in argument and
brilliant in speech. He excels more especially'
as a jury lawyer, and as such ranks among the
best at our bar." The Albany Evening Journal of
January 17, 1885, in speaking of Mr. Harfis' law
firm, said :
"It possesses probably the largest and most lucrative
patronage, and is one of the most successful firms in Albany.
To this result Senator Harris' eminent ability as a pleader,
his thorough knowledge of the law, his forensic powers and
his wiiming personality have largely contributed."
The Albany Argus of May 10, 1885, in com-
menting upon an important railway case then be-
ing tried at the Circuit Court, spoke of Mr. Harris
as follows :
" No man could study a case harder than does Hamilton
Harris. He masters every detail of fact, knows exactly
what his witnesses will testify to, and as for the law, long
experience in this class of cases has made him, so to speak,
an encyclopedia of railroad decisions. Hamilton Harris'
manner in court is quiet and highly dignified. He pays
close attention to the conduct ot the case. His voice is
strong and harsh to one unaccustomed to hear him speak,
and his style of delivery is plain, but earnest and effective.
His manner is blunt, gruff and, to a certain extent, dicta-
torial; but no juryman ever sat in a box and listened to him
through a case without feeling that, back of his manner, was
not only great power of mind, but an honest, kindly heart.
Few lawyers conduct a case with so much earnestness.
'When you hear him speak, you feel immediately that he is
in earnest. This quality and his shrewdness and policy
make him one of the most successful lawyers that ever de-
fended a corporation."
Our space will not permit of a general review of
the important civil cases in which he has been en-
gaged. We shall only allude to two of the later
ones, which were of great public interest, and in
which Mr. Harris won great distinction throughout
the State.
During the Legislative session of 1884 William
McDonald was arraigned at the bar of the Senate
for refusing to answer questions before a Legisla-
tive committee. He was committed by the Senate
to imprisonment in the common jail for contempt.
In proceedings taken in the courts for his release
Mr. Harris appeared as one of his counsel, and his
argument for McDonald, which required and re-
ceived at his hands as much research and learning
as has been displayed in any case brought before
the courts in late years, greatly extended his repu-
tation as a profound lawyer. The commitment
was declared by the General Term of the Supreme
Court illegal, and McDonald was discharged. The
case is reported in 32 Hun, 563.
During the Legislative session of 1882 Mr.
Roosevelt preferred charges against Mr. Justice
Westbrook, of the State Supreme Court, for misfeas-
ance and malfeasance in the discharge of his
judicial duties. It was alleged, among other things,
that the Judge, " Without stint and without regard
to judicial propriety, had appointed relatives to
office, in which they had received large fees ; that
he had been guilty of judicial impropriety in the
celebrated Manhattan Elevated Railroad case ; that
he had improperly given advice aiding the defense
of the Manhattan Company, and that he had im-
properly informed Jay Gould and others touching
certain actions of the Court." The charges against
the Judge, taken together, made a strong prima
facie case against him. The alleged facts were in-
geniously marshaled and strengthened by accu-
mulated allegations. They were sent to the Judi-
ciary Committee of the Assembly for investigation,
after a spirited debate.
Mr. Harris was retained by Judge Westbrook to
conduct his case before the committee. The in-
vestigation before the committee began on April 2 1,
1882, and finally closed on the 27th of the following
May, Mr. Harris making the closing argument.
Judging from the comments of the press, his ar-
gument was one of extraordinary power and elo-
quence. The Troy Press, speaking of it, says :
" The argument of Mr. Harris was very able, and
exposed the wickedness and absurdit}' ot the charges
against Judge Westbrook." The Albany Evening
Journal &2iys : "There can be no answer to Mr.
Harris' defense of Judge Westbrook, the only
counsel before the committee who can be truly
said to enjoy a large experience in his pro-
fession."
The New York World of May 29, in an able re-
view of the case, said : "Mr. Hamilton Harris'
argument in vindication of Judge Westbrook fills a
closely printed pamphlet of nearly fifty pages ; but
so close and clear is his presentation of the case,
that no lawyer will object to its length." After
quoting to some extent from the argument, the re-
view continues its favorable comment upon it, and
the whole article is highly complimentary to Mr.
Harris. The Judge was honorably acquitted.
We have thus given a sketch of Mr. Harris as a
lawyer. We shall now briefly consider his politi-
cal career, which, though extended, has been sub-
ordinate to his profession.
166^
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Quite early in life he became prominent in the
Whig party in Albany County, advocating its
measures on the platform and with his pen with
such fidelity and ability that he soon took his place
among the leaders of the party in the county and
State. In the autumn of 1850 he was elected
member of Assembly from the County of Albany.
It was at this session of the Legislature that the
building of the State Library and the improvement
of the State Capitol became a prominent subject of
legislation. Its success was largely due to the
efforts of Mr. Harris. He was also a member of
the joint committee of six to call State conventions
and to construct a new party platform, which was
one of the first steps in the formation of the Re-
publican party. Mr. Harris aided largely in
founding the Republican party, and has always been
justly regarded as one of its strongest and ablest
champions. From 1862 to 1870 he was a mem-
ber of the Republican State Committee ; from 1862
to 1864 he was chairman of the Executive Com-
mittee ; from 1864 to 1870 he was chairman of the
Republican State Committee, in which position he
displayed great executive ability, and by his skillful
political management more than once led his party
to victory in closely contested State elections. As
has been said of him by a prominent writer : " His
keen intuitions and his rare skill as an organizer,
with a singular union of discretion with boldness,
render him a natural leader of men." As a delegate
in many State and national conventions, Mr. Har-
ris was active and strongly influential in sustaining
the measures of his party.
At the Legislative session of 1865 the question
of erecting a new capitol at Albany, which had
been agitated for many previous sessions, culmi-
nated in more decisive action. Mr. Harris was
elected President of a new Board of Capitol Com-
missioners, serving until 1875 with ability and
success so marked that he has been frequently
termed "The Father " of that great measure. The
Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, commenting upon
the subject, says : " Let the people of Albany re-
member that to Hamilton Harris more than any
other man they are indebted for the new capitol
from its inception in 1865 to its progress in 1879."
To this the Albany Evening Journal made answer :
"Never fear : Albanians will always remember it."
The Albany Express, speaking of Mr. Harris'
labors in behalf of the new capitol, says: "In
other hands all the doubtful elements of the situa-
tion would have worked against it. Not so in the
hands of Mr. Harris. The leader of the Senate, by
force of character, and with a strong cause com-
mitted to him, his uniform courtesy and persistent
labor carried the project through the crisis. " The
Albany Evening Journal, the New York Sun, the
Ogdensburg Journal, the Troy Daily Times, all con-
tain extended editorials commendatory of Mr.
Harris' able and successful efforts in behalf of the
new capitol. The latter paper, in speaking of the
structure, says : " The father of this structure,
which is to rank foremost among the majestic
buildings of the worid, is Hamilton Harris. Al-
bany owes a debt of gratitude to Senator Harris
for his advocacy of the stupendous enterprise and
for his labors in carrying it on, which it can never
repay." He studied hard to devise means to have
the new building completed as soon as possible,
without having the burden of taxation fall upon
posterity. His bills relating to the matter were
framed with great fairness, practicability and good
sense, and the citizens of the State of New York
will always applaud his earnestness, zeal and perse-
verance in the great cause in which he was en-
listed.
In the autumn of 1S75 he was elected to the
Senate of the State from his district. On taking his
seat in that body he entered into its deliberations
and its proceedings with a facility that indicated
natural legislative abilities.
As chairman of the Finance Committee, of the
Committee on Joint Library, and of the select
Committee on Apportionment, his labors were use-
ful and exhaustive.
On the floor of the Senate he always took a
prominent part in the discussion of leading public
questions ; his arguments never failed to command
respect and attention.
At the expiration of his Senatorial term he was,
in 1877, re-elected by a large majority. Having
served his second term in a manner which brought
to him high Senatorial honors, he decided to abandon
public life and devote himself exclusively to the ex-
tended duties of his profession. From this resolu-
tion he has deviated but in one instance. In the
fall of 1884 he ran as one of the Republican Elec-
tors on the State ticket. In October, 1879,
his name was prominently brought forward for re-
election to the Senate, and under circumstances so
flattering that few could have resisted the nomina-
tion. But Mr. Harris, adhering to his resolution,
on October 3, 1879, in a brief note published in
the Evening Journal, most respectfully, but peremp-
torily, declined to accept the nomination under any
circumstances.
Among his Senatorial addresses which have
passed into history are those touching the New
Capitol ; on the question of Convict Labor ; on
the Grand Army bill ; on the question of historical
societies holding real estate for preservation and
monumental purposes ; on Higher Education ; on
Sectarian Appropriations, and on Taxation. He
closed his Senatorial career under the following high
tribute from the Morning Express . " Mr. Harris
is a natural leader ; he unites discretion with bold-
ness. His zeal is regulated by mature reflection.
His knowledge of men is intuitive, and his intui-
tions have been sharpened by wide intercourse.
He is a close thinker, a cultured scholar, a thor-
ough lawyer, a skillful organizer and ready debater,
and he has a wide knowledge of, and devotion to,
the interests of the State. "
We shall close our sketch with some remarks
touching his literary acquirements and labors, and
as we conceive him to be in private life.
Mr. Harris is one of those who believe that to
complete a lawyer's education, to enable him to
take an elevated position in it, much more is needed
than mere knowledge of law ; but that he should
TtlE BENCH AND BAR.
167
honor and cultivate, as unspeakably useful, that lit-
erature which corresponds to and calls forth the
highest faculties, which expresses and communi-
cates energy of thought, fruitfulness of invention,
force of moral purpose, a thirst for the true and a
delight in the beautiful.
Mr. Harris has exhibited his literary taste and
culture, and abilities as a writer, on the lecture
platform, and as a speaker in the popular assem-
bly. He possesses the rare faculty of putting his
readers or his audience in lull possession of his
thoughts, and in keeping the communication be-
tween himself and them always open ; always
avoiding those affected grasps after originality on
the the one hand, and that sickly prettiness of style
on the other, so much sought after by common-
place lecturers and writers.
Several of his addresses have been published.
We cannot avoid, in this connection, some refer-
ence to an admirable lecture delivered by him on
the subject, "Politics and Literature," before the
Young Men's Association of Albany. To use his
own language : " Politics and Literature was the
theme of the speaker long years ago, when he bade
'good-by ' to college halls and boyish fancies, and
stepped upon the stage of active duties to play his
humble part in the great drama of life."
Mr. Harris took up his subject from the stand-
point of long experience, as he says, in the strug-
gles of the world ; and thus it was full of most val-
uable thoughts and suggestions. The Albany Ar-
gus, in speaking of it, says : " Mr. Harris was able
to give to the literary discussion of politics in the
abstract the fruits of an experience in the concrete
which few men can claim — an experience which
has covered a long period of time, notable
associations, occasional vicissitudes and refreshing
successes. "
He denied that public men and politicians are
absolved, in any degree, from the obligations of
strict honor and morality. He insisted that politi-
cal power is not a prize which justifies mean acts
and compliance with usages that would be scorned
in private life ; that platitudes, intrigues, hollow
pretensions and appeals to base passions deserve
signal rebuke when employed to compass political
ends.
"The man," said the lecturer, "who devotes himself to
politics as a business, for the purpose of securing position
for support, is worthy of little consideration, and gathers the
least satisfaction that can be derived from any of the em-
ployments ot men. His existence is a miserable one of ser-
vility and solicitation, delays and disappointments, to end
generally in poverty and obscurity. He who would best
serve the state and win a name and secure public confidence
should possess lofty principles, a keen faculty of vision to
discover the wants and interests of society, an accurate ac-
quaintance with current events, opinions and social tenden-
cies, a deep penetration into the motives of human action,
and a clear determination of the results of measures and
movements."
The manner in which Mr. Harris illustrated the
advantage of combining literary attainments with
political acumen was very forcible and happy. He
gave many instances from history, where the treas-
ures of literature increased the usefulness and
strength of political labor.
" The low ambitions of life," he said, "and the grosser
pleasures of sense, are characteristic of the illiterate. Liter-
ature is the source of refinement and enlightenment ; it im-
parts wisdom, elevates thought and adorns character."
The numerous favorable comments of the press
upon this address evince at once its ability and its
efiect upon the public mind.
An address delivered by Mr. Harris before the
Young Men's Association of Albany, on "The
Tower of London," was a production that created
great interest on its delivery, and was eagerly read
after its appearance in the public journals. It is
remarkable for its historic research, and for the
pleasing diction with which he so vividly described
that grand old fortress of the past, around which so
many historical incidents cluster, and where so
many precious relics' of the grandeur, power, and,
we may say, weakness of England are gathered.
This structure has often been described by tourists,
but few, if any, have described it in the manner
and in the light of history, which Mr. Harris did in
his address.
"Its story" he said, "is interwoven with the annals of
Great Britain. The historic memories of eight centuries
cluster around it. The history ot many of the bravest as
well as the darkest deeds of the Empire is written in its
walls. With it is associated the glory of proud triumphs
and gorgeous ceremonials, together with the pathetic and
tragic vicissitudes and mutations of human fortune."
These deeds and the worthiest actors in them
attracted the pen of the lecturer. His portraiture
showed a wide range of reading and the appre-
ciative and discriminating hand of a close student.
Another of his productions which was listened
to and read with interest was his lecture before
the Young Men's Working Society. The subject
was " No Royal Road to Knowledge. "
A Fourth of July oration, delivered by him in
early life before the Young Men's Association of
Albany, was quite out of the order of such pro-
ductions in thought and originality.
We might take many interesting extracts from
many other addresses and give extracts from many
of Mr. Harris' literary productions, but space will
not permit. It is proper to say, however, that some
of his most pleasing productions are his memorial
tributes to departed distinguished jurists and legis-
lators. Perhaps nowhere in the language of eu-
logy can there be found a more well-deserved and
more touching and well-expressed tribute than
that paid by Mr. Harris to the memory of John
Morrissey in the Senate of this State.
The "Memorial Wreath," as he appropriately
called his beautiful eulogy upon that great lawyer
and beloved citizen, Lyman Tremain, commanded
general admiration, in that, as in all other like pro-
ductions, Mr. Harris did not become the extreme
panegyrist. He drew his mental portrait with truth
to the original, avoiding on the one hand inordi-
nate praise, and on the other a stinted denial of
true merit.
His tribute to James A. Garfield was a most
adequate eulogy upon the Glorious Martyr. It
was a touching and attractive portraiture of the
martyred President drawn with a master hand,
guided by an oppulent mind.
168
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The literary taste of Mr. Harris is exhibited in
his elegant home, which abounds in books. The
recondite productions of great and gifted writers
of all ages are found in his large, valuable and
carefully selected library. To use the language of
another, "Mr. Harris has made the selection of
books a specialty; he has brought together on his
shelves all the principal works of eminent English
and American statesmen, orators, poets, jurists and
scholars from Lord Bacon to Edward Everett."
He spends much of his time in his library; to
him it is peopled with living minds, speaking to
him of history, of philosophy, eloquence and all
the riches of ancient and modern literature. Here
voices come to him from the Athenian Arena;
from the Roman Forum; from the English Parlia-
ment; from the American Senate; from our own
great scholars, writers and scientists; from the
Bench and Bar of the world.
It is natural that a mind thus devoted to books
and research should be a friend to the cause of
education and the diffusion of knowledge by the
establishment of schools , and colleges. And we
find that not only in private life, but in his legis-
lative career, he has been the warm advocate of the
cause of popular and higher education.
One of his ablest speeches in the Senate was in
support of higher popular education. This speech,
which was widely circulated through the State by
the friends of popular education, was delivered
January 29, 1879, in committee of the whole, hav-
ing under consideration the Governor's Message.
That document recommended the abandonment
of the system of aiding the public high schools,
which had prevailed so many years in the State.
The Governor in his Message took strong grounds
against the State's aiding in giving higher educa-
tion to the children of the poor, terming it legal-
ized robbery to do so. Hon. Thomas C. E. Ec-
clesine, Senator from the City of New York, strong-
ly sustained the Governor in a speech delivered in
the Senate. He insisted that higher education
disqualified the poor for the duties and labors to
which alone they are by nature adapted, and that
injustice is done by trying to educate the children
of the poor for callings which they can never fill.
This attack upon the education of the poor
brought Senator Harris to his feet, and he repelled
it in the admirable speech to which we have al-
luded. The debate was long and ardent, continu-
ing at intervals until the 5th of February, 1879,
when Mr. Harris closed it He reviewed the va-
rious laws which had passed favoring popular edu-
cation and the great advantages flowing to the
people from these laws.
"The true theory," he said, "upon which the State
educates its children is not simply for the benefit or advance-
ment of the individual, but it is to enlarge his mind and
elevate his character, so as to increase his efficiency and
value as a citizen, and thus add power and influence to the
commimity in which he lives, contributing thereby to the
prosperity and elevation of the State. The time has ar-
rived in the history of the world when a nation takes rank
according to the intelligence and elevation of the people.
The hope for the prosperity of free institutions especially
rests upon popular education." Again Senator Harris said
that " the doctrine that higher education disqualifies the
poor for their duties and labors is the old doctrine of caste
and aristocracy, which debars the people of despotic coun-
tries from rising above the condition in life in which they
were born. It is the expression of the belief that all men
are not equal. It is the utterance of a disbelief in the first
principles upon which our government was founded. It is
not the doctrine of America, which throws wide open the
door of every school-house, that all children may receive
the benefit of the best education, so that they may better
their own condition in life, and thus better the condition of
the State itself. If the views of the Governor should be
adopted, the State would step back a half century instead of
advancing, and the children of poor men would have to
dismiss all desire and ambition to improve their condition,
and be kept in the position in which they found themselves
by the accident of birth. Many of our greatest men, men
of eminence in public life and in the professions, have been
taught in our free schools, and sprung from the lower con-
ditions of life. Had the views of the Governor prevailed,
many of the men who have molded the opinions of the
country, framed its laws and upheld its institutions, would
have been forced to pass their lives in following the same
narrow path that their fathers trod and remain in the condi-
tion in which they were born. I say, then,that the proposi-
tion that a higher education than the rudimentary one of the
common schools is not a benefit to the pooi- man, that the
children of the poor should only learn to labor and not to
think, is monstrous, even though it comes from the Execu-
five Chamber."
Such was the champion which the cause of
popular education found on the floor of the Senate
in Hamilton Harris. We could cite many other
instances where he strongly advocated our system
of popular education, did space permit.
Thus he naturally became popular with the
friends of education throughout the State. Early
in the year 1885 two vacancies occurred in the
Board of Regents of the University. When the
Legislature convened that year his name was very
soon brought forward as a candidate to fill one of
the vacancies. The members of the Senate and
Assembly, fully appreciating his accomplishments
for this honorable position, and his services in the
educational interests of the State, favored his ap-
pointment. On the loth of March, 1885, the Re-
publican members of the Senate and Assembly
convened to nominate Regents, and Mr. Harris,
^vith Mr. Beach, of gchuyler County, was unani-
mously elected.
This action, being ratified by the Legislature of
our State in joint convention, was greeted with
general approbation by the press and the voice of
the public. Speaking of it, the Evening Journal
said : *
"The position of Regent of the University is the single
honor within the power of the State to b«tow upon its
scholars, and the unanimous accord of the nomination for
that position to the Hon. Hamilton Harris, of this city, and
to Mr. Daniel Beach, of Schuyler County, was a fitting and
especially appropriate tribute to the learning and abUity of
the two gentlemen chosen. To be chosen out of the many
public-spirited scholars of the State would be a great com-
pliment to confer upon any citizen. To be chosen unan-
imously and without the consideration of any other name
is a recognition that has seldom been awarded by the State
to learning. The designation of Senator Harris, of Albany,
for the position is one the propriety of which our citizens
will gratefully recognize. Although Mr. Harris' reputation
through the State rests chiefly on his political and profes-
sional achievement', Albanians know him also as a man
of research and attainments in the field of literature, and
in those general studies which bring grace and symmetry
to the mind. His interest in the educational affairs of
the State and of the city has been often demonstrated.
^-<^^
THE BENCH AND BAR.
169
and he will bring to the Board of Regents a practical
knowledge of the requirements of our school system that
cannot but be of advantage to the State."
Thus we have rapidly traced the early Hfe of Mr.
Harris, his entrance into his chosen profession, his
successful career as a lawyer, writer and speaker,
his career as a Legislator, and in other public
places. His private life needs no mention here.
He has been singularly fortunate in his domestic
relations. In 1850 he married, in Buffalo, Lucy
Moody Rogers, the eldest daughter of the late Na-
thaniel Rogers, of that city, and has two children —
Frederick Harris, who is now associated with him
in the practice of law, and Lucy Hamilton Harris.
He, with his refined and highly cultured family,
occupies and adorns a distinguished position in the
brilliant social circles of the Capital City.
He may be called a positive man. It has been
said of him truthfully that "he throws himself
heart and soul into whatever business he does and
whatever cause he espouses." His opinions both of
persons and things are decided and confident. In
forming them he is entirely free from the errors
which spring from undue examination or want of
just appreciation. In other words, he weighs men
very much as they are, regardless of adventitious
circumstances. Long a prominent resident of
Albany, he has exhibited, as we have seen, the
character of a liberal and public-spirited citizen ;
has identified himself with all prominent measures,
tending not only to the advancemer't of the city,
but of the State and country, and has fairly won
for himself an honorable place in history.
WILLIAM L. LEARNED.
The judiciary is a department in our govern-
ment of higher importance than ^all others. It
was this department which gave force and vitality
to the Constitution, which, till its formation, was
almost inert in the exercise of its power. It is
about the only department untainted from the cor-
ruptions of politics. While politicians expend
their zeal on transient interests which derive their
chief importance from their brief connection with
a party, it is the province of the Judge to apply
those solemn and universal laws of rectitude on
which the security, industry and prosperity of the
individual and the State essentially depend.
That we should naturally reverence and honor
our judicial officers ; that we should select them
with care and sedulously weigh their qualifications
for the office, their merits and demerits, in the
balance, is natural, and when not found wanting,
vouchsafe them the large honors which are their
due.
In view of these reflections we enter upon the
task of briefly tracing the life and career of the
distinguished jurist and long-experienced Judge
whose name stands at the head of our sketch — the
Hon. William Law Learned. For many years he
has been a delegated minister of justice and has
received an uncommon evidence of the esteem in
which he is held by the Bar and the public by his
recent election for the second time to the office of
Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New
York.
The career of such a man is eminently worthy a
place in history ; it is pleasant and profitable to
give that history to the public, and ^ve perform our
grateful task as follows :
Judge William L. Learned is a native of New
London, Conn., born there July 24, 1821. His
father was Ebenezer Learned, who was twice mar-
ried, his second wife being Lydia Coit, the mother
of Judge Learned, he being the only child of the
second marriage.
Both his parents descended from early New
England settlers. His paternal ancestor, William
Learned, was a native of England, who came to
this country and became a resident of Charlestown,
Mass. John Coit, his maternal ancestor, was a
native of Wales, who left that country about 1638,
and became a resident of Salem, Mass., for we find
his name in the records of that town in that year.
His grandfathers, Amasa Learned and Joshua
Coit, were representatives in Congress ; the first
from 1 801 to 1805, the latter from 1793 to 1798.
They were both men of distinction and took con-
spicuous parts in the public affairs of the State.
Judge Learned seems to have inherited his love
of the legal profession, for his father was a dis-
tinguished lawyer who for many years occupied a
respectable position at the Bar, but who later in
life became the cashier of one of the banks of the
State of Connecticut. .
Young Learned began his education at the
Union School in New London, an institution of
high repute, in which he prepared for college.
Yale became his Alma Mater. He entered that
time-honored institution in 1837, from whence he
was graduated in 1 84 1. His college course was
characterized by diligence and conscientious de-
votion to his studies. As a result, he stood high
with the students and was a favorite with the
facult}'. His rank as a student is indicated by the
fact that he was salutatorian of his class, and his
popularity by his membership of the society
known as the Skull and Bones.
Among his classmates were several who have
since become distinguished. Among them is
Donald G. Mitchell, favorably known as "Ik
Marvel," author of " Reveries of a Bachelor " and
other pleasing productions.
Three Justices of the Supreme Court of the State
of New York, Joseph F. Barnard, Lucien G.
Birdseye and Gilbert Dean, were classmates of
Judge Learned.
William E. Robinson, a prominent politician; B.
G. Northrup, a well-known educator; Stephen D.
Law, a very acceptable writer on the laws of
patents, and Rev. Thomas F. Peters, eminent for
his works of benevolence in the City of New York,
were also members of this class.
Immediately after leaving college Mr. Learned
entered the law office of Wm. F. Brainard, of New
London, with whom he pursued his studies one
year. Having formed a pleasant acquaintance with
those highly respected lawyers, Messrs. Gould &
Olin, of Troy, N. Y., he accepted an invitation
170
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
from them to continue his studies in their office.
This was about the year 1842.
In recognition of his learning, abiUt}' and great
purity of character, Mr. Gould, the senior partner,
was elected Mayor of Troy in 1852, and in Novem-
ber, 1855, he was elected a Justice of the Supreme
Court of the State for the Third Judicial District.
Mr. Learned's associate in the office of Gould &
Olin was George C. Waite, a brother of Chief-
Justice Waite, of the United States Supreme
Court.
Young Learned was called to the Bar at the fall
term of the Supreme Court of the State in 1844,
which held its sittings at Rochester. This was the
old "Supreme Court of Judicature of the People
of the State of New York, " Chief-Justice Samuel
Nelson presiding, Esek Cowan, Greene C.
Bronson — names illustrious in legal historj' —
associates.
Mr. Learned decided to make Albany the place
of his future residence, fully aware that, in his pro-
fessional career in that city, he would be compelled
to contend with what may be well termed giants of
the Bar. With a well-balanced confidence in his
own abilities, with a consciousness that his intel-
lectual weapons would be stronger, brighter and
more effective by wielding them in the conflict
against great and accomplished minds, he entered,
- confidently and determinedly, into the honorable
rivalry he had sought.
This selection of a field of labor was judicious
and fortunate. If he met the usual embarrassments
and discouragements of young lawyers, he over-
came them by severe application, steady persever-
ance, and the happy adaptation of his vigorous
mind to his pursuit. Prosperity attended him, and
he gradually but surely moved on to the front rank
of his profession, and from thence to the distin-
guished judicial position he now occupies.
In 1850 he formed a copartnership with the late
Gilbert L. Wilson, who afterward became secretary
of the New York Central Railroad Company.
After this partnership had existed some time,
James C. Cook became a member of the firm,
which now took the name of Learned, Wilson &
Cook. After the withdrawal of Wilson the firm
was known as Learned & Cook. It took a very
high and influential position, controlling an ex-
tended and important clientage ; it continued until
1867, when Mr. Cook decided to retire from prac-
tice ; this dissolved the firm, and its business de-
volved upon Mr. Learned.
The large responsibility which now rested upon
him was met with talents, ability and learning,
which added largely to his reputation as a lawyer.
Perhaps no practicing law3'er at that time stood
higher in public estimation than did Mr. Learned.
He continued his practice until the summer of 1870,
when that distinguished jurist, Rufus W. Peckham,
who had been one of the Justices of the Supreme
Court since 1861, was appointed a Justice of the
Court of Appeals. This left a vacancy on the
Bench of the Supreme Court, and Mr. Learned
was immediately appointed by Gov. Hoffman
in place of Judge Peckham.
In the autumn of 1870 Judge Learned was
nominated by the Democratic party of the Third
Judicial District as a Justice of the Supreme Court ;
his Republican opponent was the late Henry Smith,
an acknowledged leader of the Bar and a man of
commanding eloquence. Judge Learned was,
however, elected for the full term of fourteen years.
He entered upon his judicial duties with that
ability and success which his high reputation as a
counselor at law fully indicated he would. As a
trial judge he possessed that urbanity and patience
in the conduct of those difficult cases so wearying
and patience-trying to the judge in a manner that
rendered him popular with the Bar, jurors and the
general public.
In January, 1875, he was appointed Presiding
Judge of the Third Department by Gov. Til-
den. This appointment was made to continue
during the remainder of his term. His associates
were those eminent jurists, Hon. Douglass Board-
man, of Ithaca, and Hon. Augustus Bockes, of
Saratoga Spa. The ability and celerity with which
the Supreme Court for the Third Department con-
ducted its work elicited general commendation
from the Bar. Though its calendars were very
large, embracing many important cases, the business
of the court was not permitted to accumulate, and
its calendars were cleared to such an extent that
cases were disposed of with great rapidity and sat-
isfaction. It is said that the New York judges are
overworked, from the Court of Appeals to the
County Court. This, to a large extent, is true.
Perhaps no men in the State are subjected to such
constant and exhaustive labors as the judges of our
courts. Certainly the justices of the Third Depart-
ment may be said to be overworked in their en-
deavors to prevent that accumulation of business so
disastrous to litigants.
The first opinion pronounced by Judge Learned
was delivered in the case of Gould vs. The Town of
Oneonta, at the January Term of 1875, very soon
after assuming the duties of presiding justice. It
is reported in 3 Hun, 404. This was followed
by several cases in which he pronounced the opin-
ion of the Court. He seemed to come to his judi-
cial duties with that ease and directness which . in-
dicated a natural talent for their discharge. In
1874 he was appointed one of the Faculty of the
Albany Law School. His associate members were
Hon. Ira Harris, Hon. Matthew Hale and Isaac
Edwards. The department of jurisprudence to
-which he confined his lectures at first was The
Civil Law. These lectures required the expendi-
ture of much labor and research — the most exten-
sive legal learning. The success which attended
them, their popularity with the students, is a sure
indication that this demand was fully supplied. In
the course of a few years two other departments
were taken up as the theme of his lectures, one on
Equity, the other on the Trial of Causes. These
three courses he continues to deliver.
Among Mr. Learned's literary work was the duty
performed by him as editor of an edition of Mad-
am Knight's Journal and an edition of "Earle's
Microcos?nography. "
THE BENCH AND BAR.
171
A very valuable article from the pen of Judge
Learned on "The Tardiness of Justice" appeared
in the North America?! Revieiv for June, 1885.
It commends itself strongly to the judge, the lawyer
and, above all, to the business man ; for, really,
the tardiness of justice is one of the great evils of
the timeSj and Judge Learned deals with the
subject as one who speaks with knowledge and
with authority. He says :
" One cannot begin a lawsuit that involves a considerable
amount, with any hope of a reasonably speedy decision ; a
year's time would be short for its termination ; and the
plaintifif may not reach the end in three, four, five or
six years. A short time since a counsel, in arguing a mat-
ter, referred to a case that had been pending eighteen years,
and was just at issue for trial. The case may be found re-
ported as early as 1873, in one of its 'many steps,' and
was in fact begun in 1869 (Smith vs. Rathbun, 66 Barb.,
402 ; 13 Hun, 47). It has graduated some of its counsel to
the bench, and has seen several of the judges who sat in it
carried beyond the term of their judicial career. Another
case pressed forward by the plaintiff and entitled to a pref-
erence on the calendar of the courts was begun in 1874,
and, after four trials, reached its happy end in 1880. These
are not unusual instances.
" In civil matters, the delay of Justice is a great wrong.
Bis dat qui cito dat is a maxim as true in law as of charity.
Men can bear what they believe to be a wrong decision, if
it be made promptly ; but they cannot bear the uncertain-
ties of delay. ' Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.'
It is the weary watching by the bedside, not the fatal ter-
mination, that tries the mind and body. And so with a
pecuniary claim which one man makes against another. * • *
Perhaps there is no other cause of delay so great as ihe ex-
tensive right of appeal given by our present system. In
many matters that belong merely to the preliminary skir-
mishing, as it might be called, appeals to the General Term
can be taken, with the result of delaying the trial ; such
matters, for instance, as motions to change the place of
trial. Yet these are often questions, to a great extent, of
good discretion, in which the discretion of one judge might
better be made conclusive, for the sake of preventing delay.
This, however, is of less importance than the freedom of
appeal after trial. It may be said generally that, after trial,
the defeated party has three appeals, under any of which
he may obtain a new trial. First, he may apply to the
court before which the case was tried. If unsuccessful, he
may appeal to the General Term. It unsuccessful there, he
may appeal to the Court of Appeals. In the crowded con-
dition of the calendars, this assures him a very comfortable
postponement of the final result. When, however, he shall
at last have his cause decided by the highest court, and shall
have succeeded, and shall have obtained a new trial, he
will not have reached the end. He must go back and try
the case again. And, armed with the decisioii of the high-
est court in his favor, he will probably succeed in his de-
fense, at the trial. That, however, is not the end. The
plaintiff will now appeal ; and when the defendant once
more reaches the higher court, he may find that there is a
distinguendo, and that that court didn't mean quite what he
thought they meant. * Once more, then, there must be a
new trial. And once more he may climb the ladder of
appeals, and get a new lesson in wisdom from its topmost
round — at least a new lesson of patience."
The Judge points out, with much ability and
discernment, the serious evils, the delay and
expense, in the practice of referring causes for
trial.
" References,'' he says, " are very expensive, and the
expense falls on the defeated party. They are always pro-
tracted, because the convenience of two or more of the
counsel and of the referee must be consulted, and because
the referee cannot exercise that power of compelling prompt-
ness which can be exercised , by the Court. Thus a trial,
*Marston vs. Sweet, 66 N. Y., 206, and S. C. 82 N. Y. , 526; Urqu-
hart vs. Ogdensburgh, 91 N. Y.
which before a court or jury might be finished in a few
days, will be before a referee for months, by reason of short
sessions and long adjournment. It is to be hoped that
since the recent increase in the number of judges, there will
be a return to that practice when nothing was referred,
except long accounts. * * • It is certainly the duty of
the State to provide a sufficient number of Judges ; so that,
if they do their duty faithfully, there should be no delay in
reaching a cause soon after it is ready for trial."
On the 27th of May, 1855, Judge Learned was
united by marriage to Phebe Rowland Marvin,
daughter of Alexander Marvin, a distinguished
merchant of Albany. This accomplished and
highly esteemed lady died March 31, 1864, leav-
ing three daughters. On January 15, 1868, Mr.
Learned was married to Katherine S., a daugh-
ter of the late Clinton DeWitt, one of the most
accomplished members of the New York City
Bar, whose exalted career had been suddenly
terminated while yet in early manhood. In 1878
Yale College conferred upon Judge Learned the
degree of LL. D.
As we have said, Judge Learned was elected for
the long term of fourteen years. As this term was
to terminate with the expiration of 1884, he was
nominated by the Democrats of the Third Judicial
District as their candidate for the office of Justice
of the Supreme Court for that district. He was
elected, and in January, 1885, entered upon the
discharge of his judicial duties with the experience
of over fourteen years ot arduous labors on the
bench.
His appointment as presiding Justice of the
Fourth Department removed him from the circuit,
or NisiPrius, the duties of which, as we have seen,
he discharged with singular ability. It was his for-
tune while presiding as a Circuit Judge to try
several exceedingly important criminal cases. So
important were some of them that they attracted
the attention of the press and the public throughout
the nation. Space will not permit any description
of these cases, but our work would not be complete
without some reference to two of them, one The
People V. Loivenstein, the other The People v. Filkins,
for the robbing of an express car near Albany on
the 6th of January, 1871.
The questions of fact involved in these cases
were most remarkable, remotely connected, some
of them obscure and apparently unimportant, yet
when cleared of obscurity, clearly developed and
fairly connected, formed a chain of evidence of
such unerring certainty that they resulted in the
conviction of both Lowenstein'and Filkins. A
brief reference to the cases of Filkins and Lowen-
stein belong appropriately to this biography ;
On the 6th of June, 1871, Thomas A. Halpine, a messen-
ger for the American Express Company, got into his car at
Albany twenty-five minutes past five, P. M., in the rear of
the express office. The car was drawn by an engine to the
bridge, now known as the Upper Bridge ; a train came
over, to which the car was attached. Its doors were ajar a
few inches ; the safe was locked and the key in Halpine's
pocket. A few moments after the car started a man sprang
in, shut the door through which he entered, jumped over
and shut the other door. After a few words passed between
the men, the stranger presented a pistol and shot Halpine
through the neck. He fell, and the shot was repeated.
This shot entered under Halpine's right eye ; the shot was
172
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
again repeated, taking effect near the right ear. The victim
was insensible, and apparently dead. When the car
reached the Green street station Halpine recovered sufficient
consciousness to recall what had taken place. The car had
stopped. By a strong effort he reached the door, faint and
bleeding. He called for assistance, which resulted in his
being taken from the car. An examination of the safe
showed it had been unlocked and a large sum of money
taken therefrom. The key had been taken from the pocket
of Halpine, and with it the safe was unlocked. The
circumstances created great excitement, and for a time the
affair was wrapped in mystery. At length suspicion began
to attach itself to John A. Filkins so far as the Express Com-
pany was concerned. On learning this he fled to Canada,
but was followed and arrested, indicted and brought to
trial.
What most embarrassed the prosecution was the fact that
Filkins bore a good reputation, and on the trial he proved
that at about the time the crime was committed he was at his
home far up the hill on one of the streets of the city. It was
difficult to believe he could have crossed the river and
reached his home in so short a time. But his pistol was
found near the spot where the crime was committed, by a
boy, and Halpine positively identified him as the robber who
had assailed him. There were many other facts in the case,
on both sides, rendering it, as we have said, one of great
difficulty and interest.
The prosecution of Filkins was conducted with
great skill and vigor by that distinguished lawyer,
Hon. Rufus W. Peckham, then District Attorney,
and now a Justice of the Supreme Court He was
aided by William J. Hadley, whose opening ad-
dress was most clear and forcible. Hon. N. C.
Moak, so well known for his thorough research
and unwearying ability, was counsel for the pris-
oner.
The charge of Judge Learned to the jury is re-
membered as one of great ability and fairness.
With exact analysis he went through the conflict-
ing evidence, disentangling the material from the
immaterial, and presenting it clear and direct to the
jury, who, after due deliberation, returned a ver-
dict of guilty, and Filkins was sentenced to States
Prison at Clinton for a term of twenty years. He
had not been there long when he made his escape,
and has never since been heard from.
It was never known by the public how much
money was taken from the safe, but it was sufficient
to induce the company to off"er a reward of $5,000
for the apprehension and conviction of the robbers.
The Lowenstein case, like the Filkins case, was
one of great importance.
At this time Hon. N. C. Moak was District At-
torney, and he conducted the case for the people
with masterly ability, and Hon. D. Cady Herrick,
who has since filled admirably the office of District
Attorney, was counsel for Lowenstein.
On August 7, 1873, a man happened to take a short cut
in crossing from the turnpike over the farm of one Jones.
On reaching a fence that crossed his course, he discovered
in a hollow, or basin in the ground, a man apparently
asleep, but on attempting to awaken him he was startled to
find that he was dead. His throat was cut and he had been
shot in the head, and there were nine bullet holes in differ-
ent parts of his body.
In his pocket was found a card of Theodore Grunewald,
barber and hair-dresser, 35 Atlantic street. South Brook-
lyn.
On inquiring of Grunewald it was learned that he did
not know the deceased ; but it was learned that a former
workman of his had left his shop early in the morning and
taken his wages and other implements vrith him. On going
to his residence it was learnd that his name was Lowenstein,
and that he lived in the house of John D. Weston, who an-
swered the description of the deceased.
Weston had recently drawn four hundred and fifty dol-
lars from the bank, and, on the morning of August 5, got up
between four and five, went away and was never afterward
seen, except that he took the Harlem train at nine A. M.,
which reached Albany at five P. M.
Lowenstein was absent firom home on August 5, but re-
turned about nine A. M., the 6th, saying he had been to Phil-
adelphia. Though a man of small means, he soon had
plenty of money, purchasing a barber shop and paying for
it the sum of three himdred and filty dollars.
For some reason, on the nth of August, he hurriedly fled
and went to St. Catherines, Canada, but not till several cir-
cumstances were discovered pointing so strongly to his guilt
that warrants for his arrest were issued, with which he was
followed to St. Catherines, arrested, brought to Albany and
committed to jail.
Near where Weston's body was found, on the lower board
of the fence, a razor- marked L. VIL When Low-
enstein was arrested there was foimd in his possession
a set of razors similarly marked and numbered from L up-
ward to VI. ; it was proven that he had given away one
similar to the others, and marked L. VIII.
The account he gave of himself on the trial was, that he
had been to Philadelphia, and was there when the murder
was committed ; that he went to obtain a sum of four hun-
dred and fifty dollars in money which he had previously
hidden in a hole m the wall of Moyamensing prison. The
point most embarrassing to the prosecution was, that Low-
enstein was away only the 5th of August, returning
at nine A. M. of the 6th, while Weston must have been
killed the night of the 5th, a few miles west of Albany, not
far from the Central Railroad track.
On the trial Lowenstein produced a very respectable
woman, a resident of Philadelphia, who swore positively
that she saw him in Philadelphia on the 5th, having con-
versed with him on the occasion. When Lowenstein fled to
Canada, for some reason, he went by way of Philadelphia,
and it was contended by the prosecution that the woman
was mistaken in the time of meeting Lowenstein.
The trial began January 28, 1874, and was, perhaps, one
of the most protracted of any criminal case ever tried in Al-
bany. It was one of those difficult cases of fact and law ex-
tremely exhausting to the Court, but the well-balanced
mind, judicial fairness and learning of Judge Learned en-
abled him to preside with great success. Like his charge to
the jury in the Filkins case, his charge was a model of
judicial ability. Lowenstein was convicted and executed.
" Of Judge Learn ed's eminent abilities as a jurist
or judicial officer, of his superior qualities of mind
and character, and, of course, of usefulness, it is
unnecessary to speak here ; to do so would be but
the work of supererogation ; suffice it to say, he
has left the impress of his large abilities and ex-
tended learning upon the history of the State."
The numerous opinions which he has delivered
enrich the learning of our reports from the 3d of
Hun down to the present time. Distinguished
and useful as has been his public Ufe, his life as a
citizen is in every way in harmony with his public
life, and therefore it is no affectation to say he oc-
cupies an exalted position among the people of the
Capital City.
Whatever tends to the advancement of its public
interests, to the promotion of religion, of educa-
tion and the proper embellishment of the city, has
always found in Judge Learned an ardent, able
and successful advocate. He is now President of
the Albany Female Academy and of the Albany
Law School, and for many years has been one of
the trustees of those two corporations and of the
Albany Academ}-.
oiZrkjucd Mrx^
THE BENCH AND BAR.
173
MATTHEW HALE.
The records of the courts of the State of New
York bear ample evidence of the high abilities and
successful career of the distinguished lawyer whose
name stands at the head of this chapter, and whose
life we are now to briefly trace. His is a life and
career which it is a pleasure to record; though it
may contain no striking events, no sensational
vicissitudes, it still contains very much of interest to
the scholar, the jurist and the lawyer. It is replete
with those incidents in the life of all criminal law-
yers which attract to it the interest of all intelligent
classes.
Matthew Hale was born at Chelsea, Vt, June
20, 1829. His father was Harry Hale, Esq., a
descendant of Thomas Hale, who came to New-
bury, Mass., in 1638. This Hale was the son
of an English yeoman from Hertfordshire, Eng-
land.
Matthew Hale's mother was Lucinda Eddy, a
descendant of Miles Standish and of John Alden,
the son of Miles Standish having married the
daughter of John Alden and Priscilla, his wife.
After a careful preparatory training, young Hale
entered the University of Vermont at Burlington.
At college he excelled, especially in languages,
standing first in his class in this department, and
was a favorite with his class and with the
faculty. He was graduated in 185 1. In 1854 he
delivered the Master's Oration. In 1883 the Col-
lege conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
Having chosen the legal profession for his future
occupation, he commenced the study of law in the
office of Kellogg & Hale, at Elizabethtown, Essex
County, N. Y. The senior member of this firm
was the Hon. Orlando Kellogg, and the junior
member the late Hon. Robert S. Hale, an older
brother of Matthew, who served two terms in Con-
gress with distinction, and was for many years prior
to his death in 1881 a Regent of the University.
In 1 853 Mr. Hale was admitted to the Bar at the
GeneialTerm held at Salem, N.Y. He chose Pough-
keepsie, N. Y., as his first field of professional
labor, practicing there from 1853 to 1859. His
first law partner was his brother, Henry Hale, now
at St. Paul, Minn. After the dissolution of this
firm by the removal of his brother to the West he
formed a business relation with Gen. A. B. Smith,
under the firm name of Hale &f Smith. In 1859
Mr. Hale removed to New York City, and became
the law partner of the late Lot C. Clark, under the
firm name of Clark & Hale. This firm was suc-
cessful, gaining remunerative practice and taking
a respectable position in the city and in Richmond
County, where it had the leading business. It
continued until 1863, when Mr. Hale removed to
Elizabethtown, N. Y. Here he became a member
of the firm of Hattd &• Hale, consisting of the late
Hon. A. C. Hand, his father-in-law, R. L. Hand,
Esq., and himself. The senior member of the firm,
A. C. Hand, had been one of the first Justices of
the Supreme Court elected under the Constitution
of 1846. ' This fiiTO was distinguished for the
varied ability which its members brought to its
large practice, and it obtained an extended reputa-
tion.
After the death of Mr. Cagger, which occurred
in the summer of 1868, by which the firm of Cag-
ger & Hand was dissolved, Mr. Hale decided to
remove to Albany, and he has here resided since
that time.
On his removal to Albany he became the law
partner of Hon. Samuel Hand. He continued
his, relations with Judge Hand until 1881, though
during this time there were several changes in the
firm. It was for a time Hand, Hale & Swartz, and
Hand, Hale, Swartz & Fairchild, afterward
Hand, Hale & Bulkley. These firms succeeded
to the business of Hill, Cagger & Porter and Cag-
ger & Hand, and acquiring many new clients, had
an extensive practice in the State and Federal
Courts.
Since 1881 Mr. Hale has been in partnership
with Mr. A. T. Bulkley, under the firm name of
Hale & Bulkley. We have thus given the various
business relations of Mr. Hale since he commenced
his practice.
It has been Mr. Hale's fortune during his prac-
tice to conduct, as counsel, a large number of
cases in the Federal and State Courts, which
may well be termed "heavy causes," exceed-
ingly interesting not only to the legal profes-
sion but to the public. I'he following important
cases in which he was counsel will give the reader
some knowledge of the magnitude of his business
as an advocate and counselor :
He appeared for the Ramsey Board of Directors
in the great legal contest with Fisk and Gould for
the control of the Albany and Susquehanna R. R.
Company in 1869 and 1870. This is one which
may be called an historic case, summoning the
ablest lawyers in the State to it. Mr. Hale's asso-
ciates in the case were Judge W. F. Allen, A. J.
Vanderpoel, Geo. F. Danforth and Henry Smith.
Among the opposing counsel were David Dudley
Field, William C. Barrett and Hon. A. J. Parker.
Although not seeking employment in criminal
cases, Mr. Hale has been engaged in many important
criminal trials. He was associated with Hon. Wm.
A. Beach for the prosecution in the trial in Saratoga
County of Wm. Witbeck for the murder of Millard
Griggs, a deputy sheriff, in the execution of a writ of
possession in one of the anti-rent cases ; and has
successfully defended many cases for murder and
other offenses in the State and United States
Courts, the last being the defense of Levi McCauley,
who was acquitted of the murder of his wife, at the
Essex Oyer and Terminer, in June, 1884.
Few cases created more public interest than the
proceedings brought by the English stock owners
of the Erie Railway Company in 1872 to obtain
the control of that corporation. In this contest
Mr. Hale appeared for the English stockholders.
He was also engaged in the Mayoralty suit be-
tween Messrs. Judson and Thacher, in 1872 ; for
the People in the Canal suits instituted by Gov.
Tilden ; in the trial before the Senate of John F.
Smith ; in a large number of cases brought against
the N. Y. C. and H. R. R. R. companies, tried at
174
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the Albany Circuit. He was counsel for the Albany
National Exchange Bank in what were known as
The Bank Tax Cases, in one of which he obtained
a decision in the Supreme Court, holding that the
State law taxing shareholders in National Banks
was, to some extent, unconstitutional. He was
counsel associated with Gen. Wayne Swayne, of
New York, for the Western Union and other tele-
graph companies in the suits brought by the At-
torney-General to recover taxes of these corpora-
tions under the laws of 1881.
In the investigation of the charges against John
F. Smyth, before the Senate, in 1877, Mr. Hale ap-
peared as one of the counsel for the people. This
case began March 7, and continued several weeks.
Its proceedings occupy about 550 pages. Mr.
Smyth was Superintendent of the Insurance De-
partment, and was tried before the Senate for de-
liberately and wantonly violating the law known
as chapter 593 of the laws of 1873. Mr. Hale
appeared, as we have said, for the people ; his
closing argument, or summing up, was an effort
of extraordinary ability and learning. It was
listened to with profound interest, and gained for
its author the approbation of the public. Smyth
was acquitted of the charge against him by the
Senate by a vote of nineteen to twelve.
The argument of Mr. Hale in the case of the
Supervisors of the Comity of Albany, plaintiffs in
error, vs. Edward N Stanley, in the United States
Supreme Court, largely increased his reputation as
a lawyer before the Court in Banc.
It is impossible to read Mr. Hale's argument in
this case without being impressed with the precision
and clearness with which he presented the real
points in issue, or, to use the language of Mr. Jus-
tice Miller to Mr. Hale during the argument, "the
manner in which he came to the very marrow of
the case." He conducted the argument with the
calm confidence of one who felt that he could rely
upon himself in any emergency. When replying to
the authorities brought by his antagonists, he ex-
hibited great skill and the nicest discrimination,
destroying in a few words their position.
In 1 884 Mr. Hale was appointed one of the Com-
missioners of Appraisement of the lands proposed
to be taken for a Park, or State Reservation, at
Niagara Falls, and wrote the opinion of the Com-
missijjners in the case.
Like most lawyers, Mr. Hale has participated to
some extent in the politics of his times. He early
gave his political allegiance to the Republican
party, but always maintained that independence of
thought and action through which he exerted his
honest convictions in regard to men and party
measures, never permitting his conscience to be
governed by party supremacy. He supported all
the Republican candidates for President, excepting
Mr. Blaine.
On October 8, 1884, Mr. Hale addressed a let-
ter to Grange Sard, Esq., which was read at a mass
meeting in Albany, on that day, giving in an able,
thoughtful and scholarly manner his reason for
supporting Mr. Cleveland instead of Blaine. "For
myself," he said among other things, "after long
deliberation, and with great reluctance, I have
come to the conclusion that Mr. Blaine is un-
worthy of support. With great reluctance, because,
having given my first vote at the Presidential elec-
tion for Gen. Fremont in 1856, and having voted
for every Republican candidate for that great office
since, I would much prefer to continue to support
the party of my first choice ; because I thoroughly
appreciate the traits which make Mr. Blaine so at-
tractive and agreeable to those who know him
socially; because, from education, from association,
from conviction, and, perhaps, somewhat from
prejudice, I am not an admirer of the Democratic
party. " He then gives the reasons for refusing to
support Mr. Blaine.
It is not our province to analyze those reasons;
but it is proper for us to say that they bear the im-
press of thoughtful candor, of careful consideration,
and a thorough knowledge of all the bearings and
details of his subject. His letter was published in
many of the Democratic and Independent journals
throughout the nation, and was a valuable cam-
paign document for Mr. Cleveland.
In 1880, when it became apparent that Gen.
Grant was to be urged by a portion of the Repub-
lican party for a third-term nomination for Presi-
dent, Mr. Hale was one of the first to declare
against the nomination. On January 3, 1880, a
very large meeting of the Republican citizens of
Albany convened at Martin Hall, in that city, and,
after a full exchange of views in relation to the
President for the next term, it was unanimously
resolved that the nomination of any man for the
third term for the Presidency was contrary to the
spirit of our Federal Union, and a resolution was
adopted to form a club opposed to any man for a
third term. At a public meeting held in the same
hall on January 7, 1880, the committee on officers,
appointed at a previous meeting, reported the name
of Hon. Matthew Hale as president of the club.
On receiving notice of this appointment, Mr. Hale
signified his acceptance in a letter in which his
views of the third-term question were forcibly and
eloquently set forth. On Monday evening, April
26, Mr. Hale delivered a lecture on the Conditions
and Limits of Party Fealty, in Steinway Hall, in the
City of New York. The significant title of this
lecture, and the ability of the lecturer, drew an im-
mense audience. It began with a brief history of
parties in America, tracing it down to the origin of the
Republican party and to the close of the war. He
then considered the party platform since the war,
taking up the electoral system and its design, as
explained by Hamilton, and why this design was
not fulfilled. He then reviewed the plan of Ben-
ton and Sumner; the abandonment of the caucus
system, and its causes. In connection with this,
he directed the attention of his audience to the
Presidential election of 1824, in which Wm. H.
Crawford was nominated for President by the
Democratic caucus. He showed that prior to
this time Congressional caucuses had selected the
candidate already designated by popular expecta-
tion; but in 1824 the caucus candidate turned out
to be the third on the list. Andrew Jackson and
THE BENCH AND BAR.
175
John Q. Adams each received more electoral votes
than Crawford, none of the candidates having a
majority, and the election was thrown into the
House of Representatives, and, by a combination
between the friends of John Qumcy Adams and
Henry Clay, the former was elected President;
the first and only case, up to this time, in which
a President had been nominated by the House of
Representatives. Mr. Hale then gave the origin
of the National Convention system, and how ma-
chines control these conventions, and considered
how resistance to these machines became a duty, to
suppress party despotism. We have only time to
glance at this important party document, so poten-
tial in arousing that independent spirit in politics,
which it is believed will eventually result in the
overthrow of that despotic party leadership, the
bane of our political institutions.
Though Mr. Hale has never, in any sense,
sought oflBce, yet he has consented in two instances
to accept the nomination for honorable official po-
sitions. He was elected a delegate to the Consti-
tutional Convention which assembled at Albany
June 4, 1867, and adjourned sine die February 28,
1868; but an adjournment from September 24 to
November 12, 1867, had been agreed to by the
convention.
Mr. Hale represented the Sixteenth Senatorial Dis-
trict. His high rank as a lawyer, and his scholarly
attainments and practical oratorical powers, gave
him a high position in that convention. He was
on the Judiciary Committee, of which Hon. Chas.
J. Folger was chairman. The other members
were: Wm. M. Evarts, Chas. Andrews — now of the
Court of Appeals, Amasa J. Parker, Francis Ker-
nan, George F. Comstock, and other distinguished
lawyers. It is a significant fact that Mr. Hale was
put in nomination as a delegate to the convention
by both political parties. In November, 1867, he
was elected to the State Senate, serving in 1868-9.
Here again, in the Senate, Mr. Hale's abilities were
liberally recognized. Though he did not often
claim the attention of the Senate as a speaker,
when he did, he was listened to with profound at-
tention, and his speeches were always considered
weighty and cogent. He was a member of the Ju-
diciary Committee. The severe and constant la-
bors of Mr. Hale, as a member of this committee,
have left their impress upon the record of its pro-
ceedings.
After his removal to Albany, Mr, Hale, in 1871,
received the nomination of the Republicans for the
Assembly, but declined to accept it. In 1883 he
received the Republican nomination for Justice of
the Supreme Court in the Third Judicial District,
but was defeated by Hon. Rufus W. Peckham,
though he was far ahead of his ticket in this strong
Democratic district.
Mr. Hale's ability as a writer is generally ac-
knowledged; he always throws a strong light upon
his subject, and never loses sight of the substance
of it in the style. Though he seldom indulges in
flights of fancy, or excursions of the imagination,
he unites the two extremes of refinement and
strength. We have already alluded to some of his
written productions. A paper, submitted by him
to the State Bar Association, at its annual meeting,
November 16, 1880, oi\ Illegal and Erroneous Tax-
ation and Bs Remedies, was read with marked in-
terest throughout the State. In considering this
important subject, he has examined with the
most critical care all the cases adjudicated in
our courts — and there are x&ry many touching the
question of taxation and of assessments. It is,
therefore, full of instruction, not only to the lawyer
and layman, but of great value to town officers,
especially assessors, supervisors and collectors.
Perhaps no matter has been brought before the Bar
Association more interesting or more profitable
than this paper.
In April, 1880, there appeared in the National
Quarterly Review a very elaborately written article
on the third-term question from the pen of Mr.
Hale. We have alluded to some of his other
efforts on this question, but the article now
under consideration was a far more exhaust-
ive review of the whole case than any of
the productions of other writers on this subject.
Aside from the beauty of its diction, the perspicuity
and erudition of his reasoning gave the article
great popularity, and added largely to the numbers
of those who opposed the third Presidential term.
There is that about it which gives it perpetuit}',
and it will long exist a powerful and unanswerable
argument against a third election of candidates to
the Presidential chair.
Harper's Weekly for April 4, 1885, contains a
very able article from the pen of Mr. Hale, entitled
"The Lessons of the Elections of 1884," which
has been read with marked interest.
Speaking of the allegiance of the people to party
rule and discipline, he says: "There are a few ob-
vious lessons taught by the election of 1884 — ■
obvious, but still liable to be overlooked. The
first, and perhaps the most important, is, that
party discipline can no longer be relied on to carry
a Presidential election. Men have ceased to re-
gard the support of party nominations as a sacred
duty. They refuse blindly to obey the dictates of
party conventions. They will even vote for the
candidate of the party to which they have always
been opposed, if they believe the good of the
country will be thus promoted."
Mr. Hale proves that the election of Mr. Cleve-
land in 1884 was effected by men who were really
opposed to the Democratic party, believing they
could best serve their country by voting against
their party.
He has always occupied a high rank as a
citizen of Albany. Few are more respected; few
carry into society more of those attributes which
render it attractive than he. He has been for
many years a trustee of the Albany Savings Bank,
one of the oldest, largest and most conservative of
these institutions in the State. He has been, from
its foundation, one of the trustees of the Fort
Orange Club, and has been connected with various
other social and charitable organizations in Albany.
As a conversationalist he is always interesting, and
knows how to blend instruction with delight.
176
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
In 1856 he was married to Miss Ellen, daughter
of Hon. A. C. Hand; but after eleven years of
married happiness he suffered a deep afflction in
her death. In 1877 he married Mary, daughter of
Col. Francis L. Lee, of Boston, Mass. His home
is one of refinement and taste — a happy retreat
from the cares and turmoil of his profession and
from his public duties.
NATHANIEL C. MOAK.
Mr. MoAK occupies so high a position at the Al-
bany bar, and we may say at the bar of the State,
that their history without his character and career
would be wanting in much that would be interest-
ing and instructive.
The life and career of one who, like him, has
the erudition of a scholar, is accomplished in the
learning of his profession, experienced and skillful
in the contests of the forum, and has seen life and
human nature only as such lawyers can see it, must
of necessity reveal much that is akin to the romance
of real life reflected from every phase of human
character.
This renders the work of sketching his life, in
which we are engaged, we trust, one of interest
and of instruction, valuable to all the citizens of
Albany and Schenectady Counties and the general
public.
Nathaniel Cleveland Moak was born at Sharon,
N. Y., October 3, 1833. His father, Jacob M.
Moak, was a descendant of the Albany County
Moaks, and his mother. Amy Cleveland, was a
daughter of Henry Cleveland, a descendant of the
Clevelands, of Woburn, Mass. Jacob Moak, the
father of Nathaniel, was a farmer, who at an early
period of his life removed to Sharon, and followed
his occupation. Like all farmers at that compara-
tively early period, his means were too limited to
give his son any large advantages for an education,
though the mind of young Moak very early exhib-
ited those traits which, under proper instruction,
develop into the accomplishments of the scholar.
Happily he possessed the qualities of industry and
unwearied perseverance in whatever he undertook.
These directed to overcoming the obstacles in his
way to an education resulted in success. He be-
gan his education attending the common schools ;
when old enough to labor on the farm he could
only attend school during the winter months ; but
every leisure moment opened to him the treasures
of knowledge, for books were his constant compan-
ions.
In 1849, at the age of sixteen, he attended two
or three terms at the Cherry Valley Academy,
gaining money for his expenses by working on a
farm. From 1850 to 1851 he attended the acade-
my at Cooperstown, N. Y. , the principal of which
was John Leach. Never was there a more ardent
or successful student Very rapidly he trod the
paths of literature and science. While a student at
Cooperstown Academy he made much proficiency
in the study of anatoni}- and physiology in the
office of Dr. Fox. The knowledge he attained in
these branches has been of immense advantage to
him in the practice of his profession ; it laid the
foundation for his remarkable practical knowledge
of medical jurisprudence.
Young Moak's favorite studies were mathemat-
ics, the sciences and the English classics ; of these
through life he has been a close and critical stu-
dent He particularly admired the healthy hon-
esty and manliness developed in their style, senti-
ment and philosophy.
In the winters of 1851-2 and 1852-3 he taught
a district school. The benefit he derived from this
occupation was of great value to him. It gave his
mind a peculiar discipline ; it taught him the art
of self government, and the government of others ;
the school-room to him was a fountain of learning.
In teaching others he taught himself, and thus, like
many statesmen, jurists, divines and gifted men in
all the avocations of life, he learned from his ex-
perience as a teacher that which was of inestimable
value to him in after life. It was his early ambi-
tion to become a lawyer, and to this he subordi-
nated all his energy, his industry and his study. In
the autumn of 1853 he became a student in the
law office of James E. Dewey, of Cherry Valley.
He commenced his studies with energy, and a keen
appreciation and love of the science of jurispru-
dence. He soon obtained sufficient knowledge of
the law to begin practice in justices' courts.
It was not long before he became a cham-
pion in these courts, and his sen'ices as a coun-
selor in them were sought for far and near. He
frequently met lawyers of ability and standing, al-
though these courts were then, as they are now, a
practicing school for young lawyers, legal skir-
mish grounds for older ones. Here young Moak
met e\ery variety of mind and .ability ; here he
learned to grapple with the sharp and obtuse ques-
tions of law which often occur in these Courts ;
here he practiced the rules of evidence, and learned
to examine and cross-examine witnesses. Thus
he acquired that confidence in himself so necessary
in a young lawyer.
He continued his studies and his practice in jus-
tices'courts till January, 1856, when he was called
to the Bar. He remained in the office of Mr.
Dewey until November i, 1859, when he became
the law partner of Judge Edwin Countr)'man, then
an eminent member of the Otsego Bar, residing at
Cherry Valley, and now a leading member of the
Albany Bar, in partnership with Hon. Amasa J.
Parker.
Mr. Moak continued in partnership with Judge
Countryman until January, 1862, when the latter
removed to Cooperstown. JNIr. Moak then formed
a partnership with Edwin Clark, with whom he
continued till September, 1865. The Rebellion
was, during that period, at its height Mr. Moak
entered heart and soul into the cause of the Union,
while Mr. Clark was equally patriotic. As it was
hardly possible for both partners to enter the Union
army, they entered into an agreement that one of
them should do so; that the other should remain
at home and pay to the family of the absent partner
bis share of the firm's earnings; that the partnership
should not be dissolved. Both members were
^(-:#??
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
177
equally willing to go, but which should be the one ?
This important question they decided to settle by
casting lots, and the duty of becoming a soldier
fell upon Mr. Clark. They immediately proceeded
to raise Company G, of the I2ist N. Y. Vs. Mr.
Clark was made captain, and moved to the front.
Mr. Moak remained and conscientiously carried
out the agreement with Captain Clark.
In the autumn of 1865 Mr. Moak removed to
Oneonta, N. Y., opened an office, and began there
the practice of his profession under very favorable
circumstances. In the fall of 1867 he was invited to
and became a member of the firm of Smith & Ban-
croft, composed of the late Henry Smith and the
late Le Grand Bancroft. The new firm was known
as Smith, Bancroft & Moak.
In January, 1880, Mr. Bancroft died. Mr.
Chas. J. Buchanan had, a short time previous to
the death of Mr. Bancroft, become a member of
the firm, and it was now known as Smith, Moak
& Buchanan. This became one of the most con-
spicuous law firms in the eastern part of the State.
Mr. Smith died December i, 1884.
Albany opened an appropriate field for the exer-
cise of Mr. Moak's talents, and he naturally took
a high position at its Bar. Retainers of great im-
portance and interest rapidly came to him. The
trial of many of the important cases of the firm
fell to him, and were conducted with great ability,
learning and success, whether conducted at the
Circuit or in the Court in Banc. He was retained
by Mr. Ramsey in his famous "Susquehanna war"
with Gould and Fisk. This was an historic litiga-
tion, and the scene of the contest was shifted to
Rochester, on which battle ground it measurably
terminated.
In November, 1871, Mr. Moak was elected Dis-
trict Attorney of Albany County, and entered upon
his duties January i, 1872. The manner in which
he administered the duties of this highly respon-
sible office largely increased his reputation. Bril-
liant, learned and successful as were his predeces-
sors, he lost nothing when compared with them.
It was during his administration that the trial of
the celebrated case of The People vs. Lowenstein
took place, and of course Mr. Moak conducted
the prosecution.
The crime was most appalling. The circum-
stances connecting Lowenstein with it were at first
remote and doubtful, but, by a singular and ad-
mirable process of synthesis, Mr. Moak so com-
bined them that the product was an inevitable con-
clusion of the prisoner's guilt.
His argument to the jury was confessedly a very
able and successful effort. He made no attempt
at high-wrought eloquence; he invested his argu-
ment with no far-fetched decorations of elocution;
its strength was its profundity, comprehensiveness
and ingenuity. It was enriched in language pleas-
ing and significant, and it completely overthrew
the hypothesis of the defense, founded on the sin-
gular circumstances of the case. It is one which
the practitioner and the student read with pleasure
and profit. It is richly interlarded with quotations
from legal authorities, both European and American,
and exhibits immense reading and close analytic
research. Lowenstein was convicted and executed.
Among other important cases which he con-
ducted was that of The People vs. Clune and others
(the Modocs), and The People vs. Phelps, for plun-
dering the State treasury.
His term expiring, he was appointed by Gov.
Dix as special counsel in the Phelps cases. All the
convictions were affirmed in the Court of Appeals.
As an instance of his persistence and untiring in-
dustry may be mentioned the case of Frank R.
Sherwin, the broker through whom Phelps dis-
posed of the State drafts. Sherwin, having been
subpoenaed as a witness on the Phelps trials, a few
days before their commencement, went to Europe
and failed to appear. Mr. Moak had him indicted
in 1874 for criminal contempt ; watched for him
until he came to New York City in 1882 ; caused
his arrest, voluntarily, and without compensation;
followed his case, on habeas corpus, to the Court of
Appeals; afterward tried and convicted him on
three indictments, for which he was sentenced to
the Albany Penitentiary for two years and to pay a
fine of five hundred dollars, and followed the con-
victions, on appeal of Sherwin, to the Court of
Appeals.
After retiring from the office of District Attorney
he confined himself mostly to civil cases, though
occasionally he accepted retainers in important
criminal cases.
In 1878 he conducted the prosecution of one of
the most important and singular cases in legal his-
tory— the case of The People vs. Jesse Billings,
Jr., indicted for shooting his wife. This crime
was committed at Northumberland, Saratoga
County, on the 5th of June, 1878, at about eight
o'clock in the evening. The trial commenced at
Balston Spa early in September, 1878, and con-
cluded on the evening of October 13.
Mr. Moak began his address to the jury Oc-
tober 7, and closed it on the nth. Here Mr.
Moak again exhibited his rare accomplishments as
an advocate. His argument is before us as we write,
and we write after a close and thorough examina-
tion of it. On our table are the arguments of sev-
eral great advocates in great criminal cases, with
which we have carefully compared that of Mr.
Moak, and we do not hesitate to say that it com-
pares favorably with that of the almost unequaled
argument of Ogden Hoffman in the case of The
People vs. Robinson. His argument occupied four
days, in which a vast number of circumstances and
a large amount of precedent were examined, and
yet from its commencement to its close compelled
the closest attention of the Court, jurors, and a
vast audience. The trial lasted six weeks. The
jury did not agree, and on the second trial Billings
was acquitted on grounds difficult to be under-
stood, for Mr, IMoak's conduct of the case left little
doubt in the public mind of Billings' guilt.
]\Ir. Moak has done a large amount of intellect-
ual labor outside of his profession. "In 1869,"
saj'S a writer, "he edited Clarke's Chancery Re-
ports, contributing elaborate notes. Speaking of
this edition of these reports, the Messrs. Abbott
178
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
say, in the preface to their digest : ' Much addi-
tional value has been given to the collection in a
new edition by N. C. Moak, of Albany, who has
enriched nearly all the cases with instructive notes,
which bring together concisely the result of much
research and experience.'
"Mr. Wait, in the preface to his digest, says:
'A new edition, edited by Nathaniel C. Moak,
Esq., appeared in 1869. Mr. Moak's notes are
very clear, accurate and valuable, and give evidence
of great learning and experience.'
"In 1873 ^^^- Moak edited Van Sanivoord's
Pleadings, bringing the work down to that time,
doubling its matter and adding largely to its value.
It has remained the standard upon pleading in New
York and several other States which have adopted
its Code.
" In 1872 he began the republication of the cur-
rent English cases, under the title ol English Reports,
with elaborate notes. Thirty-five volumes have
been published, circulating in all States of the
Union, and giving him a national reputation as an
excellent and learned lawyer. In 1881 he pub-
lished an edition of Underhill on Torls, greatly en-
larged. Mr. Moak seems to ' revel in work, ' hav-
ing also, in addition, gratuitously prepared a set of
legal forms for use by the profession, and a cata-
logue of law books — almost a legal bibliography —
for gratuitous circulation.
" Mr. Moak never forgets his own early struggles,
and no lawyer in the State is more ready and will-
ing to freely aid young lawyers in the conduct of
their cases. "
Listening to the legal arguments of Mr. Moak,
one is impressed with the opulence of his mind
and the evidence of his research. To use his own
language, in a celebrated case, "a lawyer one day
may be engaged in a case involving the laws of
steam or electricity ; the next in a case of mal-
practice, involving the anatomy of the human sys-
tem ; the next in a case in which knowledge of
toxicology is required ; or one involving the con-
sideration of some literary or scientific production."
Certainly these have many times entered into cases
conducted by him, in each of which he exhibits a
familiar and practical knowledge. Of course, such
a man requires a large amount of varied intellectual
aliment ; this he derives from one of the largest and
best selected private libraries in the State, both
legal and miscellaneous.
His law library contains all the American,
English, Irish, Canadian and other reports, and is
one of the most valuable in the Union. His miscel-
laneous library numbers some 5,000 volumes, care-
fully selected, of great value and practical utility.
Few men possess a more chaste and appreciative
literary taste than Mr. Moak ; this he exhibits in
his written productions, in his speeches, and in his
conversation.
A strong friendship existed between Mr. Moak
and Gov. Dix. Perhaps no man had a more thor-
ough appreciation of Gen. Dix's literary accom-
plishments than Mr. Moak. Among the works of
the former was his translation oi Dies Ira and that
of Stabat Maier. Though they were privately
printed, they found their way into Judge Nott's
" Seven Hymns of the Mediaeval Church " and
other kindred publications. A part of Dies, the first
translation thereof, appeared in Bayard Taylor's
"Faust," whereupon Mr. Moak, in a happily
worded letter, congratulated the Governor upon his
name being so favorably mentioned, in such a great
work, and by such an accomplished scholar. In
reply. Gen. Dix wrote Mr. Moak an elegant letter,
descriptive of the circumstances attending the trans-
lation to which we have referred. This letter, full
of instruction and interest, is found on pages 233-
34, vol. 2, of the "Life of Gen. Dix," by his son.
Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix.
"The first translation," says the letter, "was
made during our Civil War, while I was in com-
mand of the department of Virginia, and when I
had many weighty matters to divert my time and
thoughts from literary occupation. Although it
had been much commended, I was never satisfied
with it, and a few months ago I printed it privately,
and now I send you a revised rendering of that
immortal hymn. The translation of Stabat Mater
was made while I was Minister to France. It was
more leisurely prepared, and I see no reason to
correct it, though I cannot say that it is what I
should wish it to be. The stanza of the former
quoted by Bayard Taylor is as follows :
" ' Day of vengeance without morrow,
Earth shall end in flame and sorrow.
As from saint and seer we borrow.'
"It is this stanza (the first) which has always
proved most troublesome to translators, and it is
the one with which I was dissatisfied more than
with any other in my translation, when I allowed it
to go to the press. My dissatisfaction was greatly
increased a few years later on finding, in one of
Thackeray's novels — I do not, at this moment,
recollect which — a passage somewhat like this :
' When a man is cudgeling his brains to find any
other rhymes for "sorrow" than "borrow" and
' ' morrow, " he is nearer the end of his woes than he
imagines. ' I felt instinctively that any one familiar
with this passage would, on reading my translation,
be conscious, at the very commencement, of a
sense of the ludicrous altogether incompatible with
the solemnity of the subject. * * *
' ' With a pleasant remembrance of our associa-
tion in Albany, I am, dear sir,
" Very truly yours,
" N. C. Moak, Esq. John A. Dix."
In politics Mr. Moak is a Democrat, but he is
in no sense aggressive in his advocacy of his prin-
ciples, and, though prominent in his party, has
never sought office, or been an active politician,
except in 1879, '^hen chairman of the State Com-
mittee of the Anti-Tilden wing of the party, and in
1880, as a delegate of that wing to the Cincinnati
Convention. In 1 884 he was a warm supporter of
Gov. Cleveland for President, taking the stump
and making speeches in all parts of the State. He
was one of the most interesting, cogent and effect-
ive speakers of that hard-fought campaign, doing
yeoman service in the cause which he so ardently
espoused.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
179
SAMUEL HAND.
Samuel Hand was born, May r, 1834, in the
County of Essex, in the State of New York. He
is a son of the Hon. Augustus C. Hand, an ex-
justice of the Supreme Court for the Fourth Ju-
dicial District of the State, who was elected, June
7, 1847, ^'t 'he first judicial election under the
Constitution of 1846.
Among the distinguished jurists called to the
Supreme Court with Judge Hand at that election
in that district, was Hon. Daniel Cady, Hon.
Alonzo C. Paige, Hon. John Willard. Judge Hand
also represented the Fourth Senatorial District of
the State in the sixty-eighth, sixty-ninth and seven-
tieth senatorial sessions.
Samuel, at an unusually early age, exhibited a
remarkable progress in study, so that at the age
of fourteen he was fully prepared for college.
He accordingly entered Middlebury College, in
Vermont, but at the end of his sophomore year,
in 1 85 1, he was transferred to Union College, from
whence he graduated under circumstances gratify-
ing to his friends.
He immediately entered his father's office and
commenced the study of law. Here he enjoyed
rare advantages for attaining his legal education;
advantages of which he fully availed himself, and
he went to his examination for admission to the
bar thoroughly prepared to enter upon the brilliant
career which lay before him.
In May, 1854, his examination and call to the
bar took place.
After practicing at Elizabethtown, New York,
about three years, he removed to Albany, where he
formed a very advantageous partnership with the
late John V. L. Pruyn: this was in October,
1859. He continued a partner of Mr. Pruyn
until 1 86 1, when he became a member of that
distinguished law firm, Cagger & Porter, which,
after his connection with it, was known as Cagger,
Porter (Sf Hand.
Few legal firms have ever existed in the State
that controlled so large and extended business as
this. Its career is brilliantly recorded in the ex-
ceedingly large number of cases found in the Law
Reports of the State and in those of the Federal
Courts.
In January, 1865, Mr. Porter was appointed a
Judge of the Court of Appeals, and the firm was
known as Cagger <Sf Hand, down to July 6,
1868, when the sudden and melancholy death of
Mr. Cagger dissolved it. In another part of this
work we have given a brief biography of Mr.
Cagger, and an account of his tragic death, which
threw a gloom not only over the city of Albany,
but over the whole State. After the death of Mr.
Cagger, Mr. Hand associated himself in business
with Hon. Mathew Hale and Nathan Swartz. The
latter, who had been a member of the firm of
Cagger & Hand, continued in the new firm,
under the name of Hand, Hale Gf Swartz. This
firm did an immense business, as the records of the
State Courts show. In 1873 Charles S. Fairchild,
subsequently Attorney-General of the State, be-
came a member of the firm, which was known
as Hand, Hale, Swartz ^ Fairchild, under which
title it continued until the autumn of 1875, when
Mr. Fairchild was elected Attorney-General. In
1877 Mr. Swartz removed to Colorado, and the
firm was continued under the name of Hand <Sf
Hale until 1880, since which time Judge Hand has
been practicing alone, doing an extensive business
as a counselor. We should have said that the
partnership of Hand & Hale was interrupted in
1878 by the appointment of Mr. Hand as a Judge
of the Court of Appeals in the place of Hon. Wm.
F. Allen, who died June 3, 1878.
Judge Hand carried to the Bench the same un-
wearied industry that distinguished him at the Bar.
His opinions exhibit the extent of his labor ; they
are written in a concise, clear and dignified style,
strong and logical, comparing in every sense favor-
ably with those of his learned brethren on the
Bench.
He was appointed June 10, 1878, and imme-
diately took his seat on the Bench. On June 17,
seven days after taking his seat, the case oi Mowry
vs. Rosendale was argued. Judge Hand wrote the
opinion of the Court ; it was his first opinion.
The case was decided September 17, 1878 (74
N. Y., 360).
On June 19, 1878, the case oi Lewis vs. Seabury
was argued ; Judge Hand delivered the opinion of
the Court and the case was decided September 24,
1878 (74 N. Y., 409).
The following are among the cases in which
Judge Hand wrote the opinion of the Court : The
People of the State of New York vs. The Mutual Gas
Light Company of Brooklyn (74 N. Y., 434),
Read vs. The City of Buffalo (74 N. Y., 463),
Hayes vs. Hawthorn (74 N. Y. , 487), Bowery
National Bank vs. Duryee (74 N. Y., 491), Dick-
inson vs. City of Poughkeepsie (75 N. Y., 65), Can-
field yi,. The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. (75 N. Y.,
144), Bardine vs. Stevenson (75 N. Y., 164),
Clafflin vs. Meyer (75 N. Y., 260), Slater vs.
Merritt (75 N. Y., 268), Miles vs. Loomis
(75 N. Y., 288), Barr vs. Bininger (75 N. Y.,
344), Godfrey v. Godfrey (75 N. Y., 434).
The last case decided by him was McMichael vs.
Kilmer (76 N. Y., 36). This case was argued
December 13, 1878, a short time before the Judge
left the Bench. The case of Lowry vs. The Brooklyn
City R. R. was argued December 11, 1878, Judge
Hand writing the opinion in both of the above
cases while in office, and they were adopted by the
Court. He left the Bench of the Court of Appeals
December 31, 1878, and very soon he appeared at
its Bar and argued the important case of Wells-
borough vs. The New York & Canada R. R. Co.
(reported in 76 N. Y., 182). From that time to
the present his practice has been largely confined
to the Court of Last Resort.
When Judge Hand left the Bench he was suc-
ceeded by Hon. Geo. F. Danforth. He returned
to the practice of his profession with a large
business in the Court of Appeals. His busi-
ness has so rapidly increased that since 1870
he commands a practice not excelled by any
180
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
lawyer in the State. In the argument of cases
his exposition of the precedents upon which he
relies, or which are cited by his opponents, are
alwa3's full, and if occasion requires, very minute;
he develops with care and precision the principles
on -which they turn, distinguishes them from
analogous or conflicting decisions, and as his
purpose requires, either presents their reasonings
and conclusions in a clear and familiar light,
or forcibly assails them with the weapons of learn-
ing and logic. He maintains throughout the argu-
ment a correct and attractive diction, and always
retains the attention of the judges, enabling them
to see the real character of the case.
The following are some of the important cases
in which Judge Hand has taken a distinguished
part:
Susquehanna Litigation of 1869, '70 and '71;
Von Woert vs. The City of Albany. There were
thirty of these cases, all of them vitally affecting
the interests of the city. The quo warranto case,
between Thacher and Judson, rival claimants for
the office of Maj-or of Albany, tried in 1873.
The impeachment in 1879 of John F. Smyth, Super-
intendent of Insurance. Judge Hand conducted
the prosecution of this case for the People on the
retainer of Gov. Robinson.
The People vs. Belden, action brought in 1876 by
the State to recover about $400,000. This case
is remembered as one of the most important ever
litigated in this State. It was conducted by Judge
Hand from its commencement until after its trial
and report of the Referees. These gentlemen were
Judge Emmott, Judge Tappan and Isaac -Lawson;
they made a report in favor of the State to the
amount of nearly $400,000.
Judge Hand was counsel for the Canal Investi-
gating Commission of Gov. Tilden in 1875-6.
In 1877 he was engaged in the Elevated Railroad
litigation, as counsel for the Metropolitan Railroad.
In this case the constitutionality of the Rapid
Transit act was passed upon. In 1884 he was
engaged as counsel in the $1,000,000 Water Meter
suit, better known under the title oi Baird vs. The
Mayor of New York. This list of cases might be
greatly enlarged, but, as we have said, it is suffi-
cient to give the reader an insight into the exten-
sive practice of Judge Hand.
Judge Hand has been honored with several
important official positions, of which we shall give
some account. In the beginning of his profession-
al life, he became attached to the Democratic party,
to which he has ever since gi\en a firm and con-
siderate allegiance. His high professional stand-
ing and learning, his large acquaintance with
leading men of the State and Nation, has ranked
him among the leaders of the Democratic party.
Had not a love of his profession and professional
ambition been paramount to political ambition,
there is no doubt but he would have long ago occu-
pied a very exalted official position, for such has
been tendered him, and been respectfully declined.
In 1S63 he was appointed Corporation Counsel
of Albany, and was re-elected, and continued in
office until the spring of 1866, when the control
of the city government passed into the hands of
the Republicans. During his administration of
this office the city paid no counsel fee, except in
one instance.
He was appointed reporter of the Court of
Appeals, January, 1869, serving till March, 1872.
The six volumes of his reports are from 40 to 45
N. Y., inclusive.
In 1872, on account of his large and increasing
counsel business, he was compelled to resign
his position as reporter. In 1875 he was ap-
pointed Judge of the Supreme Court for the Third
Judicial District, by Gov. Tilden, but declined.
After the nomination and declension of Horatio
Seymour, as the candidate for Governor in 1876, by
the Democratic State Convention, it was the wish of
Gov. Tilden — then in nomination for President —
that Judge Hand should be placed on the Demo-
cratic ticket as Governor in place of Mr. Seymour.
Accordingly, at the instance of Mr. Tilden, it was
agreed by the leaders of the party to place him in
nomination at an adjourned convention to be held.
Though everything then pointed to the success which
crowned the Democratic party that year. Judge
Hand, for reasons which controlled him, reluc-
tantly declined to become a candidate for Governor.
In November, 1875, according to a concurrent res-
olution of the Legislature, Judge Hand was ap-
pointed a commissioner to devise a plan for the
government of cities. The other members of the
commission were Mr. Evarts, Judge Lott, Edward
Cooper, E. L. Godkin, of the Nation, Simon
Sterne, James C. Carter, Dr. Anderson, of the
Rochester University, and Hon. Joshua R. Van
Cott.
On June 25, 1884, the degree of LL.D. was
conferred upon him by Union College.
His love of study, as we have said, was one of
the earliest traits of character which he developed.
This love of study has strengthened as he has
advanced in life. Though the study of his profession
has been intense, yet he has never neglected a
judicious continuation of his classical studies. His
literary taste, refined and elevated by a familiar
acquaintance with the best authors, ancient and
modem, renders him an appreciative and gener-
ous critic, a pleasing and instructive companion.
In 1 86 1 he edited notes to the American edi-
tion of " Philobiblon," written by Debury, Bishop
of Durham, and Chancellor of Edward III. This
edition is a carefully revised Latin text, and trans-
lation of three French prefaces of M. Cocheris, a
learned French writer and editor. This work was
published by Joel Munsell, of Albany.
Judge Hand was one of the first Vice-Presidents
of the New York State Bar Association, and was
President of that institution in its third and fourth
years, succeeding Judge John K. Porter, its first
President At the annual meeting of the Associa-
tion, in the second year of his presidency. Judge
Hand prepared and delivered an elaborate and
highly popular address.
This address has been published in the proceed-
ings of the Association, and large parts of it in the
Albany Law Journal and other periodicals and
'7-7-\^ct^n^
XS^O^-y^^ Oi-.^O-'^^
/■•
THE BENCH AND BAR.
181
journals. He is now President of the Chi Psi
Alumni Association of Northern New York and
the Mohawk and Hudson River Valleys.
In his domestic relations, Judge Hand is happy,
and he is held in high esteem, not only by the
citizens of Albany, among whom he has long been
a resident, but by the citizens of the State generally,
with whom he has been brought in intimate relations.
In 1863 he was united in marriage, by the Rev.
Dr. John Campbell, to Miss Learned, daughter of
Billings P. Learned, Esq., President of the Union
Bank, and a niece of Judge Wm. L. Learned, of
the Supreme Court.
Judge Hand is still in the vigor of his manhood,
at the head of his profession, with a large and in-
fluential and opulent clientage ; he has, therefore,
many years of usefulness and distinction before
him.
LYMAN TREMAIN.
Lyman' Tremain, an honored name in the history
of the State of New York, was the son of Levi and
Mindwell Tremain, and was born at Durham,
Greene County, N. Y., June 14, 18 19. "The
ancestor from whom he derives his Christian name,
and who was the progenitor of the Lyman family
in America, came among the first colonists to Bos-
ton in 1 730. Not long after he penetrated the
wilderness to the westward into what is now Con-
necticut, and became one of the founders of
Hartford." Lyman Tremain's paternal grandfather
was a soldier in the Revolution, belonging to the
Connecticut line, and participated in many of the
battles of that great struggle for liberty.
His father was among the earliest settlers of the
County of Greene — one of its pioneers. He was a
farmer and an extensive business man, generally
respected for sound sense, intelligence and honor-
able dealings in the society in which he lived.
With his other qualities, he was a lover of books,
reading with pleasure and profit the great English
and American authors. To his father young Tre-
main was indebted for that desire for knowledge
which continued fresh and warm down to the clos-
ing scenes of his life.
He obtained the rudiments of his education in
the best school of his native town, very soon mas-
tering all the branches taught there, and then took
up the study of the higher branches, which he
pursued with great energy and profit without an
instructor. He seems to have pursued a judicious
course of reading, and he early became enamored
with the classical writers of the old English school,
of Milton and Dryden, of Shakespeare and Pope.
From the solid sense, beautiful diction and imagery
of these writers he derived that almost perfect use
of language, that versatility of thought and ex-
pression, which subsequently enlivened his legal
arguments, and gave such attractions to his written
productions.
It was Edmimd Burke who said that "without
a system of self-culture no man can become accom-
plished in polemics."
At the age of thirteen young Tremain entered
Kinderhook Academy, where, under the instruction
of a distinguished linguist, he pursued for two and
a half years the study of Greek and Latin and
mathematics, obtaining an excellent practical edu-
cation. Leaving the Academy, he entered the
law office of John O'Brien, Esq., and began the
study of law, afterward completing his legal educa-
tion with Sherwood & White, a highly respectable
legal firm of the City of New York.
In 1840 he was admitted to practice, and imme-
diately returned to Durham, where he formed a
partnership with his former preceptor, Mr. O'Brien.
The young lawyer received a warm welcome from
the people of his native town, and when only
twenty-two years of age, they elected him Super-
visor, although he was a Democrat and the town
was decidedly Whig in politics. After four years'
practice, he was, in 1 844, appointed District Attor-
ney of Greene County. The Constitution of 1846
made this office elective, and established a County
Court in place of the old Court of Common Pleas.
At the first judicial election under the new Consti-
tution Mr. Tremain was elected County Judge and
Surrogate of Greene Countj^ He was then at the
age of twenty-seven. These offices he held three
years, discharging their duties with marked ability.
In the fall of 1851 he was renominated by the
Democrats for County Judge; his opponent was
Hon. Alexander H. Bailey, subsequently a State
Senator. The contest was very animated and
close, and the result doubtful, and depended upon
the action of the Board of Canvassers as to whether
a certain alleged return from an election district in
the Town of Catskill should be rejected for irregu-
larities or counted. The Board rejected the return,
awarding the certificate to Judge Tremain, and ad-
journed sine die. Mr. Bailey contested this ques-
tion by the usual process of an alternative manda-
mus, returnable at the General Term for the Third
Judicial District.
This writ required the Supervisors to show cause
why they should not meet again and re-canvass the
votes. After elaborate argument, the General Term
refused the mandamus, holding that the adjourn-
ment of the Supervisors terminated their power to
re-convene and re-canvass; that the remedy of Mr.
Bailey was to be sought through a writ of quo war-
ranto. This left Judge Tremain in possession of
the office. But such was his keen sensibility he
would not accept the office, where there existed the
least doubt of his legal election, and he declined
the certificate and Mr. Bailey became County
Judge.
In the meantime his practice had rapidly in-
creased, requiring his frequent attendance at the
Court of Appeals and the General Term at Albany.
A warm friendship had long existed between
himself and the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham,
which resulted in Judge Tremain's removal to
Albany and becoming the law partner of Judge
Peckham, a relation which continued till i860,
when the latter was elected a Justice of the Su-
preme Court.
Mr. Tremain's reputation had preceded his re-
moval to Albany, and at once gave him a high
rank at its Bar.
182
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Long before the meeting of the Democratic State
Convention he was prominently mentioned as a can-
didate for Attorney-General. A little incident oc-
curred in connection with the subject that exhibits
Judge Tremain's high sense of honor. He was invited
by a distinguished politician to attend the State
Convention, under the assurance that his personal
attendance would secure him the office of Attorney-
General. "I should like the nomination for At-
torney-General very much, but it would lose all its
pleasures were I to go to Syracuse and personally
seek it." He did not go; but he was there nom-
inated by acclamation, and at the ensuing election
he was elected, serving two years.
One of the important cases which he conducted
was that of the People vs. Mrs. Hartung, indicted
for the murder of her husband. Mr. Tremain as-
sisted the District Attorney of Albany County at
this trial.
Mr. Tremain experienced in this case one of the
greatest difficulties of an advocate — that of trying a
cause against a prepossessing woman.
The prisoner was a young and handsome wom-
an, the motive for her crime being her love for
another man. Her modest appearance, quiet de-
meanor, her youth and beauty, created the strongest
sympathy for her. She was ably defended, but the
proofs of her guilt were strong, and presented
to the jury by Mr. Tremain in such a convincing,
able and exhaustive manner that she was convicted.
Her case was removed to the Supreme Court,
where the conviction was affirmed. An appeal
was taken to the Court of Appeals, where her
conviction was again affirmed. In both these
tribunals Mr. Tremain conducted the argument for
the people.
Another very important criminal case in .which
he assisted the District Attorney of New York
County occurred while he was Attorney-General —
the case of the Italian, Cancemi, charged with the
murder of a police officer in the City of New York.
After some progress in the trial, the prosecution
learned that one of the jurors was corrupt. The
matter was finally arranged by a stipulation, signed
in open court by the prisoner, his counsel and the
counsel for the people, providing for a verdict by
the remaining eleven, and that it should be the
same as though tried by the twelve. The trial
proceeded and Cancemi was convicted; where-
upon, notwithstanding their solemn agreement in
writing, the prisoner's counsel took an appeal to
the General Term of the Supreme Court, alleging,
as a ground of error, that this stipulation was ille-
gal and void, on the ground that the prisoner or
his counsel cannot consent to a trial by less than
the number of twelve jurors. The Court held
with the prisoner's counsel, and the conviction was
set aside.
In 1859, as Mr. Tremain's official term was
drawing to a close, he was again put in nomination
by the Democrats of the State, but it was carried
by the Republicans; Hon. Charles G. Myers, his
opponent, was elected. While Mr. Tremain was
Attorney-General he had, upon the request of the
Senate, given to that body an elaborate opinion
covering the question of the constitutionality of
repealing the act for the Collection of Tolls, com-
ing to the conclusion that the act was valid.
His successor, by request, in March, i860, sent
a communication to the Legislature that, in his
opinion, the repealing act was unconstitutional,
and he brought an action to test the constitution-
ality of the act, and to recover back tolls from the.
railroad company. Mr. Tremain was employed to
defend such claim as senior counsel. On trial at
the Circuit a non-suit was granted; the people ap-
pealed to the General Term, and the non-suit was
affirmed. They then appealed to the Court of
Appeals, and the non-suit was again affirmed. This
ended the litigation. Mr. Tremain's arguments
were masterly vindications of the power of the Leg-
islature to pass the repealing acts.
This was exceedingly gratifying to him, as Attor-
ney-General Myers had strenuously held to the
reverse of this. Thus he stood a leader in his pro-
fession, taking part in the most important cases in
the State, when the War of the Rebellion broke
out.
We have seen that down to this time Mr.
Tremain was a Democrat; but after occupying the
position in opposition to civil war for some time,
he became convinced that it was the duty of every
patriotic citizen to use every exertion to sustain the
Government in the Rebellion, and he gradually
gravitated toward the Republican party as the Re-
bellion increased in its dangerous proportions,
and when the only questions at issue became the
approval of certain of the acts of the Administra-
tion, and their probable or possible effect, not only
upon the war itself, but after the return of peace.
He was charged by his old political friends with
inconsistency in separating from his life-long po-
litical friends and joining, as he did, the Repub-
lican party; but he felt compelled to this by a
sense of duty to his country. In proof of his sin-
cerity, he gave his first-born son, "his beautiful
and his brave,'' a mere stripling, to the service of
his country; but he parted with the brilliant youth,
and, alas ! he parted with him forever.
In the autumn of 1862 he was, without solicita-
tion, nominated for Lieutenant-Governor, with
Gen. Wadsworth as the candidate for Governor,
against Horatio Seymour and David F. Jones,
Democratic candidates for Governor and Lieutenant-
Governor. The Republican ticket was defeated by
a majority of about 10,000.
Mr. Tremain now returned with a renewed vig-
or to his large legal practice, not forgetting,
however, to use his influence and his eloquence in
aiding a vigorous prosecution of the war. About
this time he was retained in the famous legal ten-
der cases, the question involving the constitution-
ality of that section of the law of Congress which
gave the greenback its legal tender quality. His
argument in the Court of Appeals was a powerful
vindication of that clause. The constitutionality
of it was upheld by a divided vote, and thus an
appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States
was prevented, and greenbacks as legal tenders
were made lawful. He was also retained to defend
THE BENCH AND BAR.
183
the banks upon the claims made to tax the
shares in national banks created under the act of
Congress. Mr. Tremain took the ground that
such taxation was illegal, but the Court of Ap-
peals held against him. He then appealed to the
United States Supreme Court, where the judgment
of the Court of Appeals was reversed. Thus he
continued in one of the most distinguished pro-
fessional careers in the State, advocating in the
meantime the vigorous prosecution of the war to
its close ; but just prior to that happy event he
sustained a terrible affliction in the loss of his gal-
lant and almost idolized son. Col. Frederick L.
Tremain, who, young as he was, only about 2 1
years of age, had been promoted for gallant con-
duct on the field to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel
in the loth Regiment of New York Cavalry, and
fell at the head of his regiment at Hatcher's Run,
Va., February 6, 1865.
In the fall of 1865 Mr. Tremain was nominated
and elected Member of Assembly from Albany
County. His colleague was the Hon. Clark B.
Cochrane. On the meeting of the Legislature Mr.
Tremain was elected Speaker. The history of
that remarkable session bears indubitable evidence
of the great ability with which he discharged the
duties of this office.
He was engaged with the District Attorney of
Albany in the prosecution of Gen. Cole, who had
in a cowardly manner assassinated L. Harris His-
cock, a member of the Constitutional Conven-
tion of 1867 (8), at Stanwix Hall. Cole was de-
fended by James T. Brady and William A. Beach.
The defense was insanity, superinduced by the
alleged criminal intimacy of Hiscock with the wife
of Cole. The case was twice tried, the jury on
the first trial disagreeing ; on the second trial the
prisoner was acquitted, the jury rendering the
singular verdict that just before and just after the
murder Cole was sane, but that he was insane
when it was committed. Mr. Tremain's argument
to the jury has passed into legal history as one of
the most splendid efforts ever made at the Bar.
During the whole of Mr. Tremain's professional
life he had been subject to frequent and painful
attacks of inflammatory rheumatism, which would
come suddenly upon him. He would frequently
retire at night in perfect health, but before morning
would be perfectly helpless, suff"ering indescrib-
able anguish. All prescriptions produced only
temporary relief, and in 1869 he decided upon a
voyage to Europe, his wife and daughter accom-
panying him ; he was absent about one year. On
his return to Albany, nearly or quite restored to
health, as he believed, he was tendered a public
reception by citizens who held him in the
highest esteem. In 1872 his name was promi-
nently brought forward as a candidate for Gov-
ernor, but he respectfully but firmly declined the
proffered honor. In the autumn of 1873 he
was unanimously nominated for Congressman-at-
Large on the Republican ticket and was, with the
rest of the ticket, elected. "He entered the Forty-
third Congress with a constituency of 4,000,000 of
people. On taking his seat in the House the
Speaker assigned him the second place on the Judi-
ciary Committee in advance of several old and ex-
perienced members. He performed all his arduous
duties as a member of this committee in a manner
that gave him a national reputation. "
In 1871 he was called to assist the Attorney-
General and Mr. Wheeler H. Peckham, of New
York, in the prosecution of the astounding frauds
of the Tweed Ring. The great legal contest
which this prosecution brought on is one of the
most remarkable in legal history, equal in impor-
tance and interest to the trial of Warren Hastings
on the Begum and other charges. To attack
Tweed and his ring was a herculean effort ; their
power, wealth and influence seemed so great as to
defy the law and crush all efforts to convict them.
On Tweed's first trial the jury failed to agree ;
he was again brought to trial in the fall of 1873,
before Judge Noah Davis and a jury. The care
and scrutiny which Messrs. Tremain and Peckham
bestowed upon the selection of a jury was a striking
and interesting incident in this great trial, with the
eyes of the world resting upon it. But a jury of
honest, unbiased men were obtained and Tweed
was convicted upon the great number of counts in
the indictment.
After strenuous efforts for an arrest of judgment,
he was sentenced upon a number of counts in the
indictment, all of them aggregating to a term of
imprisonment in the penitentiary for many years.
"Congratulations poured in upon the counsel for
the people from all sides, and Mr. Tremain had
the satisfaction of bringing to punishment the
greatest criminal of the age." Appeals were taken
to the higher courts to test the power of the Oyer
and Terminer to inflict these several sentences, the
result of which was the reduction of the number of
sentences to one term of imprisonment.
When Edward S. Stokes startled the whole
country by assassinating James Fisk, Jr., it became
a question of intense interest to learn who he would
select from among the great lawyers of the times
as his leading counsel. When, after the most
earnest consultation on the subject with his friends,
it was known that his choice fell upon Mr. Tre-
main, every one believed that he had taken the
surest step possible to shield himself from punish-
ment ; nor were they mistaken, as the result
showed. The sentiment of the community was
decidedly against Stokes, and that sentiment in a
large degree pervaded the jury box. In many
respects it was a trial for which Mr. Tremain's
mind was peculiarly fitted ; in conducting it he
showed uncommon tact in sifting testimony, de-
tecting motives, and great art in the examination
of the evidence. , When occasion occurred for the
use of keen satire and scorching sarcasm he used
it with powerful effect.
Perhaps no advocate, except William H.
Seward, in the defense of Freeman, ever stood
more squarely between his client and public
opinion than did Mr. Tremain in the Stokes case.
Though determined to save his client from the
gallows, he had little hope of securing his acquittal
before a jury. It was, therefore, his policy, while
184
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
exerting every effort in his behalf, to secure suffi-
cient points to obtain a new trial on exceptions in
case his client was convicted. The jury did con-
vict him, and Mr. Tremain did save sufficient ex-
ceptions on the trial to obtain a new trial. In
this he exhibited all the acumen of a thoroughly
learned lawyer, for it was his deep knowledge of
the law that saved Edward Stokes from the gal-
lows. After his conviction the case was removed
to the Supreme Court, where the conviction was af-
firmed, "the Court holding that while there was
error in the charge of the Judge in his definition of
murder, the law inferred malice from the fact of
the killing instead of leaving to the jury to find
malice as a fact ; yet the Court held the error had
not been productive of harm to the prisoner when
other portions of the charge were examined." The
case was removed to the Court of Appeals. Mr.
Tremain's argument in that tribunal was one which
the lawyer, the student and the scholar will ever
read with delight and profit ; it bears the impress
of a gigantic intellect and vast research. As a
specimen of acute and powerful reasoning, enlivened
occasionally by glowing eloquence, it ranks among
the finest efforts of American legal oratory. As
Dr. Johnson said of a similar effort at the English
Bar, "It was bark and steel to the mind."
Mr. Tremain's triumph in results was equal to
his great argument. The Court of Appeals re-
versed the judgment of the Supreme Court and the
verdict of the jury, granting Stokes a new trial.
Tremain had now obtained his great object ; he
had shielded his client from the influence of public
opinion ; he had given public indignation time to
cool ; he had taught the Courts to fear him, and
when the new trial took place he entered upon it
confident that he should shield his client from the
gallows. Judge Davis, who presided, held every
intendment against the prisoner, which was an em-
barrassment for Mr. Tremain ; but he overcame
whatever obstacles there were in Judge Davis'
course, and with an almost superhuman effort
defeated a conviction for murder in the first de-
gree, securing a verdict for manslaughter only, on
which Stokes was sentenced to State prison for
only four years. Thus the astute and long-sighted
policy of Mr. Tremain prevailed, and now, though
his truly great defender is sleeping in an honored
grave, Edward S. Stokes has for several years been
a wealthy, successful and luxurious citizen of New
York. So exhausted was Mr. Tremain after the
last trial of Stokes, that he fell asleep at the dinner
table in his hotel while the jury were deliberating.
During that trial his old disease afflicted him,
but he resisted it as best he could with medical
aid. In the second session of Congress he took his
seat in that body, ranking among the leaders of
the House. His speeches on the important ques-
tions that arose show that he was as accomplished
in parliamentary debate as he was in the discus-
sions of the Bar. Many of his speeches outlived
their times, and they will be read as fine specimens
of parliamentary eloquence and logic for years to
come. Among these was that upon the subject of
"The Disposition of the Balance of the Money
received from England by virtue of the Geneva
Award. " This speech was read with profound in-
terest through the United States and Europe. His
Congressional career ended March, 1875, and he
retired exhausted and suffering from the repeated
attacks of disease, aggravated by the unwholesome
air of the House.
He returned to Albany, but, unable to resume
his business, he decided upon another voyage to
Europe with his wife. He returned much im-
proved, though not restored to health. Soon after
his return he was unfortunately induced to under-
take the defense of Frederick Smith, tried for mur-
der at the Fulton Oyer and Terminer early in
1876. This case was to the people of Fulton
County what the Stokes case was to the City of
New York. Public opinion was strongly against
the accused, as was also the evidence. The court
room was crowded, the air in it poisonous to Mr.
Tremain, and he became so ill that court was
compelled to adjourn, and for a time he was con-
fined to his bed. As soon as he felt himself able,
weak as he was, he took his place at the Bar and
the trial was resumed. The energy he exhibited
was a matter of wonder to all ; suffering as he was,
he entered on the duty of addressing the jury in a
manner so surprisingly powerful that it was hard
to believe him suffering from a disease which had
a fatal hold upon him. " He stood before the
jury for hours, pleading with them by turns, with
all his old-time voice and charm of manner, and
then clearly and forcibly disintegrating the evi-
dence for the people, denouncing in deep and
stern tones its flimsy character. The jury ac-
quitted the prisoner, and the verdict was due to
the able manner in which Mr. Tremain tried the
cause and to the magnificent manner in which
he closed it. " This was his last important case ;
his strength never returned ; he breathed with
difficulty and his spirits were clouded. He went
to his office, but was too ill to take any part
in business. At this time his partners were Rufus
W. Peckham, son of his old friend and former
partner, and now a Judge of the Supreme Court,
and his son Grenville Tremain.
We have thus sketched the professional, politi-
cal and public life of Lyman Tremain, of whom it
is no affectation to say that he was one of the most
brilliant lights of the Bar of the State of New York,
with full mastery of the eloquence of the Bar in
its best days.
It remains now to consider briefly his private
life. That such a man as INIr. Tremain should be
a favorite in the high circle in which he moved is
natural. At the head of a refined and happy
family, in which centered greatdomestic happiness,
surrounded by all that could make life happy, ad-
mired and honored by his brethren of the Bar, it
would seem that he was beyond the reach of afflic-
tion and sorrow.
In August, 1842, he was united by marriage to
Miss Helen Cornwall, of Catskill, N. Y., a lady of
much personal worth and many accomplishments.
Never were husband and wife more strongly at-
tached. The sufferings of the former from the painful
^^.-^-^^r-
THE BENCH AND BAR.
185
attacks of the disease we have mentioned rendered
him an object of the tenderest care and solicitude
to the wife. Her gentle, loving and faithful minis-
trations did much to sustain him and retard the
ravages of disease, strengthening him and enabling
him to continue his brilliant and ardent career
down to the time when human efforts to succor
him became of no avail.
Four children, three sons and one daughter, were
born to this marriage. The sons all passed from
earth before the death of Mr. Tremain. Their
first-born, Frederick, as we have seen, fell in bat-
tle. The sorrow and gloom which the death of this
gallant young soldier produced in Albany and
elsewhere is recorded in a volume devoted to
the history of his life. In the fall of 1868, a bright
and beautiful boy of seven was suddenly taken
away, under the most painful circumstances. He
died from the effects of a fall over the banisters of
a stairway in his father's house, almost under his
father's eyes. His other son, Grenville, his law-
partner, inherited all his father's talents, all his
eloquence, and all his personal worth. Young as
he was, he attained a commanding position at the
Bar; so commanding that in 1877 he received
the nomination, by acclamation, of Attorney-Gen-
eral from the Republican party. This was a spon-
taneous and splendid tribute, all unsought, both to
father and son. The Republican ticket was not
successful in the State, but young Tremain re-
ceived a most flattering vote, running largely ahead
of his ticket, and obtaining a majority of votes in
Albany County.
But this young man, so gifted, so winning,
so idolized by his parents, was suddenly stricken
by a fatal illness, which terminated fatally in a very
few days. From this terrible blow Mr. Tremain
never recovered. The deep fountains of sorrow were
opened for him ; over his heart a wintry change
had come, and the sunlight of his life was shad-
owed. But he lingered through the summer and
fall of 1878, dying on the 30th of November. His
death, though not unexpected, created a most pro-
found sensation throughout the State. The Bench,
the Bar and the Press attested their respect for
his memory ; the former by proceedings character-
ized by the deepest solemnity and sorrow ; the
latter by tributes the most respectful and of the
highest ability. The popular favor which he en-
joyed in such unmeasured profusion was exhibited
by many unusual demonstrations of public and
private sorrow ; every degree of talent and of elo-
quence offered to his memory green and fragrant
garlands.
In person Judge Tremain was above the
middle height, of strong, vigorous mould and dig-
nified presence. His face was uncommonly at-
tractive, with large blue eyes, broad, open fore-
head, mouth and teeth of great beauty, and a smile
unusually winning and cordial. In private life
those who knew him best felt for him the sincerest
affection. He was a model husband, father and
friend ; his disposition was amiable and generous.
During his long and at times distressing illness he
governed himself with rare self-restraint. His un-
wearied, heroic patience, unfailing good humor
and cheerful courage rendered attendance upon
his needs a pleasure to all. Mr. Tremain was a
sincere, devoted believer in the teachings of the sa-
cred Scripture. His primary characteristic, that
which gave him his peculiar weight in the com-
munit}', was the force of his moral, religious princi-
ples ; a force which operated with the steadiness of
a law of nature, blending harmoniously with his
brilliant talents. To live religiously he did not
think himself called to give up the proper pursuits
and gratifications of human nature. He believed
that religion was in harmony with intellectual im-
provements, with the pleasures of imagination and
society, and especially with the kindly affections,
and thus religious principle added tenderness,
steadiness, dignity, to the impulses of nature.
Without pretension or show, or any striking dis-
coveries of emotion, he felt the claim of everything
human upon his sj'mpathy and his service, and
his strong abiding hope of a blessed immortality
beautifully sustained him during the fatal illness
that terminated his life. Finally, may we not say
that he whose life and acts we have recorded is
really the speaker .? That it is he rather than his
biographer who teaches us from the tomb where
his head now lies low, or rather from that world
into which his soul has passed, such valuable les-
sons as may be drawn from his example in the an-
nals of his life. Reflecting on that life, recalling
its modest beginnings and its solid achievements,
his fidelity to duty and his loyalty to principle, the
soundness of his judgments and the just balance of
his thoughts, the simplicity of his character and his
winning personal traits ; considering the range of
offices well filled, his obligation to his clients well
and honorably discharged ; reflecting on all this,
do we not find the elements of a picture of what a
man ought to be^— the portraiture of the son, the
husband and the parent, the student, the scholar,
the lawyer, orator, patriot and Christian.
JOHN C. NOTT.
Judge John C. Nott was born at Norman Vale,
the old Taylor homestead in Guilderland, Albany
County, N. Y., August 15, 1835. His father was
Hon. Benjamin Nott, son of Dr. Eliphilet Nott,
for many years President of Union College.
Judge Nott's mother was Elizabeth Cooper, a
sister of Gen. John Taylor Cooper, of Albany,
and a granddaughter of Gov. John Taylor, a
distinguished character in the early history of the
State of New York. In 1843 Hon. Benjamin
Nott became a resident of Bethlehem, Albany
County.
In his early boyhood young Nott attended the
common school of Bethlehem, where he acquired
a rudimentary education. He prepared for
college at the Albany Academy, and entered Union
College, from whence he was graduated in the
class of 1856. He took his degree, with the repu-
tation of an excellent scholar.
In conformity with his intention of entering the
legal profession, he became a student at law in the
office of Cagger, Porter & Hand, of Albany, a
186
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
distinguished law firm, with a State and national
reputation. The advantages which young Nott
derived from his studentship in this firm of ac-
quiring a solid, practical legal education have been
manifested in his professional and judicial career.
He was also a student in the Albany Law School,
and is an alumnus of its class of 1863, and in that
year he was admitted to the Bar.
One or his early traits was a marked love for mil-
itary affairs ; to these he gave such attention that
he became an accomplished citizen soldier, exhib-
iting such decided abihties that in 1865 he was
promoted to the rank of Colonel of the Eighty-
second Regiment, N. G., S. N. Y. The efficient
and practical knowledge he brought to his office
exhibited itself in the drill and discipline of his
command.
In 1866 he formed a partnership with the late
Hon. Wm. S. Paddock, of Albany, in the practice
of his profession, under the firm name of Paddock
& Nott. This same year he was elected School
Commissioner for the First District of Albany
County, and although the business of his law firm
was large and extended, he found time to discharge
in a faithful and acceptable manner the duties of
his office. His relation with Recorder Paddock
continued to the year 1874, when he was nomi-
nated for Police Justice by the Democrats of Al-
bany. He was elected by a plurality of 2,400.
In 1878 he was renominated and elected by a ma-
jority of 3,700 over his Republican competitor.
In 1882 he was a third time nominated, and was
elected by a majority of about six thousand. These
repeated elections, with such largely increased ma-
jorities, eloquently attest the ability with which he
discharged his first judicial duties, and the estima-
tion in which he was held by the citizens of Al-
bany.
In 1882 he formed a partnership with Isaac B.
Barrett, a gentleman whose legal attainments are
generally acknowledged, and who occupies a high
standing at the Albany Bar. This partnership still
continues, and is a leading firm of Albany.
The appreciation of Judge Nott was manifested
in a higher and more marked degree by his eleva-
tion to the Bench of the County Court of Albany
County.
On October ID, 1883, the Citizens' Association
of Albany nominated him for County Judge. Three
days later he received the indorsement of the Dem-
ocratic County Convention, and was elected at the
general election in November following, by an un-
usually large majority of five thousand nine hun-
dred and seventy-seven, being the highest majority
of an}' nominee on the ticket.
He brought to the Bench all those qualities that
rendered him so useful and popular in his former
official position. He exhibited familiarity with
statute law, criminal law and the laws of evidence.
In the trial of causes he grasped the facts with rapid
precision, and decided both questions of law and
fact promptly and without circumlocution.
" On the bench he is not given to verbosity. In
passing upon questions of law in a civil action, or
imposing its penalties on convicted criminals, he is
always brief and to the point. He does not wander
off into a maze of decisions, theories or parallel
cases, nor does he read vapid homilies to them."
He pronounces his decisions in terse, positive lan-
guage, and he comes to his sentences of criminals
with directness and dignity. His severit}- is always
adequate to the crime of which the criminal is
convicted, and he gives due consideration to prop-
erly established mitigating circumstances.
One of the first trials at which Judge Nott
presided was of absorbing interest. It was
at the April, 1884, term of the Court of Ses-
sions, and the manner in which he presided com-
mended him alike to the admiration of the Bar and
the respect and confidence of the public. Alfred
F. Vedder, a minister of the Gospel, was arraigned
for procuring an abortion to be performed upon
one Anna A. Walters, a young lady who had been
one of his flock. The story she told was highly sen-
sational, relating to their first meetings, their visits
together to different hotels and to different cities,
and in many of the details her story was strongly
corroborated by circumstantial evidence. The de-
fense was conducted with great earnestness, and
every possible point made and saved for review.
Judge Nott held the scales of justice evenly bal-
anced, ruled promptly on the many law questions
presented, and at the close of the evidence, in a
lucid charge, submitted the case to the jury, which
rendered a charge of guilty, and Vedder was
sentenced to State Prison for four years.
Many difficult law questions were debated on
the trial. Was Miss Walters an accomplice of the
prisoner.? became a very important question. If
she was, her evidence required corroboration under
section 399 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
It was argued for the defense that she was a party
to the crime, consenting, and equally guilty with
the prisoner. Judge Nott held that she was not an
accomplice, but rather a victim. An appeal was
taken to the General Term of the Supreme Court,
and the conviction was affirmed by a divided
court. A further appeal was taken to the Court of
Appeals, and that court unanimously confirmed
the conviction, and thus settled in this State the
mooted question of whether a woman who submits
to an abortion is an accomplice of the procurer.
The opinion of that court was written by Chief-
Justice Ruger, and contains a review of the trial,
and expressly affirms every ruling made on the
trial. This case justly added to the reputation of
Judge Nott, and placed him in the ranks of the
ablest of our trial judges.
His written opinions have the impress of reflection
and learning, alwa3s interlarded with sufficient pre-
cedent to sustain his conclusions; but they were never
loaded down with pedantic quotations. From his
written opinions we have room to refer to only two.
Although very brief, they are very important, and
g^ve the reader a very adequate knowledge of the
character and st}'le of his judicial mind and
method.
The first of these cases is that of The People vs.
John Harringlon and George Messer, Jr., in the
Albany County Sessions. The defendants, at the
THE BENCH AND BAR.
187
June term in 1883, Judge Van Alstyne presiding,
pleaded guilty to an indictment for burglary in the
second degree. Their sentence was suspended and
they were discharged from custody. In November,
1884, they were committed to jail b}' one of the
police justices, charged with another crime;
whereupon the District Attornej', on December 5,
1884, caused them to be brought into that court,
Judge Nott presiding, and moved that each be
sentenced under his plea of guilty, entered at the
June term of 1883. Their counsel objected to
the sentence, under which a very interesting law
point was raised and elaborately argued, touching
the rights of the court to suspend the sentence of
convicted criminals and discharge them indefinitely,
and the right of a court to inflict a sentence at any
subsequent time on motion of the District At-
torney.
At the time the plea of guilty was entered both
defendants were under sixteen years of age. When
brought up for sentence, Harrington yet was under
sixteen, but Messer was over that age.
"In the case of the People vs. Monisette (20 Howard
Pr., 118)," says Judge Nott in his opinion, "the Court of Oyer
and Terminer refused to suspend sentence, holding that no
suspension of sentence or stay is authorized, except upon a
certiorari or writ of error, on application in arrest of judg-
ment, or for a new trial; but this ruling is contrary to the
current of cases in this country, and the precise point has
been recently determined in the Fourth Department of the
Supreme Court in the People ws. Graves. Says Hardin, J.:
' We regard the essential question in this case so firmly re-
solved against the appellant by the authorities that we do
not deem it useful to open the question for fresh investigation
and adjudication (2 N. Y. Crim. Rep., 227). It is just and
proper that the pov^er to suspend sentence should exist in
the Superior Criminal Courts. Great harm might flow to
society in the destruction of the means of those charged
with the administration of criminal justice, to expose through
this aid dangerous conspiracies to person and property.' ' It
would seem,' says Dixon, J., 'that itisstating the matter too
broadly to assert that it is always the imperative duty of a
court to render judgment on a conviction of crime, unless
some legal proceedings for review Ije interposed; considera-
tions of public policy may induce the court to slay its hand
(State vs. Addy, 14 Vroom, 113-39, Am. Rep., 546).' In
the case of Harrington, the clemency of this court seems to
have had no salutary effect upon him. We find him again
in the custody of the law, charged with crime, and our duty
is to impose sentence upon him, which is that he be con-
fined in the House of Refuge durmg the pleasure of the
managers (Park vs. People, i Lansing, 263). In Messer's
case a different question is presented. In his case, at the
time of his plea of guilty, he was one of that class of crim-
inals recognized as juvenile delinquents, and the sentence of
the court might and probably would have been to the House
of Refuge, where his mind would have been properly trained
and means taken to reform and educate him, and although
but for the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure
(sec. 832), he would be disqualified as a witness (People vs.
Park, 41 N. Y., 21), yet his right to vote at any election when
arriving of age would not be taken away (Penal Code, 711).
He is now over the age of sixteen years, and if sentenced
he must be imprisoned in a State prison for not more than
ten years nor less than five years (Penal Code, 507), or
to the Elmira Reformatory, wherefrom he may be trans-
ferred to a State prison .
" A sentence now under the plea of guilty would be add-
ing an additional penalty to that which might and probably
would have been suffered if sentenced at the time he
entered his plea, that of disfranchisement. It is an exem-
plary rule that any law that changes the punishment and
inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the
crime when committed is void (Calder vs. Bull., 3 Dall.,
386-390), and the rule is the same when the law is changed
after conviction (Hartung vs. People, 22 N. Y., 95). The
humanity of our law and the genius of our Constitution
require that no severer penalty should be imposed on a
criminal than that which existed when the offense was com-
mitted or a conviction had. In State vs. Addy (43 New
Jersey Law Reports, 113), it was held on a conviction of
maintaining a nuisance, the court having suspended sentence
on payment of costs, so long as the defendant should abate
the nuisance, that a sentence of imprisonment at a sub-
sequent time was void.
" The charity of a court should not be allowed to work an
injustice to a defendant. Independent of the question of
disfranchisement, there is such a marked difference between
the methods and prison discipline of the House of Refuge
and a Slate prison that it is apparent that a sentence now of
Messer to a State prison would be harder and more severe
than if sentenced over a year ago, when the plea was
entered ! Entertaining these views, the court declines to
sentence Messer on his plea of guilty, and remands him
into the custody of the Sheriff, under the later criminal
charge, upon which he was committed to jail, to be proceeded
against as the law directs."
This decision, it will be seen, is sustained by
acute reasoning, strongly fortified by legal author-
ities and common sense suggestions, and exhibits
an able, fearless and humane judicial officer.
The other case to which we alluded is that of
Heenan vs. The West Shore Railroad. It is of great
importance, as it settles the jurisdiction of the
County Court over the person in regard to the ser-
vice of processes from it, and what constitutes the
legal residence of domestic corporations.
Heenan brought an action against the West
Shore R. R., in the County Court of Albany
County, to recover damages for injury to personal
property, caused in defendant's negligence in operat-
ing its railroads through the village of West Troy,
in Albany County.
The complaint alleges that the defendant is a
domestic corporation, engaged in the carrying of
freight and passengers for hire in various parts of
the State, including the County of Albany; that a
part of its line of road is located in this county.
The answer of the defendant admits that it is a
domestic corporation, and avers that its principal
place of business is, and was at and long before the
commencement of this action, established by its
articles of association and actually located in the
City of New York; that its principal place of bus-
iness never was established or located in the County
of Albany, and that the summons was served upon
the defendant in the City of New York. The
answer also puts in issue the various allegations in
the complaint.
On the trial it was established that the defendant,
being a railroad corporation, operated its road
through various counties of the State, including
Albany County; that by the articles of association
and in fact its principal place of business is and
was located in the City of New York; that the
summons in the action was served upon one of the
officers of the defendant in the City of New York.
The plaintiff had a verdict, whereupon the de-
fendant moved for a new trial and a dismissal of
the complaint.
" Two questions," said Judge Nott, "are presented for the
consideration of the court: first, has the court such juris-
diction as to entertain the action ? second, if it has not, has
the defendant waived, or is he precluded from raising, the
188
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
point, he having appeared and answered ? The Code of
Civil Procedure provides that for the purpose of determin-
ing the jurisdiction of the County Court a domestic corpora-
tion or joint stock association, whose principal place of bus-
iness is established by or pursuant to a statute or by its
articles of association, or is actually located within the
county, is deemed a resident of the county, and personal
service of a summons made within the county, as prescribed
by the Code, is sufficient (sec. 541). Our jurisdiction, there-
fore, by this provision, in the case of a domestic corpora-
tion, depends, first, upon the location within our county of its
principal place of business, whether by force of a special
statute or its articles of association, or its actual location ;
and secondly, personal service of the summons within the
county upon one of those of its ofificers who may be served
under the Code of Civil Procedure with a summons in an
action against it.
" The provisions of the Constitution in reference to the
County Court (art. 6, sec. 15) are broad enough to permit
the Legislature to confer this power upon the County
Court, and that it is so eminently proper to cover cases
where large business enterprises are carried on within the
county, and some of its chief officers within the county di-
recting its principal offices, although the principal office
may be located in another county (Gemp vs. Pratt, 7 Daly,
197, distinguishing Landers vs. The S. \. R. Co., 53 N. Y.,
450)."
The conclusions the Court arrives at are as fol-
lows :
" Here the principal place of business of the defendant,
by its articles of association, and in fact, is located within
one county, and the summons was not served in this
county. The conclusion reached is, that this Court has
not jurisdiction over the defendant. This brings us to the
conclusion of the second question: Has the defendant
waived, or is it precluded from raising the objection. The
plaintiff insists that, the defendant having answered and ap-
peared generally in the action, although by its answer it
raised the issue of its residence, it cannot now say it is a
non-resident of the county, as the Court could acquire juris-
diction of the defendant Ijy the service of the summons
upon a proper officer of the company within the county,
which could not be done in the case of an individual.
" I am of opinion that the allegations of the complaint as
to residence were sufficient, and as the defect of which the
defendant complains did not appear on the face of the com-
plaint, he could not demur (Code, sec. 488). The objec-
tion to the jurisdiction was, therefore, properly taken
by answer (Code, sec. 498); Holbrook vs. Baker, 16
Hun, 176; Mayhew vs. Robinson, 10 How, 162.5),
and was not waived by appearance in the action, and
an answer therem setting up the objection (Sullivan vs.
Frazer, 4 Robt., 620; Wheelock vs. Lee, 74 N. Y., 497-8).
In opposition to the rule at common law, under the Code,
a defendant may plead as many defenses as he has, wheth-
er, as formerly denominated, to the jurisdiction in abate
ment or in bar (Code, sec. 507 ; Sweet vs. Tuttle, 16 N.
Y., 465). It follows, therefore, that the general appearance
of the defendant, distinctly by its pleading giving notice of
its intention to raise the question of jurisdiction, is no
waiver, nor does it preclude the defendant from insisting on
the want of jurisdiction of this Court (Landers vs. The S I
R. Co., S3 N. Y., 450; Davidsburgh vs. The K. L. Ins!
Co., 90 N. Y., 526). The cases cited by the plaintiffs
counsel (Paulding vs. Hurd Man. Co., E. D. Smith, 38-
Ballard vs. Burrows, 2 Robt., 206; Olcott vs. McLean', 73
N. Y., 223) do not apply to this case. An order must be
entered granting the motion of the defendant and awarding
a new trial, and the complaint should be dismissed."
This case was appealed to the General Term
and the opinion of Judge Nott was there cited'
with approval, and unanimously confirmed.
Judge Nott takes much interest in secret benev-
olent organizations, known as Masonery, Knights
of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and the Order of United Friends, to all of which
he has belonged for several years, and is held in
high estimation by his brethren of these orders. He
finds great pleasure in advancing their interests,
and his influence is recognized as salutary and
advantageous. In 1879 he was elected Grand
Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias, and in 1881
he represented the Grand Lodge in the Supreme
Lodge. In December, 1881, on the organization
of the Order of United Friends, he was elected
Imperial Chancellor for the term of two years.
The benefits of his administration among the be-
nevolent orders of the United States are generally
and warmly acknowledged.
In politics Judge Nott is a Democrat. To this
party he gave his adherence early in life, under the
conscientious conviction in the rectitude of its
principles, though he is willing to acknowledge all
real merit in- opposing parties and political oppo-
nents, recognizing the necessity of political parties
in a government organized like our own. While
he is strong in his political predilections, he is in
no sense a political bigot. In the discharge of
his judicial duties he forgets politics, partisans,
and poKtical distinctions, deciding whatever mat-
ters come before him from the stand-point of
strict impartiality.
Judge Nott carries into social life the amenities
of a gentleman by intuition and association. What-
ever sternness there is in his nature is exhibited only
on the bench, and there only as occasion requires.
In his social relations he is genial, easy of ap-
proach, attached to his friends, and attaches them
to himself in those reciprocal relations, always
agreeable in private life. Judge Nott has been,
and still is, attached to the cause of education, and
in this respect is also a very useful member of so-
ciety. Such are the characteristics and such the
career, down to this writing, of Judge John C.
Nott, stated without embellishment or amplifica-
tion. Readers of all classes will concede that an
honorable place in the history of Albany County
justly belongs to him.
EDWARD J. MEEGAN.
Mr. Meegan possesses endowments that natur-
ally qualify him for attaining success in his profes-
sion. Bold, ardent, self-reliant, clear in his con-
ceptions, with an extensive knowledge of books.
To these qualities may be added much ingenuity
aiid a quick and ready use of his learning in the
trial and conduct of causes, united with the ability
to protect himself against the coM/f/'eVa/of the most
learned and experienced opponent, and in his
turn is formidable in the attack, quick in detecting
the errors and omissions of others.
Thus equipped, though quite young, he has
reached the head of the junior, if not the senior.
Bar of his native city. His singular success in the
management of important causes in all of the State
Courts IS proverbial. Some of these causes have
passed into history, made interesting to the student
and practitioner by the new and original points
which determine cases in his favor. As is natural
with one of his ambition, he has found in politics
a sphere congenial to his tastes, in which he has
gained a position of such eminence and influence
THE BENCH AND BAR.
189
that he has become a power and a leader in the
Democratic party, to which he gave his early alle-
giance, as we shall more fully see in tracing his life
and career.
He was born at Albany, N. Y., September 28,
1846. His parents were Thomas and Sarah Mee-
gan, natives of the County of Tyrone, Ireland, from
whence they came to this country in 1824, and
became residents of Boston, Mass. In 1826 they
removed to Albany, where they were highly re-
spected, and there resided until their death.
Young Meegan developed a love of learning,
his amusement being found in books and the
practical reading of works apparently beyond his
comprehension. As the means of his parents were
limited, he was compelled to rely much upon his
own resources in attaining his education ; thus his
capacity was not obscured nor his mental growth
retarded by pampered indulgence or the want of
strong incentive to action. Accustomed to early
self-reliance, he entered the battle of hfe to become
a victor.
At an early age he was placed at St. Joseph's
Parish School, Albany, where he was carefully and
profitably educated. It was in this institution that
he gave indubitable evidence that his future life
would be devoted to one of the learned professions.
Indeed, one of the dreams of his early ambition
was the hope of becoming a lawyer, and it is pleas-
ant to record the manner in which those pleasing
dreams became reality.
At the early age of thirteen these dreams began
to take the form of reality and action. Young in
years but precocious in intellect, he entered the law
office of Edwards &" Slu7-levanl, a highly respecta-
ble firm at Albany. He at once entered upon the
practicable duties of a legal clerkship, learning
that detail of a lawyer's life by witnessing and, in a
measure, participating in the most important part
of a lawyer's life and duties in the law office ; and
thus we may say that ]\Ir. JNIeegan was, in the
fullest sense, bred to the law.
He continued with this firm and with Isaac Ed-
wards, Esq. , distinguished as the author of ' ' Ed-
wards on Bills and Notes,'" and a highly approved
work on Bailments, etc. , until his admission to the
Bar. This event took place in 1867, as soon as he
reached the constitutional age of twenty-one years.
He opened an office at Albany, surrounded by the
highest legal talent and experience, and entered
ardently and self-reliant into the practice of his
profession.
He had passed with great credit through the
teachings of his profession; his studentship was full
and unconditional. He gave to the office in which
he studied his entire time and attention — much
more time than the law requires to fit a student for
examination. He read with ambitious fidelity to
his callmg, and conducted with his own hands
many hundred cases through all the intricacies of
the Code ; so that when he began practice for him-
self, young as he was, he was a trained and experi-
enced lawyer. With these advantages, and unflag-
ging energies, quickened by ambition, it is not
strange that signal success at once attended him.
In May, 1869, he was elected by the Common
Council of Albany Corporation Counsel, having
then been only two years at the Bar. Perhaps no
higher compliment could be paid to the talents of
the young lawyer than this. The duties of the
oflBce demanded high abilities, learning and pru-
dence. Happily, both for the city and him, he
brought to it all these endowments.
When he commenced his official duties there
were many unfinished suits, and he was confronted
by an accumulation of official work that would
have been almost appalling even to an older and
much more experienced lawyer. But he entered
ardently and sagaciously into the work before him.
By his executive ability, professional skill and vigi-
lance he saved the city over half a million of dol-
lars. This was recognized by the city authorities,
eliciting thanks from Mayor Thacher. Mr. Mee-
gan continued to discharge the duties of Corpora-
tion Counsel until April, 1874. In the meantime
his other legal business continued to increase
until few, if any, lawyers in the city commanded a
larger or more profitable clientage.
He adopted no specialty in his profession, for
he had prepared himself for a general law practice.
He devoted himself mostly to what is known as
civil cases, but he found in the criminal law a field
of usefulness and profit. The success which has
attended his career at the Bar is the best demon-
stration of his character and capacity as a lawyer.
Mr. Meegan, having relinquished the office of
Corporation Counsel, continued his practice with a
useful experience in the management of city cases,
particularly actions to vacate assessments for irregu-
larity, etc. He was retained in a very large num-
ber of these cases, and was successful in every one. .
The best evidence of a lawyer's career is what he
does and the results ; we, therefore, select a few
from the many cases conducted by Mr. Meegan as
interesting matter, not only to the profession, but the
general reader. Some of these cases are largely
connected with the history of' the City and County
of Albany, and are, therefore, appropriate matter
for this work. From our limited space, however,
we can only give a sufficient abstract of these cases
to put the reader in possession of the questions in-
volved in them, and a knowledge of the manner
in which they were conducted.
Perhaps one of the most important and interest-
ing cases conducted by Mr. Meegan was that of
Wm. H. Keeler, Sheriff of the County of Albany,
in which the attempt was made to take from the
sheriff the essential powers of his office ; in other
words, to denude the office.
On May 31, 1882, an act was passed by the
Legislature directing the Sheriff of Albany County
to remove all the prisoners from the Albany County
Jail to the Albany County Penitentiary, designating
that institution as the County Jail • of Albany
County, making the keeper of the said penitentiary
the jailer of the said county. H e was to be ap-
pointed by the joint board of the Supervisors of the
county and the Mayor and Recorder of the City of
Albany. The said Superintendent was to have the
custody and control of all persons confined in the
190
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
penitentiary, the same as the sheriff of the county
would have were the law not enacted, and no
jailer could, therefore, be appointed by the sheriff.
This act was a strange innovation upon the
rights and powers of the sheriff, inasmuch as the
control and charge of the prisoners in the county
have been for centuries the prerogative of the
sheriff.
Wm. H. Keeler was elected in November, 1882,
and entered upon the duties of his office January
I, 1883, restricted by the act to which we have
alluded.
The act had been pronounced constitutional by
many leading members of the Bar, but Mr. Keeler
decided to test the matter thoroughly. Accord-
ingly, on January i, 1883, he addressed Mr. Mee-
gan a letter, requesting him to give him his written
opinion as to the validity of the act. Mr. Meegan
prepared an opinion, in which he elaborately re-
viewed the law touching the case, coming to the
decision that the act was unconstitutional. This
opinion was generally acknowledged b}' the Bar to
be singularly learned and exhaustive, and added
largely to the reputation of its author as a learned and
critical lawyer. As a legal document it is prolific in
thought, strong in argument — a condensation of a
vast number of authorities to a single focal point,
and that the evident unconstitutionality of the act.
Strengthened by this opinion, Mr. Keeler invoked
the aid of the courts. Litigation followed, result-
ing in a decision declaring the law unconstitutional
and void.
It was a signal triumph both for the sheriff and
his counsel. The case created intense interest,
and Mr. Meegan undertook it with the prevailing
opinion of the Bar against him. It is a case of
historic interest, reported as The People ex rel. Mc-
Ewen vs. Keeler, 29 Hun's Reports, 175.
Another case of equal interest and importance
was that of The People vs. James M. Deinpsey el al. ,
involving the constitutionality of chapter 532 of the
Laws of 1 88 1, amending the Code of Civil Pro-
cedure in regard to the method of selecting Grand
Jurors in Albany County.
Grand jurors were annually selected by the Su-
pervisors of Counties under the Revised Statutes
(3d R. S., 6th ed., 1015; 3d R. S., 7th ed., 2558).
The amendment of the Code to which we have
referred changed the method of selecting grand
jurors in Albany County, providing that the Re-
corder of the City of Albany perform the duties
imposed upon the Town Clerk, Supervisor and
Assessor of Towns in regard to the drawing of
grand jurors, instead of drawing the said jurors
under the provisions of the Revised Statutes. The
change was sweeping, completely revolutionizing
the grand jury system, so far as Albany County
was concerned.
It provides that the grand jurors in Albany
County shall be drawn from the petit jurors' box, and
that the names of the proposed petit jurors are se-
lected, not, as heretofore, by the seventeen Super-
visors, but by the Recorder of the City of Albany.
The grand jury, as organized under this act, found
an indictment against James M. Dempsey el al.
for an alleged violation of the Election laws. Mr.
Meegan was retained to defend. This, like the
Keeler case, created great interest. It involved an
elaborate study of a large number of authorities.
Meegan took the ground that the Code, as amended
by chapter 532 of the Laws of 1881, so far as it
affected the City and County of Albany, is in con-
flict with the Constitution, as amended November
3, 1874. Article 3 of section 18 of the Constitu-
tion provides that " the Legislature shall not pass
a private or local bill in any of the following cases :
***** selecting, drawing,
summoning or impaneling grand or petit jurors."
The case was ably and learnedly conducted by
the District Attorney, but it resulted in an order ot
the Court declaring the indictment void and of no
effect, on the grounds of unconstitutionality.
From this order an appeal was taken by the Dis-
trict Attorney to the Supreme Court. A motion
made by Mr. Meegan for a dismissal of this appeal
was successful. His arguments in the different and
difficult phases of this case were, by common con-
sent, pronounced masterly efforts. A report of the
case will be found in 66 Howard's Pr. Reps., 371,
and 65 Howard's Pr. Reps., 365; will be found in
People vs. Z*?^— Judge Westbrook's opinion.
In the case of The People vs. Petrea, indicted
for grand larceny in September, 1881, by a grand
jury organized under the amendment of the Code
to which we referred in the foregoing case, Mr.
Meegan, in conducting the case for the accused,
interposed the same defense of unconstitutionality
that he did in the case of Dempsey et al. , and with
the same results. The Laws of 188 1 amending the
Code were declared unconstitutional (65 Howard's
Pr.. 59). The question was again raised in the case
of The People \s.Hooghtiud, 67 Howard's Pr. Reps. ,
256. Judge Andrews, as will be seen by consult-
ing page 259, expresses the strongest disapproba-
tion of the Court at longer tolerating a system so
directly in conflict with the provisions of the Con-
stitution as that provided by the amendment of the
Code to which we have referred.
In 1872 Mr. Meegan had charge of the defense
in the celebrated case of The People ex rel. Edmund
L. Judson agst. George H. Thacher, involving the
title to the office of Mayor of the City of Albany.
The trial of the case resulted in a verdict for the
defendant. An appeal to the Court of Appeals re-
sulted in an order for a new trial, but, pending the
new trial, Mr. Thacher resigned, having served
twenty months of his two years.
In 1882 Mr. Meegan was retained for the de-
fense in another contest over the oflSce of Mayor of
the City of Albany, that of The People ex rel. John
Swinburne vs. Michael Nolan. A long litigation
followed, but, after holding the office fifteen
months, Nolan resigned, and Swinburne served the
remainder of the two years' term. These cases are
so fresh in the recollection of the public that a
minute description of theni is unnecessary.
Perhaps no case which has occurred in Albany
for years has created so much interest as that of
The People vs. Frank R. Sherwin. It arose out
of the defalcation of Deputy State Treasurer Phelps.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
191
When his case was brought to trial, Sherwin was
subpoenaed as a witness, and refused to attend, and
for such refusal was indicted. Under the provis-
ions of the Statute rendering it indictable for every
person subpoenaed in a case like that of Phelps
guilty of willful disobedience of the subpoena
shall be guilty of a criminal offense and a misde-
meanor.
One of the points raised by the defense was that
it was not shown that Sherwin willfully and inten-
tionally disobeyed the subpoena, that the burden
of dispelling every possible reason which might be
regarded by the court as good or otherwise for the
non-attendance of the witness rested with the pros-
ecution. Mr. Meegan took no part in the trial,
which resulted in the conviction of Sherwin, and to
a sentence of one year in the penitentiary and a
fine of two hundred and fifty dollars. This was on
December 28, 1883. On January 30, 1884, Mr.
Meegan was retained. Wm. M. Evarts, Wm. A.
Beech, Gen. Tremain and J. Thomas Spriggs
had been in the case at different stages. At the
urgent solicitation of the defendant, Mr. Meegan
accepted a retainer for the purpose of avoiding his
sentence upon procuring bail, etc.
Then began a succession of motions and appli-
cations in various forms, numberless arguments be-
fore the judges of the Supreme Court; at length the
indomitable counsel procured stays of the sentence
and had Sherwin admitted to bail in the sum of
$3,000.
Mr. Meegan had to impeach the indictments;
but as there were two pleas of guilty, he could ob-
tain no relief for his client unless he could show
cause in the record. He spent many months in
diligent and unremitting labor on the case, and at
last succeeded in releasing his client on bail until
the final decision of the appeal, which is pend-
ing.
Few lawyers have been more successful in criti-
cising and analyzing indictments than Mr. Meegan,
and when his objections were overruled in the Oyer
and Terminer, they have been sustained in the Ap-
pellate Courts.
In the celebrated case of the People vs. Devine,
indicted for mayhem, the District Attorney had
followed the form in Whorton, but omitted
the words "on purpose." Although the in-
dictment contained every other element of the of-
fenses, it was quashed.
In another very important case, that of the
People vs. Gassbeck, indicted for burglary, Mr.
Meegan, for the defendant, succeeded in quashing
the indictment on an ingenious point after an elab-
orate and well-sustained argument.
The cases which Mr. Meegan has conducted are
too numerous to be even mentioned by their titles
for want of space. An examination of his briefs
proves them to be copious and learned legal pro-
ductions and their author an adroit and skillful
legal logician, capable of the most patient and per-
severing energy and research, which no difficulties
can baffle, no embarrassments perplex, no amount
of professional labor fatigue or discourage. As a
forensic speaker, he is always calm; methodical in
the arrangement of his matter; terse, vigorous and
pointed in his phraseology, and accurate in the
choice of his words. It would be strange indeed
if a person of Mr. Meegan's professional and social
standing and ardent mind should keep aloof from
politics. He is a Democrat, thoroughly imbued
with the belief that the principles of Democracy
should prevail. In the advocacy of those prin-
ciples, he has brought to bear that intellectual
strength, that singular versatility and imperturb-
able energy which characterize his professional
career.
Before reaching his majority, he exhibited the
qualities of an accomplished politician.
When he was twenty-one years of age, he as-
sumed the leadership of one of the wings of the
Democratic party in Albany, and in the vicissi-
tudes of the political contest that followed, he took
the place of one of the most skilled and distin-
guished politicians of the State, Peter Cagger, in
which he has sustained himself with consummate
ability and skill.
Without attempting any description of his po-
litical career, we may say with truth that he has
exhibited on several occasions the fact that he is a
power in politics, by no means local, but felt
throughout the State. Yet he is still a young man.
His success as a politician has not been at the ex-
pense of his profession, to which he subordinates
politics and everything that can encumber the
growth of his professional reputation. But his
success and distinction in politics may fairly be
considered as the stepping stone to the highest po-
litical honors whenever he shall enter the political
arena to contend for them.
Having thus described Mr. Meegan as he stands
before the public, as a lawyer and politician, it
remains for us to say a few words in regard to his
position in private life.
On the fifth of June, 1878, he was united by
marriage to Miss Kate E. Welch, of Alban}'.
This union was a happy one, and the domestic
relations of Mr. Meegan may be said to have been
truly enviable. But on the loth of January, 1884,
after the enjoyment of less than six years of wed-
ded happiness, he suffered an irreparable loss in
the death of his wife.
As a citizen Mr. Meegan occupies a high position,
possessing those attractive endowments which
render him a pleasing and instructive companion.
A large and admirably selected library affords him
ample intellectual aliment and the gratification of
a cultured literary taste.
HENRY SMITH.
Henry Smith was born in Cobleskill, Schoharie
County, N. Y., March 14, 1829. His father,
Thomas Smith, was for a long time at the head of
the Schoharie Bar, and afterward he was a distin-
guished member of the Albany Bar.
His son, Henry, like many other distinguished
legists and advocates, laid the foundation of his
education in the common or district schools,
which, humble as they were, have attached to them
192
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
memories and associations that touch the heart
and bring up sympathies in the mind of many an
occupant of places of distinction and honor. In a
word, they were and are the corner-stone of our sys-
tem of education.
One of the principal books used in the common
schools at that time was Lindley Murray's English
Reader, ' still remembered for the purity, elegance
and taste of its diction, the versatility, elevation
and excellence of its matter. It was, perhaps, the
study of this work that gave Smith the strong, per-
spicuous, affluent style that characterized his oral
and written productions.
What he could not learn in the district school he
studied with success under the tuition of his father.
At length he entered the academy at Esperance, N.
Y. , at the head of which was a scholarly, though
somewhat eccentric, Scotch gentleman of the name
of Wm. McLaren. He was particularly gifted in the
art of imparting instruction by a thorough, practical
discipline. Young Smith, who was a favorite with
him, acquired those scholarly habits, devotion to
study, and the knowledge how to study, which was
of such advantage to him in life. He was untiring
in his devotion to books, and his tenacious memo-
ry took the impression of what he read, like char-
acters made in softened steel, hardening when the
page was closed, so that he never lost the thought
or theme of an author.
Young Smith first conceived the idea of becom-
ing a merchant ; accordingly, in 1 844, he went to
Detroit, Mich. , where he engaged as a clerk in a
hardware store ; but whatever hours of leisure he
had were devoted to his books, and he was em-
phatically a student and a man of business. He
soon became convinced that he did not possess the
requisite qualities for a successful merchant, and
reflection brought to him the consciousness that he
was better qualified to enter the profession of which
his father was a distinguished member.
After remaining at Detroit a year he returned
home and entered his father's office as a student
at law. Few students read law as closely, as
systematically and as successfully as did young
Smith ; he loved the quaint style, the meta-
physical subtleties of the early black-letter law-
writers, and the pages of Bracton, Briton, Fleta,
Glanville and Coke-Littleton became familiar to
him.
Eighteen months passed away in this entire de-
votion to stud}', and then, although but eighteen
years of age, he applied for admission to the Scho-
harie Court of Common Pleas. On the loth of
June, 1847, he passed a critical and successful ex-
amination and was admitted to practice as an at
tomey of the court Immediately after attaining
his majority he was admitted to the Supreme Court,
and entered zealously into the practice of his pro-
fession at Cobleskill. In the autumn of 1854 Mr.
Smith received the nomination for county judge of
Schoharie County from the Whig part}', to which he
had given his allegiance. His party, however, was
largely in the minority, and he was of course de-
feated, but the large vote he received was a flatter-
ing testimonial of his popularity.
The talents, industry and energy of the young
lawyer brought an abundant reward, and he
soon attained a high rank at the Schoharie Bar.
His practice soon extended into adjoining counties,
and his clientage became so large and important
that he decided upon a larger sphere of action,
and in February, 1857, he removed to Alban}'.
By this decision he was conscious that he was
entering a legal arena famous in the annals of the
State — a bar composed of strong, expert, elegant
and accomplished lawyers. But he had already
developed abilities upon which he felt he could
rely for success in the brilliant field of labor he had
selected.
Physically, he was of stalwart mold, his mental
structure was strong and vigorous, and his energy
and determination were as boundless as his ambi-
tion. If he did not leap, Pallas-like, into full pro-
fessional honors and success, he reached them by
safe and sure approaches. To facilitate him in
this, he possessed what may be called a legal mind
and method ; an oratory at once bold, ingenious
and persuasive ; the suavity of his manner, the
equable fairness and honor in which he conducted
his practice won for him the friendship and esteem
of his brethren of the Bar. That success should be
the result of these endowments must be considered
almost a matter of course. Professional rivalry,
envy, and the hate of defeated suitors and political
antagonists might, and did, doubtless, as they ever
do, magnify those errors and faults which Mr. Smith
shared, in common with mankind.
He brought to the Bar a drastic, physical
strength that enabled him to endure the most ardent
and exhausting labors. The examination of his
cases was close and critical. He firmly rested
upon the result of his conclusions concerning them,
and never willingly relinquished their advocacy
until the final and authoritative judgments of the
court were pronounced upon them. He also
brought to them a careful, independent, keen dis-
crimination, a quick and ready use of his learning.
Wit and humor, ridicule and invective, he employed
as circumstances required.
He could on the most exciting occasion be calm
and self-possessed, but it was the calmness of stem
resolve, persistent and tenacious in its triumphs
over passion and irritability. His first law partner
after coming to Albany was, we believe, Mr. Hugh
W. McClellan. He was for a time a partner with
Edward Newcomb, Esq. In 1 864 the famous firm
of Smith, Bancroft & Moak was formed, which ex-
isted until the time of Mr. Bancroft's death, early
in 1880. After the death of Mr. Bancroft, the firm
was known as Smith, Moak & Buchanan, ]\Ir. B.
having been previously made a member of the firm.
Like most lawyers, he had ambition for political
success, and he early gave his allegiance to the old
historic Whig part}', so grand, we had almost said
"so sublime in the lustre of the great names that
sustained it" The allegiance he gave it came
warm from the depths of his heart His first great
political sorrow came to him while yet a youth
with the defeat of his ideal of all that was illustri-
ous in American statesmanship, Henry Clay.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
193
In 1856, after the dismemberment of the Whig
party by its divisions on the question of slavery,
the Republican party came into existence, and Mr.
Smith at once joined his political fortunes to it,
giving it his influence and laboring diligently for
its success, and he soon became one of its recog-
nized leaders in the City and County of Albany.
Although in that exciting period of our history
he entered ardently into the political arena, he did
not forget that success in his profession was the
paramount object of his life. Perhaps we may say
that he only sought politics as a relaxation from
his professional cares and labors, and thus he
never permitted the lawyer to be lost in the poli-
tician.
In 1862 Mr. Smith received the nomination for
Congress in the Fourteenth District. This, how-
ever, was merely complimentary, as the Democrat-
ic majority in the district was overwhelming. In
1865, and for several years previous, the Democrats
had controlled the office of District Attorney in the
County of Albany. In the fall of that year Mr.
Smith was nominated for District Attorney by the
Republicans, and after an unusually hot contest he
was elected by a small majority. As has well been
said, " The duties of this responsible office were
discharged by Mr. Smith to the entire satisfaction
of the community, and with much success. His
administration was signalized by a notable increase
in the number of convictions for grave crimes.
Through his efforts a severe blow was dealt to the
criminal classes, in high as well as low places. On
the 31st of December, 1868, he was succeeded by
that distinguished lawyer, Rufus W. Peckham, Jr.
In the autumn of 1866, while discharging the du-
ties of District Attorney, he was nominated by the
Republicans of Albany for Member of Assembly.
Though the Democratic majority in the county
was very large, and the prospect of his election
quite dubious, yet he was elected by the very flat-
tering majority of 564 votes." This circumstance
sufficiently attests the popularity of Mr. Smith. He
took his seat in the Legislature January i, 1867.
The Republicans had a large majority in the House,
and Edmund L. Pitts, of Orleans County, was
elected Speaker. In recognition of Mr. Smith's
abilities, he was placed second on the two most
important standing committees of the House — the
Ways and Means and the Judiciary Committees.
To the duties of these committees Mr. Smith
brought talents and acquirements that rendered
him one of the most useful and successful mem-
bers ; but they also brought a vast amount of labor,
research and patience. An examination of the
various committee reports of which he was the au-
thor is the best evidence, perhaps, of the manner
in which he discharged his legislative duties, and it
cannot be denied that he stood foremost among the
able orators who occupied seats in this Legislature.
In 1868 he was nominated for a member of the
constitutional convention from Albany, but was
defeated.
Such was the increase of his professional duties,
that he was obliged to devote himself with unre-
mitting zeal to his clients, and it is said that he
25
had decided in his own mind to abandon politics
forever. But in the fall of 1871 he was persuaded
to accept the nomination for member of Assembly
from the Second Assembly District of Albany, and
was elected by a highly respectable majority.
The legislative session opened January 2, 1872.
Mr. Smith was with great unanimity brought for-
ward as a candidate for Speaker. In the Republican
caucus, held January 8, he was nominated for
this important office and the next day was elected.
Mr. Smith's address on taking the Speaker's chair was re-
garded as a model inaugural. It was liberal and statesman-
like ; with no pretensions to eloquence, it was the embodiment
of eloquence ; though condensed and brief, it was ample and
explicit, and withal, it had in it much of that magical viva-
city which enlivened all his public addresses and entered
into his conversation.
"Every right-minded legislator," he said, "must be
deeply and solemnly impressed with the awful responsibility
which rests upon him here ; and while it requires the exer-
cise of the very best ability, it also requires that it should be
exercised with purity, and with a sole desire to the public
good ; party considerations, political considerations, pri-
vate considerations, every consideration must be made
subservient to the common good of all, and I feel assured
that we, as a body, realize these things, and that no man
here will permit, in a direct or indirect manner, his judg-
ment to be affected, or himself to be swerved in the slightest
degree. To make laws is the highest and most responsible
duty ever undertaken by man. We are called here as law-
makers ; let us see to it that we make such laws as shall tend
to the protection and welfare of the people of this State."
In appointing standing committees he exhibited
his high appreciation of worth and ability by
appointing several of the most pronounced Demo-
crats. As an instance, he appointed Mr. Jacobs,
of Kings, on the Committee of Ways and Means,
and he gave the Hon. David B. Hill, of Chemung,
a place on the Judiciary Committee. Other leading
Democrats were liberally remembered in making
up committees.
We cannot follow Mr. Smith's career as Speaker
through this remarkably important legislative ses-
sion. Suffice it to say, it was characterized by a
high degree of ability, and in all its details he ex-
hibited the qualities of an accomplished parlia-
mentarian. The session closed May 14, 1872,
and with it the public political career of Mr. Smith.
Having thus briefly described Mr. Smith as a
legislator, we shall now trace a little farther his
career at the bar in his maturer years, as we have
already described him as a young lawyer. In the
contests of the bar he was frequently defeated ; but
he never lost a cause by inattention or neglect.
Charles O'Conor once remarked that "the lawyer
who won one-half the causes committed to him
must be regarded as eminently successful. " Judg-
ing Mr. Smith by this standard, we must say that
he has been, and is, eminently successful. He
never lost a cause by inattention, neglect, or from
the want of a full understanding of the law and
facts of the case. One strong characteristic was
his lucid, concise and suggestive manner of stating
facts to the jury. This, in opening a case, is es-
sentially effective. According to Lord Erskine's
view, a cause skillfully opened to a jury is already
half tried. Perhaps the greatest strength of Mr.
Smith at nisi prius was his manner of examining
194
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and cross-examining witnesses, especially the man-
ner in which he conducted the latter. Whatever
power and effect there, may be in a skillful and
eloquent address to the jury — and there is much —
still it must yield to the effect of an ingenious
cross-examination. It is one of the most difficult
and important duties which an advocate can per-
form ; it requires a knowledge of human nature,
quick sensibilities in discerning the characteristics of
a witness, and a subtle discrimination in detecting
his peculiarities. When not founded on materials
of contradiction, to obtain some information which
the witness would be willing to g^ve, it proceeds
on the assumption that the party interrogated has
sworn an untruth, which he may be compelled or
induced to vary. But it is often the means by
which good and trustworthy evidence is mischiev-
ously weakened or destroyed. In this branch of
practice Mr. Smith was eminently effective, pos-
sessing the power of reading the thoughts of a
witness, of anticipating his answers, of ascertaining
his peculiarities, his subterfuges, and finally of
drawing forth from unwilling witnesses facts which
they struggled hard to conceal. His cross-exam-
ination, like James T. Brady's, had the talismanic
power of bringing truth out of falsehood, and of
often showing dishonest suitors and witnesses the
force of the Bible adage, "Be ye sure that your
sins will find you out."
Mr. Smith once remarked that he seldom, if
ever, failed to detect perjury in a witness, by his or
her manner, while testifying. "To the keen,
watchful and practical observer," he said, "there
is alwa)'S something in the glance of the eye, some-
thing in the manner and the speaking of false
witnesses, that betrays them."
We have already alluded to his remarkable
memor)'. He forgot nothing. Every fact, every
rule, every principle, once attained, remained with
him forever. This was another invaluable faculty
to him as a lawyer.
In conducting a purely legal argument, or in
conducting an argument founded on facts alone,
he proved himself a strong legal logician, with
flexible powers of illustration and condensation,
demonstrating, in many respects, Cicero's views,
" the eloquent lawyer who speaks with sense and
candor, in the forum and in civil causes, in such a
manner as to prove, to delight and to persuade. "
Mr. Smith's knowledge of the law was founded on
a close and critical study of the books. This is
evidenced by his well-considered, well-reasoned
and learned legal arguments at the bar, which may
be regarded as able contributions to the learning
of the profession.
Among the many important civil cases conducted
by Mr. Smith was that of the Walton Dwighl's
Executors against the Germania Life Insurance
Company, tried at the Chenango Circuit in the fall
of 1883. The details of this great insurance case
are so familiar to the public that it needs no de-
scription here. Suffice it to say, that it is by far
the most important and interesting case growing
out of pohcies of insurance ever tried in the United
States. Mr. Smith appeared for the plaintiff; he
opened the case to the jury on the 1 2th of No-
vember, 1883, and began his summing up to them
on the the loth of December following. A close
inspection of these efforts of Mr. Smith's, as pub-
lished, is indubitable evidence, not only of schol-
arly and legal lore, but of the highest merits of legal
oratory. The part he took in this trial was a
task for which his mind was peculiarly fitted. His
keen sagacity and thorough knowledge of the
human heart, and his peculiar force of expression
and power of analysis, had the widest scope for
their exercise, and he used them with a power of
reasoning which the final result of the great case
fully demonstrated.
In the great case of the People agt. Cole, for
killing Hiscock, a member of the constitutional
convention, Mr. Smith was associated with the
Hon. Lyman Tremain and Hon. Amasa J.
Parker. This was a case that called irito action all
the sympathies of Mr. Smith's nature, and all his
talents, and in a manner which aided largely in
conducting the case to a successful issue for his
client. He was one of the leading counsel in the
famous Susquehanna R. R. litigation, and distin-
guished himself in the uncommon abilit)' which he
displayed. It would require volumes to give any
adequate description of the numberless trials in
which he was engaged through his long and con-
spicuous professional career. The history of those
cases is interspersed through the history of the
Federal courts.
We do not insist that Mr. Smith was a perfect or
unrivaled lawyer, or that he was not in any re-
spect open to criticism, for there are few who are
not ; but with every liberal deduction for his faults
which truth demands, we are sure that an appeal
to the candor of thos6 who have long watched his
career at the Bar will decide that he made for
himself a name and fecord which we have not
exaggerated, and which is destined to live and
shine in legal history.
Mr. Smith was a man of extended learning,
general as well as professional, possessing a finely
cultivated literary taste and an acquaintance with
the best authors, ancient and modern, and he
wielded a pen of classic elegance and power.
Genial in his temperament, possessing a fund of
agreeable anecdote and a happy manner of relat-
ing them, he was attractive and interesting in his
social relations and surrounded himself with many
friends.
He continued devotedly attached to his profes-
sion, as a member of the distinguished law firm,
Smith, Moak & Buchanan, until his relations with
them were severed suddenly by his death, which
took place December i, 1884.
LE GRAND BANCROFT.
Mr. Bancroft was a man whose life and career as
a lawyer, a citizen, a husband and father is sur-
rounded by pleasing memories and associations.
Through the long period of forty years he was a
resident of Albany, and held by its citizens in the
highest respect and esteem. He possessed charac-
i.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
195
teristics that naturally inspired and retained these
sentiments. He had those qualities of thought, of
feeling, of judgment ; that refined delicacy and
sensibility, that devotion to truth and honor, which
goes beyond respect and esteem, and inspires
admiration. As a lawyer, his talents, his in-
dustry, erudition and .honorable devotion to his
clients naturally gave him a high place in the
profession.
His benignity, equability and remarkable can-
dor enabled him to pass through the collisions and
turmoil of his profession without making an enemy.
A distinguished jurist of Albany said at the time
of his death : "I believe I can say of Le Grand
Bancroft that he died without an enemy ; " so it is
quite impossible for his biographer to give any just
description of his life and character, without using
the language of eulogy.
Mr. Bancroft was born at Elmira, N. Y. , May 4,
1 8 1 8. He was a son of Dr. Rulandus Bancroft,
one of the most distinguished physicians and sur-
geons in the southern tier counties.
He received an excellent rudimentary education,
and, at the age of fifteen, became a pupil of Hon.
A. S. Thurston, a prominent lawyer and highly
cultured scholar of Elmira. With Judge Thurs-
ton, young Bancroft continued the study of Latin
and other classical studies, which he began in his
primary course. Judge Thurston was at this time
a highly popular classical teacher of Elmira, with an
extended pupilage. The young man soon com-
mended himself to his instructor by his generous
and noble qualities of mind, his intelligence, and
more than all by the devotion and progress he
made in his studies — a characteristic always attrac-
tive to conscientious teachers.
Our duties in describing the early character of
Mr. Bancroft cannot be discharged more profita-
bly than by using the language of a beautiful letter
from Judge Thurston to Miss Jean T. Bancroft, a
daughter of the subject of this sketch.
" I can seem to see him now," says the letter,
" resting his head upon his two hands, poring over
his books, scarce lifting his eyes from them from
morning till night ; and then, his demeanor, so
gentle, so respectful, so polite, attached me to him
as I was never attached to any other scholar.
"After I commenced the practice of law in El-
mira, and I think it must have been in the year
1837, your father entered my office as a student,
and here he was just as studious and indefatigable
as he had been as a pupil at school. His tastes
seemed to incline him more to that part of the pro-
fession relating to Eand Titles and Real Estate
generally than in any other department. In his
habits he was rather retiring, and the ' rough and
tumble ' of the forum and the practice before the
country Justices of the Peace were altogether dis-
tasteful to him.
"I don't know what year it was — -as my register
has been destroyed — that he left my office ; it was,
probably, about the year 1839 or '40. But I remem-
ber well that, when he did go out from me, I gave
him an open letter, in which I stated, as near as I
could, what kind of a young man he was.
" His father, not being in a situation to pay out
money, and your father, fully appreciating the situ-
ation, was determined to carve out his own for-
tune. With my letter in his hand — perhaps with
other letters — he made his way to Albany, and,
knowing no person in the city, he formed the ac-
quaintance of the late Teunis Van Vechten, with
whom he made an arrangement to enter his office
and complete his legal studies. What year he was
admitted to the Bar, I am unable to state. * * * *
"Of your father's subsequent career as a practi-
tioner at the Albany Bar, there are those who can
better speak of it than I can. I can only say that,
during all the years he lived in Albany, I never
failed, but always made it my first business, when
visiting that city, to call upon him ; he was so re-
liable, so unselfish and generous, I could not but
always love and admire him. What Marc Anto-
ny said of Julius Ceesar cannot be too truly and
emphatically said of your father :
" 'This was the noblest Roman of them all.
His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in
him that Nature might stand up and say to all the
world, " This was a man. " ' "
Such is the tribute paid to Mr. Bancroft by one
who knew him from early boyhood, through his
student days, and through his long and honorable
career at the Bar. It is a testimonial as eloquent
as it is just and true that radiates his whole life. It
is very rare indeed that such tributes are paid to
public and professional men. Certain periods of
their lives are often made the subjects of eulogy,
but this one, as we have said, covers a whole life,
in which no part is omitted.
As we have seen by Judge Thurston's letter,
when Mr. Bancroft came to Albany he entered the
office of Teunis Van Vechten, then in partnership
with John Davis, Esq. Mr. Bancroft had become
so proficient in the learning of his profession that,
on the death of Mr. Van Vechten, he entered into
partnership with Mr. Davis, under the firm name
of Davis & Bancroft ; this was a profitable business
arrangement, and existed several years. It was
while a student in the office of Davis & Van Vech-
ten that Mr. Bancroft was called to the Bar. On
June 17, 1845, Mr. Bancroft was united by mar-
riage to Miss Emeline Randall, of Albany, N. Y.,
a lady of many accomplishments and many men-
tal and personal attractions. This union was an
exceedingly happy and fortunate one. Mrs. Ban-
croft survives her husband, enjoying the esteem and
affectionate regard of all who know her.
At the dissolution of the firm of Davis & Ban-
croft, the latter formed a copartnership with S. O.
Shepard, Esq., which continued until the breaking
out of the late Civil War.
Mr. Bancroft for some time had entertained the
thought of devoting the remainder of his life to
agricultural pursuits ; accordingly, on dissolving
with Mr. Shepard, he retired to his farm at Elmira,
N. Y., the home of his youth: Three years' ex-
perience in conducting his farm convinced him
that he was not exactly constituted for a farmer ;
at any rate, his love for his profession and his pro-
fessional associates at Albany was so strong and
196
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
increasing that it overcame whatever attractions
there were for him in a farm life, and he returned
to Albany, entering again into the active duties of
his profession.
In 1864 he became a partner of those truly
prominent lawyers, Hon. Henry Smith and N. C.
Moak, under the firm name of Smith, Bancroft &
Moak. This connection, we believe, existed down
to the time of Mr. Bancroft's death, with the change
made by the admission of Mr. Charles J. Buchanan
to the firm. As we have seen, Mr. Bancroft's tastes
led him to that most intricate and subtle department
of legal learning connected with Real Property.
Few persons studied the law of Real Property
more assiduously than Mr. Bancroft. Beginning
with Littleton's Treatise upon Tenures, published
more than four hundred years ago, he made him-
self familiar with the successive writers who have
discussed that subject in all its bearings down to
the present time. Few persons were better ac-
quainted with the changes made in the Laws
of Real Estate by the Revised Statutes, and with
the Amending Statutes which have followed them,
than he. He was, therefore, considered high au-
thority in all law touching Real Property, and
his knowledge of the land titles, not only in the
City but County of Albany, was unsurpassed.
In social life Mr. Bancroft was a favorite. To
use the language of the Albany Law Jouriial : " He
had ready wit, excellent judgment and a keen ap-
preciation of the ridiculous. Grave indeed must
have been the affair out of which he could not ex-
tract either pleasantry or consolation. His knowl-
edge of human nature was such, and his tact and
patience so great, that, however complex the mat-
ter intrusted to his charge might be, or how bitter
the respective litigants to the actions were, he al-
most invariably succeeded in disentangling the
knotty questions involved in the controver-
sy, and in bringing about a better feeling to the
suit His family relations were without reproach.
He was a devoted husband, a kind and affection-
ate father. He will ever be remembered by all
who knew him for his sterling manhood, his fidel-
ity to his clients, his friendship for all, and his en-
gaging manners.
" One of the most attractive features of Mr. Ban-
croft was his sincere, unobtrusive piety ; piety
which exhibited itself in every phase of his life, not
by presuming demonstrations, not by words, but
by corresponding actions. Such was his charitable
piety that to him could have been addressed the
language of the Saviour : ' As ye did it unto the
least of these, ye did it unto me.'
" At an early age, he received the rites of baptism
from that distinguished and venerated divine. Dr.
Welch, of Albany, and became a member of the
Pearl Street Baptist Church, and afterward of
Emanuel Baptist Church.
" Through all his years, till the close of his life,
he adorned his religious professions as an humble
and useful follower of his master.
' ' Our profession can ill afford to lose such
members. "
Mr. Bancroft died at his residence. No. 46 Lan-
caster street, Albany, on the evening of January 20,
1880, at the age of 62 years. His disease was
paralysis of the heart.
His departure was a shock to the city, particu-
larly to his brethren of the Bar. He died in the
midst of his usefulness, of his fame, surrounded by
all that makes life sweet and happy.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
197
S,,^^-^--^-^'^
WILLIAM S. PADDOCK.
William S. Paddock was a lawyer whose mem-
ory the Bar of Albany will always hold in the high-
est respect — a respect approaching to veneration.
Not only will his memory be thus cherished by the
Bar, but it will be equally honored by the people
of the City and County of Albany with those other
names so bright in their legal and civil history.
His large learning, his professional industry, his
judicial purity, his integrity, his devotion to all
his public duties, and his social worth, justly en-
title him to be thus remembered.
He was born at Bethlehem, Albany County,
N. Y., May 23, 1821. His ancestry were of Eng-
lish descent; his grandfather. Job Paddock, was
an early settler at Amsterdam, N. Y. , where the
father of Recorder Paddock was born, but who re-
moved very early in life to Bethlehem, where he
resided for many years, one of its most respected
citizens. At a very early age young Paddock was
placed at the old Lancasterian School, in Albany,
and, after a thorough discipline in that institution,
he entered Albany Academy, one of the most pop-
ular academic institutions in the State.
There he passed advantageously through a thor-
ough English and classical course, acquiring a high
reputation for his scholarly attainments.
At first his mind was directed to mercantile pur-
suits, and for two or three years he sedulously de-
voted himself to the occupation of a merchant.
But his native love of study, his devotion to books
and his scholarly turn of mind were not exactly
adapted to the calling of a tradesman ; besides, dur-
ing all his student days, he had a natural admiration
for the legal profession. It was his delight to spend
his leisure hours in the court-rooms of the city,
and witness the contests of the forum, in which
the great lights of the Albany Bar were engaged.
Here he saw how causes were tried by Hill, Rey-
nolds, Spencer, Harris, Wheaton, Peckham, Cag-
ger and others whose names are bright in legal
history. From them, and from their forensic ef-
forts, he caught the "Promethian spark," which,
at length, lit his own way to an honored place at
the Bar.
Relinquishing his mercantile business, he entered
the office of Wheaton, Dooliltle &• Hadley, a legal
firm, each of whose members was prominent in
the ' profession — a legal firm almost unrivaled in
strength and versatility of talents and learning.
With these accomplished lawyers, young Paddock
prepared for the duties of his profession. He
studied under the nice mathematical process and
subde distinctions of Special Pleading, but he was
called to the Bar in 1847, when the Code of Pro-
cedure was a few months old. Accordingly he
began his practice under the new regime. His
thorough discipline under the old practice, how-
ever, sharpened and invigorated his mind, and gave
him peculiar qualifications as a pleader under the
Code.
198
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
His admission to tlie Bar took place in 1847,
and in the following August he entered into part-
nership with his cousin, Stephen Paddock, Jr., a
highly respectable lawyer of Albany, under the firm
name of 3". &" W. S. Paddock. This was a fortu-
nate business arrangement for both partners, and
existed ten years, when the senior partner, Stephen
Paddock, retired, and Mr. W. S. Paddock formed
a copartnership with Hon. John M. Bailey, which
continued until Mr. Bailey was elected District At-
torney. Mr. Paddock then entered into partnership
with Hon. John C. Nott, at this writing the Coun-
ty Judge of Albany County. He continued with
Judge Nott until the election of the latter to the of-
fice of Police Justice, when the firm was dissolved.
His next professional connection was with Messrs.
Draper & Chester, under the firm name of Paddock,
Draper (s" Chester. This relation continued until
July I, 1882, when it was dissolved. All of Mr.
Paddock's legal partners were gentlemen of high
legal standing and accomplishments ; they were
profitable and honorable relations, each partner
holding the other in the highest respect and
esteem.
The abilities and high character of Mr. Paddock
as a lawyer summoned him to judicial duties. In
1856 he was elected to the ancient and honorable
office of Recorder of the City of Albany. When he
entered upon his first administration, the exciting
Mayoralty controversy between Hon. Eli Perry
and Dr. John P. Quackenbush was at its height.
Each of these gentlemen claimed to have been
elected Mayor of the city. The singular turn which
this contest took added, as we shall see, largely to
the responsibilities of Recorder Paddock, and it al-
so greatly increased his reputation. " Each of the
contestants maintained his right to act as Mayor,
and both appeared at the meetings of the Common
Council as its presiding officer. The matter was
taken to the courts, under a compromise by which
Recorder Paddock was to act as Mayor pending the
litigation. The case was never brought to trial, and
the City of Albany enjoyed a season of prosperity
and success under the administration of William S.
Paddock, acting in the dual capacity of Mayor and
Recorder." To say that his administration in both
positions was successful, is but to repeat well-known
facts of history; but he received only the salary of
Recorder, while Messrs. Perry and Quackenbush
each received the full salary of Mayor. He was
three times elected Recorder, the first time, as we
have seen, in 1856, and the last time in 1876. Dur-
ing this long term of judicial service he won the
confidence and esteem of the members of the Bar
and of the general public to a degree almost un-
precedented. He was one of those men who made
his way so quietly through the paths of usefulness
to public honors that the voice of envy and jeal-
ousy was never raised against him, and never ques-
tioned his integrity or doubted his ability.
To use the language of the Albany Everting Jour-
nal: " Mr. Paddock was known to the profession
as a very careful lawyer, his fealty on the side of
the right being paramount to all other considera-
tions. Never, in the whole course of his life, was
he known to do a wrongful act intentionally. If
he believed his convictions were right, he would ad-
here to them, come what might. "
Again, as was said of him by another: "He
was a polished gentleman, loved by those who had
the pleasure of being admitted to the list of his in-
timate friends. As a magistrate, if the occasion
demanded, he was stern and uncompromising, but
always courteous and accessible. He was always
liberal, his purse always open to deserving want,
and his sympathies as deep as his charities were
wide. Mr. Paddock early in life associated him-
self with the Democratic party, and was to the day
of his death a faithful and consistent member of
that organization, and one of its acknowledged
leaders.
" He was a member of Master's Lodge, No. 5, F.
and A. M. ; Temple Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.;
Temple Commandery, No. 2, K. T., and of the
Masonic Relief Association."
Recorder Paddock's domestic relations were ex-
ceedingly happy. On May 20, 1851, he married
Miss Magdalene, daughter of Gerrit and Cornelia
Hotaling, of Albany ; five sons and one daughter
were born to this marriage, all of whom survive
him but one son. They are Howard, William
G., Edward, George and Carrie Paddock.
Such was the life and career of William S. Pad-
dock, a man of latge influence and usefulness in
his profession, in his official capacity and as a pri-
vate citizen. It is hardly necessary for us to say
that the death of such a man, genial and generous,
should produce profound sensation and sorrow in
the city where he had long occupied so conspicuous
a position. Up to 1880 he enjoyed the most ro-
bust health. In May of that year he had an ap-
oplectic attack, which left the base of his brain
affected ; he, however, recovered, so he was able,
to an extent, to conduct his business. In the sum-
mer of 1882 he was again prostrated with the same
disease ; at length, about the last of December, the
last and fatal attack came. He lingered until the
19th of January, 1883, when he died.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
199
JAMES A. McKOWN.
Mr. McKowN, who occupies a highly respectable
position at the Albany Bar, was born at Guilder-
land, Albany County, March 19, 1819. His
father was Absalom McKown, a prominent and
much esteemed citizen of Albany County. His
mother's maiden name was Edith Le Grange,
daughter of John Le Grange, Esq., a man of high
standing in his day.
The advantages of young McKown for obtaining
an education were confined principally to the com-
mon district school. In his youthful days our present
system of general education was unknown, and in-
stitutions ranking above the common schools were
few ; but he utilized to the fullest extent every ad-
vantage he had ; he obtained a very good practical
education, with which he attained his success in
life, through his own unaided efforts. He, there-
fore, belongs to that large and valuable class of
meri with which the legal, and generally all pro-
fessions, abound — self-made men. It was his
early ambition to become a lawyer ; to that end he
directed every energy.
In recognition of his intelligence, sound judg-
ment, practical good sense and legal information,
he was quite early in life elected a Justice of the
Peace at Guilderland, serving in a very acceptable
manner for the almost unprecedented long period
of eighteen years.
His eminent services as a Justice of the Peace
were fully recognized, not only by the people of
Guilderland, but by the people of the county at
large, and this, in 1852, brought him forward as a
candidate for the office of Associate Judge of Al-
bany County. He was elected, and took his seat
on the bench of the County Court and Court of
Sessions. In 1853 he was re-elected. His judi-
cial term extended two years, and was very ac-
ceptable to the people of the county.
Mr. McKown was a close, industrious and ap-
preciative legal student; but he did not apply for
admission to the Bar until 1853, when, on motion
of that distinguished jurist, Hon. John K. Porter,
he was admitted to practice in all the courts of this
State; and, in 1865, he was, on motion of Hon.
Ira Harris, admitted to the United States Supreme
Court.
In April, 1856, Mr. McKown made the City of
Albany his residence, where he has continued to
reside from that time down to this writing, 1885.
His judicial mind and method prepared the way
for his election to the office of Surrogate of Albany
County. This event took place in the fall of 1855.
The duties of this office are important and. difficult.
No judicial position is more so than that of Surro-
200
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
gate. It requires a peculiar cast of mind and
much depth of learning to successfully discharge
the duties of the office.
We can say without affectation that Mr. Mc-
Kown brought to the office abilities, learning and
industry of a high order, which rendered his ad-
ministration successful, and he retired from the
office with the good wishes and good opinion of
the Bar and the public.
In his practice he has had no specialty, but has
conducted a general legal business with success,
and has always surrounded himself with a respect-
able and profitable clientage.
His long identification with the Albany Bar, his
high and upright character, his honorable course
as a practitioner, has given him an eminent place in
his profession.
Mr. McKown belongs to the Republican party.
He espoused the tenets of that party under the
firm belief that they are the safest and best for the
State and nation. Though he is decided in his
political opinions, he is in no sense aggressively so.
He is not, and never has been, a seeker after
office or place.
In his religious proclivities he favors the Baptist
Church.
In 1837 he was united by marriage to Miss
Alida Van Valkenburgh.
In his official career Mr. McKown, as we have
seen, commanded the respect of the people of Al-
bany County. As a lawyer and citizen, and in all
relations of private life, he has always had in a large
degree the confidence and esteem of the public ;
and, finally, few, if any, are more entitled to hon-
orable mention in the history of Albany County
than James A. McKown.
MAJOR-GEN. JOHN TAYLER COOPER.
Major- Gen. John Tayler Cooper was born in
Albany, in April, 1798, and died August 13, 1878,
in his eighty-first year. His father was Dr. Charles
D. Cooper, who, in his time, was one of the most
distinguished of Albany's physicians. His mother
was the niece and adopted daughter of the wile of
Gov. John Tayler, who was Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor of the State of New York from 18 13 to 1822,
and Acting-Governor part of the time. His brother,
Charles D. Cooper, became a noted Episcopal cler-
gyman of Philadelphia, and survived him. He had
two sisters, one of whom, Elizabeth, married Ben-
jamin Nott, and became the mother of Hon. John
C. Nott, of Albany, and the other, Margaret, mar-
ried Joel B. Nott. Benjamin and Joel B. Nott
were sons of Dr. E. Nott, president of Union Col-
lege.
Gen. Cooper attended the best schools of Al-
bany, and subsequently entered Union College,
where he graduated, after four years' study, in 1818.
Afterward he entered the law office of Messrs. John
V. Henry and James McKown. and studied for the
Bar, being admitted to practice in 1S21. Formr
ing a copartnership with Simeon DeWitt Blood-
good, who was at one time editor of the Advertiser,
printed by Webster on the old Elm Tree corner, he
practiced his profession until Mr. Bloodgood's re-
moval to New York, when he retired permanently
from legal life. He had inherited a fine fortune
indirectly from Gov. John Tayler, and was
not, therefore, dependent upon his own exer-
tions for a livelihood ; but his years were not to be
passed idly, for the care of his property and his de-
votion to matters of interest to him kept him fully
occupied almost to the day of his death.
His3'0uth had compassed the period of the second
war with Great Britain, and the exciting scenes of
his boyhood imbued him with a martial spirit, and
he manifested an active interest in military affairs.
Shortly after graduating from college he entered
Col. Knickerbocker's regiment as adjutant, and
was active in promoting its efficiency. He was
successively promoted to be major and lieutenant-
colonel, and finally succeeded to the command of
the regiment. When the Marquis de La Fayette
visited America in 1824, Col. Cooper was dis-
patched by the Common Council of the City of Al-
bany to meet the great champion of Liberty at Kin-
derhook and escort him to Albany, where high
honors were paid him. On his leaving, Col.
Cooper was in command of the escort which ac-
companied the distinguished visitor as far as New
Lebanon. Afterward he was promoted to the
major-generalship of the Third Division, New York
State Militia, a position which he held for many
years, until he was retired at the commencement of
Gov. Fenton's term of office, a law being en-
acted in that year which abolished all of the old
militia offices and established the National Guard
of the State of New York. Published accounts of
the obsequies of Gov. Marcy in 1857 show
that Gen. Cooper took a prominent part in the
funeral arrangements and ceremonies. He is re-
membered as a firm and helpful friend of the Al-
bany Burgesses' Corps, of which he was a life
member.
Gen. Cooper was twice married. His first
wife, whom he married in 1822, was Miss Char-
lotte Henry, daughter of John V. Henr}', the emi-
nent attorney in whose office he studied law. She
died childless, and some years later Gen. Cooper
married the widow of Clarkson F. Crosby, of
Watervliet, whose maiden name was Schuyler, and
who was descended from the famous family of that
name who bore so conspicuous a part in the early
history, not alone of New York, but of our country.
There was no issue by this marriage. His stepson,
J. Schuyler Crosby, married Harriet Van Rensselaer,
youngest daughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Al-
bany, and became Governor of Montana Territory
and subsequently Assistant Postmaster-General of
the United States ; and of his two stepdaughters,
the elder married William L. Thompson, son of
John C. Thompson, of Troy, and the younger, in
1878, became the wife of Rev. Thaddeus A. Sniv-
eley. Rev. Howard Crosby, D.D., of New York,
is their father's brother.
The freedom from business care', which was
such a marked feature of Gen. Cooper's life,
permitted him several times to visit Europe and to
travel quite extensively in the most interesting por-
/I '//!
I ■%
JOMN TAYLEF. 'AjQFER
THE BENCH AND BAR.
301
<r^s^i^::^crz«_<^>-2:5<^
tions of the old world, including Russia, Egypt
and Syria,
The private life of Gen. Cooper was quiet and
unostentatious. He ranked as one of the most
highly respected and universally esteemed citizens
of Albany, adding much to its prosperity and con-
tributing to the growth of many of its important in-
stitutions. Of the most pronounced " Old School"
Democratic proclivities, he was not a politician,
and never held any civil office, the only positions
not military in their character which he ever ac-
cepted being those of warden of St. Peter's Episco-
pal Church and president of the Home for Aged
Men. To the strictness of his habits may be at-
tributed his long and, for the most part, robust
life. In personal appearance he was erect, finely
proportioned and of martial bearing. He was
known to possess strong sympathy with the poor,
and, in a private way, he dispensed charities with a
liberal hand. His public donations to various
charitable objects were not inconsiderable. Noted
for his wise and prudent management of business
affairs, he left a large and valuable estate, consist-
ing of real and personal property, in Albany, be-
sides an extensive farm near Cedar Hill, on the
Hudson, about nine miles distant from the city,
which he called " Guy Park." His death was not
entirely unexpected, and it was deeply regretted by
the many who knew him, not alone in Albany, but
throughout the State. He is remembered as one
of the few Albanians who, in their closing years,
linked the Albany of three-quarters of a century
ago with the Albany of the modern period ; and his
name is not likely to soon pass from the scenes amid
which he was worthily born, Hved an admirable
life and died at peace with God and his fellow men.
ISAAC EDWARDS.
Isaac Edwards was born in Corinth, Saratoga
Count)', N. Y., August 30, 18 19, and at the time
of his decease, March 26, 1879, '^^'^^ nearly sixty
years of age. He was the second son of John and
Sarah (Cooper) Edwards. His parents were of
good New England stock and had removed from
Watertown, Conn., to Corinth. His father was a
thrifty farmer, and desired that his four sons
should succeed him in the same occupation. The
early years of young Edwards were passed on his
father's farm. His school education was com-
menced in the public schools of his native town,
and continued in the Waterford Academy, under
the care of that excellent instructor, the late Prof.
Taylor Lewis, of whom he often spoke in the high-
est terms of admiration. His law studies were
pursued in Albany, in the office of Messrs. Ed-
wards & Meads, with the strictness and fidelity
which ever marked his subsequent course. After
his admission to practice, at the July term of
Court in 1843, he formed a partnership with his
uncle, the late Mr. James Edwards, which was
not long continued, his uncle soon forming a
partnership with the late Mr. Samuel Stevens, and
Mr. Edwards, preferring the independence of a
203
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
single office, formed no other partnership, but
almost at once entered upon his successful career
as a lawyer and author. His clients were among
the most respectable merchants of the city, and he
retained their business year after year.
His duties and labors were of such a nature that
they afforded him much time for the hearing of
references, and during the twenty years preceding
his death he undoubtedly heard and decided
more important cases than any other lawyer in
this section of the country. His mind was emi-
nently judicial and adapted to the hearing of long
and intricate cases, and so well balanced that, in
the weighing of evidence, he had no superiors.
However much any party or attorney may have
been disappointed by his adverse decision, no one
ever charged him with being influenced by fear,
favor or friendship. Absolute justice was his sole
aim and endeavor. In 1855 appeared Mr. Ed-
wards' work on "Bailments." It was welcomed by
the Bench and Bar as the best American work on
the subject, and it has been growing in favor with
the legal fraternity since. In 1878 the work was
revised, portions of it were rewritten, later decis-
ions were cited, and new chapters were added.
Since the publication of the first edition, commer-
cial transactions have been widely extended, busi-
ness has been enlarged, and many new and per-
plexing questions have come before our numerous
courts for discussion and adjudication. The most
marked developments have reference to pledges, or
collateral securities, transportation and telegraphic
messages. Upon these subjects the second edition
is full and explicit, and demonstrates that in this
branch of the law Mr. Edwards was thoroughly in-
formed as to the decisions of the courts. In 1857,
two years after "Bailments," appeared his work on
"Bills and Notes." a treatise complete in itself, and
surpassing that of every other author who had writ-
ten upon the same subject in the English language.
A second edition was published in 1863. Both of
these valuable works are intended for the practi-
tioner as well as for the student. To be appreci-
ated they must be read and utilized by the practical
lawyer. In 1870 he published an essay upon
"Factors and Brokers " In this he exhibits the
same fullness and clearness of definition which
characterize his larger works. Mr. Edwards wrote
and published several essays and biographical
sketches of different members of the Bench and Bar,
all of which demonstrates the clearness of his mind,
his just appreciation of the merits of others, and
his happy faculty of presenting his views in an in-
teresting and instructive manner. He thoroughly
understood the law, and he loved to elucidate its
principles. His estimate of justice and the law to
establish and enforce it can be best expressed in
his own words :
"Justice being the supreme interest Qf mankind,
the law established to enforce it is a most worthy
object of labor and study. Aside from its value as
the measure and conservator of our rights, the law
is one of the noblest of the applied sciences. It is
beneficent in its purpose ; it aims to secure equal-
ity between men in their dealings with each other.
It lies at the foundation of our system of govern-
ments; it is both a source and a principle of au-
thority in our halls of legislation and in our tribu-
nals of justice. It underlies our institutions and
conserves them. It reaches the individual reason
and covers with its protecting power social interest
and every relation of life. It is the conscience of
the state, everywhere present in the manifold ac-
tivities of her citizens."
Many years of his later life were passed in incul-
cating principles like the above on the mind of
youth. Years ago the question of the improve-
ment of the public schools of Albany was agitated,
and Mr. Edwards took a prominent position in
favor of advanced education. His relations to Mr.
Carlton Edwards, one of the editors of the Morn-
ing Express, were such that the columns of that
paper were freely offered for his use, and from time
to time appeared powerful and pungent articles
from his pen. Many of these articles were pub-
lished under Mr. Edwards' care and scattered
broadcast over the city, and aided much in pro-
ducing in the minds of its citizens a desire for the
improvement which has been wrought in its public
schools. Shortly before the death of Prof. Amos
Dean, Mr. Edwards was invited to deliver a few
lectures before the Albany Law School. His clear-
ness of diction, his fullness of illustration and his
correctness of definition proved his fitness to fill
the position of so distinguished a lecturer as Prof.
Dean, and upon the death of the latter he was
unanimously elected to the vacant professorship,
and from that time until his death he was the mov-
ing spirit and power of the Law School, delivering
about one-half the lectures, and presiding at nearly
all the courts of exemplification and instruciion.
The position of the Albany Law School may be at-
tributed more to the standing and reputation of
Mr. Edwards, as prolessor and author, than to any
other of its instructors. His duties were laborious
and exacting, and it is no discredit to the late
Prof Dean to say that he brought to the school
knowledge and capability equal to those of his pre-
decessor ; and the classes graduated under him are
witnesses to the excellence both of the matter and
the manner of his instructions. Four years before
his death he was chosen a member of the Board of
Public Instruction. As chairman of the Law Com-
mittee his reports on subjects referred to that com-
mittee were always clear, strong and convincing.
His great interest in popular education made the
work connected with this trust a veritable labor of
love.
As a politician Mr. Edwards was not a partisan,
although in his early life a Whig and afterward a
stanch Republican. As a speaker he was clear,
logical and forcible, using nice distinctions and
strong illustrations ; and his early success before
juries and in several political campaigns gave as-
surance that, had he turned his attention more di-
rectly to other branches of his profession, he
would have taken high rank as an advocate.
Mr. Edwards \vas an earnest and devoted Chris-
tian. He early united with the Second Presby-
terian Church. When the movement was made to
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
203
organize a Congregational Church he was one of
the first to give support to the enterprise, and as
one of the committee chosen to prepare its articles
of faith and mode of government, he did much to-
ward shaping and guiding the measures which
have given the organization such prominence in
the city.
He was a conscientious member of his pro-
fession, a clear and careful author, a loving and be-
loved instructor, the eminently true and social
friend and the good citizen, bearing with fidelity
no small share of the public burdens.
His works will be perused by eager students
when most of his contemporaries are forgotten.
His influence as a professor and teacher, although
wide and extended, will become wider as the years
go by. While we speak of him as a lawyer, teach-
er and author, we will not forget his higher virtues
as a man. So far as is the lot of mortals, his was
a spotless character. Although competent to fill
the highest places, he sought the humblest stations.
With learning to which we all who knew him bowed
with respect, he walked humbly before God and
man. Beyond the members of his family circle
and intimate friends, he will be remembered by
the Bar, among whom his daily life was passed, by
clients who depended upon his counsel, by his
pupils who treasured his lectures and advice, by
good citizens who were charmed by the graces of
his private life, and by the wide circle of the public,
who will long remember his instruction and treasure
his counsel.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
By JTREEERIO C. CUROTIS, M!. T).
WHEN Henry Hudson came up the Grande
River in the first decade of the seventeeth cen-
tury, and on a lovely September afternoon, when the
hills were clothed in autumn red, dropped anchor
oif the point where Albany now stands, there is no
doubt that he would have found on inquiry that
the dusky aborigines interestedly watching his move-
ments from the shore were not unfamiliar with the
medicine man. In one fashion or another medi-
cine has been practiced in all ages. It is not the
purpose of this narrative to trace the medical
affairs of this locality back among the Mohawks
and Mohegans; to commence the history of them,
even during the century which followed the build-
ing of Fort Orange, a limited array of facts are
found. In the voluminous records of our early his-
tory scant reference is made to the medical 'events
which formed a part of it. To construct in any
detail a sketch of them would require a fund of as
yet unpublished traditions of an unbroken line of
Dutchmen, all to the manor born, or a draft on
the imagination unworthy of the truthful chronicler.
It is not remarkable that this should be so,
for in a community intently occupied in obtaining
the necessaries of life, subduing forests, planting
settlements, and meeting the dangers that sur-
rounded it from unfriendly natives, contentious
governments, and a rigorous climate, there was little
time to think of more domestic matters, and few, es-
pecially among these Dutch Colonies, where com-
mercial tastes ruled, and leartiing was backward, to
make note of them. The healthy, laborious people
who came to these shores required few physicians,
and they and their surroundings presented few
attractions to Old World practitioners. Still
they were not unmindful of their need of the
medical man, and there were those among them
who in some sort practiced the art or the domestic
traditions of medicine.
During the early years of all the American
Colonies there were many who were looked to for
advice in sickness who possessed but the simplest
knowledge of medicine. The literature of the
profession was not so voluminous but that any
educated man might make himself famihar with
the theories and practices of the times. School-
masters, clergymen and government officials were
frequently somewhat versed in medicine ; the
clergy especially gave attention to the subject, as
missionaries of the present day often do, by study
prior to leaving the Old World. This was
more frequently the case in the New England
Colonies, but was also true here. Among the
Dutch dominies. Rev. Dr. Megapolensis is said to
have made some pretense to a knowledge of medi-
cine. He might better have stuck to preaching, how-
ever, if his practice was of a piece with the advice he
gives, in writing on the medical usages among the
Mohawk Indians, and which the good vrouws to
whom it was addressed very sensibly repudiated.
Another of the medico-clerics was Dominie Man-
cius, who educated his son in medicine so that he
was for a hfetime one of the prominent physicians
of Albany. It is worth mentioning in this connec-
304
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
tion that, nearly two hundred years later, George
Upfold, a young physician here, studied theology,
and eventually became Bishop of Indiana. The
Indians had learned the medical value of some
indigenous herbs, and the Indian medicine man
may be mentioned as one of the accessories of
early colonial practice. He sometimes won a wide
reputation. The story of the High Rock Spring,
first disclosed to white men by the wonderful re-
sult upon Sir William Johnson, who was carried to
it by the Indians, is familiar to all. Their theories,
so far as they had any, were essentially supernat-
ural, as is at the present time commonly the case
among barbarous and ignorant people.
The Dutch West India Company are said to
have been exceptional in their care for the health
of their sailors, all their vessels being provided
with a surgeon, or some one having a familiarity
with medicine. They extended the same con-
sideration to their colonies. Reference to it re-
peatedly recurs in their regulations, one of which
is as follows: "The patroons and colonists shall,
in particular and in the speediest manner, endeavor
to find ways and means whereby they may support
a minister and a schoolmaster, that the service of
God and the zeal for religion may not grow cold
and be neglected among them, and that they do
for the first procure a comforter of the sick." This
functionary, variously termed in the original kranck-
besoecker or zieckentrooster, is the first recognized
person charged with the care of the sick in the
Dutch Colonies. He was probably of an infe-
rior order of clergy, for he is mentioned as conducting
the religious service on Sundays. But he is also
often found serving in other capacities and holding
civil ofiice, in which, however, he was not peculiar,
for the duties of the preacher, doctor, soldier and
government official were frequently performed by
one individual in primitive times.
The first comforter of the sick at Fort Orange was
Sebastian Jansen Crol. His earliest appearance in
the history of the New Netherlands, in which he
played a considerable part, was in this capacity at
Fort Amsterdam. He came to this colony in 1626,
two years after it was established, having been ap-
pointed Vice-Director and Company's Commissary
to Fort Orange. It is a matter of justifiable infer-
ence that he continued his medico-clerical duties
here, in addition to those of the office to which he
was appointed. He appears to have been a judi-
cious man, and served the colony well in his vari-
ous capacities for twenty years.
He was succeeded in official position, in 1646,
by Harmanus Myndertse van der Bogart. It is
only in this official capacity that Van der Bogart is
spoken of, but there appears no doubt that he is
identical with the ship surgeon of the same name
who came to New Amsterdam in 1630 in the Een-
draght. His term of service here was short, for he
is said to have been burned to death in 1648 in an
Indian wigwam on the Mohawk River.
To another than Surgeon Van der Bogart, how-
ever, belongs the honor of having been the first reg-
ular physician who came to this locality. In 1642
the number of the colonists had become suflBciently
large for the Patroon to comply with the West India
Company's requirements to provide them with the
services of a clergyman. He accordingly fitted out
a ship, which arrived here in August of that year,
bringing Rev. Dr. Megapolensis, and in his most
worthy company Surgeon Abraham Staats. Whether
he was employed, as was the minister, to serve the
colony in his professional capacity, is not recorded.
Nor are we told what were his professional attain-
ments. His clientele at first was not large, for Albany
consisted at this time of a hamlet of twenty-five or
thirty houses, built along the river as each found it
convenient, in proximity to the wretched little log
fort, the population being about one hundred. A
burial ground had been found necessary, however,
and was laid out on our present Church street.
Whatever his skill may have been, oversight of which
by the diarist of the day is not to be wondered at,
Dr. Staats was an enterprising citizen and filled his
abundant professional leisure with other work. He
was the first presiding officer of the village council
of Rensselaerwyck, and once assisted in making an
important treaty with the Indians. On week days
he was a captain, and on Sunday an elder. We are
left to our una?sisted inferences as to the perquisites
of our primitive doctor, although the dominie's
salary is matter of history. In 1642 his house, at
Clavarack, was burned by the savages, who seem to
have had a penchant for cremating doctors, and his
wife, with others of his family, perished. He became
the owner of Fort Orange, it is said, and the ground
on which it stood has ever since remained in the
possession of his descendants. A son studied medi-
cine in Holland and rose to eminence in New
York.
Johannes de la Montagne, a Huguenot gentle-
man, played a political part only in the history of
Fort Orange. He came to New York in 1637, and
was Vice-Director of Fort Orange from 1656 to
1664 ; he also held various other offices of trust in
the colony. He is said to have been a skillful phy-
sician, but was not expert enough to distinguish be-
tween gold and pyrites in some war-paint of the
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
205
natives that was submitted to him for assay, and
which excited much interest for a time. What is
supposed to be the first enactment to regulate the
practice of medicine at New Amsterdam was the
following: "Ordered, that ship barbers shall not
be allowed to dress wounds, nor administer any
potion on shore, without the consent of the peti-
tioners [the local chirurgeons], or at least of Dr.
La Montague."
Surgeon De Hinse, a Frenchman, was resident
physician at the Fort in 1666. While he was here
a body of French soldiers in pursuit of the Indians
from Quebec found their way to Fort Albany, as it
then chanced to be called, having been surrendered
to the English two years before by La Montagne,
and De Hinse is on record as having received offi-
cial thanks for professional services to them. Sur-
geons on duty at the Fort served, at that time, at the
pay of 2s. 6d. per diem.
In 1689 a Scotch physician, Lockhart by name,
practiced in Albany, and was surgeon to the Fort.
Albany was at this time a large stockaded village.
At a later date, a son of Dr. Megapolensis was a
chirurgeon of this colony; but both he and his
brother Samuel, both graduates of Leyden, spent
most of their lives in New York.
It is probable that there were other practitioners
of medicine during the first hundred years of our
history; but these are all that appear, after consider-
able research, until we pass well on into the
eighteenth century. The names of less than forty
physicians are known as coming to the entire prov-
ince of New York in the course of the seventeenth
century, and of most of these but little more is
known than their names. The various lineage of
these here mentioned, coming as they probably did
chiefly from Holland, shows how that country was
then the asylum for people of all nationalities.
The prominent-events of the eighteenth century
around which to cluster matters of medical interest
are the French War and the War of the Revolution,
in both of which Albany was at times an important
center. The medical science of a country is al-
ways advanced by wars ; they demand skilled
medical officers, and so encourage the progress of
medicine. Besides, they furnish a school for prac-
tice and observation. The French War especially
gave an impetus to the profession, then entirely
dependent on Europe for its education. The na-
tive had no means of acquiring knowledge at home
except in a sort of apprenticeship way. The Eng-
lish army was accompanied by a highly respect-
able medical staff, who contributed much to the
education of many young Americans through the
military hospitals which were established.
Dr. Samuel Stringer, a native of Maryland, and
educated in Virginia, where a medical school had
just been started, was the most prominent physi-
cian in Albany during the eighteenth century, and
was connected with both of the wars. In 1755 he
was appointed by Gov. Shirley an officer in the
medical department of the British army in this
country. He accompanied Abercrombie, in 1758,
and was present when Lord Howe fell in advanc-
ing to the siege of Ticonderoga. He served until
the war ended, when he settled in Albany, married
here, and remained here in practice until the out-
break of the Revolution, when he was appointed
by Congress Director- General of Hospitals in the
Northern Department. In this capacity he accom-
panied the troops on the invasion of Canada. He
was a friend and probably the family physician of
Gen. Schuyler, the ill-favor which befell whom,
there seems reason to believe, he participated in.
At any rate, he was removed from his position, an
act which called forth a very angry remonstrance
from the General to Congress. This was in 1777,
and he then returned to Albany, where he spent the
rest of a long life. It is said that he always ad-
hered to the style of dress of the olden time — the
cocked hat, tight breeches, and shoes with large
buckles.
Dr. Nicholas Schuyler was another of the sur-
geons of this locality who was connected with the
Federal army of the Revolution. He was an ardent
patriot and an intelligent surgeon. After perform-
ing valuable service during the war he returned to
Albany; he died in Troy in 1824.
Dr. J. Cochoran, of Penns3'lvania, served as sur-
geon in the Revolutionary army and was high in
position. He became Surgeon-General of the
Middle Department, and in 1781 was made Direc-
tor-General of the Hospitals of the United States.
Alter the war was over he settled in Albany.
At one time the brothers Moses and Ellas Wil-
lard were physicians of Albany. They were na-
tives of New England, and, with their father, had a
hand in the bloody struggle at Lexington. Elias,
before the war, had begun to study medicine, and
after a brief service as a common soldier he entered
a military hospital in Boston, which, under Dr.
John Warren, brother of the hero of Bunker Hill,
was made a training school for the much-needed
medical men. Two years later he was appointed
surgeon of a Maine regiment, and served till the
close of the war. He came to Albany in 1801 and
practiced here for twenty-five years. His brother
206
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
was younger and entered the service later ; he re-
sided here for several years.
Every one at all familiar with the medical men of
Albany a hundred years ago knows the name of
Hunloke Woodruff. He was a graduate of Prince-
ton, and shortly before the commencement of hos-
tilities between the colonies and the mother coun-
try had begun the study of medicine, had taken
up his residence in Albany, but soon was ap-
pointed surgeon of one of the New York regi-
ments, and served until peace was declared. He
accompanied the northern army to Canada, and
was with Col. Gansevoort during the siege of
Fort Stanwix, and attended Gen. Sullivan in
his expedition against the hostile Indians of West-
em New York. He settled here to practice after
the war and spent the best of his life here, highly
esteemed as a learned physician.
Several of these men, it is observed, were con-
tributions of the army to Albany.
As an incident of the French War it is said, in
the "Memoirs of an American Lady, " that when
the wounded troops poured into Albany from the
Ticonderoga battle-field a hospital was established
in a large bam belonging to Madame Schuyler, and
was attended there by a band of ladies. Thacher,
a considerable historian of medical events of that
time and a surgeon of the Revolution attached to
this northern division of the army, says that a hos-
pital was erected here during the French War. He
says of it, as he saw it in 1788 : '- It is situated on
an eminence overlooking the city. It is two stories
high, having a wing at each end and a piazza in
front, above and below. It contains forty wards,
capable of accommodating 500 patients, besides
the rooms appropriated to the use of the surgeons
and other officers." After Burgoyne's defeat at
Saratoga, Albany was for several months filled
with sick and wounded from the battle-field.
There were not less than one thousand of these
victims of war thrown into the city, filling the hos-
pital, the Dutch Church and some private houses.
Most of them remained till the following June,
when the military hospital was removed to the
Highlands of the Hudson. Dr. Thacher says :
"We have thirty surgeons and mates, and all
are constantly employed. The wounded of the
British and Hessian troops are accommodated in
the same hospital with our own and receive equal
attention. The foreigners are under the care of
their own surgeons. I have been present at sev-
eral of their capital operations and remember that
the English surgeons perform with skill and dex-
terity, but the Germans, with few exceptions, do no
credit to their profession." He did not find the
inhabitants of the city of a social disposition.
They are chiefly Low Dutch, he says, and not in-
clined to associate with strangers. Nevertheless,
Mars and Venus have in all ages been mutually
attractive, and ' ' a charming Miss M. H." was cap-
tivated by one of the surgeons. A surgeon's pay
in our army was $33.33 a month, and of a mate
or assistant surgeon $18, that of a colonel being
$75. At a later date there was a military canton-
ment and hospital in Greenbush, which was main-
tained until 1822.
Medical history is not altogether biographical,
and some notes may be made of other events of
the earlier time before the present century began.
Henry Hudson said, when he returned with
the report of his discoveries : "It is as fair a land
as can be trodden by the foot of man,'' and the
graphic pen of Irving has been taxed to all its re-
sources in delineating this lovely valley before it had
been marred by the hand of civilization. It was
not only fair, but by all testimony it was salubrious.
As early as 1 6 2 8 one writes in a letter home : ' ' The
climate is healthful, notwithstanding the sudden
changes from heat to cold. Roots and herbs are
found, good for eating and for medicinal uses,
working wonderful cures too long to relate." The
sudden and extreme variations in temperature ap-
f)ear to have been the principal complaint, and
were certainly very marked to those who had been
accustomed to the equable climate of Holland and
England. Gov. Hunter wrote in 17 10: "Here
is the finest air to live upon in the universe."
Many instances are related of cures of consump-
tion among those coming to the new country.
They were mainly due, no doubt, to the less
sedentary life of necessity led here, and absence of
the insanitary influences that accumulate with the
passage of years of habitatioru
In this province there were fewer serious
epidemics than in the New England and Virginia
Colonies, where they early prevailed extensively.
Fevers of acclimation or of an indigenous source
were rare. The colonists did not, however,
escape some most severe and fatal epidemics
of imported disease. Of these, small-pox made
the most grievous ravages. In 16 13 it broke
out and spread with fearful rapidity, among
Europeans and savages. Twelve of the slender
population of Beverwyck died in one week and a
thousand perished among the Iroquois tribes.
For two months Connecticut maintained a quaran-
tine against the New Netherlands. Another
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
207
equally severe epidemic broke out some years later.
Prior, to 1730 this outdid all other pestilences with
its ravages, ceasing at one time, it is said, only for
lack of material to work upon, every susceptible
person having had it. Inoculation began to be
practical about 1730, and became quite general,
the mortality from it being reported as compara-
tively small. "In 1799," writes Dr. Thacher,
' ' the glorious discovery of the vaccine disease,
which renders the human system insusceptible to
small-pox, was announced in our newspapers and
in the Medical Repository, of New York, " and the
reign of what might well have been called the king
of terrors came to an end.
In 1746 a malignant epidemic of what was
called the Barbadoes distemper, and also various
other names, reached Albany. It was imported
from foreign ships, and, beginning in August, ended
with frost. From the description it was clearly yellow
fever. It carried off 45 victims, mostly robust men.
Spotted fever is mentioned as occurring in 1752.
An interesting episode in connection with yellow
fever, and a glimpse of affairs as they existed a
century ago, is obtained from the following "Notes
from the Newspapers," in Munsell's Annals of
Albany :
"September 21, 1793- — The citizens were
alarmed by a letter from Judge Lansing, informing
them that a vessel had passed New York having
two persons on board infected with yellow fever,
which was then raging at Philadelphia. Meetings
of the citizens and of the Common Council were
held, and measures adopted to prevent the passing
of any vessel above the Overslaugh without an ex-
amination, and the ferry-men were directed how to
proceed on occasions when any suspicion attached
to travelers presenting themselves to be ferried over.
The Common Council recommended the observ-
ance of the first day of October as a day of fasting
and prayer for the aversion of the dreaded con-
tagion.
"September 23. — On Monday evening last ar-
rived at Greenbush, opposite the city, from the
seat of Government, Hon. Alexander Hamilton,
Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and
his lady. As Col. Hamilton and lady were sup-
posed to have been afflicted with the yellow fever,
then prevalent at Philadelphia, the physicians of the
city, by request, immediately visited them, and on
their return published the following certificate :
' This is to certify that we have visited Col. Hamil-
ton and his lady at Greenbush this evening and
that they are apparently in perfect health, and from
every circumstance we do not conceive there can
be the least danger of their conveying the infection
of the pestilential fever, at present prevalent in
Philadelphia, to any of their fellow citizens.
" '(Signed) Samuel Stringer,
" ' W. Mancius,
" ' H. Woodruff,
" 'W. McClellan,
" 'Cornelius Roosa.'
" In consequence of which on Tuesday morning
an order was granted by the Mayor that Col.
Hamilton and lady be allowed to cross the ferry,
but only after quite a spicy correspondence be-
tween the Mayor, physicians and Gen. Schuyler,
whose daughter was Mrs. Hamilton."
Aside from these outbreaks, Albany maintained
its repute for healthfulness throughout the eighteenth
century. During the winter of 1785, it is said
that but one burial took place for the space of
three months, in the Dutch church-yard, and that
was of a small child accidentally run over by a
sleigh. This burial place has been recently brought
to light again by excavations in State street, at the
corner of Broadway, human bones being found,
and bricks from thg old church edifice. One writes
of Albany in 1796 : "It enjoys a salubrious air, as
is evidenced by the longevity of its inhabitants. "
Concerning the now very fertile theme of the
water supply of the city, a visitor to Albany, in
1785, wrote that "the well water in the city is
very bad, being scarcely drinkable by those not
accustomed to it, imbibing particles from the stiff
clay through which it oozes ; indeed, all use the
river water for cooking, and man}' families drink it.
But water works are about to be constructed to
bring good water to the city. "
In the year 1800 Albany was already an old
city. In some respects this was a turning point
in its history. About this time it began to have
additions to its population from New England
and to become impressed with New England ideas.
Previously it had been entirely Dutch ; its people,
its habits, its ph3'siognomy, its architecture were
all Dutch ; it is said that even its horses and dogs
were Dutch. It had many usages brought from
the provincial towns of Holland. A graphic pic-
ture of it at that time may be found in Random Rec-
ollections of Albany from 1800 to 1808, by Gor-
ham A. Worth. The placid Dutchman smoked
his evening pipe on the settee of the stoop in front
of his gable-ended house, undisturbed by a care
for the outside world, perfectly content with him-
self and his surroundings, with no welcome for
strangers and their innovations. In a population
208
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of 5,000 there were not more than five New Eng4
land families. The city had no pavements and no
street lamps. It had little or no foreign commerce.
It needed a new element to give it an impulse,
without which the nineteenth century gave promise
of leaving it in a Rip Van Winkle dream, or stranded
where the eighteenth was hardly holding it
afloat. A change, restless and iconoclastic, began
to come over it about this time; the progressive
spirit of this century began to disturb its quietude,
and new blood was transfused into it. The Erie
Canal began to be talked about ; it became the
capital city, and very soon after Fulton ran the
Clermont up the river.
The general character of the medical profession
began to improve. The means of education here-
tofore had been very limited, and the mass of prac-
titioners throughout the country had been deplor-
ably ignorant. In an address before the Regents,
Dr. T. Romeyn Beck stated that, of the 700
physicians in the State at this time, not more than
twenty held the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Indeed it was not sought for, save in the large
cities. The education of physicians prior to 1750,
unless obtained in Europe, was restricted to a sort of
apprenticeship and personal instruction. In 1750
the first regular medical instruction was attempted,
a course of lectures on anatomy being given in
New York by a Dublin graduate, Samuel Glossy.
During the remainder of the century four medical
schools were established ; in Philadelphia, New
York, and at Harvard and Dartmouth Colleges.
The difficulty of reaching these precluded most
from attending them. Their influence was, how-
ever, being felt toward the close of the century.
Just what might have been considered a medical
education at this time, even at its best, it would be
hard to define. There was hardly any facility for
acquiring a practical knowledge of anatomy by
dissection, so that a student could have no ade-
quate idea of the vital organs in health or as
changed by the processes of disease. When Dr.
March, twenty years latter, began to give instruction
here in anatomy, by lectures and dissections, he
for a long time encountered much opposition in
his good work. Surgery was rude and simple,
as viewed from the light of to-day. Diseases could
not be distinguished by our present knowledge,
as, for instance, that of auscultation and percus-
sion of the chest, and all our instruments of re-
search were unknown. Pharmacy was as rude as
the means of diagnosis, but faith in it was vastly
more profound than now. The physician became
skillful and renowned, as many of them did, only
as he became shrewd in observation and expe-
rienced by years ; gray hairs were the only passport
to popular confidence. Oliver Wendell Holmes
pictures him, from vivid recollections of his early
life, as "he would look at the tongue, feel of the
pulse, and shake from his vials a horrible mound
of ipecac, or a revolting heap of rhubarb — good,
stirring remedies that meant business, but left a
flavor behind them that embitters the recollections
of childhood. " Little of our present knowlege of
the control of epidemics was possessed ; small-pox,
often devastating as a tornado, was just then about to
be robbed of its terrors, and the preventable diseases
generally, to which so much attention is now given,
and which if completely held in check would in-
finitely lessen the rate of mortality, were neither
studied as a class nor controlled by organized
boards of health. No better contrast can be shown
between then and now than is seen in the state-
ment that by data, gathered from all sources, it is
found that the sum total of human life has been
lengthened in civilized countries 25 per cent,
since the beginning of the century. Dr. Holmes
says : " It is but a fractional power that the physi-
cian has over disease, and a comparatively small
fraction over the issues of life and death." But
what he lacks in his control of the individual is
well complemented by the general work, as is
proven by this general result.
Besides the men already mentioned, there are a
few others then practicing here who should be spo-
ken of. The oldest physician in Albany was Dr.
Wilhelmus Mancius,the son of the Dutch dominie,
who practiced medicine as well as theology in the
early history of the colony. He was now past
sixty years of age, over six feet in height, and a
man of great popularity. He received his educa-
tion from his father, and probably had more skill
than learning. In his arguments with his younger
and more liberally educated partner, Dr. Wood-
ruff, he saved himself from being worsted by "Ah,
de cure, Hunloke; de cure is de great ting. I
cure." Dr. William McClelland was a Scotchman,
an Edinburgh graduate, and for the times an edu-
cated man. He was the first president both of the
County and the State Medical Societies. His part-
ner for a time was Dr. Wm. Bay, whose long life
extended to the easy recollection of many of the
present citizens of this vicinity. Dr. Knauff, then
advanced in years, was more an apothecary than
physician. Dr. Gaufl;, also an old man, had been
for many years a practitioner of Bethlehem, and Dr.
Oliver Lathrop was a physician of Watervliet, then
in middle hfe. Younger than any of these was
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
209
Dr. Jonathan Eights, a most exact and methodical
man, who through the first half of this century was
held in high esteem as a family physician, and
made many contributions to medical literature.
Dr. John Stearns, a Massachusetts man and a Yale
graduate, then thirty years old, was for a number
of years a practitioner here, and deserves especial
honor from the profession, as to his efforts were
due the existing law, enacted in 1806, under which
our State and County medical societies have been
incorporated.
The notable event ia medicine at the beginning
of this century was the establishment of the County
Medical Society. This is undoubtedly the oldest
medical society in the State, having been estab-
lished in July, 1806, immediately after the passage
of the incorporating law. The reason urged for
the passage of this act was the abundance of char-
latanry and the necessity for combining the legiti-
mate members of the profession to control it. The
universal testimony is that at this time the country
was overrun with empyrics. Dr. R. M. Wyckoff,
to whose paper on Early Medicine in New York-^ I
am indebted for much information, says that
medical practice in early times was pure, but
that about the middle of the eighteenth cen-
tury the charlatanry of the Old World, which was
quackish to the core, began to find a field in the
New. For its own respectability and the people's
good the time had come for the profession to assert
itself; it did so by bringing the reputable physicians
together and separating them from the disreputable.
In this way the society has done more to suppress
quackery (which the people should know is vastly
more an evil to them than to the profession)
than all the restrictive legislation that was en-
acted year after year for the next forty years.
Dr. Thomas Hun wrote in 1844, what is always per-
tinent and true: " Quackery must be suppressed,
not by legislation, but by enlightened public opin-
ion of its dangers. The respectability of our pro-
fession is to be promoted, not by asking for legal
privileges, but by an increase of individual zeal and
co-operation." In this State no one is entitled to
professional consideration unless he is a member of
his County Medical Society.
From the beginning the society has maintained
regular meetings for mutual improvement. It has
always been a means of co-operating against local
epidemics and bad sanitary conditions. Its opin-
ion and advice has often been asked by the Mayor
and Common Council. It has kept up the social
relations of its members, and perpetuated their
27
memory by printed biographies and portraits, of
which it has a- considerable collection. It has ex-
plicit laws for disciplining unprofessional members,
but has very seldom made use of them. It has
been of a liberal spirit, and was one of the first so-
cieties to admit women to membership. The entire
number of its members from first to last has been
about 425. The following list includes all of the
members of the Society since the organization, and
nearly all the physicians of this county during the
present century.
CHRONOLOGICAL LIST
OF THE
Medical Society of the County of Albany from
ITS Organization, with Year of Admission and
Place of Graduation. The Living Resident
Members are indicated by a *.
1806, HuNLOKE Woodruff, New York City; died 181 1,
aged 56. William McClelland, Edinburgh; died 1812,
aged 43. Charles D. Townsend, Columbia College,
Medical Department, 1802; died 1847, aged 70. John G.
Knauff, probably in Germany; died 1810. Elias Wil-
LARD, Boston; died 1827, aged 71. Wilhemus Mancius,
studied medicine with his father, Rev. G. W. Mancius, 1758;
died 1808, aged 70. William Anderson, University of
Pennsylvania; died i8ii,aged40. Joseph W. Hegeman,
Princeton; died 1837, aged 65. Cornelius Vrooman, Jr.,
University of Pennsylvania; died 1811, aged 30. Alexan-
der G. Fonda, licensed 1806; died 1869, aged 84. Caleb
Gauff; Bethlehem. Augustus Harris, licensed by Su-
preme Court, 1800; died 1857, aged 81. Augustus F. R.
Taylor, University of Pennsylvania, 1804; died 1841,
aged 58.
1807, Peter Wendell, University of Pennsylvania, 1807;
died 1849, aged 64. Jacob L. Van Deusen, Regent's de-
gree, 1806; resigned 1825.
1808, Archibald H. Adams, University of Edinburgh;
died 1811, aged 42. Charles D. Cooper, New York;
died 1831, aged 63. Isaac Hyde, probably licensed; died
1833, aged 61. James Low, University of Edinburgh,
1807; died 1822, aged 40.
1809, Simon Veeder, licentiate of this society, 1807;
died i860, aged 72.
1810, William Bay, Columbia College, Medical De-
partment, 1797; died 1865, aged 93. Jonathan Eights,
certificate of two physicians; died 1848, aged 75. John
Sterns, University of Pennsylvania; died 1848, aged 65,
1811, T. RoMEYN Beck, College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, i8n; died 1855, aged 64.
1812, Jonathan Johnson, licentiate of this society, 1812;
died i860, aged 75. Erastus Williams, licentiate Ver-
mont State Society, 1800; died 1842, aged 69. Peter De
Lamater, studied medicine 1794; died 1849, aged 77.
1813, Enoch Cheney. Oliver Lathrop, studied with
Dr. White, of Cherry Valley; died 1824, aged 57.
1816, MoSES Brownell; died March 12, 1879, aged 90.
Richmond Brownell, filed diploma with County Clerk,
18:6; removed to Rhode Island. Samuel Freeman, Dart-
mouth; removed to Saratoga; died 1862. George Upfold,
Jr., College Physicians and Surgeons, 1816; died 1872,
aged 76 Platt Williams, Columbia College, Medical
Department, i8ro; died 1870, aged 86. Joel A. Wing,
licentiate Montgomery County Society, 1811; died 1852,
aged 65.
1817, Thomas J. Gibbons, College Physicians and Sur-
geons, 1817; died 1819, aged 22.
1819, William Humpfreys, College Physicians and Sur-
geons, 1819; died 1826, aged 31. Charles Martin, licen-
tiate of this society, 18 18. Ashbel S. Webster, College
Physicians and Surgeons, 1819; died 1840, aged 44. Caleb
Woodward; soon left the city.
1820, John James, College Physicians and Surgeons,
i8ig; died 1859, aged 70. Roger Viets, died 1853.
210
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1821, Moses Clement, licentiate of New Hampshire
State Society, 1807; died 1831, aged 51. Henry B. Hal-
LENBECK, licentiate of this society; died 1825, aged 29. Ly-
man Spalding, died 1841, aged 46. Barent P. Staats,
licentiate New York State Medical Society, 1817; died 1871,
aged 74. Samuel S. Trkat, College Physicians and Sur-
geons, 1821; died 1832, aged 33. Peter Van O'Linda,
licentiate New York State Medical Society, 1820; died 1872,
aged 75. Christopher C. Yates, licensed by Supreme
Court, 1802; died 1848, aged 70.
1822, Valentine Dennick, licentiate of this society,
1822; date of birth and death not known.
1823, John W. Bay, College Physicians and Surgeons, 1823 ;
died 1877, aged 76. Lewis C. Beck, licentiate of this so-
ciety, 1818; died 1853, aged 55. Alden March, Brown
University, 1820; died 1869, aged 73.
1824, Michael Freligh, licensed by civil process; died
1853, aged 83.
1825, Rensselaer Gansevoort, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1824; died 1838, aged 35. John W. Hinckley,
licentiate of this society, 1825; died i860, aged 57.
1826, Charles E. Burrows. David W. Houghtal-
ING, licensed 1822; died 1829, aged 33.
1827, Hazael Kane, licentiate of this society, 1822 ;
died at Nassau. Henry Van O'Linda, licentiate of Mont-
gomery County Society, 1826; died 1846, aged 41.
1828, James P. Boyd, University of Pennsylvania, 1825;
died May 10, 1881, aged 77. James M. Brown, licentiate
of this society, 1825; died 1854, aged 50. Elisha S. Bur-
ton, Berkshire Medical College, 1827; died 1873. *Benj.
B. Fredenburg, licentiate Columbia County Society, 1819.
Samuel Humpfreys, licentiate State Society, 1821 ; died in
Liberia, 1832, aged 30. Edward A. Leonard, Yale Col-
lege, Medical Department, 1827; died 1837, aged 31.
Michael Malone, licentiate State Society, 1826; died
1844, aged 46. James McNaughton, University of Edin-
burgh, 1816; died 1874, aged 78. Peter McNaughton,
University of Edinburgh, 1825; died 1875, aged 75. Wil-
liam Noble; removed to Albion, Orleans County. Peter B.
NoxoN, licentiate of this society, 1824; died April, 1882,
aged 86. Peter P. Staats, licentiate State Society, 1825;
died 1874, aged 71. William Tulley, licentiate Connec-
ticut State Society, 1810; died 1859, aged 74. Henry Van
Antwerp, licentiate State Society, 1825; died 1859, aged
57. Luke Wellington, Berkshire Medical College, 1825;
removed. Asa Burbank, Berkshire Medical College, 1823
died 1832.
1829, Ebram T. Bigelow, Fairfield Medical College;
died about 1868. Henry Green, Fairfield Medical College,
1814; died 1844, aged 54. Isaac Hempstead, licentiate ot
this society, 1827; died 1852, aged 48. Augustus F. Law-
yer, Fairfield Medical College; died March 27, 1883, aged
75. Solomon Lincoln, licentiate State Society, 1829;
removed. Nicholas Markay; died. Francis N. Sel-
kirk, licentiate of this society, 1829; died 1849, aged
40. John Styles; removed to New York City. Ben-
jamin Van Zandt; died. James Wade, licentiate
Schenectady County Society, 1812; died 1867, aged 78.
Nanning V. WiNNE, Yale Medical School, 1828; died
1858, aged 51.
1830, Henry Bronson; removed to New Haven, Conn.
Jonathan H. Case, Fairfield Medical College, 1828; died
1865, aged 58. Obadiah Crosby, in New York, 1828;
died 1838, aged 38. Vernor Cuyler, licentiate State Soci-
ety, 1822; removed. Davidson. *Thomas Hun, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, 1830; Albany. James S. Low; died.
David McLachlan, University of Glasgow, 1829; died
1858, aged 55. Richard Murphy, licentiate State Society,
1830. William O'Donnell; removed to New York City.
William Pearce. Alva W. Rockwell, Berkshire Medical
College, 1820; died 1837, aged 41. Nelson Rusk, licentiate
Chautauqua County Society ; at Stuy vesant, N. Y. Samuel
Shaw, removed to Massachusetts. Guy Spalding, died
1854, aged 75. John F. Townsend, University of Penn-
sylvania, 1830; died 1874, aged 65.
1831, David R. Burrus, Vermont Academy of Medi-
cine, 1833; removed to Saratoga County, 1859. Hiram
Christie, Lansing Cory. Darius Coy; removed to
Cobleskill. Palmer C. Dorr, licentiate of this society,
1824; died 1840, aged 43. Richard J. Dusenbury; re-
moved to Chicago. Edward W. Ford, University of Penn-
sylvania, 1831; died 1855, aged 45. Ten Eyck Ganse-
voort, University of Pennsylvania, 1825; died 1843, aged
40. Lewis B. Gregory, Fairfield Medical College, 1830;
died 1838, aged 30. Abraham Groesbeck; removed to
Chicago, Illinois. Ammond Hammond, Vermont Academy
of Medicine; died 1849, aged 46. Alson J. Hallenbake,
licentiate State Society, 183 1; died 1846, aged 38. Car-
roll Humphrey, University of Pennsylvania; died at Cal-
cutta, 1834, aged 29. E. A. Lacey. David Springsteed,
licentiate of this society, 1830. Luther M. Tracey. John
T. Van Alstyne, Fairfield Medical College, 1823 ; died
1876, aged 76. Leonard G. Warren, Vermont Academy
of Medicine, 1826, died 1866, aged 63.
1832, Jarvis Barney, died 1838, aged 33. Stephen D.
Hand, Berkshire Medical College, 1831. Josiah W. Lay,
licentiate Green County Medical Society, 1816; died 1862,
aged 71. Platt WiCKES, removed.
1833, Levarette Moore, Berkshire Medical College,
1829; removed to Ballston. — ; — Van Denmark.
1834, James H. Armsby, Vermont Academy of Medicine,
1833; died 1875, aged 66. Frederick Crounse, Albany
County. Samuel Dickson, licentiate State Society, 1829;
died 1858, aged 51. N. L. Hungerford, licensed 1830; died
1839, aged 34. Westley Newcomb, Vermont Academy
of Medicine, 1832; removed to Ithaca. William G. Rad-
CLHT, removed to Philadelphia. Bernhard Sabalis,
returned to Holland. Sidney Sawyer, removed to Chi-
cago, Illinois. Herman Wendell, College Physicians
and Surgeons, 1832; died 1881, aged 72.
1837, William F. Carter, Dartmouth Medical College,
1834; died 1866, aged 54. H. A. Grant, removed to Con-
necticut. Francis W. Priest, left city after short resi-
dence. J. B. Rossman, Fairfield Medical College, 1829;
died December 23, 1883, aged 77. Edward Q. Sewall,
removed to Canada. John H. Trotter, licensed to prac-
tice; died 1861, aged 48. John Van Buren, University of
the City of New York; died 1856, aged 48. Alexander
Van Rensselaer, removed to New York City.
1839, John Babcock, Vermont Academy of Medicine,
1838; died March 13, 1879, aged 65. John Van Alstyne,
died at sea, 1844. Peter Van Buren, College Physicians
and Surgeons, 1823; died 1873, aged 71. John Wilson,
Fairfield Medical College (?); died 1877.
1840, Mason F. Cogswell, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1833; died 1864, aged 54. Otis Jenks, licensed
by State Society, 1840; died 1854, aged 55.
1841, John O. Flagler, died December 17, 1882. E. B.
O'Callaghan, licentiate State Society, 1841; died 1880,
aged 80. Charles H. Payne, removed to Saratoga. U.
H. Wheeler, died in Brooklyn.
1842, Selah B. Fish, Berkshire Medical College, 1841;
removed from the county.
1844, John Campbell, Albany Medical College, 1843;
entered United States Army in 1847. C. E. Dayton.
Patrick Gannon, in New York; died 1854, aged 74.
David Martin, Fairfield Medical College, 1828; died
1853, aged 53. William J. Young, removed.
1845, Uriah G. Bigelow, Albany Medical College,
1843; died 1873, aged 52- Christopher C. Griffin,
licentiate of this society, 1843; died 1856, aged 41. Ed-
ward Perry, University of New York; died at the age of
43- J- V. P. Quackenbush, Albany Medical College,
1842; died in 1876, aged 57. Richard H. Thompson,
Albany Medical College, 1842; died 1864.
1846, Isaiah Breakey, Royal College of Surgeons,
Dublin, 1816; died 1848, aged 59. 'Samuel H. Freeman^
Albany Medical College, 1846; Albany.
1847, Henry B. McHarg, Albany Medical College,
1847; died 1848, aged 22. Benjamin A. Sheldon, Al-
bany Medical College, 1847, died September 10, 1864, aged
39. 'John Swinburne, Albany Medical College, 1846; Al-
any. C. C. Waller, left the city, 1855.
1848, Edward H. Clarke, Albany Medical College,
1848; removed to Buffalo. Henry B. Fay, Albany Medi-
cal College, 1843; removed to New York City. William
Geoghegan, Royal College Surgeons, Dublin, 1837; died
1877, aged 62. Alexander W. McNaughton, Albany
Medical College, 1848; died January 7, 1865, aged 36.
Paul Todd Taber, Albany Medical College, 1848; died
1851, aged 25. Howard Townsend, Albany Medical
College, 1846; died January 15, 1867, aged 44. Sylvester
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
311
D. WiLLARD, Albany Medical College, 1848; died April 2,
1865, aged 40.
1849, David Wiltsie, Albany Medical College, 1847;
died 1875, aged 55.
1850, Abram H. McKown, Albany Medical College,
1845; died iSjs, aged 33. Thomas H. Neeley, Albany
Medical College, 1850; died 185 1, aged 25. Jacob Rein-
hart, Heidelburg and Gottingen, 1847; died i860, aged
35. James H. Sallisbury, Albany Medical College, 1850;
removed to New York City. Augustus Viele, Fairfield
Medical College, 1837; died February 12, 1882. Alonzo
G. Wkstervelt, Albany Medical College, 1850; removed
to Durham, Green County.
1851, James L. Babcock, Albany Medical College, 1850;
died February 13, 1881, aged 58. J. R. Bullock, Fairfield
Medical College, 1836; Albany County. Ira M. De La-
mater, Albany Medical College, 1850; died September,
1864, aged 45. David E. Fonda, Fairfield Medical
College, 1838; died January 12, 1883, aged 66. Wil-
liam A. Hawley, Albany Medical College, 1851; re-
moved to Syracuse. Charles D. Marsh, Albany Medi-
cal College, 1850; removed from the city. William
B. Sims, Albany Medical College, 1850; died October 18,
1881. S. O. Van Der Poel, Jefferson Medical College,
1845; removed to New York, 1881. I. N. Wyckoff,
Albany Medical College, 1852; never practiced medicine;
died.
1852, F. L. R. Chapin, Albany Medical College, 1851;
removed to Glen's Falls. Samuel Ingraham, Albany
Medical College, 1849; removed to Palmyra. 'Joseph
Lewi, University of Vienna, 1847; Albany. Levi Moore,
Albany Medical College, 185 1; died June 30, 1880, aged
53. Henry F. Spencer, Albany Medical College, 1852;
died at sea, 1862, aged 36.
1853, Hiram A. Edmonds, Albany Medical College,
1853; died 1857, aged 29. 'Henry March, Albany Medi-
cal College, 1853; Albany. J. H. ScoON, Albany Medical
College, 1849; died July 22, 18S0, aged 54. John P.
WiTBECK, Albany Medical College, 1852; died 1873, aged
44. Harvey B. Wilbur, Berkshire Medical College, 1842;
removed to Syracuse.
1854, *WiLLiAM H. Bailey, Albany Medical College,
1853; Albany. *WiLLlAM H. Craig, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1852; Albany. 'Charles Devol, Fairfield Medical
College, 1831; Albany. Alexander H. Hoff, Jefferson
Medical College, 1843; died 1876, aged 55. S. P. Uline,
Vermont Academy of Medicine, 1852; removed to Lowville.
1855, Stephen J. W. Tabor, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1841; removed to Iowa. Daniel Wasserbach,
University of Hague, 1843; died September 11, 1880, aged
66.
1856, Frederick C. Adams, Albany Medical College,
1847; died 1862, aged 40. *Amos Fowler, University of
New York, 1846; Albany. *Henry G. McNaughton,
Albany Medical College, 1856; Albany. Staats Winne,
Albany Medical College, 185 1; died May 30, 1880, aged 53.
1857, O. C. Alexander, Albany Medical College,
1854; Albany. 'Hiram Crounse, Vermont Academy of
Medicine, 1847; Albany. 'George H. Newcomb, Albany
Medical College, 1855; Albany. William C. Rodgers,
Albany Medical College, 1854; died i860, aged 30.
'A. Shiland, Albany Medical College, 1853 ; West
Troy. John I. Swart, Albany Medical College, 1853 ;
died Nov. 24, 1878, at Schoharie, aged 47. Alfred
Wands, Albany Medical College, 1845 ; died 1870,
1858, John H. Becker, Albany Medical College, 1853 ;
died 1873, aged 45. 'H. S. Case, Albany Medical College,
1853; Albany. ALEX. A. Edmeston, Albany Medical
College, 1853; died 1871, aged42. 'Thomas Helme, Albany
Medical College, 1854 ; McKownsville, Albany Co. Mil-
ton M. Lamb, Vermont Academy of Medicine, 1856 ; re-
moved to Lansingburgh, 1873. J. J. Myers, Albany Med-
ical College, 1857 ; Albany. James E. Pomfret, Albany
Medical College, 1858 ; died Feb. 22, 1869, aged 43. Leroy
McLean, Albany Medical College, 1855 ; removed to Troy.
George Steinart, University of New York, 1855 ; re-
moved to New York City. Andrew Wilson, licentiate
Columbia County Society ; died 1S71, aged 56.
1859, 'Charles H. Porter, Albany Medical College,
1859 ; Albany. R. S. McMurdy, Albany Medical College,
1847 ; removed to Minneapolis, 1873. 'R. H. Sabin, Al-
bany Medical College, 1856 ; West Troy. 'Charles H.
Smith, Albany Medical College, 1859 ; Albany. Thomas
Smith, Albany Medical College, 1845 ; died 1862. Charles
P. Siaats, Albany Medical College, 1853 ; died April 16,
1884, aged 53. Oscar H. Young, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1858 ; removed to Michigan.
i860, Joseph Atherley; died 1864. *J. R. Boulware,
Albany Medical College, 1859 ; Albany. William B. Cham-
bers, Albany Medical College, 1858 ; removed to Fulton
County. A. S. Harlow, Albany Medical College, 1859 ;
removed from the county. Washington Kilmer, Albany
Medical College, i860 ; removed to Florida. John V.
Lansing, New York Medical College, 1854 ; died May 9,
1880, aged 56. Martin L. Mead, Albany Medical College,
1859; removed to Ohio, 1871. 'J. W. Moore, Vermont
Academy of Medicine, 1859 ; Cohoes. 'Cornelius D.
Mosher, Albany Medical College, 1859 ; Albany. Joseph
N. Northrop, Vermont Academy of Medicine, 1839 ; died
Sept. 17, 1878, aged 61. John Sheriff, Albany Medical
College, 1859 ; removed. J. L. Welch, Albany Medical
College, 1859 ; died June 23, 1878, aged 54.
1861, Wesley Blaisdell, Castleton, Vt. ; died 1864, aged
49. 'Frank G. Mosher, Albany Medical College, 1848 ;
Coeymans.
1862, 'Thomas Beckett, Albany Medical College, 1861 ;
Albany. AsahelBurt, Jr., Albany Medical College, 1861;
removed. Henry R. Haskins, Albany Medical College,
1861 ; died March 31, 1883, aged 48. J. D. Havens, Al-
bany Medical College, 1861 ; died Feb. 12, 1875, aged 40.
Frank J. Mattimore, Albany Medical College, i860 ;
died 1863, aged 29. F. B. Parmele, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1842 ; died Jan., 1882, aged 68.
1863, John F. Crounse, Albany Medical College, 1868 ;
died 1872.
1864, Stephen Johnson, Albany Medical College, 1849 ;
resigned 1875. Jacob S. Mosher, Albany Medical College,
1863 ; Albany ; died August 13, 1883, aged 49. C. B.
O'Leary, Albany Medical College, i860 ; died 1877, aged
38. *H. W. Steenberg, Fairfield Medical College, 1837 ;
Green Island. Silas P. Wright, Albany Medical College,
1862 ; removed.
1865, Gideon H. Armsby, Albany Medical College,
1864 ; died Nov. 20, 1881, aged 39. Myron Knowlton,
Castleton, Vt., 1837 ; removed to Rochester. P. L. F.
Reynolds, Albany Medical College, 1861 ; Albany.
Charles A. Robertson, Jefferson Medical College, 1853 ;
died April i, 1880, aged 51. William Sigsbee, Vermont
Academy of Medicine, 1852; removed to Illinois. 'EzEKlEL
MuLFORD Wade, Vermont Academy of Medicine, 1839 ;
Watervliet. '
1866, Charles S. Allen, Albany Medical College, 1864 ;
Rensselaer Co. 'Herman Bendell, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1862 ; Albany. John Ferguson, Vermont Academy
of Medicine, 1836 ; died 1874, aged 62. Michael Gilligan ;
removed. George T. Stevens, Vermont Academy o£
Medicine, 1857 ; removed to New York City. GusTAVUS
Treskatis, Albany Medical College, 1865 ; removed to
New York City. 'Albert Van der Veer, National Med-
ical College (Med. Dep. Columbia Col., Washington), 1862 ;
Albany. Warner Van Steenberg, University of Vermont
(Med. Dep.), 1856 ; died at Cohoes, May 3, 1880, aged 48.
1867, James S. Bailey, Albany Medical College, 1853 ;
died July i, 1883, aged 53. 'A. De Graff, Albany Medical
College, 1858; Guilderland. 'AlfredB. Huested, Albany
Medical College, 1863 ; Albany. John R. Gregory, Al-
bany Medical College, 1858 ; removed to Trumansburg.
Edward R. Hun, College Physicians and Surgeons, 1866 ;
died March 14, 1880, aged 38. James F. McKown, Albany
Medical College, 1866 ; Albany. *P. M. Murphy, Albany
Medical College, 1863; Albany. 'D. V. O'Leary, Albany
Medical College, 1866 ; Albany.
1868, L. M. Dunkelmeyer ; removed to Cincinnati, O.
Alexander McDonald ; died 1877, aged 33. 'John
Thompson, University of New York, 1868 ; Albany.
Richard D. Traver, St. Louis Medical College, 1869 ;
removed to Troy, N. Y. 'C. E. Witbeck, Albany Medical
College, 1866 ; Cohoes.
1869, 'Hiram Becker, Albany Medical College, 1864 ;
New Salem. Daniel M. Stimson, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1868 ; removed to New York City, 1871.
212
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
l870,*JOHN M.BIGELOW, College Physicians and Surgeons,
1870 ; Albany. J. Myers Briggs, Albany Medical College,
1869 ; died 1874, aged 29. Thomas D. Crothers, Albany
Medical College, 1865; removed to Hartford, Conn. *J. R.
Davidson, Albany Medical College, 1869 ; South Bethle-
hem. EusTis H. Davis, Albany Medical College, 1854 ;
removed to Watkins. *J. D. Featherstonhaugh, College
Physicians and Surgeons, 1870 ; Cohoes. H. D. LOSEE,
Albany Medical College, 1868 ; died 1874, aged 25. Wil-
liam Morgan, Albany Medical College, 1869 ; Albany; re-
signed 1883. •Wm. H. T. Reynolds, College of Physicians
and Surgeons, 1870 ; Albany. 'Charles F. Scattergood,
Albany Medical CoHege, i858 ; Albany. *A. P. Ten Eyck,
Albany Medical College, 1866 ; Rensselaer County.
1871, L. R. BOYCE, licentiate Otsego Co. Society, 1862 ;
resigned 1877. Orson F. Cobb, Albany Medical College,
1868 ; West Troy ; suspended 1876. P. J. C. Golding ;
removed to Massachusetts. *L. C. B. Graveline, Albany
Medical College, 1862 ; Albany. *Lorenzo Hale, Albany
Medical College, 1868 ; Albany. K. V. R. Lansingh, Jr.,
Albany Medical College, 1870 ; died April 13, 1879. *WlL-
LIAM H. Murray, Albany Medical College, 1869 ; Albany.
E. B. Tefft, Buffalo Medical College, 1864 ; removed.
BarnabasWood, University of Nashville, 1852 ; died 1875,
aged 56 .
1872, *Frederic C. Curtis, College of Physicians and
Surgeons, 1870 ; Albany. Isaac De Zouche, Albany Med-
ical College, 1869 ; removed to Gloversville, 1875. 'Wil-
liam Hailes, Albany Medical College, 1870 ; Albany.
S. A. Ingham, Albany Medical College, 1871 ; removed to
Little Falls. J. H. Lagrange, Albany Medical College,
1871 ; removed to Columbia County. J. H. Lasher, Al-
bany Medical College, 1871 ; died 1873, aged 25. Caleb
Lyon, Albany Medical College, 1871 ; removed to New York
City. Philip J. Maguire, College Physicians and Surgeons,
1871 ; removed to Brooklyn. *B. U. Steenberg, Albany
Medical College, 1870; Albany. *John Ben Stonehouse,
Albany Medical College, 187 1; Albany. *WillisG. Tuck-
er, Albany Medical College, 1870 ; Albany. *Eugene Van
Slyke, Albany Medical College, 1871 ; Albany. 'R. H.
Starkweather, Albany Medical College, 187 1 ; Albany.
*G. L. Ullman, Albany Medical College, 1871 ; Albany.
1873, Almon S. Allen, Albany Medical College, 1872 ;
removed to Pittsfield, Mass. *JOHN U. Haynes, Albany
Medical College, 1872 ; Cohoes. 'Joseph H. Blatner,
Albany Medical College, 1872 ; Albany. George A.
Jones, Albany Medical College, 1869 ; died 1875.
James C. Hannan, University of Nevf York, 1873 ;
removed to Hoosick Falls, 1881. 'James P. Boyd,
Jr., College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1871 ; Albany.
Frank Garbutt, Albany Medical College, 1872 ; re-
moved to Mechanicsville. *C. E. Seger, Albany Medical
College, 1863 : Adams Station. 'Patrick E. Fennelly,
Albany Medical College, 1869 ; West Troy. 'Octavius
H. E. Clarke, McGill University, Montreal, 1870 ; Cohoes.
Alfred L. Wands, Albany Medical College, 1869 ; re-
moved.
1874, 'J. L. Archambeault, Laval University, Quebec,
1870; Cohoes. 'Lewis Balch, College Physicians and Sur-
geons, 1870 ; Albany. *0. D. Ball, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1867 ; Albany. George H. Benjamin, Albany
Medical College, 1872; removed. 'L. Boudrias (DeMorat),
Victoria University, Montreal, 1870 ; Cohoes. C. E. BUFFIN-
TON, Albany Medical College, 1874; West Troy. 'Daniel
H. Cook, Albany Medical College, 1873 ; Albany. Herman
C. Evarts, Albany Medical College, 1873 ; removed to
Carthage, N. Y. James A. Hart, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1873 ; removed to Colorado about 1877. Wil-
liam W. MacGregor, Albany Medical College, 1873 ; re-
moved to Glen's Falls. 'Cyrus S. Merrill, College Phy-
sidans and Surgeons, 1871 ; Albany. LinzeeT. Morrill,
Albany Medical College, 1873 ; removed. 'Nelson Mon-
roe, Vermont Academy of Medicine, 1840; Green Island.
'George W. Papen, College Physicians and Surgeons,
1874; Albany. *A. T. Van Vranken, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1873; West Troy. 'Felix Weidman, Albany Medical
College, 1847; Westerlo.
1875, 'Harvey W. Bell, Albany Medical College, 1866;
removed to East Albany. 'Mary Du BoiS, Woman's Medical
College of Pennsylvania, 1 87 1; Albany. Harris I. Fel-
lows, Albany Medical College, 1874; died August 29, 1881,
aged 44. Hiram T. Herrington, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1873; removed to Rensselaer County. Henry V.
Hull, Albany Medical College, 1874; removed to Sche-
nectady, 1880. 'Henry E. Mereness, Albany Medical
College, 1874; Albany. John E. Metcalf, Albany Medi-
cal College, 1874; removed to Ketchum's Corners, N. Y.
Franklin A. Munson, College Physicians and Surgeons,
1873; died December 8, 1878, aged 26. 'Norman L. Snow,
College Physicians and Surgeons, 1861; Albany. 'T. M.
Trego, College Physicians and Surgeons, 1874; Albany.
Thomas Wilson, Albany Medical College, 1874; removed
to Claverack, 1876. Edward Yates, Jefferson Medical
College, 1869; died 1876, aged 29.
1876, 'R. D. Clark, Long Island Medical College; Al-
bany. William A. Hall, Albany Medical College, 1875;
removed to Fulton, Oswego Co. 'J. M. Haskell, Univer-
sity of Michigan; Bath-on-the-Hud=on. 'P. J. Keegan,
University of New York; Albany. *T. K. Perry, Albany
Medical College, 1875; Albany. *W. L. PURPLE, Albany
Medical College, 1875; Albany. Elbert T. Rulison,
Albany Medical College, 1875; removed to Amsterdam.
'Seth G. Shanks, Albany Medical College, 1875; Albany.
A. H. V. Smyth, Albany Medical College, 1875; removed
to Minaville. 'Samuel B. Ward, Georgetown Medical
College, 1864; Albany. 'Harriet A. Woodward, Syra-
cuse University, 1875; Albany.
1877, 'James F. Barker, Albany Medical College, 1877;
Albany. 'William N. Hays, Albany Medical College,
1875; Albany.
1878, 'Jesoe Crounse, Albany Medical College, 1877;
Knowersville. 'W. O. Stillman, Albany Medical College,
1878; Albany.
1879, *E. A. Bartlett, Albany Medical College, 1879;
Albany, *G. Upton Peltier, Bishop's College, Quebec,
1873; Cohoes. 'James C. Healey, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1877; Albany. 'A. W. Kilbourne, University of the
City of New York, 1874; Albany. 'Lansing B. Winne,
College Physicians and Surgeons, 1878; Albany. 'Frank-
lin TowNSEND, Jr., College Physicians and Siugeons,
1876; Albany. 'Otto Ritzmann, Albany Medical College,
1879; Albany. 'John C. Shiland, Albany Medical College,
1878; West Troy. 'Uriah B. Lamouee, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1878; Albany. Wm. J. Lewis, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1878; removed to Hartford, Conn. 'Maurice J.
Lewi, Albany Medical College, 1877; Albany. Thomas B.
Van Alstyne, Albany Medical College, 1879; removed to
Richmondville, N.Y.,i88o. P. B. Collier, Long Island Col-
lege Hospital, 1866; Albany. 'Edward E. Brown, Albany
Medical College, 1879; Albany. M. W. Brooks, Univer-
sity of Vermont, 1879; removed to New York City, 1880.
'J. E. Hall, Albany Medical College, 1877; Green Island.
S. O. Van der Poel, Jr., College Physicians and Sur-
geons, 1876; removed to New York William Geoghan,
Albany Medical College, 1874 ; removed to New York.
'John D. R. McAllister, Albany Medical College, 1879;
Albany. Thomas Featherstonhaugh, Albany Medical
College, 1877; 1882, removed to New York. Sheldon
Voorhees, Albany Medical College, 1879; removed to
Auburn, 1881. .
1880, 'Daniel C. Case, Albany Medical College, 1870;
Slingerlands. 'Theo. P. Bailey, College Physicians and
Surgeons, 1880; Albany. A. P. Casler, Albany Medical
College, 1880. 'Frank J. Merrington, Albany Medi-
cal College, 1880; Albany. 'Sam'l R. Morrow, College
Physicians and Surgeons, 1878; Albany. John W. Gould,
Albany Medical College, 1880; removed. John J. White,
Albany Medical College, 1879; removed to New York.
'George E. Elmendorf, Albany Medical College, 1875;
Coeymans Hollow. M. R. C. Peck, College Physicians
and Surgeons, 1876. Thomas D. Worden, Albany
Medical College, 1880 ; removed. Lehman B. Hoit,
Albany Medical College, 1880; removed. John Thomas
Keay, Albany Medical College, 1879; died January 4,
1881, aged 28. Daniel Fegan, Queen's University, Dub-
lin, IreJand; removed to Ireland.
1881, 'George S. Munson, Albany Medical College,
1880; Albany. John F. Lockwood, Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1881; removed to Wisconsin. S. Edward Ullman,
Albany Medical College, 1880; Albany. *T. W. Nellis,
Albany Medical College, 1881; Albany. 'W. J. Nellis,
Albany Medical College, 1879; Albany. *F. L. Classen,
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
213
Albany Medical College, 1881; Albany. *Howard Mil-
ler, Albany Medical College, 1881; Albany. •Howard S.
Paine, Albany Medical College, 1881; Albany. •Lauren-
tine RoucHEL, Buffalo Medical College; Albany.
Thomas G. Hvland, Bellevue Medical College; removed.
Carrol H. Phillips, Albany Medical College, Watervliet;
died February 14, 1883, C. W. Green, Albany Medical
College; removed. Charles F. Huddleston, Albany
Medical College; removed.
1882, •W. B. Sabin, Albany Medical College, 1882; West
Troy. •Samuel Peters, Vermont Academy of Medicine,
1846; West Troy. Frank S. Peters, Albany Medical
College, 1874; died 1883. 'Henry Hun, Harvard Medical
School, 1879; Albany. •George E. Lyon, Albany Medical
College, 1882; West Troy. *W. H. Fowler, Jefferson
Medical College, 1879; Albany. *David Fleischman, Al-
bany Medical College, 1881 ; Albany.
1883, 'William L. Schutter, Albany Medical College,
1883; Albany. 'Frank H. Fisk, Albany Medical College,
1883; Albany. 'Charles K. Crawford, Albany Medical
College, 1881; Albany. •;. W. Riley, Albany Medical
College, 1882; Albany. Walter W. Schofield, Albany
Medical College, 1882; removed to Massachusetts. *C. M.
Culver, Albany Medical College, 1881; Albany. J. W.
Mann, Albany Medical College, 1882; died 1884.
1884, 'J. H. Mitchell, Albany Medical College, 1882;
Cohoes. 'R. J. Brown, Albany Medical College, 1882;
Albany. *T. F. C. Van Allen, Albany Medical College,
1882; Albany. 'Joseph D. Craig, Albany Medical Cbl-
lege, 1884; Albany. 'Edgar C. Hallenbeck, Bellevue
Medical College, 1881; Bethlehem. G. S. Knicker-
bocker, College Physicians and Surgeons; removed.
C. C. Schuyler, Albany Medical College; Troy (non-
resident).
1885. 'Selwin a. Russell, Albany Medical College,
1877; Albany. 'Frederick D. Morrill, Albany Medical
College, 1881; Albany. •John H. Skillicorn, Albany
Medical College, 1883; Albany.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY FROM ITS ORGANIZATION.
Year.
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
l8l2
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
•835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
President.
Vice-President.
Secretary.
Treasurer.
Hunloke Woodruff.
Wm. McClelland.
Charles D. Townsend.
Wm. McClelland
Jonathan Eights
n
John Stearns
If
James Lovif
Jonathan Eights
C. C. Yates
William Bay
Joel A. Wing
Piatt Williams
Charles D. Townsend.
It
Alden March
Barent P. Staats
John W. Bay
James P. Boyd
Jonathan Eights
Peter Van Buren
Thomas Hun
Mason F. Cogswell . . .
James McNaughton . . .
James H. Armsby
J. V. P. Quackenbush
Uriah G. Bigelow . . . .
Samuel H. Freeman . .
Sylvester D. Willard. .
Charles D. Townsend.
Isaac Hyde
Erastus Williams
John' Stearns. . ..'.
James Low
William Bay
Jonathan Eights
Peter Williams
Charles D. Townsend
Barent P. Staats
(t
((
Guy Spalding
B. B. Fredenburgh. . .
Peter B. Noxon
Alva W. Rockwell
L. G. Warren
Peter McNaughton , . .
it
John S. Van Alstyne .
((
Henry Van O'Linda . .
Mason F. Cogswell. . ,
R. H. Thompson. . . .
tt
John Swinburne
Wm. F. Carter
U. G. Bigelow
Samuel H. Freeman. .
<(
Sylvester D. Willard .
S. O. Vanderpoel
J. L. Van Deusen
T. Romeyn Beck.
it
Peter Wendell...
William Humpfrey . . .
a
it
Peter Van O^Linda. .
James P. Boyd
((
Luke Wellington
it
Elisha S. Burton
Herman Wendell. . . .
Abraham Groesbeck .
it
it
Peter Van Buren . . . .
Henry Greene
it
Jonathan Case
John Campbell
it
J. V. P. Quackenbush
Benjamin A. Sheldon,
<(
Sylvester D. Willard .
it
Levi Moore
John G. Knauff.
Peter Wendell.
Joel A. Wing.
Barent P. Staats.
Peter Van O'Linda.
John W. Hinckley.
it
Roger Viets.
Edward A. Leonard.
Isaac Hempstead.
Carroll Humpfrey.
Jarvis Barney.
John F. Townsend.
Henry Greene.
Henry Van O'Linda.
E. B. O'Callighan.
ft
C. C. Waller.
J. B. Rossman.
C. C. Waller.
(1
William H. Bailey.
314
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.— Continued.
Year.
i8S9
i860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
T 1872
1873
1874
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
I88I
1882
1883
1884
President.
Waiiam F. Carter
S. O. Vanderpoel
Howard Townsend
Peter McNaughton
Peter P. Staats
Levi Moore
James E. Pomfret
R. H. Sabin
James L. Babcock
William H. Craig
"William H. Bailey
Joseph Lewi
Albert Van Derveer
John Swinburne
James S. Bailey
Henry March
Joseph N. Northrop
Charles A. Robertson
Frederic C. Curtis
John M. Bigelow
A. Shiland
Jacob S. Mosher
Norman L. Snow
Herman Bendell
J. D. Featherstonhaugh. . .
Vice-President.
S. O. Vanderpoel
Leonard G. Warren. . .
Joseph Lewi
Levi Moore
Frank G. Mosher
R. H. Sabin
James L. Babcock ....
J. W. Moore
C. D. Mosher
Andrew Wilson
Amos Fowler
A. Shiland
H. W. Steenberg
C. E. Witbeck
J. D. Featherstonhaugh
William H. Murray. ..
Louis Boudrias
A. T. Van Vranken . . .
B. U. Steenberg
William Hailes
John U. Haynes
D. C. Case
J. L. Archambeault. . . .
T. Kirk Perry
Secretary.
Levi Moore
Oscar H. Young
(<
((
J. R. Boulware
Martin L. Mead
George T. Stevens. .
Charles H. Porter. . .
John M. Bigelow . . . .
Frederic C. Curtis..
((
Joseph H. Blatner. . .
Lewis Balch
B. U. Steenberg
Eugene Van Slyke. .
T. Kirk Perry
Lorenzo Hale
((
T. Featherstonhaugh
M. J. Lewi
E. A. Bartlett.-
Jno. Ben. Stonehouse
Treasurer.
William H. Bailey.
George H. Newcomb.
((
Henry March.
H. R. Haskins.
F. L. R. Chapin.
Thomas Beckett.
Andrew Wilson.
((
D. V. O'Leary.
William H. Murray.
W. H. T. Reynolds.
D. H. Cook.
A. T. Van Vranken.
H. E. Mereness.
G. L. Ullman.
M. J. Lewi.
Uriah B. La Moure.
The publications of the society have been quite
remarkable. The entire Transactions of the, society
have been printed in three volumes of 400 or 500
pages. The first was prepared by Dr. S. D. Wil-
lard, and extends to 1850; the second, chiefly by
Dr. J. S. Bailey, covers the next twenty years, and the
third, chiefly by Dr. F. C. Curtis, recently printed, is
filled by the ten years following, down to 1880. These
volumes contain biographies of nearly two hundred
members, and a number of portraits of deceased
and prominent members. The society also has
maintained for five years a monthly journal, the
Albany Medual Annals. Dr. March, in 1830,
wrote "A Plea for Establishing a Medical Journal
in Albany." Our periodical, which is largely
made up . of material presented at the monthly
meetings of the society, has a considerable circula-
tion outside of the society's territory, and extracts
from it frequently appear in other journals. The
Editorial Committee are Drs. F. C. Curtis, A. Van
der Veer, Lorenzo Hale, J. B. Stonehouse and
Willis G. Tucker. Probably no other society in
the country has done so much in the matter of
publication.
The cholera epidemic of 1832 was an important
epoch in the annals of medicine. This disease,
which in its European and American history be-
longs to this century, made its first appearance on
this continent at Quebec in 1832, and a fortnight
later broke out in Albany. It justly created great
alarm. At the request of the Mayor, a meeting of the
Medical Society was called to devise means to arrest
its progress, and a staff was organized, consisting
of Drs. Eights, Wing, Greene, Boyd, Townsend,
Wendell, James, McNaughton and March. The
physicians of the city met every evening at the City
Hall, where an album was kept in which to enter the
names of the deceased. The number of reported
cases was 1,147, of which 422 were fatal. Two
years later, on a fresh outbreak, there were 1 24 cases,
with 78 deaths. No such fatal disease had pre-
vailed since the small-pox epidemics of early his-
tory.
Conspicuous among the younger men then was
Dr. James P. Boyd. His faithful work at that
time gave him an impetus, and he secured a posi-
tion which made him for very many years one of the
first physicians in the city. The brothers James
and Peter McNaughton were older by several years.
The former had been a professor in a medical
school then for twelve years, and at the time of his
death, in 1874, he was the senior teacher of medi-
cine, probably, in the world. He was made at
this time President of the Board of Health, and
wrote a paper on the disease, which was in much
demand. His brother, in a less public way, was,
perhaps, even more active as a practicing physician.
Both of them, in civil as well as medical relations,
were for half a century among the first citizens of
Albany. The brothers Staats, of the same name as
our earliest historical physician, were well known
men here for many years. The elder, Dr. Barent,
was prominent in politics, and was also a trustee of
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
315
numerous mercantile concerns. He was at this
time Health Officer of the port. Dr. Alden March
was a well-established physician, having come here
from New England in 1820. In the fifty years that
he practiced he made a world-wide reputation as a
surgeon and teacher. The Doctors Beck were, in
some respects, the most remarkable men in our
history. One of them was sent at this time by the
Governor to visit the northern frontier for the pur-
pose of procuring information and organizing
boards of health. Dr. T. Romeyn Beck is known
over the civilized world as the author of ' ' Medical
Jurisprudence." Both of the brothers devoted most
of their lives to teaching and scientific literature.
Younger than any of them was Dr. Thomas Hun,
just entering practice then, and the only one of that
time now living, having, however, well earned retire-
ment from active work by over fifty years of service,
which brought him a reputation second to none in
the country. This strong body of men, most of
them of thorough literary and medical education,
formed the body of the profession through the two
middle quarters of this century, and all of them
lived so nearly up to the present time that there are
few Albanians to whom they are not perfectly
familiar. They had a hand in every important
event, professional or civic, that transpired through
the long period that they worked together, during
which the city doubled its population two or three
times.
As in the last century the wars were important
periods in our medical history, so in this. In the
war of 1812, which was partly at our door, a few
of the local physicians were engaged. Most prom-
inently was Dr. Piatt Williams, a graduate of Wil-
liams College, and prepared by a long course of
professional study. The war broke out soon after
he began to practice, and he immediately received
from Gov. Tompkins the appointment of surgeon
to the Second Regiment of Riflemen. He served
through the war on the Niagara frontiers. Two
years later, having returned to Albany, he was ap-
pointed post surgeon of the cantonment at Green-
bush, and retained the position till its abandon-
ment in 1822.
Dr. Henry Greene, a native of Rhode Island, im-
mediately after his graduation in 1814, was made
assistant surgeon of the Twenty-fifth Regulars, and
saw hard service in Canada, remaining in the army
till peace was declared. He came to Albany in
1828, was prominent herein the cholera epidemic,
and was one of the first faculty of the Medical Col-
lege.
Dr. Joel A. Wing was for thirty-eight years a
physician of Albany. Almost as soon as he gradu-
ated he was, without his knowledge, appointed
surgeon in the army, which he did not accept, so
that his connection with the war was but nominal.
He, however, was made post surgeon of the Green-
bush barracks in 1844. On his first visit to the
barracks, being young, undersized and unimpres-
sive, he was treated with some insolence by the
orderly, or nurse. He knocked the man down,
and it took all the money he had to pay the fine
imposed by the justice ; but he secured wholesome
respect afterward. Dr. Wing worked very hard in
the cholera epidemic and was himself taken with
the disease, his recovery speaking well for his asso-
ciates. In the course of his life he held various
important civil positions.
The Mexican war was enacted at a remote point,
and none of the profession of this county appears
to have served in it.
The late Civil war furnishes a point around
which to group a very considerable number of the
men and events of our peaceful profession. The
men who participated in it were for the most part
those of to-day. Its outbreak found Dr. S. O.
Vanderpoel, then one of the most active physicians
in the city, in the office of Surgeon-General of the
State, which place he filled from 1859 to 1863,
under Gov. Morgan. It gave him the medical
direction in the formation of all regiments sent
from this State, the examination of all applicants
for and filling of all vacancies in the medical staff
of each regiment. He had at the end of his term
of service over 600 surgeons in the field. He
established promotion by grade in medical corps
instead of regimental. During a portion of Mc-
Clellan's advance in the Peninsula, and in the first
battle of the Wilderness, he went as volunteer sur-
geon. Subsequently he was_ inspector of hospitals
for the Sanitary Commission. After the war Dr.
Vanderpoel was for eight years Health Officer of
the Port of New York. He was also for many
years on the Medical College faculty and physician
to the hospitals. In 1881 he removed to New-
York City.
Dr. J. V. P. Quackenbush was Surgeon-General
from '63 to '65, under Gov. Seymour, and carried
out its arduous duties almost to the end of the war
He spent his entire professional life in Albany, one
of its prominent physicians, a leading citizen and a
most popular lecturer at the Medical College and
hospitals.
Dr. S. D. Willard succeeded him in official posi-
tion, but died during the same year, He had pre-
21JG
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
viously seen considerable service at the front as
volunteer surgeon, especially in 1862, after the
battles of the Peninsula, to look after New York
soldiers. The profession, of Albany especially, is
indebted to him for much laborious work on medi-
cal and historical literature, and Willard Asylum
was justly named after him for his efforts toward its
establishment
Dr. James D. Pomfret was Surgeon-General from
'65 to '69, under Gov. Fenton. In '62 he was ap-
pointed surgeon of the xi3th Regiment, which was
raised entirely in this county ; it was changed to
the 7th Heavy Artillery, and till ^lay, '64, was
placed in the defenses of Washington, during
which time he acted as Brigade Surgeon. It then
being sent to the front, he was made Division Sur-
geon, and later Surgeon-in-Chief of the 2d Army
Corps. After his return home he had charge of the
Soldiers' Home here and was connected with the
college and hospitals.
Dr. Jacob S. RTosher was the last of the Albany
physicians to hold the office of Surgeon-General,
from '69 to '73, under Gov. Hoffman. He served
as volunteer surgeon from his graduation in '63 to
the close of the war in the hospitals of the Army of
the- Potomac and at ^^'ashington. While there he
was appointed Asst State ^Medical Director at
Washington, holding the position till '67. From
'70 till '76 he was Deputy Health Officer of the
Port of New York, was on the Yellow Fever Com-
mission appointed by Congress, and till his death,
in 1883, was prominent in various departments of
medicine and in civil life, being one of the most
variously gifted men Albany has ever had.
Dr. J. W. Moore entered the navy in '61 as Asst
Surgeon, and served in the Chesapeake Bay and
Potomac River for fourteen months as Surgeon of
the Flotilla, participating in many battles, begin-
ning with that of SewalFs Point, the first naval
battle of the war. He was in the same fleet with
the Moniior during its fight with the Merrimac.
He also served in the North Atlantic Squadron and
was Fleet Surgeon of the St John's River Flotilla.
For six months he was with the fiigate Florida,
which was fitted out to cruise for the Alabama.
After serving for a year in the U. S. A. General
Hospital he returned home to Cohoes, where he has
since been actively engaged in private practice.
Dr. J. Savage Delavan was appointed -\5St. Sur-
geon, 1 69th Infantry, in '63, but not being mustered,
owing to lack of numbers in the regiment, entered
hospital ser\ice at Washington. After a time he j
was commissioned by Gov. Buckingham ist Asst '
Surgeon, ist Connecticut Artillery, and remained i
with that regiment through the war, declining the
surgeoncy of ist N. Y. Cavalry, offered him by
Gov. Seymour. He was in all the artillery battles
before Petersburg down to the repulse of the Con-
federates at Fort Steadman, and was at the "mine"
and the taking of Fort Fisher. Before the war he
was for some time Pension Examining Surgeon, and
was again appointed after the war. He was Vice-
Consul at Geneva, Switzerland, for two years.
Having resumed practice in Albany, he is one of
the physicians to the Homoeopathic Hospital, and
has been one of the three State Commissioners of
Health of the State Board of Health since it was
first organized.
Dr. Herman Bendell served in the Army of the
Potomac and of the Shenandoah from '62 to the
close of the war. He was first appointed Asst
Surgeon, 6th N. Y. Artillery; in December, '64, he
became surgeon of the 86th N. Y. Vet A'ols. During
the final campaign to Richmond he was surgeon
in charge of the Depot Field Hospital. He was
discharged as Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, N. Y. V.
After the war he was Superintendent of Indian
Affairs in Arizona Territory, and has now for sev-
eral years been engaged in private practice here.
He now holds the office of Pension Examining
Surgeon.
Dr. Samuel B. Ward during a part of 1862 was
in the service of the Sanitar\- Commission on trans-
ports of sick to northern ports. In September of
that year he became, by contract with the Medical
Director of the Department of Washington, acting
Medical Cadet, and afterward acting Assistant Sur-
geon. Having obtained his degree in medicine, he
was appointed, after examination, Assistant Surgeon,
New York Volunteers, by President Lincoln, and
ser\^ed till the close of the war. He has been con-
nected with the National Guard since 1872, being
now surgeon of the Ninth Brigade. He came to Al-
ban}- in 1876, and has since been one of the faculty
of the ^Medical College and connected with the hos-
pitals.
Dr. Charles A. Robertson was commissioned Sur-
geon of the 139th New York Volunteers in 1862.
He was at Irish Bend, the siege of Port Hudson,
Donaldson\ille and Vermilli.)n Bayou. Before
Port Hudson, he was acting Division Surgeon of
Field Hospitals. He was on special service through
the Teche countr>-. Prior to the war he had prac-
ticed oph'Jialmology in Boston, and after his ser-
vice he came to Albany and was the first specialist
in this branch of practice, in which he was remark-
ably skillful He was attached to several hospitals
and had a large practice till his death in iSSo.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
217
Dr. Thomas Helme, of McKownsville, was com-
missioned Assistant Surgeon, 148th New York Vol-
unteers, in November, 1863. His grandfather was a
revolutionary soldier and a prominent man in Rhode
Island; his father was in the war of 181 2 in some
military capacity. In 1865 Dr. Helme was pro-
moted to Surgeon of the 85th Regiment. He saw
service in the Carolinas and Virginia, was in all the
battles before Petersburg, and at the taking of Fort
Harrison was wounded while on a charge, so that
he was laid up for several weeks. Otherwise he
was on active service to the close of the war, when
he returned to this county, where he is still in active
practice.
Dr. Charles H. Porter was made Assistant Sur-
geon, 40th New York Volunteers, in November,
1862, but was not mustered. In January, 1863, he
was commissioned Surgeon of the Si.xth Artillery, to
which regiment Dr. Bendell was attached, serving
with it to the close of the war, being mustered out
with the rank of Brevet Colonel, New York Volun-
teers. He has since practiced in Albany and for
several years has been one of the pension examin-
ing surgeons.
Dr. Alexander H. Hoffcame to Albany in 1853,
and was Surgeon-General from 1854 to 1856. For
several years he was examining surgeon at the
United States rendezvous here. He entered the
army as Surgeon of the Third New York Volunteers,
becoming the same year Medical Director under
Gen. Fremont, and Chief of Hospital Supplies. In
1864 and till the close of the war he was Medical
Director of Transportation. In 1867 he entered
the regular army as Surgeon and Brevet Colonel,
United States Volunteers, and remained in the
service till his death in 1876. His son is now
Assistant Surgeon, United States Army.
Dr. N. L. Snow entered the service as Assistant
Surgeon, 153d New York Volunteers, in August,
1862, was promoted Surgeon, February, 1864, and
was discharged October, 1865. He was in the
defense of Washington, was with Sheridan in the
Shenandoah, and with Banks on his Red River
campaign. During the summer of 1865 he was
Health Officer of the District of Savannah. He
practiced a number of years at Canajoharie, and
about 1875 came to Albany. He has hospital and
college connection, and is now President of the
Board of Aldermen.
f~ Dr. Albert Van Der Veer was appointed Medical >
Cadet at the Ira Harris Hospital in June, 1861.
The following year he was made Medical Cadet in
the army, being one of the original one hundred.
He served in this capacity at Columbia College
28
Hospital, Washington, until December, 1862, when
he was appointed Assistant Surgeon, 66th New
York Volunteers, joining his regiment at Fal-
mouth, Va. In August, 1864, he was promoted
surgeon of the same regiment. For over two
years he was surgeon in charge of one of the oper-
ating tables of the First Division Hospital, Second
Army Corps, during the time also having charge
of locating the hospital supplies, building winter
quarters, etc. He was mustered out with his regi-
ment, which had participated in many of the bat-
tles of the Army of the Potomac, August, 1865,
and returned to Alban}', where he has since been
engaged in active practice. Since 1876 he has
been a member of the Medical College Faculty as
Professor of Surgery, in which department he is
pre-eminent in the annals of Albany, besides hav-
ing a very extensive general and consulting practice
in a large region about this city. He is a frequent
contributor to medical literature, and is a member
of many home and foreign societies, being at this
time President of the State Medical Society.
Dr. A. B. Huested served as Hospital Steward
of the 1 1 3th New York Volunteers (Seventh Heavy
Artillery) from 1862 to 1864, the regiment being
on garrison duty near Washington. March, 1 864, he
became Assistant Surgeon, 21st New York Cavalry,
and served as such till July, 1866, seeing very active
service in the Shenandoah and on the overland
stage route north of Denver, along which the
regiment was distributed after the war. He has
since resided in Alban}', and is now one of the
faculty of the College of Pharmacy.
Dr. George H. Newcomb was commissioned,
August 1862, Assistant Surgeon, 113th New York
Volunteers (Seventh Heavy Artillery) and served
with it till May, 1865, being promoted Surgeon,
February, 1865. This regiment, which was raised
in this county, was on garrison duty at Washington,
and saw service, in all of which he participated,
from Spottsylvania to Petersburg.
Dr. George T. Stevens was Surgeon 77th New
York Volunteers from October, 1861, to December,
1865, and was present at nearly all the battles of
the Army of the Potomac after the first Bull Run,
and of the Shenandoah under Sheridan. In 1862
he was appointed Operating Surgeon of the Third
Brigade, and during periods was in charge of the
division hospital. After the battles of the Wilder-
ness, he had charge of wounded officers of the
Sixth Corps, who were taken to Fredericksburg.
He has contributed largely to the surgical history
of the war and is author of "Three Years with
the Sixth Corps." He practiced in Albany for
318
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
several years after the war, and for a time was con-
nected with the Medical College; he now resides
in New York.
Dr. P. M. Murphy entered the service as Assist-
ant Surgeon, 134th N. Y. V., March, '64, and was
mustered out with his regiment, June, '65. He
was in the Army of the Cumberland, in the South-
east, with Sherman, and in the March to the Sea;
he participated in all the engagements of the
20th Corps — about twenty-seven in all. He was
commissioned Surgeon of the 89th Regiment, but
not mustered. Since the war he has resided in
this city.
Dr. A. A. Edmeston entered service as Assist-
ant Surgeon, i8th N. Y. V., in '61, and was soon
after promoted surgeon of the 92d Regiment, and
served through the war. He participated in many
of the battles, whose names are familiar, in Vir-
ginia and North Carolina. Once he voluntarily
accompanied a body of sick and wounded men to
Libby Prison and remained there several weeks.
While in the army he contracted chronic diarrhoea,
from which he never recovered ; he died in 1871.
Dr. Frank J. Mattimore was appointed Assistant
Surgeon, i8thN. Y. V., in 1862. He saw arduous
service at Antietam and the disaster of Fredericks-
burg. He was mustered out with his regiment in
1863 and returned home, where he died a few
months later from the effects of swamp fever which
he had contracted in the service.
Dr. Wesley Blaisdell was also a martyr to the
war. He was a practitioner of Coeymans, and in
August, '62, enlisted as Assistant Surgeon, 113th
N. Y. v., being transferred a few months later to
the 75th Regiment. In July following, having
served at the siege of Port Hudson, he resigned.
After a short time he went back to the army and
was sent to Newbum, where he contracted yellow
fever, which terminated fatally.
Dr. C. B. O'Leary was professionally connected
with the army almost throughout the war, with in-
tervals, and with various regiments. He was
Assistant Surgeon of the 25th and 145th Regi-
ments, and Surgeon of the 175th, serving with the
Army of the Potomac and at Port Hudson. He
returned to Albany, and died here in 1877. His
brother. Dr. D. V. O'Leary, was recently health
oflScer and is now postmaster of the city, being
also on the medical staff of Sl Peter's Hospital.
Dr. Warner Van Steenberg entered the army in
'61, as Assistant Surgeon, ist N. Y. Inf ; a year
after was promoted Surgeon of the 55th, and after-
ward was transferred to the 1 20th. He was mus-
tered out with his regiment, with the rank of Brevet
Lieutenant-Colonel. He settled to practice in
Cohoes, where he remained until his death in 1880,
Dr. P. L. F. Reynolds was commissioned As-
sistant Surgeon, 169th N. Y. V., September, '62;
he resigned Decemb'er, '63. The regiment saw
service in Virginia and the Carolinas. In March,
'65, he received a commission as Assistant Surgeon,
94th N. Y. v., but was not mustered. He is now
practicing in Albany.
Dr. William H. Craig, then a practitioner for
eight 3-ears in this city, was commissioned, October,
'62, Surgeon 177th N. Y. V., a regiment which
was raised in Albany, to serve nine months, and
seeing service at Ponchatoula, Scivique's Ferry and
Port Hudson. He remained with his regiment
until the expiration of its service. Since the war
he has resided in Albany, and has for several
years held the office of postmaster.
Dr. Jephtha R. Boulware served as Assistant
Surgeon of the same regiment with which Dr. Craig
was connected, the 177th, as did also Dr. Oscar
Young, who resided here for several years. Dr.
Boulware has been a prominent practitioner in
Albany since his war service, and for a time was
Surgeon of St. Peter's Hospital.
Dr. Henry R. Haskins was commissioned Sur-
geon of the igzd N. Y. V., which was partly raised
in this county, in February, '65, and was mustered
out in the August following. He practiced in
Albany till his death in 1884; was for several years
Professor of Anatomy at the Medical College, and
was prominent especially as a surgeon.
Dr. Thomas Beckettwas made Assistant Surgeon,
25th N. Y. Nat. Guard, April, '61, and served
with it for five months in Virginia. October, '62,
was again mustered as First Assistant Surgeon 4th
Regiment (Corcoran's Brigade), consolidated with
the 175th N. Y. v., and sent to Louisiana. For
a time he was detached and placed in charge of the
sick of General Emory's Division. He accompa-
nied his regiment on the expedition to Plaquemine
and the T^che raid, and at the battle of Brisland
was three days and nights on tbe field; at Port
Hudson he had become so reduced in health that
he was discharged, June, '63, with the rank of
Brevet Major, N. Y. V. In '65 he was placed
on duty as Acting Assistant Surgeon at the Ira
Harris Hospital here, and served to the end of the
war.
Dr. Charles P. Staats was made Assistant Surgeon,
67th New York Infantry, in 1863, seeing service for
a year and a half with the Army of the Potomac.
After being mustered out with his regiment he
returned to Albany, where he died in 1884.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
219
Dr. John H. Wilbur, now a practitioner of
Cohoes, enlisted in the 44th New York Volunteers
in 1861, and after two- years' service was discharged
on account of physical disabilities. In September,
1866, he was commissioned by Gov. Fenton Surgeon
of the io8th Infantry, and served till the regiment
disbanded.
Dr. R. H. Sabin, of West Troy, received a com-
mission as Assistant Surgeon, Seventh New York
Artillery, but was prevented by domestic affairs
from serving.
Besides these there were a number of Albany phy-
sicians who, while having no regular regimental
attachment, saw considerable service in army hos-
pitals and at the front after severe battles. Dr.
Mason F. Coggswell, a practitioner here since 1833,
and having held various offices of responsibility, was
at the outbreak of the war appointed Examining Sur-
geon. He was surgeon of a post hospital in 1862,
and served as volunteer surgeon after the battles of
the Wilderness. In 1863 he visited hospitals in the
West with Dr. Thomas Hun, for the Christian Com-
mission. His death in 1865 was attributed partly to
his hard work in Virginia. Dr. J. V. Lansing was
examiner of recruits here, where a large number of
regiments were organized. He also served as con-
tract surgeon, or acting assistant. For many years
he was connected with the college and hospital
here; he died in 1880, while surgeon to Danne-
mora prison. Dr. Henry March was assistant volun-
teer surgeon, sent by the State in 1861-2; he was on
hospital service at Fortress Monroe and at Fred-
ericksburg. Dr. Wm. H. Bailey, for many years
a leading physician of Albany, was sent to Wash-
ington and the army to look after the welfare of New
York troops, several times by the Governor and the
Christian Commission. He is now connected with
the Albany Hospital ; is one of the pension exam-
iningsurgeons,and a late president of the Slate Medi-
cal Society. Similar special service was rendered
by Dr. John Swinburne, a sketch of whose life may
be found on another page. Dr. Levi Moore, Dr. J.
L. Babcock, and probably others. Dr. Alden
March gave his valuable services to the inmates of
the Soldiers' Home located here. Dr. James.
H. Armsby rendered the same patriotic service.
Dr. Ira M. Delamater, Dr. S. H. Freeman
and Dr. A. P. Ten Eyck were likewise con-
nected with the work in this home for disabled
soldiers.
Besides those who have served in a professional
capacity, there are a few among the physicians here
who may be mentioned for other service during the
war.
Dr. O. D. Ball enlisted, November, 1861, in the
Third New York Light Artillery as Quartermaster-
Sergeant ; in 1864 he was commissioned Second
Lieutenant, and a few months later was promoted
to First Lieutenant and assigned to duty as regi-
mental quartermaster, and for a lime was acting
Assistant Adjutant-General. He went up the
James River with the army under General Butler
as ordnance officer, and was engaged in the pre-
liminary battles and siege of Petersburg, the
battles of James River and Wilson's Landing. He
served through the war and came to Albany in
1874, after several years' practice in Otsego County.
Dr. Edward E. Brown entered the service in
September, 1802, as First Lieutenant Fifth New
York Heavy Artillery, and was promoted Captain,
serving through the war. He saw service principally
in the defen.ses of Washington ; was engaged in the
taking of Harper's Ferry. Since graduating at the
Albany Medical College he has practiced in Bethle-
hem, and now is settled in Alban}'.
Dr. E. A. Bartlett, a descendant of the Dr.
Josiah Bartlett, signer of the Declaration of In-
dependence, enlisted as private in the Fourth
United States Artillery in 1863, for five years,
and participated in twelve engagements of the
Department of the Cumberland and Tennessee.
He was wounded at Pulaski in January, 1865.
In 1866, the war having ended, he was, through
Senator Harris, discharged, in order to complete his
collegiate- education. His professional life he has
spent in Albany. He is a contributor to literature,
general and medical, his latest work being a popu-
lar brochure on cholera.
Dr. F. C. Curtis enlisted in the spring of 1864,
with a large part of his college class, as private in
the 40th Wisconsin hundred days' regiment, and
saw service during the summer chiefly in the de-
fenses of Memphis.
Dr. Lewis Balch, although not in the army dur-
ing the war, may be mentioned as a prominent
medical officer of the National Guard, in which he
is a senior surgeon, loth battalion, with rank of
major. He is connected with the college and the
hospitals here, and is now health officer of the
city.
As completely as possible the military history of
medical men in this county has been presented in
recognition of the important relation that exists be-
tween war and the science of medicine.
During this century the city and county have
maintained the early repute for healthfulness, the
cholera epidemics already referred to being the most
notable inroad upon it. The topography, soil and
220
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
drainage are favorable to salubrity. The city espe-
cially is admirably situated, with its succession of
slopes and valleys draining rapidly into the all-ab-
sorbing river, and it needs but a decent attention to
artificial aids for removing waste and moisture, with
an abundance of pure water, to keep it the healthiest
city in the world.
The various medical institutions which have
been brought into existence during the century are
important features of our medical history. The
Albany Medical College was organized in 1838,
and is one of the oldest schools of medicine in this
country. As early as 182 1 Dr. Alden March be-
gan to give a course of instruction in anatomy by
lectures and dissections, and continued it until the
organization of the College ; for ten years of the
time also holding the chair of anatomy and physi-
ology in the Vermont Academy of Medicine. He
began in 1830 to agitate the propriety of establish-
ing a college and hospital here. Soon after this
Dr. James H. Armsby became associated with Dr.
March in his private school, at the same time also
lecturing at the Vermont institution. He delivered
several courses of public lectures on anatomy, and
did much thereby to awaken the interest of promi-
nent citizens in the subject. This resulted in a
meeting of citizens in 1838, at which the prelimi-
nary steps were taken toward its organization,
some of the best men in the city co-operating for
the purpose. Funds were subscribed, a faculty
and board of trustees selected, and the Lancaster
school building leased, rent free, of the Common
Council. The first course of lectures began in
January, 1839, to a class of fifty-seven students,
and an extensive museum, chiefly contributed by
Drs. March and Armsby, was displayed to the
public. This museum has received further contri-
butions from Drs. March, Armsb}', McNaughton,
Van Der Veer and others, until now it is one of the
largest in the country, and is still, on stated days,
open to the public. During the first few years Dr.
Armsby and Mr. Amos Dean, who was professor
of medical jurisprudence, delivered public lectures
in the evening, which added much to the interest
in the institution. In 1841 the Legislature made
an appropriation of JS 15,000 to it, and subsequently
$6,000, and the citizens of Albany contributed
#10,000 for its establishment. The first class that
graduated numbered thirteen. Since then the col-
lege has contributed 2,000 men to the medical
force of the country, all over which they are scat-
tered, and many of them the leading men of their
localities. The college has had on its board of
trustees the first citizens of Albany, and the leading
physicians have been on its faculty or board of
curators. Within a few years the demand for
higher education has been met by the requirement
of a preliminary examination of all applicants for
admission, by the establishment of a three years'
graded course of study, and by monthly written
examinations. But very few medical schools in
this country are thus exacting ; this one, conse-
quently, stands high. The final examination by
the faculty is a written one, and after it the gradu-
ate has still to pass another by the board of
curators. The course is not only scientific but
practical, by the exhibition of cases, operations
and laboratory work, and a number of prizes
stimulate the students to their best eflTorts.
The following is a historical list of the college
faculty from its beginning until now, in the
order of their appointment : Drs. Ebenezer
Emmons, James H. Armsby, David M. Reese,
Alden March, Henry Greene, David M. McLach-
lan, Amos Dean, Esq.; Drs. Thomas Hun,
Gunning S. Bedford, James McNaughton, Lewis
C. Beck, T. Romeyn Beck, Howard Townsend,
Ezra S. Carr, J. V. R Quackenbush, Charles H.
Porter, G. F. Barker, Jacob S. Mosher, S. O.
Vanderpoel, James E. Pomfret, John V. Lansing,
H. R. Haskins, Albert Van Der Veer, E. R. Peas- >'
lee, Meredyth Clymer, W. P. Seymour, George T.
Stevens, John M. Bigelow, Maurice Perkins, Ira
Harris, Esq., LL.D.; Drs. Willis G. Tucker,
William Hailes, H. E. Webster, M. A., Drs. John
Swinburne, Lewis Balch, Samuel B. Ward, John
P. Gray, Edward R. Hun, James P. Boyd, Jr., C.
S. Merrill, S. O. Vanderpoel, Jr., Franklin Town-
send, Jr., Frederic C. Curtis and Henry Hun.
Of these a few had but a short connection
with the institution, and a few were non-residents
of this city.
On the present faculty are : Dr. Thomas Hun,
LL.D.,Dean, and Dr. S. O. Vanderpoel, LL.D.,
both Emeritus Professors; Dr. Albert Van Der Veer,
Surgery ; Dr. Maurice Perkins, Chemistry; Dr.
John M. Bigelow, Materia Medica; Dr. Lewis Balch,
Anatomy ; Dr. Samuel B. Ward, Practice of Medi-
cine; Dr. John P. Gmy, Psychological Medicine ;
Dr. James P. Boyd, Obstetrics and Gynecology;
Dr. Willis G. Tucker, Chemistry ; Dr. William
Hailes, Histology ; Dr. C. S. Merrill, Diseases of
the Eye and Ear; Dr. Franklin Townsend, Physi-
ology; Dr. Frederic C. Curtis, Diseases of the
Skin, and Dr. Henry Hun, Nervous Diseases.
Dr. Henry March is Curator of the Museum, Dr.
E. Van Slyke, Demonstrator of Anatomy, and Dr.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
231
S. R. Morrow, Lecturer on Surgery. Dr. A. L.
Carroll, Secretary of the State Board of Health,
has also delivered a course of lectures on Hygiene.
Most of the faculty are connected with one or more
of the hospitals of the city. In years past summer
courses of lectures have been given, at which many
of the physicians of the city have assisted the regu-
lar faculty. These are now suspended, and the
regular course of six months lasts from early in
September till March. The Curators of the Col-
lege are : Drs. Samuel H. Freeman, William H.
Craig and Norman L. Snow, of Albany, Dr. James
D. Featherstonhaugh, of Cohoes, and Dr. Barent
A. Mynderse, of Schenectad)-.
The college owns a valuable library, particularly
rich in rare old works, much of which was selected
by Dr. T. Romeyn Beck. It has laboratories that
are extensive and complete, having been recently
rebuilt. Alumni Hall, a wing of the college, is a
gathering place for all medical organizations, its
walls being covered with portraits of members of
the County Medical Society. There is a large
Alumni Association, holding annual meetings on
commencement da3'S, through whose members the
college gets much of its patronage.
The Albany College of Pharmacy is another
medical institution that deserves mention. Like
the Medical College, it is a department of Union
University by the Board of Governors of which it
was created in 1881. Its course extends over two
years, lectures being given in the evening. It is
required of the students to spend four years with a
reputable pharmacist. The faculty consists of Dr.
Willis G. Tucker, Dr. A. B. Huested and Mr. G.
Michaelis. The late Dr. Mosher was connected
with it up to the time of his death.
Albany is fortunate in the possession of sev-
eral hospitals, a fact which speaks well for its
benevolent spirit. Reference has already been
made to the military hospitals. The Albany Hospi-
tal was founded in 1849. For the first few years it
occupied buildings on the corner of Madison
avenue and Dove street. In 1854 the present fine
building on Eagle street near the Medical College
was secured for it, having been used as a county
jail till then, and remodeled at a cost of over
twenty thousand dollars. This was largely due to
the unremitting efforts of Dr. James H. Armsby,
to -whom more than any other citizen Albany is in-
debted for its educational and benevolent institu-
tions. He gave his professional services to the
hospital during his life, and raised over one hun-
dred thousand dollars for it by personal applica-
tion. In 1872 a large addition was built, and with
numerous and costly improvements since it has
been made one of the most perfect hospitals pos-
sible, with accommodation for about 150 patients.
It has as an especial feature a large number of
private rooms, respectively fitted up by and named
after the various Protestant churches in the city,
and no hospital in the country is so homelike to
those so unfortunate as to need its care. Patients
taking private rooms may be attended there by
their own physicians. It is under the care of a
board of fifteen governors, who are elected annually
by the members of the corporation, a gift of fifty
dollars entitling the, donor to a vote for life. It is
supported by private contributions, by the income
of an endowment fund and from the rent of private
rooms, and by the payment from the city and county
towns for the care of the sick. The present staflf of
the hospital consists of Dr. Thomas Hun, consult-
ing physician ; Drs. Samuel H. Freeman, Joseph
Lewi, John M. Bigelow and Samuel B. Ward, at-
tending physicians ; Drs. Albert Van Der Veer,
William Hailes and Normon L. Snow, attending
surgeons ; Drs. Cyrus S. Merrill and Herman Ben-
dell, eye and ear surgeons; Dr. William H. Bailey,
obstretrician ; Dr. James P. Boyd, gynecologist,
and Dr. Frederic C. Curtis, diseases of the skin.
The hospital has a dispensary for the care of out-
patients, to whom advice and medicines are fur-
nished gratuitously. It is open daily. Several
thousands are thus treated yearly.
St. Peter's Hospital was opened in 1S69, in the
building on the corner of Broadway and North Ferry
street, which was for man}' years occupied by
Stephen Van Rensselaer, son of the late Patroon
This building has been much enlarged by more re-
cent additions. It is in charge of the Sisters of
Mercy, with the co-operation of an advisory board
of forty gentlemen. Being near the railroads, it re-
ceives a great many cases of accident. It has also
a dispensary for out patients to which many, not
only from the city but from neighboring counties,
come for treatment, not less than twenty-five thou-
sand persons having been treated gratuitously there
since it was opened. The staff of physicians con-
sists of Dr. Thomas Hun, Samuel B. Ward and
Daniel V. O'Leary, consulting physicians ; Drs.
A. Van Der Veer and Lewis Balch, consulting sur-
geons ; Drs. Henry Hun, Selwyn A. Russell and
T. Kirk Perry, attending physicians ; Drs. S. R.
Morrow, P. J. Keegan and William Hailes, at-
tending surgeons ; Dr. J. M. Bigelow, laryngo-
scopy and throat diseases ; Drs. C. S. Merrill,
G. A. Munson and T. F. C. Van Allen, ophthalmic
223
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and aural surgeons ; Drs. James P. Boyd and
Franklin Townsend, obstetric surgeons; and Dr.
F. C. Curtis, physician for diseases of the skin.
The Child's Hospital, one of the most efifective
institutions in the city, was organized in 1875. It
is under the charge of the Sisters of the Order of
the Holy Child Jesus. A board of lady managers
has the care of its financial management. The
total number of beds is 75, three of which are en-
dowed. It is mainly supported by voluntary con-
tributions. On its medical staff are Drs. Thomas
Hun and John Swinburne, consulting, and Dr.
Lewis Balch, Henry Hun and T. M. Trego, at-
tending physicians, Dr. C. S. Merrill having
charge of diseases of the eye and ear, and Dr. J. W.
Cox. of the homoeopathic ward.
The Albany City Homoeopathic Hospital was
chartered in 1872, and in 1875 was consolidated
with the dispensary, which was incorporated in
1868. It is under the charge of a board of
managers, and its staff includes most of the
homoeopathic physicians of the city. The institu-
tion furnishes accommodation for 30 patients, a
large part of whom are charity cases, although it
has several private rooms for paying patients. Its
support comes from voluntary contributions and a
yearly appropriation from the city. The part that
homoeopathic physicians have had in our medical
history will form a separate chapter.
The Alms House Hospital and Insane Asylum
has capacity for the sick poor and insane of the
county. It is situated at the outskirts of the city,
on the grounds and under the management of the
Alms House officials. Dr. R. H. Starkweather
having its professional charge as city physician.
The work of the hospitals is very well supple-
mented by the Open Door Mission and the Hospi-
tal for Incurables, the youngest of the benevolent
institutions. Their purpose is to care for the
indigent sick and crippled who, being incurable,
cannot be provided for by the hospitals. Besides
these there are a considerable number of asylums
and homes in the city which need and receive medi-
cal care.
During the century Albany has grown nearly
twenty times in population, Cohoes has become a
considerable city, and West Troy a large village of
thirteen thousand inhabitants. Instead of a dozen
physicians, mostly dwelling near the site of Old
Fort Orange, there are now not less than one hun-
dred and seventy-five throughout the county.
There is hardly a specialty in medicine which is
not ably and abundantly represented here. These,
with the hospitals, the medical school, the medical
journal, the exceptionally central and accessible
location of the city, and a body of general practi-
tioners of as high character and capability as any
in the country, have made Albany the metropolis
and center for an extensive territory. No locality is
more free from empyrics than is this city and
county of Albany; there is none in which the
esprit du corps of the profession is better, and none
in whose history and development more able and
forceful medical men have borne an active part.
It is an honor to be the chronicler of so good
representatives of a profession which is one of the
most useful in the elements of human weal and
advancement. Lack of space has prevented the
mention of many who should be spoken of and of
the high offices that have been held ; but enough
has been detailed to show the very considerable
part the profession has taken in bringing this old
place to its good position in history.' However
rapidly Albany may grow in the future, its past and
present gives evidence that the medical profession
will keep pace with it in strength, energy and
capacity.
HISTORY OF THE INTRODUCTION AND
PROGRESS OF HOMOEOPATHY
IN ALBANY COUNTY.
BY H. M. PAINE, M. D., OF ALBANY, N. Y.
This historical sketch embraces :
I. History prior to the organization of the County
Homoeopathic Medical Society.
II. History subsequent to the organization of
the Albany County Homoeopathic Medical Society.
III. Abstracts of the Proceedings of the Society,
showing titles of papers and contributions to med-
ical science; also the position of the society regard-
ing the polemics of homoeopathy.
IV. History of the Albany City Homoeopathic
Hospital and Dispensary.
I. HISTORY PRIOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE
ALBANY COUNTY HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICAL SOCI-
ETY.
The homoeopathic system of medical practice
was first introduced into the City of Albany by Dr.
Augustus P. Biegler, in the autumn of 1837.
At that early period only a few persons had
heard of the new system, and a still smaller num-
ber of its adherents were willing to trust it in
severe forms of disease. There were a few, how-
MEDICINE IN AIBANY COUNTV.
223
ever, who were thorough converts to the new
method. Their confidence in the efficacy of ho-
moeopathic treatment was such that they adhered
to it alone, even in the most rapid and dangerous
diseases.
Among this class of firm believers in the new
system, the name of Rev. Dr. Myers, pastor of the
First Lutheran Church, deserves special mention.
The reverend doctor, at that early day, had pro-
cured from Leipsig a number of homoeopathic rem-
edies and a small book, printed in the German
language, giving directions for the proper adminis-
tration of the medicines.
By these firm believers in homoeopathy Dr.
Biegler was cordially welcomed and zealously
supported, and the system he represented, by turn
earnestly advocated and fearlessly defended.
Dr. Biegler was born in Prussia; he resided, at
the time of graduation from the University of
Berlin, at St. Wendel; his diploma is dated March
29, 1832, and bears the signature, among others,
of Christian G. Hufeland. He received letters of
recommendation from Dr. Hufeland and others to
professors in another German university, in which
also he pursued medical studies subsequent to his
graduation at Berlin.
He began the practice of homoeopathy at Albany
in November, 1837. In the next 3'ear (1838) he
passed the requisite examination, and was ad-
mitted to membership in the Medical Society of
the City and County of New York.
Dr. Biegler remained in Albany until the spring
of 1840, when he removed to Schenectady, and in
the autumn of that year became a permanent resi-
dent of Rochester, Monroe County, N. Y.
During this journey westward, which occupied
several months, Dr. Biegler delivered lectures on
homoeopathy in the principal cities along the
route. These lectures awakened great interest in
the new system, and resulted in the addition of
many converts to the homoeopathic method of med-
ical treatment.
Late in the autumn of 1840 Dr. Biegler left
Rochester for the purpose of visiting Hahnemann,
at Paris. He remained at that city about one
year. As a testimonial of esteem, Hahnemann
presented him with a beautiful carnelian stone
ring, on which a profile of the head of Hahnemann
was engraved; also a lock of his own hair, with a
note from Madame Hahnemann.
After his return to this country Dr. Biegler re-
sumed practice at Rochester, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in 1849, ^' 'he age
of 59 years. Dr. Biegler enjoyed the rare oppor-
tunity of a long personal acquaintance with
Hahnemann.
Soon after Dr. Biegler's advent Dr. Rosenstein
established himself at Albany. The two physicians
formed a partnership in business, which was termi-
nated in a few months by the removal of Dr.
Rosenstein from the city.
Dr. Biegler was succeeded; in the spring of 1840,
by Dr. Charles Frederic Hoffendahl. Dr. Hoffen-
dahl was born, June 28, 1799, ^'^ New Branden-
burgh, in Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He began med-
ical studies at the age of seventeen years, at the St.
Joseph's Academy of Vienna, a training school for
military surgeons.
In 1820, having passed his examination, he was
attached to an Austrian infantry regiment (entitled
Wurtemberg) and accompanied it during a cam-
paign in Italy. He then, in 1828, finished his
studies and obtained his degree at the Medical
University of Berlin.
It is probable that he became a homoeopathic
practitioner soon after graduation, having previously
acquired a knowledge of homoeopathy while in
the Austrian army, through the kindness of Regi-
mental Surgeon Schmidt.
Dr. Hoffendahl came to this country in 1837,
and settled at Philadelphia, where he remained
until 1840, when he became a resident of Albany.
He remained at Albany two years, and then, in
1842, removed to Boston, Mass., where he died,
April 24, 1862, at the age of sixty-three years.
In 1 84 1 Dr. Isaac M. Ward, of Newark, N. J.,
came to Albany. After a very successful and re-
munerative practice of seven years, he retired to
New York in the autumn of 1847. Dr. Ward has
long since retired from active practice. He resides
(1885) at Elizabeth, N. J.
Dr. Charles H. Skiff came to Albany in 1842.
Dr. Skifif was born at Spencertown, Columbia
County, N. Y. , May r 2, 1 808. The greater part
of his boyhood was spent with his grandfather,
Nathan Skiff, on Skiff Mountain, in the town of
Kent, Litchfield County, Conn. He was graduated
from the Berkshire Medical College, at Pittsfield,
Mass., September 5, 1832.
After the death of a dearly beloved daughter
and a severe illness of his own, during which he
obtained evidences of the practical superiority of
the new over the old method, he fully adopted the
homoeopathic system.
He remained at Albany less than one year, and
thence, in the fall of 1843, removed to New
Haven, Conn., where he resided, with the ex-
ception of two years spent at Brooklyn, N. Y., to
224
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the time of his death, in 1875, at the age of sixty-
seven years.
He was the first physician to practice homceo-
pathically at New Haven ; he was one of the
founders of the Connecticut State Homoeopathic
Medical Society, and also one of the original mem-
bers of the American Institute of Homoeopathy.
Dr. Henry D. Paine came from Newburgh,
Orange County, to Albany in 1845. He formed
a partnership in business with Dr. I. M. Ward.
The partnership continued two years, and was ter-
minated by the removal of Dr. Ward to New York.
Dr. Paine removed from Albany to New York in
the spring of 1865, where he is still (1885) partici-
pating in professional duties.
Dr. E. Darwin Jones began the practice of ho-
moeopathy at Albany in the spring of 1 846. He had
been an old-school practitioner several years. On a
careful and thorough investigation of the homoeo-
pathic system, he became convinced of its superior-
ity, and immediately adopted it in practice. At
the present time (1885) Dr. Jones is still engaged
in active practice at Albany.
Dr. David Springsteed had also been an old-
school physician several years. He was induced
to read homoeopathic publications, and to test the
utility of homoeopathic remedies in certain diseases.
After a prolonged examination, involving many
practical experiments, in the spring of 1846, he
openly announced himself a convert to the new
system. Dr. Springsteed then resided in the town
of Bethlehem, Albany County. He removed to
the city of Albany in 1861.
By reason of advanced age, in 1880, he retired
from active practice and removed to Saugerties,
UlsterCounty, and subsequently, in 1882, to Brook-
lyn, N. Y., where at the present time (1885),
although feeble in bodily strength, he is enjoying
the evening of life in the possession of all his men-
tal faculties.
Dr. John Alsop Paine began practice at Albany
in January, 1847. Dr. Paine was born at Whites-
town, Oneida County, N. Y., July 10, 1795. He
received an academical education at Clinton,
Oneida County, N. Y., and was graduated from
the Medical Department of Yale College in the
spring of 1825.
In the course of his long and eventful career he
engaged successfully in practice in Volney, Oswego
County; Paris, New Hartford and Utica, in Oneida
Countv, N. Y., and Newark, N. J., from which
place he removed to Albany. He remained six
years in Albany, and died at Lake Forest, 111.,
June 16, 1871, in the 76th year of his age.
He practiced the .old-school system prior to the
year 1844, at which time, being detained several
weeks at Albany tor the purpose of giving evidence
in a suit to recover damages for injuries received in
this city by a patient who had been a long lime
under his care, he availed himself of the oppor-
tunity thus afforded for witnessing the application of
the new system, as illustrated by the practice of
Dr. I. M. Ward, at that time a resident of Albany.
On returning to his home at New Hartford, he at
once instituted a series of trials, at first in cases in
which the usual old-school remedies had failed.
These tests resulted in demonstrating to his entire
satisfaction the availability of a method having a
far wider range of application — one opening up a
greater wealth of resources in its applicability in the
treatment of even the most dangerous and rapidly
fatal diseases — than any he had hitherto witnessed.
These advantages he quickly perceived and
speedily availed himself of in daily practice, and
held to them during the remaining years of his pro-
fessional life with singular tenacity, seldom, ex-
cept under the most urgent necessity, ever resorting
to old school palliative or alterative treatment.
Dr. Paine was elected to a number of official po-
sitions in connection with the medical associations,
old-school and new, in which he held membership.
He was a skillful and successful physician; he
was genial in disposition, judicious and exemplary
in his daily life. His influence over his patients
was marked by characteristic cheerfulness, hopeful-
ness and unusual urbanity of manners. His
presence in the sick room was often an inspiration,
prompting a faithful co-operation in the use of the
remedial measures suggested.
He manifested decided originality in determin-
ing the active as well as the predisposing causes of
disease; hence his opinion regarding the diagnosis
of difficult and obscure cases was frequently de-
sired by his professional associates.
Dr. Henry Adams, son of Dr. Peter C. Adams,
was born at Coxsackie, N. Y., July 6, 1787. He
pursued the study of medicine under the super-
vision of his father, and was admitted to practice in
the twenty-first year of his age.
During the war of 1 8 1 2 he was appointed sur-
geon in the American army, and was stationed at
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. At the close of the war
he returned to Coxsackie and resumed practice. .
About the year 1846 he was persuaded to inves-
tigate the claims of hornoeopathy, and was not slow
to accept its principles as an improvement upon the
old method. His confidence in the new system
never wavered.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
225
He came to Albany in 1848, remaining two
years. He removed to Cohoes in 1850, where he
resided to the time of his death, which occurred
July 6, 1857, on his seventieth birthday.
He possessed great individuality and originality
of method. He was firm and positive in his con-
victions, and pursued a course, once decided on
after mature deliberation, with untiring persever-
ance. He was a man of few words. His thoughts
and opinions were expressed in strong, terse lan-
guage and laconic sentences.
Dr. Horace M. Paine, son of Dr. John A. Paine,
was graduated from the Medical Department of the
University of the City of New York, in March,
1849. He at once began practice in Albany, re-
maining until 1855, when he removed to Clinton,
Oneida County, N. Y., where he resided until 1865,
returning that year to Albany.
Prior to the year 1849 the accessions to the
ranks of homoeopathic practitioners were from
among those who had been previously engaged for
several years in old-school practice. Dr.. Paine was
the first young physician who began the practice of
homoeopathy immediately after graduation.
Dr. Paine at the present time (1885), is a resi-
dent of Albany, and is engaged in active
practice.
In 1 85 1 a physician by the name of Brooks
came to Albany. He had been an old-school
practitioner fifteen or sixteen years, and had re-
cently become a convert to the new system. He
remained at Albany two or three years, and then
removed elsewhere.
Dr. William H. Randel was graduated, m the
spring of 185 1, from the Medical Department of
the University of the City of New York, and im-
mediately thereafter began the practice of homoeo-
pathy in Albany.
Dr. Randel visited Europe in 1867, and spent a
greater part of a year in observing the results of
treatment adopted in the principal hospitals in
England and on the Continent. He is still (1885)
a resident of Albany, and is engaged in active pro-
fessional duties.
Dr. James W. Cox was graduated, in the spring
of 1852, from the Albany Medical College, and at
once began the practice of homoeopathy in Albany.
He entered into partnership in business with his
former preceptor. Dr. Henry D. Paine. The
partnership continued seven years, and was then
dissolved by mutual consent. Dr. Cox subse-
quently formed a partnership with Dr. John S.
Delavan. Dr. Cox is, at the present time (1885),
engaged in practice in Albany.
Dr. C. G. Bryant was graduated, in the spring of
1852, from the Albany Medical College. He as-
sociated himself in business with his former precep-
tor. Dr. D. Springsteed. He remained one year in
Albany, and then removed to San Francisco, where
he died in 1866.
Dr. Lester M. Pratt, of Fulton, Oswego County,
N. Y. , came to Albany in August, 1854. He
was graduated in the spring of that year from the
Homoeopathic Medical College of Philadelphia.
He formed a partnership in business with Dr. H.
M. Paine, which continued one year, and was termi-
nated by the removal of Dr. Paine to Clinton,
Oneida County, N. Y. Dr. Pratt has, on two
occasions, entered into partnership with Dr. John
S. Delavan. Dr. Pratt, at the present time (1885),
is engaged in active practice at Albany.
Dr. George H. Billings was graduated from
Castleton Medical College in 1857, and the same
year began the practice of homoeopathy at Cohoes.
He remained at Cohoes seven years, and then re-
moved to Brooklyn. He returned to Cohoes in
1870, where he is now, in 1885, engaged in active
professional duties.
These seventeen physicians, the pioneers of our
school in Albany County, espoused the homoeo-
pathic system when its very name ^\■as, in the esti-
mation of the dominant school, a synonym of
reproach, and, as indicative on the part of the
homoeopathist, of a deficiency of sound judgment.
Homoeopathists were regarded as visionary in their
conceptions and superficial in their attainments.
Many of the pioneers of homoeopathy, however,
were men of profound learning; they were ripe
scholars, and were in full possession of all those
mental qualities required for originality of thought
and independence of action.
At that early day the opposition to homoeopathy
was intense. The intimation of the slightest predilec-
tion toward the new system was sure to cover the of-
fender with obloquy, and ultimately result in al-
most complete professional ostracism. The
homoeopathist was speedily expelled from the
medical organizations to which he belonged, and
was henceforth debarred all professional fellowship
with his former medical associates. Hence, to
break away from esteemed friends, and to exclude
one's self from the fellowship of those whose aid
would be frequently extremely desirable, was a test
of courage and self-reliance to which few were willing
to subject themselves.
It has been repeatedly asserted that the early
homceopathists renounced the old-school system of
practice on account of the probable pecuniary ad-
226
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
vantages to be gained thereby. The pioneers
themselves, however, are conscious of being un-
influenced by mercenary motives. They adopted
the homoeopathic system only after repeated trials
had proved its superior curative advantages, and
they adhered to it in the confident expectation that
these points of intrinsic excellence would ultimately
establish its claims for public recognition and general
adoption.
They broke away from — nay, rather were driven
out of — the old-school because they believed that
they could more efi"ectively serve the public; they
were confident of accomplishing better results in
practice; of saving a larger proportion of human
life, and of contributing to the diminution of the du-
ration and intensity of diseases which afflict man-
kind. Whether their reward would come during
their life time they could not foretell; but of its
coming at some future day they had no reason to
doubt.
And when they relinquished the old method it
was a radical and entire separation. Indeed, the
completeness of the renunciation of old-school
methods is a marked characteristic of many of
the earlier converts to homoeopathy. They appeared
to have a morbid dread of even an occasional
resort to the milder cathartics and narcotics, which
the younger homoeopathists — those who have had
a shorter practical knowledge of the old methods
— have never experienced.
When they gave up the old system, they re-
nounced it wholly; when they adopted the new,
there was no reservation at any point in favor of
the old. There was no blending of the two op-
posite systems. The new method, to them,
seemed to act more in harmony with natural con-
servative forces, hence was considered preferable in
all curable diseases.
A review of the work accomplished by these
pioneers of our school in Albany County, even at
this early period, shows that their confidence in
the new system was well founded, and that we
are, at the present day, measurably enjoying the
fruition of their self-sacrificing labor.
Nine of the seventeen are still living, and with
one or two exceptions all are engaged in the
active duties of professional life.
II. HISTORY SUBSEQUENT TO THE ORGANIZATION OF
THE ALBANY COUNTY HOMCEOPATHIC MEDICAL
SOCIETY.
The development and progress of the homceo-
pathic school is indicated, approximately at least,
by the growth and influence of the number and
standing of its public and private institutions.
The history of the society and cognate organiza-
tions, therefore, marks the advances and resources
of the school and measures the degree of public
approval and adoption of its system of therapeutics.
The Albany County Homoeopathic Medical
Society was organized at Albany, January 24, 1861,
twenty-four years ago. It was organized under
the provisions of a general law authorizing the for-
mation of county homoeopathic medical societies,
passed in 1857.
The names of the members of the society are
as follows:
1 86 1. Dr. David Springsteed, Albany, 1861,
1862.
1861. Dr. Henry D. Paine, Albany,
1861. Dr. E. Darwin Jones, Albany, 1863.
1861. Dr. Lester M. Pratt, Albany, 1864, 1878,
1884.
1861. Dr. James W. Cox, Albany, 1867, 1882,
1883.
1861. Dr. William H. Randel, Albany, 1865.
1862. Dr. J. Savage Delavan, Albany, 1866.
1864. Dr. William S. Baker, Cohoes, 1868.
1866. Dr. Horace M. Paine, Albany, 1874.
1867. Dr.' Harman Swits, Schenectady, 1870.
1867. Dr. Joseph C. Butler, Albany.
1867. Dr. J. H. A. Graham, Berne.
1867. Dr. Heman B. Horton, Albany.
1867. Dr. Joseph N. White, Amsterdam, 1869.
1868. Dr. James F. McKown, Albany, 1877.
1869. Dr. George A. Cox, Albany.
1869. Dr. P. L. F. Reynolds, Albany, 1873.
1869. Dr. Nelson Hunting, Albany, 1876.
1870. Dr. Edward A. Carpenter, Albany.
1870. Dr. John Smithwick, Albany.
1870. Dr. Stephen H. Carroll, Albany, 1871.
1871. Dr. Henry G. Preston, Albany, 1872.
1871. Dr. Phillip I. Cromwell, Albany.
1 87 1. Dr. Edward C. Howe, New Baltimore.
1871. Dr. John H. Fitch, Gallupville.
1 87 1. Dr. Frederick W. Thomas, Albany.
1871. Dr. George H. Billings, Cohoes, 1879,
1880, 1881.
1872. Dr. D. A. Cookingham, West Troy.
1873. Dr. Charles E. Jones, Albany, 1875.
1873. Dr. Townsend Bowne, Albany.
1873. Dr. William E. Milbank, Albany.
1874. Dr. Rufus Reed, Cohoes.
1874. Dr. Catharine E. Goewey, Albany.
1876. Dr. Howard L. Waldo, West Troy.
1876. Dr. R. B. Sullivan, Albany.
1876. Dr. James J. Wallace, Albany.
1876. Dr. John J. Peckham, Albany.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
227
1876. Dr. William H. Van Derzee, Albany.
1877. Dr. Edwin B. Graham, Albany.
1877. Dr. George H. Benjamin, Albany.
1877. Dr. John N. Bradley, Adamsville.
1877. Dr. G. P. H. Taylor, Stillwater.
1878. Dr. William H. Griffith, Albany.
1878. Dr. Gertrude A. Goewey, Albany.
1879. Dr. Mary G. Pomeroy, Albany.
1879. ^^- George E. Gorham, Albany.
1882. Dr. Edward L. Crandall, Albany.
1882. Dr. Robert Kennedy, Green Island.
1884. Dr. Walter F. Robinson, Albany.
The first seven names are those of the original
members and founders of the society, those who
were present at its first meeting or united with
it during the first year of its existence ; the figures
at the right indicate the date of election to the presi-
dency ; those at the left, the date of election to
membership in the society.
Of the founders of the society, all are still living,
and, with one exception, all are engaged in pracdce.
Of the remaining forty-three, all, except four or five,
are living, and are at the present time (1885) par-
ticipating in the duties and bearing the responsi-
bilities of professional life. Of the whole number,
nineteen are residents of and active practitioners in
Albany County.
III. ABSTRACT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY,
SHOWING TITLES OF PAPERS AND CONTRIBU-
TIONS TO MEDICAL SCIENCE; ALSO THE POSITION
OF THE SOCIETY REGARDING THE POLEMICS OF
HOMCEOPATHY.
Abstract of Titles of Papers Presented at Meetings
of the Society. — A large proportion of the reports of
scientific work accomplished by resident homceo-
pathists has been published in books or widely
separated medical journals, hence no list showing,
even approximately, the number and quality of
these papers is obtainable. Neither do the records
of the society furnish evidence of a tithe of the con-
tributions to current medical literature. Refer-
ence to the more prominent, however, of the papers
and reports presented from time to time and read
at its meetings show a wide range of investigation,
and results extracted from rich mines of practical
clinical experience. They are as follows :
Diseases of the Throat and Air Passages. — Car-
bolic acid in the treatment of chronic laryngitis,
April, 1867; nasal catarrh treated by inhalations,
August, 1870; hay fever, September, 1871; chronic
catarrh of the air passages, January, 1872; pneu-
monia, October, 1874; croup and diphtheria differ-
entially considered, December, 1876; malignant
diphtheria, July, 1883; chronic tonsilitis, April,
1884.
Diseases of the Pelvic Organs.- — ^Improved form
of speculum, January, 1867; carbolic acid in the
treatment of ulceration of the os uteri; for the re-
lief of leucorrhoeal discharges, and for chronic
cystitis, April, 1867; fissure of the rectum, January,
1870; intra-uterine treatment by means of medi-
cated suppositories, August, 1 871; spermatorrhoea,
three papers, September, 1871; difficult, tedious
and instrumental labors, September, 1871; puer-
peral convulsions, September, 1871; enuresis noc-
turna, December, 1871; methods of intra-uterine
treatment, May, 1872; infiltration of urine into
cellular tissue. May, 1873; degeneration of the
placenta, July, 1882; congenital phimosis in an
adult, July, 1882; hygiene and therapeutics of
uterine and ovarian diseases, January, 1883; cases
of spasmodic dysmenorrhoea, January, 1883; ap-
paratus for conveniently applying the hot water
douche, April, 1884.
Cerebral and Nervous Diseases. — Causes of in-
sanity, September, 1871; paralysis following diph-
theria, August, 1877; apoplexy, August, 1877;
tinnitus aurium, July, 1882; cerebral congestion,
simulating yellow atrophy of the liver, April, 1884;
nervous and lung diseases, utility of erythroxylon
cocoa in the treatment of, October, 1868.
Diseases of the Skin. — Carbolic acid applied ex-
ternally for the cure of scabies, April, 1867; taenia
capitis, April, 1869; varicella, April, 1878.
General Diseases. — Sporadic cholera, July, 1866 •
dropsy, cases of, July, 1867; intermittent fever,
August, 1871; spinal meningitis, August, 1871;
lead colic, August, 1871; osteo-sarcoma of the su-
perior maxillar}', September, 1871; local cellulitis,
September, 1871; fungoid tumor, September, 1871;
records of two post mortems, September, 1871;
biliary calculi, September, 1871; typhoid fever,
December, 1871; tumor in the region of the sub-
clavian triangle, December, 1871; abdominal tu-
mor, January, 1872; cerebro-spinal meningitis,
April, 1872; constitutional predisposition to cer-
tain diseases, April, 1874; dysentery, April, 1874;
spinal meningitis, April, 1874; record of prevailing
diseases for six months, in connection with mete-
orological observations for the same period, Janu-
ary, 1877; iris versicola, for ihe relief of sick head-
ache, November, 1876; iodia in the treatment of
syphilis and scrofula, June, 1877; cancer of the
stomach, July, 1878; traumatic peritonitis, April,
1879; the utility of lycopus in the treatment of di-
abetes, April, 1879; the importance of having all
plumbing work done under competent supervision.
238
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
July, 1879; t^is applicability of massage in the
treatment of certain diseases, April, 1879; record
of a post mortem, July, 1882; the use and abuse
of tonics, July, 1882; the deleterious effects of
feeding swine slaughter-house offal, October, 1882;
typhoid fever, October, 1882; urinary analysis and
Bright's disease, January, 1883; diabetes insipidus,
July, 1883; typhoid fever, April, 1884; therapeuti-
cal indications for the administration of pilocar-
pine, June, 1877.
The Polemics of Homoeopathy. — The contest be-
tween the old school and the homceopathic has
been a long and bitter one. Homoeopathists jus-
tify themselves in maintaining adherence to the
tenets of their system on the ground of its superior
qualities when subjected to practical tests in the
treatment of disease. The old school, on the other
hand, justify their hostility to homoeopathy on the
ground of the alleged absurdities of its principles.
Homoeopathists admit that the theoretical for-
mulas promulgated by Hahnemann, regarding the
smallness of the dose and the methods by which
the medicines are prepared, are strangely absurd
and unreasonable; at the same time they hold that
these absurdities do not in any manner represent
the principles on which the homoeopathic system of
therapeutics is constructed. They also hold that
the essential elements of homoeopathy are reason-
able, sound, and an exemplification of a natural
law of cure.
Hence they further hold, that the measure of
liberality within the old school ought to have been
sufficiently broad to have afforded all the freedom
required by homoeopathists in the exercise of a
right which every educated physician should be
permitted to enjoy, to the unrestricted employment
of any and all therapeutic methods extant. In
short, they hold that educational qualifications
alone should regulate membership and standing
in medical as in other scientific associations.
Happily time has softened the asperities of the
old school. Indeed, many of the objectionable
features of old-school practice, which mainly, on
account of their repulsiveness, forced the homoeo-
pathic system into existence, have long since been
discarded, and many of the essential elements of
the new system have been substituted. All are
now wilhng to admit that the harshness of the old-
school method has been greatly modified since the
introduction of the homoeopathic.
The history of the Homoeopathic Medical Society
of Albany County embraces the second quarter
centennial covered by the great medico-ethical
controversy of this century. Its records show that
the members of the society, have been active parti-
cipants in the work of securing for themselves and
their system a legal status equal in every respect
to that of their old-school rivals. The following
extracts, selected from many of similar import, set
forth the animus and purposes which have success-
fully controlled the active participants in the
polemics of homeopathy.
The first extract is taken from a report of the
proceedings of a meeting held December 9, 1873.
It has reference to the refusal of the American
Public Health Association to admit to its mem-
bership Dr. T. S. Verdi, a homoeopathic physician,
residing at Washington, D. C.
Resolutions Protesting Against the Illiberality of
the American Public Health Association. — How-
ever undesirable it may be, we are very frequently
reminded of the dissensions among medical men.
The origin and progress of the contest between the
two principal rival schools demonstrate the fact
that all overt acts of intolerance have been per-
petrated by our opponents. Homoeopathists, in
every instance, have acted on the defensive.
It would appear that our old school oppo-
nents intend to continue this internecine strife until
compelled, by force of public sentiment, to recog-
nize homoeopathic physicians as equals, and en-
titled to all the amenities of professional inter-
course.
The only question at issue between the repre-
sentatives of the two rival schools is simply one in-
volving a difference of opinion regarding the ap-
plication of remedies in the treatment of disease.
The old-school, according to the recent testimony
of professors in the medical department of the
University of Michigan, has "no general law" on
which to base appropriate treatment The homoeo-
pathic school, on the other hand, founds its system
of practice on a well-defined and philosophical
principle, which is applicable in a large per cent-
age of curable cases; hence its superior suc-
cess. * * *
Homoeopathists are clearly entitled to member-
ship in the National Association. They and their
friends in all parts of the country will, if necessary,
throw their whole influence into this contest, and
will continue to do so while necessity calls for
action. The old-school fraternity may as well
conclude, without unnecessary dela}-, that, in all
public affairs, they must consider homoeopathists
equal with themselves in every respect, and entitled
to the full enjoyment of all the rights, privileges
and immunities accorded any portion of the regu-
lar medical profession.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
229
The following resolutions weie unanimously
adopted :
Whereas, Dr. T, S. Verdi, a. graduate in medicine,
holding diplomas from various medical colleges, and a
practitioner in good and regular standing, has been duly
appointed a member of the Board of Health of the District
of Columbia by the President, which appointment has
been confirmed by the Senate of the United States ; and
Whereas, The zeal, energy and success manifested by
Dr. Verdi, in the discharge of his duties as a member of the
Board of Health, has received the merited respect and con-
fidence of the people of Washington ; and
Whereas, His Excellency, the Governor of the District
of Columbia, duly appreciating the services and integrity of
character of Dr. T. S. Verdi, appointed him a special san-
itary commissioner to visit European cities ; and
Whereas, Dr. Verdi, in the performance of said official
functions, has exhibited in his recent mission to European
cities unusual ability ; and
Whereas, Dr. C. C. Cox, President of the Board of Health
of Washington, being an active member of the American
Sanitary Association, has proposed the name of Dr. Verdi
for membership in the same ; and
Whereas, Said association, at its annual convention,
held in New York, November 12 to 15, 1873, declined
to elect Dr. Verdi a member, for no cause except
adherence to homoeopathy in his private medical practice ;
and
Whereas, Such a course must be considered arbitrary
and mischievous ; therefore,
Resolved, That any association, the object of which is
the advancement of general public interests, sanitary or
otherwise, which circumscribes its boundaries of member-
ship within the narrow limits of sects, either religious, medi-
cal or political, fails in its mission, and subverts the very
principles of its existence ; is contrary to the genius of Amer-
ican institutions, being a direct violation of the great prin-
ciples which involve the very foundation of free govern-
ment, and is guilty of a course of action as pernicious in
principle as it is unwise and impolitic in practice.
Resolved, That the American Health Association, in re-
fusing membership to two officers of the Board of Health
of the District of Columbia, appointed thereto by the Presi-
dent and confirmed by the Senate of the United States, as
proposed by Dr. Cox, President of said Board of Health,
has, by that act, subverted the advancement of sanitary
reform for the benefit of the people.
Resolved, That Drs. T. S. Verdi and D. W. Bliss, being
both federal officers, exercising their prerogatives of office
for the people of the District of Columbia, their proscrip-
tion from the Public Health Association is an insult to the
President and people of the District of Columbia.
Resolved, That the unanimity of public approval in the
removal of Dr. Van Aernam, late Commissioner of Pensions,
for having attempted to raise the issue that adherence to a
particular creed or belief should constitute a qualification
for official position, clearly demonstrated the opposition of
the American people to similar acts of proscription.
Resolved, That the American Health Association will not
be entitled to receive the respect and moral support of the
people of this country, until it shall have removed the pres-
ent sectarian barrier to membership.
Resolved, That this society, as a representative of a large
and respectable class of scientific medical practitioners, repels
the insult offered to the school of medicine to which it ad-
heres, and calls upon all just and fair men to condemn the
illiberal course of the American Health Association.
Resolved, That the Homoeopathic Medical Society of Al-
bany County tenders thanks to Dr. C. C. Cox for his
manly defense of the rights of men before the American
Public health Association, and for his scathing denunciation
of partisanship and sectarianism.
Resolved, That we respectfully request the members of
Congress from this State to approve the legal recognition of
the American Health Association, only when convinced that
the articles of incorporation embrace a provision prohibiting
the exclusion of members on account of adhesion to any
preferred theory of medical treatment.
Resolutions AdvocatingEqual Representation of Old-School
and Homaopathic Physicians in a State Board of Health.
Whereas, Strenuous efforts have been made during the
past few years to enact a law creating a State Board of
Health, so constructed as to provide for the appointment
in said board of old-school physicians only ; and
Whereas, No good reason exists why the control of all
the sanitary affairs of the State should be intrusted to one
school of physicians, to the exclusion and detriment of an-
other ; and
Whereas, Such exclusive control would indirectly estab-
lish a sectarian medical monopoly ; therefore,
Resolved, That while we earnestly advocate the enact-
ment of such sanitary measures as have for their end the
prevention of diseases and lengthening of human life, we
earnestly protest against the passage of aiiy health bill, pro-
viding for the appointment of medical men, which does not
recognize an equal numerical representation by name of
the two dominant systems of medical practice.
Resolved, That we cordially assent to, and respectfully
request the passage, by the next State Legislature, of a law
securing equal representation from both the old-school and
homcEopathic schools of medicine.
Resolved, That copies of these resolutions be forwarded
to State officers, members of the legislature, officers of
State and County medical societies and their legislative
committees ; also, to the committee on Legislation of the
American Institute of Homoeopathy.
IV. HISTORY OF THE ALBANY CITY HOMOEOPATHIC
hospital and DISPENSARY.
Two public charitable institutions, a hospital
and a dispensary, now united and maintained as a
single organization, have been opened and suc-
cessfully conducted by the homeopathic profession
of Albany.
A proposition to open a public homoeopathic free
dispensary was first made at a meeting of the Albany
County Homoeopathic Medical Society, held early in
the year 1865. During the following two years
various plans were offered and an interest in the sub-
ject was sustained, which culminated, in the fall
of 1867, in the establishment of a free dispensary, at
that time the only public institution in Albany for
furnishing gratuitous medical service and medicines
to those who choose to avail themselves of its
advantages.
330
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Since the organization of the dispensary, seven-
teen years ago, it has gratuitously afforded medical
and surgical aid to more than sixty thousand appli-
cants. It is, at the present time (1885), in as
flourishing a condition as at any period since its es-
tablishment, the number of prescriptions ranging
from three to five hundred per month.
The dispensary service soon revealed the fact that
many of the applicants required hospital accom-
modations. With a view, therefore, of enlarging
its usefulness, and placing its work and operations
upon a permanent foundation, a building was pur-
chased in the summer of 1872, and supplied with
the requisites for both dispensary and hospital uses.
The building at first selected having been found
undesirable, in 1875 a larger and more suitable
one was provided.
The present hospital and dispensary building is
centrally and conveniently located at 123 North
Pearl street; is large and complete in its appoint-
ments, and is provided with all suitable appliances
for accommodating upward of fifty patients.
There are enrolled upon its staff the names of all
the resident homoeopathic physicians in Albany,
and in addition thereto, two of Albany's ablest old-
school surgeons; a fact which clearly indicates the
obliteration of sectarian barriers to unrestricted pro-
fessional fellowship.
The resources of both the hospital and dispen-
sary are derived from sums appropriated by the city
goverment and from private sources. Although
these institutions are incumbered with a debt of
several thousand dollars, the income has been
hitherto sufficient to meet all claims for current
expenses.
ALBANY CO. ECLECTIC MEDICAL
SOCIETY.
In compliance with the act for the incorpora-
tion of the Eclectic Medical Society of the State
of New York, which was incorporated April 24,
1865, and by the written advice of the honorable
secretary of that body, under date of May 19, 1874,
and in pursuance of a cordial invitation, the friends
of medical reform assembled at the office of Dr.
Robert Liston, in the City of Albany, June i, 1874,
to organize a County Eclectic Medical Society,
auxiliary to the Eclectic Medical Society of the
State of New York. Dr. R. Liston was appointed
to the chair, and Dr. John Wilson, secretary. The
constitution of the State Eclectic Medical Society
was read and approved, and a constitution and by-
laws were presented and adopted. After signing
these papers, the following officers were elected for
the ensuing year :
President, R. Liston, M. D.; Vice-President,
J. T. Johnson, M. D.; Secretary, N. S. Dean;
Treasurer, Dr. W. S. Filkins. The secretary was
ordered to file in the County Clerk's office a copy
of these proceedings, with a list of the 1 7 corporate
members.
The County Society presented a petition to the
State Society at its meeting, October 22, 1874,
for recognition as an Auxiliary Society, signed by
R. Liston, M. D., S. J. Birch, M. D., J. F. Neef,
M. D., which was granted on the same day.
The regular meetings now are four in each year,
on the first Thursdays in January, April, July,
October. Membership now is 23. Of these, the
following practice and reside in Albany County :
A. Cullen, West Troy.
James Douglass, West Troy.
Morgan L. Filkins, Albany.
Welcome L. Filkins, Albany.
Isaac Finch, Rensselaerville.
Jacob F. Neef, Albany.
Gustave B. Schili, Albany.
John H. Wilbur, Cohoes.
John Wilson, Albany.
FEMALE PHYSICIANS.
The practice of medicine in Albany by females
properly educated dates in 1873, only 12 years
ago. Up to about that time, the prejudice, not
only of most male physicians, but of the people
generally, was very strong against them. But the
few who have settled in practice have come so
well prepared, and have pursued their work so
courageously, and yet so modestly and skillfully,
that they have disarmed prejudice and taken
respectable rank in the profession and in society.
Dr. Mary DuBois was born in the State of New
York. She was reared in affluence and in the en-
joyment of educational advantages of the highest
order. In 1870, she received her degree of M. D.
at the Woman's College in Philadelphia. The two
years following she spent in a Boston hospital as
house physician. She came to this city in 1873,
where she has ever since been activel)' engaged in
an extensive practice.
Dr. Catherine E. Goewey came soon after, and
has secured a valuable practice in the homeopathic
school by her skill and energy. She is a native of
this State, and graduated from the Woman's
Homoeopathic College in New York City.
K,!iS;C^OJ^lW^-.^ixE, RlJoE'o
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
331
Dr. Harriet A. Woodward is of English descent,
sprung, as it were, from a family of doctors, her
grandfather and three uncles having been educated
in medicine at Oxford University, Old England.
The doctor was born in 1 840, in Hector, N. Y., and
early received a thorough training in the usual
English branches and some of the higher branches,
with Latin. She has always cultivated a fondness
for history and natural science. In 1868 she began
the study of medicine under the direction of Dr.
A. B. Smith, of the Hygienic Institute, Geneva,
N. Y. In 1 8 7 2 she entered the College of Physicians
and Surgeons at the Syracuse University, where she
graduated in 1875, with honors. She came to
Albany the same year; was admitted to member-
ship in the County Medical Society; also to the
Academy of Medicine, where she held office for two
terms, first as secretary, then as treasurer ; was
also one of the Board of Censors in the County
Society, and delegate to the American Medical Asso-
ciation. She stills holds her membership in the
society, and is in active and successful practice in
her chosen profession.
Dr. Laurentine Rouchel was born in France,
in 1846; came to the United States with her
parents when ver}' young ; received her early edu-
cation in the district schools and in the Lowville
Academy. Tuition in the French and German
she received from private native teachers, and speaks
both languages fluently. She began the study of
pharmacy and medicine in 1879, in St. Elizabeth's
Hospital, Utica, N. Y. , under the direction of Dr.
Edwin Hutchinson, surgeon in charge of the in-
stitution ; continued her studies under the direc-
tion of Dr. John F. Oakes, of Rochester ; then
graduated from the Medical Department of the
University of Buffalo. She began the practice of
medicine in Croghan, Lewis County, and has
continued the same in this city since 1881.
Dr. Anna Goewey practiced here some five years
ago ; then went to New York. Mrs. Carr is now
in practice here as a homceopathist.
JEPTHA RICHARD BOULWARE.
Jeptha Richard Boulware, a distinguished
physician and surgeon of Albany, was born in
Franklin County, Kentucky. His parents, whose
ancestors came from Scotland, were both natives
of Virginia. His father, the Rev. Theodrick
Boulware, was a Baptist clergyman, well known
in the churches of his denomination in Kentucky,
Illinois and ]\Iissouri. He was an earnest and
consistant Christian and a devoted pastor, appre-
ciating fully the dignity of his oflice, and causing
it to be respected by those with whom he asso-
ciated. He was for a time the settled pastor of a
church, and for many years a circuit preacher in
the three States mentioned above, performing the
varied duties of a clergyman with a hearty willing-
ness and an intelligent discretion that savored
rather of the apostolic age than of the nineteenth
centur)'. During these years of earnest work, he
never received — it being inconsistent with his
principles to receive — a single cent for his clerical
labors. He was a man of strong and original
mind and an earnest character, forcible in the ex-
pression of his ideas and fond of theological con-
troversy. He led a life of almost puritanic sim-
plicity, combining religious fervor with practical
sagacity, having a wise care for the things of this
world, as well as of the next. He accumulated a
handsome property, and died at the advanced age
of eighty-seven years, loved and respected by all
who knew him.
Of his three daughters, the eldest married Joseph
Hansbrough, a bold and successful merchant of
Independence, Missouri. The second daughter
was not married; she died soon after arriving at
the age of womanhood. The youngest daughter
married Joseph S. Rogers, a wealthy and enter-
prising farmer and stock-breeder in the "blue-
grass region " of Kentucky.
Of his six sons, three were enthusiastic farmers
who earnesriy devoted themselves to agricultural
pursuits and stock raising.
The second son became a ph3'sician, practicing
his profession in New Orleans, La. He soon ac-
quired a lucrative practice, but died while a com-
paratively young man. The sixth and )'oungest
son is a distinguished lawyer, still living in Mis-
souri, noted for his eloquence and persuasive
power with a jury.
The fourth son was Jeptha R. Boulware, the
subject of this sketch, who, with the restless spirit
of many young men, left his comfortable home
and the easy life of a school boy, and wandered
forth without any very definite aim, excepting to
see the world and make a place for himself in it.
He had received a liberal education so far as the
schools of his neighborhood afforded, besides
careful instruction from his father. For a boy of
his years he was intelligent and well informed, but
he soon found a marked difference between a life
in a home of plenty and an existence dependent
for its continuance upon his own labor. Young
in years and slight in form, without a trade, unused
to severe labor, he had to accept such various em-
ployments as he chanced to find and was capable
of performing.
For a short time he worked as a farm laborer,
but ultimately attended the Rock Spring Seminary,
in Illinois, and soon taught school, in which pur-
suit he was so successful that in four vears after
leaving his father's house he returned 'to it in a
reasonably prosperous condition.
After remaining home a year, devoting his time
to study, he again went forth and resumed the oc-
cupation of a school teacher. While teaching, he
became interested in phrenology, and carefully
232
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
perused the works of Combe, Spurzheim and other
writers upon that subject. His interest in this
science led him to a thorough study of the anatom-
ical structure of the human brain, and eventually
led to his becoming a physician. Though suc-
cessful as a teacher, heagain returned home, at the
solicitation of his father, who gave him " a farm
and hands," letting him take his choice out of half
a dozen farms. He then married and settled
down, applying himself to agricultural pursuits for
a few years. He married Miss Sarah J. Kidd, the
eldest daughter of Mrs. Hannah Kidd, at Nashville,
Washington County, Illinois. Seldom has wedded
life proved more satisfactory than in this instance.
Dr. Boulware has often said that the success, both
professional and financial, which he attained in after
life, was due to the patient, inspiring and cheerful
influence which he received from his wife. She
was his support and helpmeet in adversity and a
patient, loyal companion in prosperity. Their
union was blessed with two children, Theodrick
K. Boulware and Hannah J. Boulware. Theodrick,
on completing his general education, began the
study of law in the office of Rufus W. Peckham
and Lyman Tremain, both eminent lawyers of
Albany. The former was for many years one of the
Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New
York, and afterward a Judge of the Court of Ap-
peals. The latter declining judicial honors, was
Attorney-General of the State, and among the most
distinguished advocates of the country. Theodrick
also, studied in the Albany Law School, and was
admitted to practice on graduation, after examina-
tion by the professors in that institution; but, de-
clining to enter the profession in that way only, he
presented himself before the committee appointed
by the Supreme Court of the State, and after
examination was admitted to practice. He was
a young man of sterling character, modest and
unassuming. His mental characteristics, his good
habits and earnest application, made it apparent
that he would distinguish himself in his chosen pro-
fession. But soon declining health made it evident
that his own and his parents' hopes were to be
blighted. He accepted the inevitable with charac-
teristic calmness, and after lingering a few years,
died, respected and beloved by all.
Hannah married John A. Richardson, a manu-
facturer. Her husband's health gradually became
impaired, a result of his exposure as a Union
soldier in the war of the Rebellion, as well as by
his persistent devotion to business. After a few
years he retired from business, and has since re-
sided most of the time at the South, seeking to
regain his health.
Dr. Boulware, a few years after his marriage,
removed to Albany, N. Y., which place has since
been his home, and where he now stands in the
front rank of the medical profession, both as a
physician and a surgeon. By teaching school and
by working at various mechanical employments,
in which he was successful, although he never
served any apprenticeship, he secured sufficient
funds to support his family and to systematically
pursue the study of medicine.
He was graduated from the Albany Medical
College in 1859. His earnest and intelligent in-
terest in medicine secured for him, early in his
student life, a warm friend in Professor Howard
Townsend, M. D., who encouraged him by per-
sonal attention and advice, and gave him free ac-
cess to his large professional library, of which great
use was made by him to his manifest profit, at a
time when his pecuniary circumstances did not
allow him to purchase the rarer and more expen-
sive medical works. During two winters he also
pursued the practical study of analytical chemistry
in the laboratory, under the instruction of Pro-
fessor Charles H. Porter, M. D. The late Hon.
William Cassidy, LL. D. , was another distin-
guished and influential friend who took an active
interest in the young physician'5 success, and,
upon his recommendation. Dr. Boulware was ap-
pointed to several medico-political offices, that not
only suppHed him with some money, but also gave
him, what he regarded as more important, oppor-
tunities for increasing his professional knowledge.
For several years in his student and early pro-
fessional life Dr. Boulware was in charge of the
Albany County Hospital for the Sick and Insane.
He made its great clinical resources yield him a
rich harvest of positive knowledge by the thorough
S3'Stem of careful observation which he at once
adopted and diligently pursued.
It was his custom in each case under his care to
write down the diagnosis, with a minute record of
all the symptoms observed, and when a death oc-
curred he made a careful autopsy, comparing the
pathological conditions with his previous notes.
In this institution, and during his earlier profes-
sional life, he made for himself and others, and for
legal purposes, over four hundred elaborate post-
mortetn examinations, and carefully dissected
several hundred human brains. His unwearied
attention to his business, his sagacity and common
sense, and his thorough theoretical and practical
knowledge of his profession, early gained him, not
only a large and lucrative practice, but also the sin-
cere respect and esteem of his fellow practitioners.
He soon became prominent as a surgeon- as well
as a physician. For many years he was the sur-
geon of the principal hospitals in Albany, and was
called to fill other positions of trust and honor.
He successfully performed many capital operations,
such as excision of the hip joint, lithotomy and the
operatiiin for strangulated hernia. He successfully
treated several cases of femoral and popliteal an-
eurism by compression, using for the purpose an
ingenious instrument of his own construction.
Dr. Boulware has very frequently been called
upon as an expert in medico-legal cases. His
sound surgical and medical knowledge, and his
practical sagacity and tact, have always secured
from the most unwilling counsel a fair presentation
of his views, and very frequently the public com-
mendation of the presiding judge, for the clearness,
learning and skill displayed in his testimony. He
has long been a prominent member of the Medical
Society of the County of Albany, and has held most
of the responsible offices of that organization, rep-
^// y
I r
r/'l/y)
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
233
resenting it for several years as a delegate to the
Medical Society of the State of New York, of
which latter society he has also been a permanent
member since 1868. Dr. Boulware has presented
numerous reports of cases and pathological speci-
mens occurring in his practice to the County
Medical Society, and a number of papers on
medical and surgical subjects to the State Medical
Society, which have been published in their Trans-
actions.
In the war of the Rebellion Dr. Boulware
served as assistant surgeon in the 177th Regi-
ment of the New .York Volunteers during its
continuance in the field. He was universally
respected by the soldiers for his attention and kind-
ness to them during the war, and to this day the
same respect is shown him by soldiers who were in
the field.
He was afterward Surgeon of the Tenth Regiment,
National Guard of the State of New York, and for a
long period was Brigade Surgeon of the Ninth
Brigade of the National Guard of the State of New
York.
He is unusually liberal in his views of medicine,
and kindly charitable to all practitioners, as the
records of the Medical Society of the County of
Albany abundantly show.
At the annual meeting of the Medical Society of
the County of Albany, held at Albany, November
14, 1876, Dr. J. R. Boulware offered the following:
Whereas, There is a decided difference of opinion
among members of this society regarding certain points re-
lating to Medical Ethics, and in order that the society may
definitely express itself upon them, for the guidance of its
members, the following resolutions are ofiered for its consid-
eration :
Resolved, That it shall not be deemed improper by this
society for "regular" and "Allopathic" Medical Colleges
to educate and graduate Homoeopathic students.
Resolved, That it shall not be deemed improper by this
society for any of its members to consult professionally with
any physicians recognized by the laws of this State as legal
practitioners.
Resolved, That it shall not be deemed improper by this
society for any one of its members, or any association of two
or more of them, to advertise in medical journals, or in the
local or other newspapers, their names and addresses, to-
gether with any specialty they may assume to practice or
teach.
Whereas, The "regular Allopathic" hospitals of this
city are supported by the taxpayers of this county ; and
Whereas, The " medical staffs " of these hospitals refuse
to allow other physicians than themselves to send and treat
pay patients in the said hospitals ; and
Whereas, Such action prevents materially the increase of
the indigent fund in charitable hospitals ; therefore.
Resolved, That it shall not be deemed improper by this
society for any of its members to professionally treat their
pay patients in the Albany City Homoeopathic Hospital.
While these resolutions were not adopted by the
County Society, they excited comment and inquiry.
A few years later they were embodied in the New
Code adopted by the Medical Society of the State
of New York. Among those most earnest in the
advocacy of the New Code were a large number
who worked and voted against Dr. Boulware's
30
resolutions. In this case, as in others. Dr. Boul-
ware's views were in advance of the times, but
happily, in this instance, only a few years in ad-
vance, and his medical brothers have now caught
up with him.
Having acquired an abundant competence, and
still being in good health, though advancing in
years, Dr. Boulware has been for some time grad-
ually withdrawing from practice, believing it
wiser to gracefully leave the field to younger men
before feebleness and old age should compel him
to retire; but, honored and esteemed by his pro-
fessional brethren, and looked up to with confi-
dence, affection and respect by a host oY families
whose trusted physician he has been for many
years, he is often called in consultation, and so
long as he lives he will never be able to entirely
abandon the functions of a medical adviser.
His genial temperament, his unselfish devotion
to medical science, his benevolence to the poor,
and his kindly sympathy with the suffering, have
endeared him to his fellow citizens.
He has often been solicited to accept nomina-
tions to office, for which his unbounded popularity
makes him peculiarly eligible; but the modesty of
his character makes him averse to political life.
Yet while he has always declined political honors,
and has held but two offices, and those of a medical
character, he has always, as a good citizen, been
interested in politics. He has had for many years
a quiet but decided political influence, much
greater than that of most men, and it has always
been exerted in the interest of good government
and for the substantial good of the community.
He is one of those of whom the poet says: They
" do good by stealth and blush to find it fame."
AMOS FOWLER, M. D.
Mark Fowler, uncle of Gen. Amos Fowler
and Rev. and Hon. Orin Fowler, removed at an
early day from Lebanon, Conn., to Herkimer
County, N. Y. He and his numerous family of
sons were pioneers in clearing away the forests and
laying the foundations of some of the thriving cities
of central New York. He died in Jefferson County,
April 27, 18 13. His wife was Miriam Sterling,
widow of Reuben Warner. Of their nine children,
Alvin, the father of Amos Fowler, M. D., of
Albany, was the youngest .son. When Alvin
Fowler was about two years old he met with an
adventure so singular and so perilous as to render
it unique in the annals of border life. He had only
recently learned to walk, and, one da}', as he was
enjoying the freedom of the cleared space about
his father's house, he was seized by a bear, which
had been caught and chained near the door, and
hugged gently in her embrace all da)', despite the
frantic efforts of his mother to induce the bear to
give up the child. No pen could do justice to the
mother's agony, her awful suspense, while making
her futile attempts to rescue her baby, and watch-
ing it through the long day, expecting at any mo-
ment to see its life crushed out before her eyes. It
was not until nightfall, when the father came
234
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
home, that the bear was compelled to relinquish
the child. At that time the family lived at Frank-
fort, near the present site of Utica. Bears, wolves
and other wild animals were plenty, and wolves
howled around the doors of the settler's cabin till
driven away with firebrands. Alvin Fowler pur-
sued the trades of clothier and stone mason. His
wife was Miss Olive Lord, whom he married in
1819, she having emigrated from Saybrook, Conn.,
with her father's family, two or three years earlier.
Of their four children, Dr. Amos Fowler was the
eldest. He was born in the town ofCohocton,
Steuben Cpunty, N. Y., July 5, 1820. His father
removed to Evans' Mills, Jefferson County, while
Amos was yet an infant, and thence to Fayetteville,
Onondaga County, when the lad was seven years
old; there he owned and operated some mills, and
a factory for the manufacture of woolen cloths, till
1836, when he again removed to a farm in the
town of Victory, Cayuga County. Young Fowler
was educated mainly in the public schools, but
was also a student at the academies in Fayetteville
and Victory, working on the farm summers and
attending school winters. Leaving school, he be-
came a teacher, teaching two winters in Wayne
and one in Cayuga County. While thus engaged
he began reading medicine in the office of Dr.
Blanchard, of Victory. Later he was a student and
assistant of Dr. Root's, at Memphis, Onondaga
County. He entered the Geneva Medical College,
and finished his prescribed course at the University
of the City of New York, graduating in 1846.
Dr. Root died just before Dr. Fowler's gradua-
tion. Already well established in the confidence
of Dr. Root's patrons, he returned to Mem-
phis and took up the Doctor's practice. In
1 850 he removed to Sand Lake, Rensselaer County,
and from thence, in 1854, to Albany, locating on
Second street, nearly opposite his present residence
and office. Since coming to Albany, as before.
Dr. Fowler has enjoyed an extensive practice.
His standing in his profession is high, and he has
served the Medical Society of Albany County as its
vice-president and its delegate to the State Medical
Society. Dr. Fowler was married, August 30, 1850,
to Miss Caroline M. Harris, daughter of Nicholas
Brown Harris, M. D., of Sand Lake, Rensselaer
County, who bore him four children, two of whom
died in infanc}'. She died, April 3, 1880, at Savan-
nah, Ga., while returning with her husband from a
journey in the South. Their son, Warren Hamilton
Fowler, studied medicine at the University of the
City of New York, graduated from Jeff"erson Medical
College, Philadelphia, and is now practicing his
profession in Albany.
Their daughter, Caroline I. Fowler, is a mem-
ber of her father's household. July 25, 1882, Dr.
Fowler married his present wife, Mrs. Mary Poole,
a native, and, for most of her life, a resident of Al-
bany. Though not active in politics, the Doctor
has pronounced views on public questions and is
an adherent of the Republican party. He was reared
within the pale of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
but for some years has been a member of the
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany.
JOSEPH N. NORTHROP, M. D.
Dr. Joseph Norman Northrop was born at Deca-
tur, Otsego County, New York, in 181 7, and was
in the sixty-first year of his age at the time of his
death, which occurred September 17, 1878. He was
a son of Abner Northrop and Jerusha Gibbs, both
of whom were natives of Connecticut. He had
two brothers and two sisters, only one of whom,
the youngest brother, survives him. His father was
a farmer, and the early part of the life of Dr. North-
rop was spent at home upon the farm. The founda-
tion of his education was obtained in the common
school. At the age of thirteen he went to the
Oneida Institute, a manual labor school, where he
spent three years. Leaving school, he came
to Albany, where, after passing a year as a
clerk in a drug store, he entered the office and
family of Dr. Samuel Shaw, and began the study of
medicine. When about eighteen years of age he
entered the Vermont Academy of Medicine, grad-
uating in 1839. His diploma was signed by Dr.
William TuUy, Professor of Theory and Practice
and Materia Medica; Theodore Woodward, Pro-
fessor of Surgery and Obstetrics; James H. Armsby,
Professor of Anatomy and Physiology; and John
De Wolf, Professor of Chemistry and Natural His-
tory. He had a great admiration for Dr. Tully,
whose name and sayings were frequently on his lips
in later years. After graduating, he attended a
course of medical lectures at the Transylvania
University, at Louisville, Ky., defraying his expen-
ses by conducting a writing school and by a little
practice among Northern people residents there.
He began his professional work as a salaried
physician upon a plantation of about six hundred
negroes, in Mississippi, being the oiily medical man
within twenty miles. He staid there a year and a
half, taking the yellow fever, from which he nar-
rowly escaped with his life. This necessitated his
removal north. After spending a year in Albany,
he returned to his native place, where he practiced
his profession for twenty years. In 1840 he mar-
ried Miss Mary Jane Lansing, the only daughter of
Col. Robert C. Lansing, of Decatur. His practice
there was large, embracing long rides into the ad-
joining counties of Delaware and Schoharie. He
held for some time the office of division Surgeon of
Militia, Gen. Burnside being division General. The
only civil office that he filled outside of his profes-
sion was that of supervisor, which he held for two
years. He was elected delegate to the State Medi-
cal Society from Otsego County, and became a
permanent member of the society in 1861. In
1859 he returned to Albany and entered upon a
general practice there, which became extensive and
lucrative. He joined the Albany County Medical
Society in i860, and held for several terms the
office of censor, and was elected president in 1876.
His death, which occurred nearly twenty years
after he came to Albany to reside, was startlingly
sudden in its circumstances, taking place upon the
anniversar)' of his wedding-day. Preparations hav-
ing been made for the customary celebration of
this anniversary, he went early in the evening to
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
235
make a professional call a few blocks away. In-
stead of sending for his carriage, as he usually did,
even when going but a short distance, he walked.
He was troubled with dyspnoea on exertion, due
to an affection of the heart. He saw his patient,
and, while preparing medicine in an adjoining
room, he suddenly gasped for breath, fell from his
chair, and in a few minutes died.
This is a brief sketch of the life of Dr. Northrop,
which covered forty years of professional work, and
ended in the midst of his greatest usefulness, while
he was fully entering into all that went to make up
life for him. He passed away at the full tide; he had
not started on the down-hill side of life. There
are not many lives that are marked with great in-
cidents ; nevertheless, this outline of his career
brings out a fact which has in it much to admire,
that, starting in the world with nothing, he gained,
by his own unaided efforts, education, a worthy
place in an honorable profession, a competence,
and the high esteem of his associates and fellow
citizens. In character, he was a genial, open-heart-
ed man, whom many knew well and whose loss is
sincerely lamented. While his life was unmarked
by great events, it was always attended with de-
votion to duty, to his profession and to his fellow
men. His grave does not inclose the memory of
these virtues, nor limit the worthiness of his ex-
ample. Two years before his death he became a
member of the First Reformed Church of Albany.
JOHN B. ROSSMAN, M. D.
Dr. John Buskirk Rossman was born, September
27, 1806, in Johnstown, Columbia County, N. Y.
He was the seventh child of a family of sixteen
children. Fourteen grew to maturity. Four of
the sons were physicians. His father, John J.
Rossman, was a worthy man, much respected in
the community in which he lived. He was elected
sheriff of Columbia County for two or three con-
secutive terms. With a family so large and facilities
for education so limited, Mr. Rossman was not
able to give his children a liberal education, yet he
gave them the best that could be obtained in the
schools in his vicinity. John not only attended
the district school, but was sent to a neighboring
academy, where he made proficiency in the higher
English branches. He is represented as having
been a lad of excellent morals and of studious
habits. In order to be able to continue his studies
and to fix more permanently his elementary educa-
tion, he taught a district school several winters.
He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. T.
Broad head, of Clermont. We next hear of him in
the law office of Mr. Killian Miller, of Hudson.
He remained there only a short time, the law not
being congenial with his tastes. He then resumed
the study of medicine with Dr. McClelland. From
this oflSce he went to Hudson, in the office of
Dr. Samuel White. He attended medical lectures
at Fairfield, Herkimer County, N. Y., and received
his degree there in 1829. After graduation he re-
turned to Johnstown, his native town, and com-
menced the practice of his profession. Although
young, he was earnest, and attended closely to busi-
ness. His genial manner and sympathetic nature
soon made him popular. His reputation increased,
and the young physician was called to longer dis-
tances and to families of greater intelligence.
Previous to this Mr. John Richmond, an English
gentleman, had purchased from Mr. Livingston,
while in London, the tract of land called Living-
ston Manor. Mr. Richmond had taken possession
of his purchased property, and to his house Dr.
Rossman was called. Here it was that the Doctor
first met his future wife, Miss Elizabeth Mary Fair-
bank, the granddaughter of Mr. Richmond, and
the great-granddaughter of the Earl of Preston.
About two years after his marriage Dr. Rossman
moved to Richmondville, Schoharie County. He
remained there about eight years, when he came to
Albany. City life is always attractive to a country
practitioner, and almost as often as the change is
made there is serious disappointment. But with
Dr. Rossman it was different. Practice came
slowly, but patient waiting and prompt attention
to every call secured business. A few years found
him in the midst of a lucrative practice. In 1827
he was made a member of the Medical Society of
the County of Albany, of which he was treasurer in
1849 and 1850.
He enjoyed a reunion with Dr. Thomas Hun
and Dr. Charles Devol to celebrate their semi-
centennial in practice, given by the County
Medical Society. He was elected alderman from
his ward about 1856, which office he filled with
credit to himself and satisfaction to his con-
stitutents. Dr. Rossman was a kind and affection-
ate husband, an indulgent and attentive father,
and a true and steadfast friend. His peculiarities
were the eccentricities of his head, and not of his
heart. His wife, Elizabeth Mary Fairbank, died
July 27, 1868. She had eight children — four sons
and four daughters. Three sons and two daugh-
ters are still living. In 1869 he married Miss
Rebecca P. McCarthy. By this union he had one
son and two daughters, all of whom are living.
Soon after he located in Albany Dr. Rossman
united with the Middle Dutch Church, and led the
life of a consistent and devoted Christian. His
last few years gave decided evidence of increasing
age. He continued to grow more and more
feeble until December 23, 1883, when he peace-
fully and hopefully passed away to receive the re-
wards of a life well spent.
HON. JOHN SWINBURNE, M.D.
John Swinburne was born to Peter and Artemesia
Swinburne, at their homestead on the Black River,
Lewis County, May 30, 1 820. His father, a native ol
Ireland, was a farmer and also largely engaged in
business. He died while Dr. Swinburne was a mere
child, and the latter's early years were spent under
the care of his mother, a native of Connecticut, and
a woman of rare mental activity and great force of
character, who, after the death of her husband, took
entire charge of the family ; and to her careful
training the doctor ascribes much of his success in
236
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
life. His early education was gained in the com-
mon schools of the neighborhood and in the
academies of Lowville and Denmark, in Lewis
County, and that of Fairfield, in Herkimer County.
Having passed his early years at his birthplace, at
limes teaching school, at the age of twenty-one he
determined upon the study of medicine for his pro-
fession, and began reading at twenty-three, when
he entered the Albany Medical College, registering
as a student in the office of the late Dr. James
H. Armsby, of Albany. Graduating in 1846 with
the degree of Doctor in Medicine, Dr. Swinburne
determined to make Albany his home, and opened
an office for the practice of his profession. In 1847
he was appointed Demonstrator of Anatomy in the
Albany Medical College, and continued to teach
that branch of medicine for several years. In 1851
he received his first public appointment, being
made an almshouse physician at a time when what
was known as ' 'ship fever" was raging as an epidemic,
treating during his term of office over eight hundred
cases, and finally falling a victim to the disease
himself
From this time up to the breaking out of the Re-
bellion the Doctor devoted his time to his private
practice, which was constantly enlarging. In 1861
he was again called upon to give his services to the
public, and was put in charge of the sick at the re-
cruiting depot in Albany, serving as chief medical
officer on the stafi" of Gen. John F. Rathbone.
Until the spring of 1862 he remained at this post,
1,470 sick passing under his care, out of which
large number only twelve died. April 7, 1862,
Dr. Swinburne was appointed one of the auxiliarv
corps of volunteer surgeons who went from the
State of New York to the war, serving without pay.
He proceeded to Fortress Monroe, and shortly
after his arrival received orders to rtport for duty
to Dr. Tripler, Medical Director of the Army of
the Potomac. In company with Drs. Willard,
Coggswell and Lansing, of Albany, he set out for
the White House, the head of navigation on the
Pamunkey River, where Dr. Tripler had his head-
quarters, reaching there May 1 8. The establish-
ment of a hospital at this place, to which the
wounded could be sent from the front, being de-
cided upon. Dr. Swinburne and his companions
were requested to found the same. After render-
ing valuable services at this station, the Doctor,
early in June, returned to Albany, and on the 12th
of that month (1862) received a commission from
Gov. Morgan, as Medical Superintendent of the New
York State wounded soldiers, and was sent to Wash-
ington with a letter from the Governor to the Secre-
tary of War. Upon the Secretary's indorsement, Sur-
geon-General Hammond entered into a contract
with Dr. Swinburne for "medical and surgical
services to be rendered with the Army of the Poto-
mac," and the Doctor accordingly again reported
to Medical Director Tripler. In section 9, Special
Orders of the War Department, appears the following:
"Acting Assistant Surgeon John Swinburne will report
to Surgeon J. J. Milhau, U. S. A., Medical Director.Third
Army Corps, for special duty at Savage's Station.
" By command, Major-Gen. McClellan."
With this order the Doctor immediately complied,
receiving further orders to establish a general hos-
pital at Savage's Station, Virginia, of which he was
to take charge, with instructions to make requi-
sitions for the necessary materials and stores.
With his accustomed energy, the Doctor set about
the work given him to do, but unforeseen difficul-
ties arose, greatly delaying the construction of the
hospital. On the 26th of June, when the hospital
was not more than half prepared, owing to the non-
fulfillment of his requisitions, wounded men began
to be brought in in large numbers, and the Doc-
tor's surgical labors began. On the 28th he was
informed by Dr. Tripler that it would be necessary
for him to remain at the hospital, the army being
about to change its base of operations, which
would put the enemy in possession of Savage's Sta-
tion in a few hours, at the same time giving him a
letter from Gen. McClellan to the Commander* of
the Confederate forces explaining his (the Doc-
tor's) position. After the action of Sunday evening,
the 29th, the hospital, with all it contained, was in
the hands of the Confederates. From this time up
to the 26th of July Dr. Swinburne remained with
his charge, struggling with his assistants through
increasing hardships and privations, day by day
having less of the necessaries for the proper man-
agement of the sick and wounded, buying food for
the hospital with his own funds, until at last, after
repeated communications with the authorities in
Richmond, on the 26ih of July orders came allow-
ing the removal of ihe sick and wounded, with
their attendants, to City Point. Reaching the
latter place on the 27ih, the Doctor turned over
his command to the proper officers and returned
to Albany on sick leave, suffering from a chronic
dysentery brought on by exposure and improper
food.
In the winter of 1862-63 ^^ ^^id Dr. Willard
were appointed by the State Medical Society a com-
mittee to confer with the Legislature upon the sub-
ject of the further relief of the wounded, the result
of such conference being the unanimous passage
of a bill granting $200,000, to be applied to the care
of the sick and wounded of the State of New York,
and the Doctor was once more sent to the front
Returning again in 1864, he was appointed by Gov.
Seymour (Democrat) Health Officer of the Port
of New York, and had the satisfaction of having his
nomination unanimously confirmed by a Republi-
can Senate. At that time the provisions for a quar-
antine station were very inadequate, and the Legis-
lature, aciing upon the suggestions of the Doctor,
began the construction of the two artificial islands
in the lower bay now used for that purpose. The
idea of building an island in fifteen feet of water,
exposed to the force of storms and tides from 3,000
miles of the Atlantic Ocean beating against it, was
deemed almost impossible, but the Doctor demon-
strated it could be done, and to his energy and
perseverance New York is indebted for one of the
best planned quarantine stations in the world.
In recognition of this distinguished service, the
Legislature, by an act, named the first of the two
islands thus constructed " Swinburne Island
.MlHDUr, fiilillSllUig S rjigllVlJl); UolIewYoit
uTl
'lyU^
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
237
Hospital." Up to 1870 Dr. Swinburne remained at
quarantine ; he then went abroad with his family,
being desirous of rest and recreation. But he was
not a man who could "take his ease at his inn."
The Franco-Prussian war having broken out, Dr.
Swinburne, being in London, on September 4, 1870,
received an earnest request from Minister Wash-
burne and the American Sanitary Commission to
come to Paris and take charge of the American Am-
bulance in that city. Laying aside his personal
comfort, he acceded to the request, and lost no
time in reaching Paris. There he remained as
Surgeon-in-Chief of the American Ambulance un-
til March, 1871, leaving as the Commune was
coming into power. How highly his labors were
appreciated by the American International San-
itary Committee we will leave Dr. Thomas Evans,
President of the Committee, to state. In his report
of the doings of the American Ambulance, the
distinguished physician says :
"In securing the services of Dr. John Swinburne as Sur-
geon-in-Chief of the Ambulance, the committee was partic-
ularly fortunate. Dr. Swinburne was a surgeon par excel-
lence. He had had an extensive professional experience,
and had obtained a justly acquired and widely -known home
reputation. Thoroughly acquainted with military medicine
and the constitution and management of army hospitals, an
earnest advocate of conservative surgery, an enthusiast even as
regards the conservative treatment of compound-fractiures, a
skillful operator whenever operations were required, he pos-
sessed a rare and highly valuable quality — a knowledge of the
way how to deal with men ; in a word, he knew how to man-
age both his patients and his assistants; and not infrequently
was he called upon to exercise this special knowledge.
Associated, as he was constantly, with a body of forty or
fifty persons, all volunteers, holding a certain social posi-
tion, uncontrolled by the restraints of a military discipline,
all naturally ambitious to excel, and perhaps occasionally
even over-jealous of the success of their fellows, Doctor
Swinburne knew how to direct these energetic elements,
obtain from them the largest amount of labor, and maintain
in every department of his service his own personal as-
cendancy."— (See ^' Sanitary Associations During the Fran-
co.Ger?nan War," Vol. I, 1870-71.)
In recognition of his services. Dr. Swinburne
had the rare distinction conferred upon him by the
French Government of being made a Knight of
the Legion of Honor, also receiving the Red Cross
of Geneva. Having finished his labors in the Am-
bulance, he resumed his travels, spending his time
in different parts of Europe until the fall of 1871,
when he returned to his home in Albany.
A predominant feature of Dr. Swinburne's prac-
tice has been conservative surgery, especially in
the treatment of fractures. Shortly after graduating
in medicine he directed his attention to treating
fractures upon other principles than those in vogue
at that date, and in 1848 he discarded the use of
such splints, bandages and apparatus as were gen-
erally employed, relying upon extension alone to
accomplish the sought-for result. Such a depar-
ture was a bold procedure, and after having fully
tested and proved his method of treatment, in both
private and hospital practice, in 1859 he published
in the Transactions Medical Society of the State
New York of that year an article on the treat-
ment of these injuries by extension. During this
year he also reported a case of death by the entrance
of air into the uterine sinuses (caused by an abor-
tionist), at which time it was said and believed to
be almost the only case of the kind on record. —
{Philadelphia Medical and Surgical Reporter, iS^g.)
In 1 86 1 appeared another paper on the treatment
of fractures by simple extension and counter-exten-
sion.— {Transactions of the Medical Society 0/ the
State of New York, j86i. ) In the next year a re-
view of the case of the People against Rev. Henry
Budge, indicted for the murder of his wife, tried at
Oneida, N. Y., in August and September, 1861, in
which Dr. Swinburne forcibly criticised the medical
testimony of the defense, and combatted the ground
assumed by them by numerous experiments. —
{Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of
New York, 1862. ) In the same year he also pub-
lished in the Medical and Surgical Reporter of Phila-
delphia a synopsis of the trial of Hendrickson, who
poisoned his wife by the administration of aconite.
This trial also caused much discussion in the medical
world, and although the Doctor was severely handled
by other professional men for his views as expressed
when on the witness stand, he proved his position to
have been perfectly correct. In 1863 he published
his report to Surgeon-General Hammond, with his
experiences in the Peninsular campaign, " Resection
of Joints and Conservative Surgery. " — {Transactions
of the Medical Society of the State of New York,
186 J.) In 1864 two more papers in the same
journal, one upon " Compound Comminuted Gun-
shot Fractures of the Thigh ; the Means for their
Transportation and Treatment ;" and the other the
"Report of the Committees appointed by the
Society to Confer with the Governor and Legisla-
ture relative to the Additional Relief of the Sick
and Wounded Soldiers from the State of New York. "
The Doctor also proposed and advocated for the
transportation of those suffering from fractures of
the leg or thigh a stretcher so arranged that exten-
sion and counter-extension could be maintained
without pain or discomfort to the patient, or any
material alteration of the stretcher. — (Lessons in
Hygiene and Surgery, by Dr. Gorden, C. B. ;
Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of
NewYork, 1864) He also strongly advocated the
resection of shoulder joints instead of amputation,
and many are the grateful letters he has since re-
ceived from those whose limbs he saved to them.
In 1863 Dr. Swinburne was elected a permanent
member of the Medical Society of the State of
New York. In November, 1872, he was chosen
president of the Medical Society of Albany County.
In 1876 he was chosen Professor of Fractures and
Dislocations and Clinical Surgery in the Albany
Medical College. He was one of the four surgeons
to the Albany Hospital from its foundation up to
1864 ; also consulting surgeon to St. Peter's
Hospital, and for a number of years has been
surgeon-in-chief of the Homoeopathic and Child's
Hospitals. In 1879 he established in the City of
Albany a Dispensary for the treatment of all man-
ner of diseases and fractures. This Dispensary was
established on a humanitarian basis, where the
sick, maimed and lame were invited to come and
be made whole, without money and without price.
From its foundation the Doctor has himself had a
238
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
general supervision of all that was going on, and
had as assistants a corps of surgeons trained under
his own tuition in conservative surgery. In ad-
dition to his large private practice nearly 60,000
people have been treated at the dispensary up to
the close of last year, at least 25,000 of these being
surgical cases. For the year 1884 the register gives
the number of new cases treated as 7, 502, of which
4,340 were medical cases and the remaining 3, 156
surgical. During the year 250 fractures were
treated, 1 78 of which were of the upper extremities
and the remainder of the lower limbs. In the
treatment there has not occurred one poor result,
a record unequaled by any institution in the annals
of surgery. During this period not an amputation
of any nature has been performed, the Doctor
maintaining that the too frequently indulged in use
of the amputating knife is barbarism. His con-
servative doctrine is to save the limb and help
nature in the work of curing. He has paid out of
his private funds upward of $5, 000 per annum to
carry on his dispensary since its foundation, and
now proposes, if the Slate will not do so, to found
a dispensary in addition to the one he now runs
for the care and treatment exclusively of injured
railroad men.
His career in public life has been almost as
marked as that of his professional.
In 1882, the citizens of Albany, irrespective of
party, organized to effect a reform in the municipal
affairs of the city, and after much persuasion in-
duced the Doctor to run as the People's candidate
for the mayoralty. The election was a bitterly
contested one on the part of the ring, who
desired to retain power, and on the part of the citi-
zens, who demanded a reform. By a manipulation
of ballots the voice of the people was frustrated and
his opponent inducted into the office. The frauds,
however, were too glaring, and at a public meeting
the evening after the results were announced the
people there convened decided to commence legal
action to set aside the declaration and award the
office to Dr. Swinburne. After nearly a year and
a half of maneuvering in court by the incumbent's
counsel, in taking advantage of the law's delays, the
case was finally set for a definite day for trial. As
soon as this judicial order was made, the incum-
bent, Michael N. Nolan, resigned the office, and Dr.
Swinburne, by order of the court, took possession.
In the spring of 1884, he was again nominated by
the citizens and indorsed by the Republicans, but
was again counted out by a small majority. Suffer-
ingat the time from blood-poisoning, having been
infected while performing an operation, he could
not and would not consent to a contest for the
office in the courts, although his friends were satis-
fied they could prove a large majority in his favor,
and went west for his health. Returning home
with his powers recuperated and his vigor restored,
he was greeted with a reception unequaled in
previous days, the streets being figuratively a mass
of blocked humanity. The citizens again as-
sembled, and knowing there was more protection
at the ballot box in national than civic elections,
and appreciating the worth and ability of the Doctor,
nominated him for Congress. The nomination
was indorsed b)' the Republicans, and when the
ballot was counted it was found that he had a
majority of 2, 504 over the then sitting member,
T. J. Van Alstyne, recognized as one of the very
strongest men in the district. By this election the
political complexion of Albany County was changed
over 7,000 votes.
Dr. Swinburne was married in 1847 'o Miss
Harriet Judson, of Albany, by whom he has had
four children, one of whom is living.
SAMUEL BALDWIN WARD.
The ancestry of an eminent physician is always
important to those who would intelligently study
his career and character. The study will explain
what debt he owes to the past and to circumstan-
ces, and to what measure he has been the architect
of his own fortune. We are all of us sensible
enough to know that good birth, in the American
significance of the word, is a valuable fact in the
same sense in which good health is, and that
creditable as unaided effort or the overcoming of
difficulties is, they whose equipment for the labor
of life has been insured by nurture, counsel and
culture are most apt to prove themselves com-
pletely competent for the manifold duties of pro-
fessional work in the world. The pride of "self-
made " men, who are as a rule half-made men,
and who invariably worship their creator, is in the
fact of their having attained to such a position of
strength as will enable them to give to their child-
ren the initial advantages which were denied to
themselves. No "self-made" man expects his
sons to be "self-made " men. He wants them to
escape the hardships of their father. He desires to
make the beginnings of life easier for them than
they were for himself The conquest of early
obstacles is laudable. The necessity to encounter
them is regretable. They consume time and effort
which must be subtracted from the act of starting.
Both the fact of a sturdy ancestry of achieving
freemen and the fact of careful preparation for his
profession must be predicated of the cultivated
physician and surgeon of whom we write. Lebbeus
Baldwin Ward, the father of our subject, who was
born in New Jersey, April 7, 1800, and who died
in New York City, June 15, 1885, was directly
descended through his father from revolutionary
soldiery, and though his mother from the celebra-
ted Dod family of Newark and Princeton,
renowned as teachers and exponents of natural
forces, and conspicuously identified with the institu-
tions and literature of science. The mother of Dr.
Ward, nee Miss Abby Dwight Pratt, of Hatfield,
Massachusetts, was descended through both
parents from the best Old England and New
England stock, and was the daughter of a clergy-
man of marked strength of intellect and character.
The father of Dr. Ward, whose recent death be-
came the occasion of marked tribute to his worth
and deeds by the press of the State, was first an
engine builder and then a maker of wrought-iron
/'l
fi
CiAA.i ■
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
239
forgings, being the founder of the Hammersley
Forge Works, at the foot of Fifty-ninth street, New
York, on the North River. He was an occupant
of many business, judiciary and rehgious trusts, a
member of the State Assembly when the position
was honorable in fact as well as in designation,
and a Commissioner of the Metropolitan Board of
Police, in the first years of its establishment.
Of Revolutionary and Puritan forces the repre-
sentative, Samuel B. Ward was born in New York
City on June 8, 1842, in the large stone house
which his father had built in the English style,
near the forge works, as a homestead. Early in
life he put forth the evidences of the qualities which
have since conspicuously marked him. He was
studious, practical, a lover of nature, fond of
physical sports and accomplishments. He was
generous, unsuspicious and winningly frank.
He had the ability to inspire confidence among
those with whom he contended for the prizes of
youth in manly emulation. The society of an
ideal home made his progress in the studies of
bo)'hood easy, inciting and rewarding, and at the
age of 16 he entered Columbia College in his
native city, well prepared for the course of training
to which he was subjected in that institution. He
graduated with honors in 1861. Not only did he
stand among its first in academic honors, but he
was chosen by his classmates to the highest posi-
tions within the gift of their friendly suffrages.
His scholarship and his popularity were thus
attested on the threshold of his active life. After a
year of as much study as slower or duller men
diffuse into three years, young Ward was appoint-
ed a medical cadet in the United States Army.
The position enabled him to combine with the
continued study of medicine and surgery such
clinical instruction and such administrative experi-
ence as were extremely valuable. In 1863 he was
commissioned by President Lincoln an Acting
Assistant Surgeon of the United States Army, and
in 1864 an Assistant Surgeon of the United States
Volunteers, a little in advance of the completion of
his medical studies, which he successfully pursued
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New
York, and in the medical department of George-
town University, in the District of Columbia. He
was matriculated from the latter school. The
army medical experience of Dr. Ward was mainly
that comprised by hospital service in Washington,
Alexandria and the vicinity. It was such as
brought him into contact with a great variety of
complaints and injuries. It enabled him to work
with and under the ablest minds in his profession.
It familiarized him with the relations of govern-
ment service to great sanitary undertakings. It
devolved large responsibilities on him, and he
showed coolness, readiness and resource in meet-
ing them.
At the close of the war, though accorded the op-
portunity of remaining in the service of the
government in the line of his profession, Dr. Ward
began the practice of it in his native city. He
was made Professor of Anatomy and then of Sur-
gery in the Women's Medical College. He met
with decided success in the practice of his profes-
sion. His class lectures at the first showed that
crispness, aptness and directness, the ability to en-
lighten and to incite students, which they possess
in marked degree. He was chosen a member of
the Northwestern Medical and Surgical Society of
the metropolis and was made its secretary. He
began and has since continued the contribution of
accounts of cases to the Medical Record and to the
New York Medical Journal. He became and has
remained an active companion of the first class of
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. In 1871,
he married the late Nina N. Wheeler, daughter of
William A. Wheeler, Esq. , of New York City, of
whom death bereaved him in October, 1883. Dur-
ing his residence in New York Dr. Ward was
elected Assistant Surgeon of the famous Seventh
Regiment, with the rank of captain, on June i,
1872, a position he held until June 12, 1876, the
year in which he removed to Albany.
The activities and honors of his profession have
crowded on this gentleman at the State capital.
His position as the Professor of Pathology, Prac-
tice, Clinical Medicine and Hygiene in the Medical
College of Albany has made him widely known
throughout the profession. He has long been the
surgeon of the Fifth Brigade, formerly the Ninth
Brigade of the State National Guard. He has,
since September, 1883, been a member of the
Board of Health of the city, and since January,
1885, one of the Civil Service Examiners for State
officers. A member of the New York County and
Albany County Medical Societies, Dr. Ward has
several times been elected a delegate to the
American Medical Association, and he is a per-
manent member of the State Medical Society. In
all the movements of his profession, within the
capital or the State, he has been required to become
meritedly prominent on the demand of his
brethren, while the State and municipal authorities
have availed themselves of his knowledge and skill
in the counsel they have taken touching large
sanitary subjects. He became A. M. by the act of
Columbia College, his alma viaier, in 1864, and he
received the degree of Ph. D. from Union Univer-
sity on June 28, 1882. In 1885 he was confirmed
by the Board of Regents of the University of the
State as a member of the executive committee of
the State Normal School, at Albany, in place of
the Hon. St. Clair McKelway, resigned.
The citation of the proofs of professional and
public preferment could be continued. But enough
has been given to serve the purpose of showing
that Dr. Ward has won a distinguished position in
his profession alike by the concession of its mem-
bers and in the opinion of the public. The
enumeration of the dignities and trusts he has re-
ceived does not touch the question of his personality;
neither can the essentially narrative nature of an
outline biography do so. Those who stand to
him in the relation of personal friends or profes-
sional colleagues know that there are few men in
the world of so attractive and worthy personal
parts, and that his culture, knowledge and judg-
ment, developed by study and labor in his own
240
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
SYLVESTER D. WILLARD, M. D.
land and by study and travel in many foreign
countries, are as distinctive and pronounced as are
his qualities of fellowship. As the physician and the
friend, the best record he has made is in the
hearts of those with whose sorrows and joys his
own life has been blended. That record is un-
reportable and sacredly privileged from the public
gaze.
SYLVESTER D. WILLARD, M. D.
Dr. Sylvester David Willard was born in
Wilton, Conn., June 19, 1825, and died in
Albany, April 2, 1865. He came of the same
family as those eminent divines, the Rev. Samuel
Willard and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Willard, the former
of whom was a Vice-President and the latter Presi-
dent of Harvard College. His father was a highly
respectable physician and an honored citizen ; his
mother, who was of a much esteemed family of
Albany, was a lady of great moral and Christian
worth. Young Willard received his literary train-
ing at an academy in his native place. In the fall
of 1845 he came to Albany, upon invitation of
his relative, Dr. Wing, with whom he became a
student. He entered the Albany Medical College,
graduating therefrom in the winter of 1848.
After serving for some time as an assistant to Dr.
Wing, he began practice on his own responsibility,
and very early attracted the attention and the confi-
dence of that eminent citizen, the late Dr.T. Romeyn
Beck, to whom, perhaps, more than to any other
individual, he was indebted for the earliest expres-
sions of public respect and confidence that were
awarded to him. Shortly after he began practice
he became connected with the Albany County
Medical Society, and served successively as its
secretary, vice-president and president In 1858
he was a delegate to the State Medical Society,
and was appointed its permanent secretary, an
office which he signally honored, especially by
preparing each successive year, with great ability,
a volume of the Society's transactions.
From the opening of the Rebellion, in 1861, his
whole heart went into every movement connected
therewith; and, in the spring of 1862, he went,
with two other prominent physicians of Albany, to
act as a volunteer surgeon to the Army of the
Potomac. From Fortress Monroe he proceeded to
White House, where he was invested with an
important agency in establishing a large field hos-
pital, which brought immediate relief to many
hundreds of our wounded soldiers. During a brief
sojourn there, he suflfered the severest hardships
of labor and exposure, and contracted a disease
which developed itself more fully after his return,
and which there is some reason to believe was never
entirely dislodged from his constitution. He made
one or two attempts afterward to return to this field
of labor, but was obliged to abandon his object.
But the most important public enterprise in
which Dr. Willard engaged was the establishment
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
341
of an institution for the relief of the chronic
insane. His mind had been directed to this sub-
ject for a considerable time, and he had collected
a vast amount of information bearing upon it,
which he had embodied in a luminous and
elaborate report That report had met with a
most respectful attention from the Legislature,
and everything indicated the speedy carrying out
"of the plan which he had proposed, when Dr.
Willard found that his days of activity on earth
were numbered. The Willard Asylum for the
Insane, so named as a memorial of him, has
been established since his decease. At the time
of his death he was holding the positions of
Secretary of the State Medical Society, Examining
Surgeon for the Pension Office, and Surgeon-Gen-
eral of the State, all of which were to him posts of
arduous labor and unceasing fidelity. But the
duties of these offices, in addition to his more
private professional engagements and other diver-
sified claims upon his time, imposed upon
him a burden greater than his physical constitution
was able to bear. A sudden attack of disease,
superinduced by excessive exertion, accomplished
its fatal work within a very few days. The
solemnities of his funeral, as well as the warm
memorial tributes of different bodies, including the
Legislature of the State, furnished the most un-
questionable evidence that his death was regarded
as a public calamity.
Dr. Willard's intellectual character was marked
by quick perception, sound judgment, retentive
memory, and much more than the ordinary power
of analysis and investigation. A diligent student
of books and a close observer of men and things,
he acquired a very large amount of general as well
as professional knowledge, and he devoted much
time to the local history and biography of the
medical profession, the results of which appear in
"Albany Medical Annals," Vol. r. He possessed
large executive ability, and power of readily bring-
ing other minds into harmony with his own. He
had, moreover, an exquisite taste, an eye to discern
whatever is beautiful in nature or art, and the deli-
cacy of his perceptions, especially in regard to
architectural proportions, was well-nigh unrivaled.
His moral qualities were akin to his intellectual
ones. He had great simplicity and directness of
character. With him the question, ' ' what is right ?"
was all absorbing, and he sought to settle it by
light from above and from within, without listening
to the pleas of expediency or of imagined self-
interest His spirit was eminently genial and
cheerful, and, with his fine intellectual qualities and
more than ordinarily attractive manners, rendered
him a most agreeable companion. He was, withal,
a man of great benevolence. There was a chord
strung in his heart that vibrated quickly to every
form of human suffering.
But the intellectual and moral qualities with
which Dr. Willard was originally endowed were
essentially modified in their action by the influences
of Christianity. When about sixteen years old,
during an extensive revival of religion in his
native place, he entered upon the Christian life,
31
and shortly after he joined the Congregational
Church at Wilton, and on his becoming a resident
of Albany transferred his membership to the Second
Presbyterian Church of this city, which was unbroken
during the remainder of his life. For several years
he superintended the mission school in Lydius
street with great fidelity and success, though it
must have been at no small inconvenience, in view
of his daily professional engagements. In his med-
ical practice he often prescribed for the spiritual
as well as the physical man. The grand enterprise
for the relief of one of the most terrible forms of
human woe, which he had so much at heart in his
last days, was evidently prosecuted not merely
from considerations of public expediency, nor yet
merely or chiefly from the influences of a naturally
benevolent spirit, but from those higher principles
and feelings which it is the province of Christianity
alone to inspire.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES OF SOME
PHYSICIANS.
William Howard Bailey was born in Bethle-
hem, Albany County, December 28, 1825. He
was the seventh child of Dr. Solomon Bailey.
When about five years of age his father discontin-
ued the active practice of his profession and re-
tired to a farm. His father had always manifested
a great interest in the education of the young, and
was for years the active school officer of the town.
His family received his first and continued atten-
tion, and to him more than to the schools in the
neighborhood ■ were they indebted for their educa-
tional foundation upon which to build in after life.
After the death of his father, which occurred when
he was thirteen years of age, he continued his
studies at Albany Academy, the Academy at Utica,
the State Normal School at Albany, and the
Seminary at Cazenovia. Five years he devoted to
teaching. While having the charge of the Union
school in Trumansburg, he commenced the study
of medicine. He continued it all spare hours
during the two years that he had charge of male
academy in Cassetor, Alabama. He returned to
his native county, attended lectures at the Albany
Medical College,from which he graduated in 1853.
His mother, living in Utica, induced him to com-
mence the practice of his profession there, but in
September, 1854, he removed to Albany, where he
has been in practice since. He was made mem-
ber of the Albany County Medical Society in 1854;
was four years its treasurer, delegate to the Medical
Society of the State of New York, and President of
the County Society; was made a permanent mem-
ber of the Medical Society of the State of New
York in 1864, and was Secretary of the same from
1865 to 1875. He was elected President in 1880.
He received the honorary degree of M. D. from
Soule University, Texas, in 1871, and the degree
of LL. D., in 1877, from the Washington and Jeff-
erson College, Penn. He was elected Alderman
of Albany in 1874. In 1882 he was appointed
one of the consulting board of the Hudson River
State Hospital for the Insane at Poughkeepsie, a
242
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
position he continues to hold. He was Obstetrician
several years at Albany Hospital ; also U. S. Ex-
amining Surgeon for Pensions.
O. D. Ball was born, 1840, in Otsego County;
educated at Hartwick Seminary; received his A.
M. degree at Union College ; entered the army in
1 861; served as Regimental Quartermaster, Third
New York Artillery; as Ordnance Officer, Third
Division, Eighteenth Army Corps, and Assistant
Adjutant-General, Department N. C. Graduated
in medicine from New York College of Physicians
and Surgeons, 1867; practiced medicine in Otsego
County until 1874; then removed to Albany, and
continued the practice ever since. Was Coroner
of Otsego County three years; President of Otsego
County Medical Society, and for three years Dem-
onstrator of Anatomy in Albany Medical Col-
lege.
James F. Barker was bom in Schenectady
in 1 85 1. He is of New England ancestry. He
graduated from Union College in 1 874. He studied
under Dr. James H. Armsby, of Albany, and
graduated from the Medical College in that city in
1877. In the same year he began practicing with
Dr. Gideon H. Armsby. He is a member of the
Albany County Medical Society. Among the papers
written by him is a biographical sketch of Dr.
Gideon H. Armsby, who died in 1882.
Ezra Albert Bartlett comes of a historic
family, his great-grandfather, Josiah Bartlett,
M. D., being one of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence. Dr. Bartlett served three years in
Battery " M," Fourth U. S. Artillery, during the
war of the Rebellion. He received the degree of
A. B. from Rochester University in 1870, and
that of M. D, from Albany Medical College in
1879, since which he has practiced in Albany. He
was married in 1871 to Miss Jennie Sargent, of
Rochester, N. Y. The name of Bartlett abounds
in every department of literary and professional
life in this countrj', especially in New England.
Herman Bendell began practicing in Albany
in 1876. He has met with success, and while
he is well versed as a general physician, he
has made his specialty diseases of the eye and ear.
In this difficult branch he has acquired high repu-
tation. He is a member of the Board of Public
Instruction, and has been its President for one
term.
John Milton Bigelow was bom in Albany,
August 22, 1846. He graduated from Albany Aca-
demy in 1863, from Williams College in 1866, from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York
City, in 1869, and received the degree of M. D.
from the Albany Medical College in 1870. He
began practice in Albany. His specialty is diseases
of the throat, air passages and heart. He is a
member of the County Medical Societ)', and the
State Society. He was County Physician for 1876
and 1877. In 1870 he was appointed Professor
of Materia Medica and Therapeutics and Attending
Physician to the Albany Hospital, and in 1876 to
St Peter's Hospital. He has written papers on
"Idiopathic Peritonitis," "Croup," " Hyperi-
drosis," "Tobacco Poisoning," and other sub-
jects.
Joseph H. Blatner, of German descent, was
bom in Albany, August 20, 1848. He attended
private schools, the Albany Academy, Amherst and
Williams Colleges, and graduated from the Albany
Medical College in 1872. He studied abroad for
two and one-half years, entering at Leipsic, Prague
and Vienna, and visiting the large hospitals of
Germany, England and France. While at Prague
he received the degree of M. A. O. During the first
two years of his practice he was in partnership
with Dr. A. Vanderveer. He was a member of 7
the Albany Dispensary Staff, and is a member of
the Albany County Medical Society. His spe-
cialties are obstetrics and diseases of women and
children.
Richard J. Brown was born in 1849, 'i^
Lanark, Perth County, Canada. He attended
school there until 1 7 years of age, when he entered
the printing office of the Perth Standard. He was
a reporter for one year ; then went on the Toronto
Globe. He left this business and entered St.
Michael's College, Toronto. After meeting with
many reverses he removed to Albany in 1870,
making it his home ever since. He entered the
office of Swinburne & Balch, graduated from the
Albany Medical College, and, in i8!>i, began the
practice of his profession.
Frederick Luke Classen was born in Albany,
July 7, 1857. He was educated in the public
schools, graduating from the High School ; gradu-
ated from Albany Medical College in 1881, and at
once began practice. He is a member of the Al-
bany County Medical Society, and has been one
of its Censors. He has held, since 1883, the posi-
tion of Coroner's Physician. His specialty is dis-
eases of the throat and lungs. He is author of
"Aneurism of the Aorta," " Water as a Surgical
Dressing," and " Hydro Nephrosis."
John Bliss Conklin was born in Sand Lake,
Rensselaer County, in 1832. His family moved to
Illinois in 1 884. He graduated at Chicago Medi-
cal College in 1852. He read homoeopathy and
graduated in that school in Detroit in 1854. He
practiced in Bennington, Vt, one year. Made
cancers a specialty, and practiced in Buffalo, N. Y.,
six months ; in San Francisco, Cal. , eighteen
months ; and in Mexico, six months. Returning,
he settled in Albany in 1862, where he has smce
continued practicing his profession.
Charles M. Culver was born at West Troy,
September 28, 1856. He graduated from Union
College in 1878, and from Albany Medical College
in 1 88 1. He attended at the University of Berlin
for eight months, going thence to Paris, where
his studies were pursued for ten months ; thence
to London, returning to Albany in 1883, where
he began practice as an oculist and aurist He
is a member of the Albany County Medical
Society. During the present year, his translation
from the French of Dr. Landolt's (Paris) work
on " Refraction and Accommodation of the Eye"
will be published.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
243
Frederic C. Curtis, though of New England
parentage, was born in South Carolina. He
graduated from Beloit College in 1866, and
received his M. D. from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, New York, in 1870, after which he
took a year of travel in Europe. He was estab-
lished here in 1871. He is an ex-President of the
County Medical Societ}', permanent member of
the State Society, and member of American Public
Health Association and American Dermatological
Association, editor of "Albany Medical Annals,"
and of Vol. HI of "County Society Transactions."
He is Professor of Skin Diseases in the Albany Med-
ical College, and physician in the same department
in Albany and St. Peter's Hospitals. He is also a
member of the State Board of Health.
John Savage Delavan was born in Ballston,
Saratoga County, October 18, 1840. He was a
student at Military Institutes and at Union College.
He graduated from Albany Medical College in
1 86 1, practicing in Albany for one year. During
the Civil War he served as surgeon in various posi-
tions. At the close of the war he returned to
Albany, and was appointed Pension Examining
Surgeon, which he held, with the exception of
about one year passed in Europe on account of
poor health, until 1875. Under the administra-
tion of Mr. Hayes he was Vice-Consul at Geneva,
returning to Albany in 1879. He was appointed,
in 1880, one of the Commissioners of the State
Board of Health. His specialty is diseases of
women. He is author of many papers, among
which are' "Vital Registration," "Use of Alcohol
in Health," and a series of articles entitled " Obstet-
ric Hints for Young Practitioners."
Frank H. Fisk was born, August 6, 1853, in
Salisbury, Ct. He attended the public schools of
Bridgeport, CL ; studied medicine in Springfield,
Mass. ; graduated from Albany Medical College in
1882, and at once began his practice in Albany.
His specialty is surgery, and he has performed
many capital operations. He is a member of the
County Medical Society.
David Fleischman was born in Albany, March
12, 1859. He graduated from Albany High
School in 1875, Yale College in 1879, and Albany
Medical College in 1881. He began practice in
Albany in November, 1882, making throat dis-
eases his specialty. He is the author of "Nasal
Polypus;" IS a member of the County Society, and
physician for throat diseases in the Albany Hospi-
tal.
Samuel Huntington Freeman is a lineal descend-
ant of Edward Freeman, who came from England
in 1635, and was one of the first settlers of Plym-
outh. He is a grandson of Hon. Jonathan Freeman,
one of the founders of the township of Hanover,
N. H., and of Dartmouth College, of which he
was trustee and treasurer for forty years, and a
member of the United States Congress when
Washington was President, a member of the Com-
mittee of Safety during the Revolutionary War, and
filled many other important trusts in the history of
the State and Nation. Jonathan Freeman, Esq.,
the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in
Hanover, N. H., where he was greatly esteemed
for his unostentatious charities and probity of
character. Besides filling other important offices of
trust, he was Justice of the Peace and Quorum
for more than forty years. Dr. Freeman was born
in Hanover, N. H., August 24, 1821, and was grad-
uated at Dartmouth College in 1843.. He studied
medicine at Dartmouth Medical College, and
graduated at the Albany Medical College in 1846.
He afterward became associated with his former
preceptor, Dr. James H. Armsby, as partner in
professional business, which continued for twelve
years. He has been an active member of the
Albany County Medical Society, and has contrib-
uted monographs on various subjects of profes-
sional interest. He was twice elected President of
this Society. His address on " Human Longev-
ity and Hygiene " was published in the Transac-
tions of the State Medical Society, of which he was
elected a permanent member in 1862. He mar-
ried, in 1851, Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Hon.
Gideon Hawley, of Albany. He is President of
the Board of Curators of the Albany Medical Col-
lege, and a member of the Medical Staff of the
Albany Hospital, which positions he has filled for
many years.
George E. Gorham was born at Le Raysville,
Bradford County, Pa., November 8, 1850; attended
Le Raysville Academy and Waverly High School,
and graduated from Hahnemann College, Chicago,
III., in 1874. He located in Athens, Pa., remain-
ing there until 1878, when he removed to Albany.
He is a member of the American Institute of Ho-
moeopathy, the New York State Society, the Albany
County Society, and the Society of Northern New
York. He was Secretary and Treasurer of the
County Society, is now its Vice-President, and Sec-
retary and Treasurer of Society for Northern New
York. He is the author of " Treatment of Croup
by Inhalation of Bromine," "Common Sense
Therapeutics," and "Acute Yellow Atrophy of the
Liver," with cases.
William Hailes, Jr., was born in Albany,
October 14, 1849. He was educated in the
public schools and at the Albany Classical Insti-
tute under Prof. C. H. Anthony. During 1868
and 1869 he studied under the late Dr. Alden
March, and classified his notes, which had been
accumulating for fifty years. During this time he
articulated a skeleton, which is yet in the College
Museum. He graduated from the Albany Medi-
cal College in 1870, being class valedictorian, re-
ceiving a competitive prize. In 1872 he estab-
lished himself in practice in Albany, which has
been interrupted only by two trips abroad — one
taken in 187510 Germany and Italy; the other,
three years later, to Paris and London, where he
attended lectures. During 1869-71 he was resi-
dent physician in the Albany Hospital, and is now
attending surgeon to the same, and to St. Peter's
Hospital. In 1872 he was Demonstrator of Anato-
my; in 1873, Lecturer on Surgical Dressings and
244
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Appliances; and since 1874 has been Professor of
Histology and Pathological Anatomy in the Albany
Medical College. He has daily classes in practical
microscopy, held in Alumni Hall of the college. He
frequently lectures before medical and other societies
upon technical, scientific and popular subjects.
He has performed many capital operations, his
specialties being surgery, cathology and micros-
copy. He is Vice-President of the County Medi-
cal Society, and delegate to the British Medical
and New York State societies.
William N. Hays was born in New Scot-
land, Albany County, in 1850. He studied higher
mathematics, natural sciences and classics at Falley
and Whitestown seminaries until 1872. He then
began the study of medicine with Prof. James H.
Armsby, and graduated with honors from the Al-
bany Medical College, in 1875. He has been resi-
dent physician at the Albany Hospital.
Nelson Hunting was born in Wrights, Scho-
harie County, November 21, 1837; attended the
Academy in Gallupville, the State Normal School,
Albany, and graduated from New York Homoeo-
pathic Medical College in 1869. He practiced
for three years in Gallupville, removing to Albany
in 1872. He is a member of the American Insti-
tute of Homoeopathy, the New York State Society
and the Albany County Society.
Alfred B. Huesteo received his diploma from
the Albany Medical College in 1863, and in
1868 opened a retail drug store on the corner of
Eagle and Daniel streets. Dr. Huested, in Sep-
tember, 1883, was appointed Professor of Botany
and Materia Medica in the Albany College of Phar-
macy, of which he was one of the founders ; and
in July, 1884, a member of the State Board of
Pharmacy.
P. J. Keegan is a well-known physician and
surgeon of Albany. Formerly he was house physi-
cian at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, and is
now visiting surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital, Home
for the Aged, and of the Little Sisters of the Poor
at Albany.
Uriah B. LaMoure was born, March 4, 1844,
in Albany; attended the Albany Academy; gradu-
ated from the Albany Medical College in 1878,
and began practice. He is member of Albany
County Medical Society, and is now its treasurer.
He received the appointment of County Physician
four years ago, which he still holds. His specialty
is diseases arising from the abuse of stimulants.
Maurice J. Lewi was born in Albany on the ist
day of December, 1857. After graduating from
the Albany Free Academy (High School) he took
a private Cornell course with Prof. Altmeyer, at the
same time taking up the stud)' of medicine. He
graduated in January, 1877, and acted as class
orator. Was appointed to the house staff of the
Albany Hospital, serving for one and one-half
years. He continued his studies in 1878, at the
University of Heidelberg, and in 1879 at the Vienna
University, where he became one of the assistants
in the Children's Hospital under Prof Widerhofer.
On his leturn from Europe he commenced the act-
ive practice of medicine, devoting himself more
particularly to diseases of women and children, on
which subjects he has delivered several courses of
lectures in the Albany Medical College. He is an
ex-President of the Academy of Medicine, has been
Secretary of the Albany County Medical Society,
member of the Executive Committee of the Alum-
ni Association, and is connected with the Dispen-
sary Staff of the Albany Hospital. He has con-
tributed variously to the literature of medicine,
more particularly in his special branches of-prac-
tice. He is a member of various fraternal bodies,
and at present senior deacon of Wadsworth Lodge,
No. 417, of Free Masons.
John McAllister was born in Brooklyn, March
5, 1858, and attended the Catholic Brothers' Col-
lege, Chicago, 111., and the public schools of Al-
bany ; graduated from Albany Medical College in
1879, ^ii<i 3.t once began practice. His specialty
is insanity and diseases of the nervous system ;
often called to testify as an expert. He is a mem-
ber of the Albany County Medical Society.
Henry March, son of Dr. Alden March,
was born at Albany, N. Y., December 13, 1827.
He was educated in New Haven and Fairfield,
Conn., and in Albany, graduating from Albany
Medical College in 1853. . He is a member, of
Albany County Medical Society, of the New York
State Medical Society, of the American Medical
Association, and Curator of the Albany Medical
College. He was president of the County Society
in 1876, and its treasurer in 1863. ' He is the
author of papers, read before the County Society,
on "Anesthetic Agents," "Polypus of Uterus,"
" Paracen tesis-Thoracis, " etc.; and "A Biograph-
ical Sketch of Jeremiah O. Havens, M. D."
During the civil war he served for a brief period
as volunteer surgeon. In 1862 he married a
daughter of Walter R. Bush, Esq. , of Troy, N. Y.
Dr. March is a director of the Y. M. C. A., and
manager of the City Tract and Missionary Society.
Henry E. Mereness was born at Sharon Center,
Schoharie County, March 19, 1849. He was edu-
cated at the public schools, Fort Plain Seminary,
Knoxville Academy, and the State Normal School
at Albany, where he graduated in 1869. He
studied medicine with Dr. James H. Armsby, and
graduated from the Albany Medical College in
1874, and began practice in Albany. His spe-
cialty is obstetrics. He was valedictorian of his
class, and was for some time Treasurer of the Al-
bany County Medical Society. Since 1879 has
been Acting Assistant Surgeon of the Marine Hos-
pital service for the Port of Albany. He is Sur-
geon on the staff of Albany Burgesses Corps, and
Treasurer of the same.
Cyrus S. Merrill was bom in Vermont. He
graduated from Amherst College in 1867, and from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York,
in 1870, and settled in Albany, making a specialty
of Ophthalmology and Otology. He is a member
of the American Ophthalmology Society, of the
American Otology Society, and of the Albany
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
245
County Medical Society. He has received ap-
pointments as Professor of Ophthalmology in the
Albany Medical College, Ophthmalic and Aural
Surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital, the Albany City
Hospital, to the Child's Hospital in Albany, and to
the Troy Hospital. He is the author of many
papers upon his specialty.
William E. Milbank was born in Coeymans,
Albany County, March 8, 184 1. He graduated
from the Albany Academy in 1859, and from the
Albany Medical College in 1872. He is a mem-
ber of the Albany County Homoeopathic Society, of
the New York State Society, and the American In-
stitute of Homoeopathy, being for several years Sec-
retary of the Count}' Society. His specialty is Sur-
gery.
Edward Moore, M. R. C. V. S., located in
Albanyin 1872. Hewentabroad and matriculated
at the Royal Veterinary College, London, receiving
honors. He was there offered, by the Privy
Council, the position of Inspector under the pro-
visions of " The Contagious Diseases Act." In
1877 Dr. Moore returned to Albany. He has
been veterinary editor of the Cultivator arid Country
Gentleman for seven years, and is a Fellow of the
Veterinary Medical Association of London, Eng-
land. His reputation as a cattle pathologist is well
established, and his practice extends throughout
the United States and Canada.
Frederick D. Morrill was born in Wakefield,
Mass., August 3, 1855. He attended the gram-
mar schools of Boston and the public schools of
Albany, N. Y. ; graduated from the Albany Med-
ical College in 1880, beginning practice the same
year. During 1879, '80, '81 he was resident physi-
cian of the alms-house, and is now City District
Physician. His specialty is diseases of women and
children; is author of " Injections and their Uses
in the Practice of Medicine." He is a member of
the Albany County Medical Society.
George S. Munson was born in Waterford, Sara-
toga County, April 4, 1856. He was educated by
private tutors, at Anthony's Classical Institute and
Princeton College, and graduated from the Albany
Medical College in 1880. The two years following
were passed in New York under the teachings of
Drs. Knapp, Noyes and Agnew, and while there
he was First Assistant to the New York Ophthal-
mic and Aural Institute, Dr. Knapp, Surgeon-in-
Chief. He began practice in Albany in 1882, and
was married in 1884 to Miss May S. Downing, of
the city. He has been for two years Ophthalmic
and Aural Surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital, and is
a member of the Albany County Medical Society.
Wm. H. Murray was born in Pound Ridge,
Westchester County, December, 1845; graduated
at Union College, 1867, and Albany Medical Col-
lege, 1868; settled in Albany, 1870; was Supervisor
of Sixteenth Ward, 1877, and held the position four
years. He was elected Alderman, 1882, and Presi-
dent of the Common Council. By virtue of that
office, was sworn in as Mayor when Mayor Nolan
resigned, and held the office till the Courts gave it
to Dr. John Swinburne. Has held the offices of
Police Surgeon, District Physician, Coroner's Phy-
sician, and now holds the office of Physician to
Penitentiary. Has held the office of Vice-President
and Treasurer of Albany County Medical Society.
Theodore W. Nellis was born at Schoharie
Court House. He graduated from the Schoharie
Academy in 1869, and the Albany Medical Col-
lege in 1881. His specialty is the treatment of
hernia and kindred diseases ; he is the manufac-
turer of trusses and other surgical appliances, and
conducts the business of druggist and apothecary.
He is a member of the Albany County Medical
Society, treasurer of the Alumni Association of
the College, and a member of its executive com-
mittee.
William J. Nellis was born at Schoharie Court
House, September 3, 1855. He graduated from
the Schoharie Academy in 1872, and from the Al-
bany Medical College in 1879, and at once began
practicing in Albany. He is a member of the Al-
bany County Society, and for two year-;, 1883 to
'85, served as Censor.
George W. Papen was bom in Albany in 1854 ;
graduated at the Columbia Medical College of
Phj'sicians and Surgeons, New York City, in 1874.
He has practiced his profession in Albany for the
last eleven years.
T. KiRKLAND Perry was born in Dublin,
Cheshire County, N. H., June 16, 1852. He
attended the public schools of Albany, graduating
in 1866, and received a classical educadon through
private tutors. He served several years with Messrs.
Clement & Rice, as their prescription clerk; studied
under Dr A. Vanderveer, and graduated from the
Albany Medical College in 1875. He was essayist
of his class, and received a prize for his thesis. He
at once began practice. He is a member of the
County Society; was its secretary in 1878, and is
now its vice-president. He is author of papers
upon " Clinical Thermometry," " History of
Anencephalic Monsters," " Scarlatina, with Un-
usual Complications," and an address, entitled
" Obstetric Memoranda," delivered as Vice-Presi-
dent of the County Society, in 1884. He has
been, since 1876, member of the dispensary staff
of the Cit}' Hospital, and is attending Physician at
St. Peter's Hospital. He was married, in 1878, to
Grace Crosby Moore, who died in April, 1885,
leaving two children.
Charles H. Porter, of Dutch and New Eng-
land ancestry, wis born in Ghent, Columbia
County, November 11, 1834. He was educated
in Hudson, N. Y., Philadelphia, Pa., and at
Yale College, where he was made A. M. in 1857.
His medical studies were pursued in the Albany
Medical College, whence he graduated in 1861.
He settled in this citv, making a specialty of med-
ical jurisprudence. He is a member of the New
York State Medical Society, and of the Connecticut
Academy of Science. He has been a frequent con-
tributor to professional journals; for two years he
was Professor of Chemistry in the Vermont Medical
College, and from 1855 to 1862 Professor of
Chemistry and Medical Jurisprudence in the Albany
246
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Medical College; from 1872 to 1874 he was at-
tending Surgeon to St Peter's Hospital, Albany.
In the late war he was Assistant Surgeon, Fortieth
Regiment, New York Volunteers ; and, from 1862
to 1865, Surgeon Sixth Regiment, New York Heavy
Artillery. He has been United States Examining
Surgeon since 1871.
Porter La Fayette Reynolds was born in
Cabot, Washington County, Vermont, in 1823.
He graduated from the Albany Medical College
in 1 86 1 ; he practiced for six months in Troy, N.
Y. ; then became Assistant Surgeon to the Onie
Hundred and Sixty-ninth New York Volunteers,
removing to Albany in December, 1863. He is a
member of the Albany County Homoeopathic So-
ciety, and of the American Institute of Homoeop-
athy.
Joseph Warren Riley was born in West Troy,
Albany County; attended the public schools of
Troy and graduated from the Troy Academy. Be-
gan the study. of Medicine, 1878 ; graduated from
Albany Medical College, 1S82. Served two years
as resident physician of the Albany alms-house,
and one year as city physician ; has been practicing
since 1882 in the city of Albany,
Otto Ritzman was born in Albany, April 7,
1857, and received a common school education ;
graduated from the Albany Medical Collegein 1879,
and at once began practice. He was appoint-
ed District Physician in 1879, which he still holds.
He is a member of the County Society. In 1884,
in partnership with W. H. Murray, M. D., he es-
tablished a drug store.
Dennis P. Shevlin was born, August 3, 1858, in
Albany. He graduated from the Christian Broth-
ers' Academy in 1876, and from Albany Medi-
cal College in 1880 ; practiced at Saratoga Springs
for three years ; located in Albany in 1883 ; was
coroner's physician, 1883, '84. His specialty is dis-
eases of the throat and lungs. He is member of
the Albany County Medical Society, Union Med-
ical Association, Saratoga County Medical Society,
and is Physician to the Catholic Benevolent Society
of Albany.
John Henry Skillicorn was born in Albany, Dec.
25, i860, and educated at Albany High School,
Cornell University, and Albany Medical College,
from which he graduated in 1883. He was pro-
sector of anatomy in the Medical College, for the
years 1882, '83, '84, and was the first to successfully
carry an independent quiz class through the year.
He is a member of the County Society and author
of " How to Study Anatomy Scientifically," "Re-
ports of Complicated Cases of Typhoid Fever" and
contributor of various articles upon popular medi-
cine. His specialty is surgerj', particularly frac-
tures.
Norman L. Snow was bom in Root, Montgomery
County, April 7, 1839. He graduated from Union
College, 1859, and from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of New York City in March, 1861.
From 1862 to 1865 he served in the United States
army; then practiced at Canajoharie, N. Y., remov-
ing in 1875 to Albany. He was a member of the
Montgomery County Medical Society, and is a
member of the Albany Medical Society, the New
York State Medical Society, and of the American
Medical Association. Froin August 23, 1862, to
February 18, 1864, he was Assistant Surgeon in
the United States army, and Surgeon from Feb-
ruary 18, 1864, to October 18, 1865. During the
summer of 1865 he was health officer of the dis-
trict of Savannah, Ga. He was President of the
Albany County Society in 1882. He has served as
Alderman-at-large, and is now President of the
Albany Common Council. Dr. Snow's literary
contributions are many, among which are: "Syph-
ilitic Degeneration of Arteries as a Cause of
Aneurism," "Strangulated Hernia, with Result
of Nine Operations," and " Some Practical
Facts in Fractures of the Thigh," verified by the
treatment of twenty-five cases occurring in private
practice.
H. R. Starkweather was born in Montgomery
County, June 1 1, 1850. Graduated at the Albany
Medical College in 1871. Since that time has
been engaged in the practice of medicine in
the city of Albany. Was elected Supervisor in 1 878,
and continued in the board three terms. Served
five years as coroner's physician and is now city
physician.
B. U. Steenberg, bom in Malta, Saratoga
County, April 18, 1839; graduated from Albany
Medical College, 1870; was Secretary of the Albany
County Medical Society in 1876, and Vice-Presi-
dent, 1879.
John Benjamin Stonehouse was born in Albany,
June 4, 1852. He graduated from the Albany
Academy in 1869, and from the Medical College
in 1871, from which time until November, 1874,
he was Assistant Surgeon in "Sanford Hall," a
private insane asylum at Flushing, L. I. ; he then
came to Albany, remaining until 1876, when he
became Resident Physician, one year, at "Brigham
Hall," Canandaigua, N. Y. His specialties are
nervous and mental diseases. He is Secretary of
the County Medical Society. For three years he
served as Lecturer on Nervous and Mental Dis-
eases in the Albany Medical College, and now has
charge of that department in the Hospital Dispen-
sary. He is one of the editors of the Albany Med-
ical Annals. Among works by him are: " General
Paresis of the Insane," "Syphilitic Nervous Dis-
eases," "Delirium Tremens." In May, 1882, he
published the result of " Niter of Amyl in Opium
Poisoning," which he claims was the first case ever
so treated. As President of the Union Medical
Association he read, in 1883, a paper entitled
" Historical Retrospect of the Care of the Insane."
John Thompson was born at Athboy, County of
Meath, Ireland, December 10, 1837, and emigrated
to this country in 1847. He was educated in the
public schools at Binghamton, and graduated from
the Medical Department of the University of the
State of New York in 1868, and at once began
practice in Albany. He is a member of the Albany
County Medical Society.
MEDICINE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
247
Franklin Townsend, Jr., was born in Albany,
November 4, 1854. His education was pursued
at the Albany State Normal School, the Albany
Academy, and Williams College, where he grad-
uated in 1873; three years later he graduated
from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York; and during 1876-7 was House Surgeon in
Charity Hospital, New York. He then pursued
his studies at Vienna, Strasburg and London,
returning in 1878, and commencing practice in
Albany. He is attending Physician at St Peter's
Hospital, and to the Protestant and the Catholic
Orphan Asylums; he is a member of the Albany
County Medical Society, of which he has been
Censor. His specialty is Diseases of Women and
Children. Among papers of which he is the author
are: " Ovulation and Menstruation, considered in
their Physiological Relations," " Treatment of
the Parturient Breast," " Some Considerations on
Uterine Congestions," and "Parturient Hsemo-
philia."
Thomas M. Trego was born in New York City,
August 30, 1847. He graduated from Rutgers
College, N. J., in 1870; he studied medicine un-
der Drs. S. O. Vanderpoel, Thomas, and Edward
R. Hun, of Albany, and Thomas M. Markoe, of
New York City, and graduated from the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1874.
He returned to Albany, where he held the position
of Resident Physician to St. Peter's Hospital, which
he soon resigned and began practice. He was
shortly appointed attending Physician at the Child's
Hospital and St Agnes' School. In 1878 he
visited England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and
France, resuming, upon his return, his practice.
Willis G. Tucker, Ph. G., Ph. D., was born,
Albany, October 31, 1849. He was educated
at the Albany Academy and the Albany Medical
College, receiving his degree of M. D. in 1870.
Dr. Tucker's professional life has been a success-
ful and busy one. The offices held by him are :
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Albany Medical
College, 1 871-4 ; Lecturer on Materia Medica
and Assistant Professor of Chemistry, 1874-5; Ad-
junct Professor of Materia Medica and Chemistry,
1875-6; Professor of Inorganic and Analytical
Chemistry, i876-i882,to which has been added
Professor of Medical Jurisprudence and Registrar
of the Albany Medical College, since 1882; Pro-
fessor of Natural Science, St Agnes' School, since
1873; Instructor in Chemistry, Albany Academy,
1874, etc., etc. He was one of the founders of the
Albany College of Pharmacy, and is a member of
the leading American medical and scientific socie-
ties. During 1881-84 he was analyst to the State
Board of Health. Dr. Tucker, in addition to his
professional work, has been a contributor to various
scientific periodicals.
Albert Vander Veer was born, July 10, 1841,
in Root, Montgomery County. He attended
lectures at the Albany Medical College, the
National Medical College and the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of New York, grad-
uating in December, 1862, from the National
Medical College (Medical Department of the
Columbia College, Washington, D. C). He re-
ceived the degree of M. D. from the Albany Med-
ical College in 1869, and settled in Albany.
In 1874-75 he spent six months in the hos-
pitals of London and Paris. He is a member
of the Albany County Medical Society, of which he
was president in 1873; the New York State Med-
ical Society, of which he was elected president in
February, 1885; the American Medical Association,
and of the British Medical Association. He was
appointed Medical Cadet in the United States army
in June, 1862; Assistant Surgeon of the 66th New
York Volunteers in December, 1862, and Surgeon
in the same regiment in June, 1864; in 1869 he
was made attending Surgeon of the Albany Hos-
pital, and in 1874 of St Peter's Hospital. He was
elected, in 1869, Professor of General and Special
Anatomy in the Albany Medical College, and, in
1876, Professor of the Principles and Practice of
Surgery in that institution. His specialty is sur-
gery, in which he has performed, successfully,
many major operations. He is also the writer of
many valuable contributions to medical literature.
John Wilson was bom in Ireland in 181 2,
emigrating to this country twenty-one years later.
He received a theological education in a school
founded by the Government, and taught one of the
first public schools ever established in Ireland.
He lived in Albany from 1833 to 1843, when he
went to Syracuse, graduating from the Syracuse
Eclectic Medical College in 1847; he received
a diploma from the New York Eclectic College
some years later. From 1853 to 1861 he lectured
upon medical subjects throughout central New
York, and returned to Albany in 1862. He is a
member of the Albany District Eclectic Medical
Society, and has served as its secretary and
treasurer. He also belongs to the State Eclectic
Society.
248
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
HISTORY OF EDUCATION.
By Prof. JONA-THAN TENNEY, Pli. D.
OF all the colonies only Massachusetts and Con-
necticut made early provision for a common
school education for the whole people. The other
New England colonies made similar provision as
soon as their numbers and organization made it
expedient. With these colonies it was, from the first,
an established principle that all government must
proceed from the people, be formed by the people
and for the people. Intelligence and virtue were
regarded as its only safeguards. All children
should early be instructed in lessons of obedience
to wholesome law, in virtue as its foundation, and
in knowledge enough to make them understand
their rights as citizens and how to defend them, and
their duties to each other and how to discharge
them. It was established that self-preservation
demanded that the state should insist that
the money of the state, duly raised by taxation and
fairly apportioned, should educate the children of
the state. To this principle there was rare dissent.
The crowning glory of New England, giving its sons
everywhere prosperity, influence and power, comes
from its free schools.
Tyranny was afraid of intelligence among the
people. In some colonies, as in Virginia, free
schools and a consequent free press were openly
opposed. In New York, governors seldom dared
open opposition; but the schools were degraded by
indifference and neglect.
DUTCH COLONIAL PERIOD.
The men who held public trusts during the
Dutch colonial period, such as Directors, Vice-
Directors, and officers under the Patroons, received
their education in Holland. This was true, also,
of the few clergy and other men of the literary
professions of law, medicine and teaching. During
the English colonial period, at first the same class o(
men came over, educated in the English schools.
They belonged to the aristocratic or wealthy classes.
As a rule, they all regarded the laboring classes as
bom to toil and servitude, having little time for
anything but drudgery, and little need of knowing
anything else. One of the governors boldly
declared that all the common people needed to
know was how to earn money to pay their
taxes.
In the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
granted by the West India Company to all patroons,
masters, or private persons who "will plant col-
onies in New Netherlands, " under date of June 7,
1629, occurs the following:
"XXVII. — The Patroons and Colonists in par-
ticular, and in the speediest manner, must endeavor
to find out ways and means whereby they may
supply a minister and schoolmaster, that thus the
service of God and zeal for religion may not grow
cool and be neglected among them, and they shall,
for the first, procure a comforter of the sick
there."
In the new project of freedoms and exemptions
made in 1630, the same condition was re-enacted
in terms as follows:
"The patroons shall, also, particularly exert
themselves to find speedy means to maintain a
clergyman and schoolmaster, in order that Divine
Service and zeal for religion may be planted in that
country, and send, at first, a comforter of the
sick thither."
In the articles and conditions drawn up and
published by the Chamber of Amsterdam, in 1638,
for the colonization and trade of New Netherlands,
under the West India Company, appears the fol-
lowing: "Each householder and inhabitant shall
bear such tax and public charge as shall hereafter
be considered proper for the maintenance of
clergymen and comforters of the sick, school-
masters, and such like necessary officers; and the
Director and Council there shall be written to
touching the form hereof, in order, on receiving
further information thereupon, it be rendered the
least onerous and vexatious."
It is here to be noted that the comforter of the
sick and the schoolmaster were usually united in
the same person; that he was first to wait on the
sick and render other service as helper to the
clergyman; and that care of the boys and teach-
ing them was only occasional, and directed mostly
to religious catechisms and a little reading and
spelling, with much moral and physical discipline.
EDUCATION.
249
A recent intelligent writer observes: " Religion
was the leading idea in Dutch teaching. I have
seen a Dutch Primer, or A B C Book, as it is
called (Amsterdam), similar to our New England
Primer. It has a large rooster on one page, and a
picture of a Dutch school on the other. The
master has a cap on his head and a bunch of twigs
in his hand. The class stands before him and
other boys are seated at their desks. After a very
little spelling, succeeds the Lord's Prayer, Creed,
Decalogue, Morning and Evening Prayer, Grace
before and after meat. The instruction is al-
together religious, which feature (I suppose) is
retained in our Catholic schools to this day. The
English Episcopalians also had their Primer,
corresponding to the Dutch and New England
Primers. ''
Adam Roelantsen, previously a schoolmaster in
New Amsterdam, came to Rensselaerwyck as a
settler in 1639. From all that has been learned,
he appears to have been the first schoolmaster at
New Amsterdam from 1638 to 1639. He appears
in several law suits from 1638 to 1653. We hear
of him last in Manhattan.
We are sorry to find that his character was one of
great rashness and imprudence; that he was easily
provoked and frequently engaged in quarrels and
lawsuits with his neighbors. In one of these he
was found guilty of adultery and sentenced to be
publicly flogged. Indeed, the character of the
early clergy and schoolmasters was often such as
to be a scandal to ' ' the Divine Service " and to the
service of educating the children.
Dr. O'Callaghan well says: The state of
morals in New Amsterdam was, at this period
(1638), by no means healthy, owing as well to the
description of persons which trade brought thither,
as to the absence, in a great part, of an agricultural
population. This remark applies as well to Bever-
wyck, and to other years than 1638.
The mass of the people who came to New
Netherlands were unable to read or write. Most of
them were indifferent to the matter. Hence,
schools, when opened, were kept irregularly, by ill-
qualified and unprincipled men, and as a temporary
service.
The better educated and more prosperous spoke
and wrote of the importance of good school-
masters. But the money and effort necessary to
secure them were seldom given. These were
needed in the interests of trade.
That a school was needed and in contemplation
in Beverwyck as early as 1643, is made manifest
by a letter of the worthy Arendt Van Curler to the
32
patroon. But we find no evidence that this " con-
templation " resulted in action. Indeed, very little
is said about schoolmasters or schools in Rens-
selaerwyck or Beverwyck during the whole Dutch
period.
A schoolmaster, in 1644, was estimated at one-
fourth the value of a clergyman, or thirty florins
per month, finding his own rations. In 1661, his
pay had advanced to eighteen guilders per month
and board-wages. It may have been all he was
worth.
The commonalty were required to have the youth
instructed by good schoolmasters. But the require-
ment was seldom enforced. The common people
were poor; the government had matters to see to of
more personal interest. It will be noticed that the
schools were not free so long as the patroons were
required to pay for them.
The schoolmaster of that early day "acted many
parts." He was expected to be especially helpful
to the minister and the church out of school as well
as in. It was his duty to "promote religious
worship," to " read the word of God " at the open-
ing of service, and sometimes to "exhort the
people." He was a "consoler of the sick. " He
attended the consistory. He was church clerk,
sexton, bell-ringer and grave-digger, and usually
served as foresinger, precentor or chorister. A
very useful man he might be; but how much of a
teacher could he be I
"A comforter of the sick who could also act as
schoolmaster." "A precentor who could also
act as schoolmaster." Old documents often use
these expressions.
The historian of the town of Flatbush writes:
"From the records of the town, it appears that the
schoolmaster acted as town clerk, and as the rates of
tuition were low, previously to the American revolution,
the offices of sexton and "foresinger," or chorister of the
church, were conferred upon him, with a view to increase
his emoluments. He received all interment fees for infants
and adults, according to a scale of established prices, and
for his services as chorister he was paid an annual salary
by the consistory of the church. The chorister, in addi-
tion to his duty of taking the lead in setting and singing the
Psalms and Hymns, was also required to ring the bell for
all public services, to read the commandments at the com-
mencement of the morning worship, and the Apostles'
Creed in the afternoon. These latter services were all
performed in the Dutch language, and uniformly continued
so until about the year 1 790, at the time when Mr. Gabriel
Ellison, thefirst English schoolmaster, left the village."
Flatbush did not differ much from other settle-
ments of those days.
It is deemed worthy of note by an observer in
1 647, that a'college had been founded in Massachu-
250
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
setts some ten years before; but little or no efforts
had been made by the authorities of New Nether-
lands to establish even a primary school in any part
of the country. It was asserted that " the youth is
spoiled," and needed a school that they might be
"kept out of the street" and "under strict subor-
dination." Grog-shops and houses where tobacco
and beer could be had were plenty. They were
sometimes kept by discouraged schoolmasters.
In the remonstrance against the management of
the West India Company, made by Adrien Van-
der Donck and others, claiming to represent the
people of New Netherlands, and addressed to the
Lords States General, in 1649, occurs the follow-
ing: "There ought to be, also, a public school,
provided with two good teachers, so that the youth
in so wild a country, where there are so many
dissolute people, may, first of all, be instructed
and indoctrinated, not only in reading and writ-
ing, but also in the fear of the Lord. Now the
school is kept very irregularly, by this one or that,
according to his fancy, as long as he thinks
proper."
In his reply to this remonstrance, in the same year.
Secretary Van Tienhoven, in behalf of the Director-
General, admits that the new school-house has not
been built, and that "there is no Latin school or
Academy;" but claims that a place has been
selected for the school of Jan Cornelissen, while
other schools, enough for " the circumstances of
the country," are kept by "other teachers" in
"hired houses." But little credit can be given to
any statements made by this corrupt man and ser-
vile tool of the West India Company. His history
shows him to have been most corrupt in morals
and false to every trust.
Later, the remonstrants, complaining of the
neglect of the interests of New Amsterdam by ' ' the
Company "and its Director, say: "The plate has
been for a long time passed around for a common
school, which has been built with words; for as yet
the first stone is not laid. Some materials only
have been provided. However, the money given
for the purpose hath all disappeared and is mostly
spent, so that it fells somewhat short; and nothing
permanent has, as yet, been effected for this pur-
pose." This complaint was made in 1650. Its
statements, no doubt, represent the true state of
matters in regard to educating the common people
of New Netherlands during the Dutch colonial
period. It is true that the ' ' Dutch, " as Broadhead
tells us, "were eminently a charitable, well-edu-
cated, moral people." Holland had eminent
scholars and educated and pious ministers; but
they did not often come to New Netherlands in the
seventeenth century, with the West India Company
traders or the patroons. That the traders of " the
Company" or the merchants of Amsterdam gave
themselves much trouble, beyond a few words,
about the schooling of their countrymen and their
children in the Valley of the Hudson, does not
appear in history. In the inflated speeches and
writings of some ill-advised orators and writers of
more recent times only, do we read erroneous state-
ments on this subject. History should be true, to
be valuable. The best principles of Holland
patriots, scholars and Christians did not shine forth
in the representatives of the West India Company
who came to early New Netherlands as agents and
traders. It is false to history to color them as
scholars, philanthropists and saints.
The local authorities were sometimes earnestly
besought to provide the inhabitants with a proper
schoolmaster. "Perceiving how necessary such a
person was to the establishment of a well-consti-
tuted republic,'' a committee was appointed to
build a school-house and to collect funds for
defraying whatever expenses might be incurred.
Andries Janse was appointed to take charge of this
institution in the course of the follo\ying year, and
received a present, on entering upon the discharge
of his duties, of $20. This was at Beverwyck in
1650; but his services appear to have been of short
duration.
Rev. Gideon Schaets, who was " called as min-
ister to Rensselaerwyck " in 1652, and was after-
ward, at the request of the inhabitants of Fort
Orange and Beverwyck, minister of the latter
place, was directed to teach, also, the Cate-
chism there, and instruct the people in the Holy
Scriptures, and to pay attention to the office of
schoolmaster for the old and young." History is
silent in regard to his service as a schoolmaster.
His ministerial service was a turbulent one enough.
About 1656, the Holland City of Amsterdam
offered certain conditions to emigrants to New
Netherlands, which were submitted to the Directors
of the West India Company, and received their
approval. These are found among them:
" 7. Said city shall cause to be erected about the
market, or in a more convenient place, a public
building for Divine Service : item, also, a house for
a school, which can likewise be occupied by the
person who will hereafter be sexton, psalmsetter
and schoolmaster ; the city shall, besides, have a
house built for the minister.
" 8. The city aforesaid shall provisionally provide
and pay the salary of a minister and schoolmaster,
EDUCATION.
251
unless their High Mightinesses or the Company
think otherwise."
The cities did not like to pay taxes; and " the
Company" and "their High Mightinesses"
usually thought "otherwise." These inducements
to emigration remained on paper.
After giving an extended account of the wretched
condition of the churches throughout the colony
in 1656, Dr. O'Callaghan truly remarks: "Bad
as it was with the churches, it . was worse as
regards schools; not one of all these places,
whether Dutch or English, had a schoolmaster,
except the Manhattans, Beverwyck and Fort
Cassimer."
We can produce no stronger testimony in regard
to the state of popular education in the colony of
New Netherlands, even toward the latter part of
its existence, than what follows. These clergy-
men had spent some years in the colony, the
former as the first spiritual guide sent out to Rens-
selaerw}'ck by the patroon, and the latter as the
minister of New Amsterdam.
Revs. John Megapolensis and Samuel Drisius
write, in 1657, after making some statements in
regard to the churches in the province, that "It
is to be added that (to our knowledge) not one in
all these places, whether Dutch or English Villages,
hath a schoolmaster, except Manhattans, Bever-
wyck, and now one, also, at Fort Cassimer on South
River; and though some parents would give their
children some instruction, yet they experience
much difficulty, and nothing else can be expected
than a ruined youth and a bewilderment of men's
minds. Scarcely any means can be seen to remedy
this evil: First, because some villages are only in
their first establishments, and whilst people come
naked and poor from Holland, they have not
means to provide a minister and schoolmaster;
Second, because there are few qualified persons in
this country who can or will teach. "
However much Stuyvesant may have valued
learning, and seen the need of it among the com-
mon people, and made promises, he subordinated
everything to the immediate interests of the West
India Company, whose servant he was; and spent
revenues and time freely for garrisons and for
military excursions to extend and preserve their
territorial and mercantile advantage again.st the
Swedes, the English, the French and the Indians.
He had no money for schools. He got
up collections which were never used for the
purpose; he suggested the outhouses of the govern-
ment buildings as good enough places for common
schools ; and suffered intemperate, illiterate and
vicious schoolmasters to have charge of them.
Schools on paper were often referred to by the
public officials; and school-rooms in out-of-the-
way places, with lack of proper provisions for seat-
ing, light and warmth, were rented when not
needed for any other purpose, so long as the
schoolmaster saw fit to occupy the gloomy places.
The clergy were poorly enough paid, unless they
became favorites of the government or entered into
land speculations; but public schoolmasters, as
well as official "dog-whippers," often failed to
receive for their menial service even the salary or
tuition promised. They usuallj' secured some
more desirable place as soon as possible. Some
turned to trade, others to tavern-keeping, and not
a few became servitors in some capacity under the
government.
Whatever the schools were during the latter part
of the Dutch colonial period was largely due to
the clergy of the villages, most of whom seem to
have been educated in Holland, England, or New
England before they came here. They and the
leading officers of the government and some of
their agents were usually men of diligence and obser-
vation, and learned for those times. Gov. Stuyve-
sant employed a private tutor, thus showing his
esteem for learning and his lack of confidence
in the other schools of New Amsterdam.
The first Latin high school of the province,
taught by one Dr. Curtius, was established in 1659,
in New Amsterdam, and patronized chiefly by
the aristocratic classes. It soon came into trouble
on account of the peculiar notions of some of the
parents and the lack of firm and independent
government on the part of the learned school-
master. His pupils " beat each other and tore the
clothes from each other's backs," while "some of
the parents forbade him punishing their children."
Dr. C. returned to Holland in disgust, and Rev.
Mr. Luyck, private tutor to the sons of Mr. Stuyve-
sant, succeeded him. Students came to him from
other villages, and even from the colonies of
Delaware and Virginia, to acquire a classical edu-
cation. In 1663, there were two pupils from Fort
Orange, and we may believe there were others from
its vicinity. Previous to this, the nearest Latin
school was in Boston. We hear no more of Dr.
Luyck and his school after 1664.
Such was the condition of public education in
New Amsterdam, in Beverwyck, and places adjacent,
down to the close of the administration of Peter
Stuyvesant, in 1664, as shown by the best docu-
mentary and other evidence that has come down
to us.
252
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
EDUCATION IN ENGLISH COLONIAL. NEW YORK.
In the office of the Secretary of State is found the
following license :
Whereas, the teaching of the English tongue is neces-
sary in this government ; I have, therefore, thought fitt to
give License to John Shutte to bee the EngUsh Schoolmaster
at Albany ; And, upon condition that the said John Shutte
shall not demand any more wages from each Schollar than
is given by the Dutch to their Dutch Schoolmasters, I have
further granted to the said John Shutte that hee shall liee
the onely English Schoolmaster at Albany.
Given under my hand, at Fort James, in New York, the
I2th day of October, 1665,
Rich'd Nicolls.
An order for Jan Jeurians Bleecker [Beecker, or
Becker] to be schoolmaster at Albany, granted
by Gov. Lovelace, reads :
Whereas, Jan Jeurians Beecker had a Graunt to keep ye
Dutch school at Albany for ye teaching of youth to read &
to wryte ye which was allowed of and confirmed to him by
my predecessor Coll. Richard NicoUs. Notwithstanding
which severall others not so capable do undertake ye like
some perticular tymes & seasons of ye yeare when they have
no other Imployment, where by ye Schollars removing from
one Sichoole to another do not onely give a great discour-
agement to ye maister who makes it his businesse all ye
yeare but also are hindred & become ye more backwards in
there learning ffor ye reasons aforesaid I have thought fitt
that ye said Jan Jeurians Beecker who is esteemed very capa-
ble that way shall be ye allowed schoolmaster for ye instruct-
ing of ye youth at Albany & partes adjacent he following ye
said Imployment Constantly & diligently & that no other be
admitted to interrupt him. It being to be presumed that ye
said Beecker for ye youth & Jacob Joosten who is allowed
of for ye teaching of ye younger children are sufficient for
that place.
Given under my hand at ffort James in New Yorke this
1 6th day of May, 1670.
Francis Lovelace.
Prof. Jonathan Pearson is authority for the item
following: ' ' On the 4th of April, 1 676, Gerrit Swartt,
Jan Becker and Aden Appel were chosen school-
masters of Albany. They were then to be the sole
schoolmasters of the village ; but shortly after, the
same year, Luykas Gerritse [Wyngaard] was also
appointed schoolmaster, because he was impotent
in his hand. "
Gerrit Swartt had held the office of Sheriff of
Rensselaerwyck from 1668 to 1673. Out of poli-
tics, he took up teaching. Becker was an inhabi-
tant of Fort Cassimer, on the Delaware River, in
1656, and church clerk there ; in 1660 he read ser-
mons on Sunday at Altoona, and was keeping tav-
ern. He was soon after convicted of selling liquor
to the Indians, in violation of law, and fined 500
guilders for the offense. For this he was pardoned,
because he was no worse than many others. We
next find him petitioning for. a clerkship under
"the Company," at Esopus, or anywhere else, be-
cause he had lost in keeping tavern, and became
poor and needy, and finally begged that he might
' ' be permitted to keep school to instruct the youth
in reading and writing, " if he could get no other
position. It seems that he got a school at Bever-
wyck, and was confirmed " to keep ye Dutch School
at Albany" by Gov. Nicolls, and afterward by Gov.
Lovelace. In 1663 he had his home at Greenbush,
and was notary public as well as schoolmaster at
Beverwyck, and was esteemed ' ' very capable that
way, whilst Jacob Jooste Covelens was allowed for
teaching the younger children. " He finally re-
moved to Albany; was alderman, 1690-92, and
died about 1697. Appel came from Leyden; had
a lot at Beverwyck in 1654, conditioned that he
build a house to be used as an inn for travelers and
not an ordinary tippling house. Two years later
he sued his truckman for the loss of an anker of
brandy ; and after residing awhile at New Amster-
dam, became one of the four schoolmasters of Al-
bany, from 1676 to 1686. Wyngaard became a
baker and occupied the south corner of Broadway
and State street as a shop in 1715. Such were
some of the early schoolmasters of Albany County.
As the teacher, so is the school. As the school, so
are the people who sustain it. No further comment
is necessary.
It is to be regretted that so few authentic records
are in existence touching the educational efforts
made by the body of the learned clergy of Reformed
Dutch Church in America. That they were earnest
and as effective as the times allowed is undoubted.
We give the following Articles of Agreement made
between the consistory of the church and magis-
trates of Flatbush, on the one side, and Johannes
Van Eckkelen, accepted schoolmaster and chorister,
on the other, in October, 1682, as a sample of
what was expected of the schoolmasters of 200 years
ago in provincial New York. Eckkelen was a
young man from New Albany:
School Service.— I. The school shall begin at eight
o'clock, and go out at eleven ; and, in the afternoon shall
begin at one o'clock, and end at four. The bell shall be rung
when tlie school commences.
II. When the school begins, one of the children shall read
the morning prayer, as it stands in the catechism, and close
with the prayer before dinner; in the afternoon it shall be-
gin with the prayer after dinner, and end with the evening
prayer. The evening school shall begin with the Lord's
prayer, and close by singing a psalm.
III. He shall instruct the children on every Wednesday
and Saturday in the common prayers, and the questions and
answers in the catechism, to enable them to repeat them the
better on Sunday before the afternoon service, or on Mon-
day, when they shall be catechised before the congregation.
EDUCATION.
253
Upon all such occasions, the schoolmaster shall be present,
and shall require the children to be friendly in their appear-
ance, and encourage them to answer freely and distinctly.
IV. He shall be required to keep his school nine months
in succession, from September to June, in each year, in case
it should be concluded upon to retain his services for a year
or more, or without limitation ; and he shall be required to
be regulated by these articles, and to perform the same du-
ties which his predecessor, JanThibaud, above named, was
required to perform. In every particular, therefore, he shall
be required to keep school, according to this seven months
agreement, and shall always be present himself.
Church Service. — I. He shall keep the church clean,
and ring the bell three times before the people assemble to
attend the preaching and catechism. Also before the sermon
is commenced, he shall read a chapter out of the Holy
Scriptures, and that between the second and third ringing
of the bell. After the third ringing he shall read the ten
commandments, and the twelve articles of our faith, and
then take the lead in singing. Iji the afternoon after the
third ringing of the bell, he shall read a short chapter, or
one of the Psalms of David, as the congregation are assem-
bling, and before divine service commences, shall introduce
it, by the singing of a Psalm or Hylmn.
II. When the minister shall preach out of town, he shall
be required to read twice before the congregation, from the
book commonly used for that purpose. In the afternoon he
shall also read a. sermon on the explanation of the cate-
chism, according to the usage and practice approved by the
minister. The children, as usual, shall recite their ques-
tions and answers out of the catechism, on Sunday, and
he shall instruct them therein. He, as chorister, shall not
be required to perform these duties, whenever divine ser-
vice shall be performed in Flatlands, as it would be un-
suitable, and prevent many from attending there.
III. For the administration of Holy Baptism, he shall
provide a basin with water, for which he shall be entitled
to receive from the parents, or witnesses, twelve styvers.
He shall, at the expense of the church, provide bread and
wine, for the celebration of the Holy Supper. He shall be
in duty bound promptly to furnish the minister with the
name of the child to be baptised, and with the names of
the parents and witnesses. And he shall also serve as mes-
senger for the consistory.
IV. He shall give the funeral invitations, dig the grave,
and toll the bell, for which service he shall receive for a per-
son of fifteen years and upwards, twelve guilders, and for
one under that age, eight guilders. If he should be re-
quired to give invitations beyond the limits of the town, he
shall be entitled to three additional guilders, for the invita-
tion of every other town, and if he should be lequired to
cross the river, and go to New York, he shall receive four
guilders.
School Money. — He shall receive from those who attend
the day-school, for a speller or reader, three guilders a
quarter, and for a writer, four guilders. From those who
attend evening school, for a speller or reader, four guilders,
and for a writer, six guilders shall be given.
Salary. — In addition to the above, his salary shall con-
sist of four hundred guilders, in grain, valued in Seewant,
to be delivered at Brooklyn Ferry, and for his services from
October to May, as above stated, a sum of two hundred and
thirty-four guilders, in the same kind, with the dwelling
house, barn, pasture lot and meadows, to the school apper-
taining. The same to take effect from the first day of Octo-
ber, instant.
Done and agreed upon in Consistory, under the inspec-
tion of the Honorable Constable and Overseers, the 8th of
October, 1682.
I agree to the above articles, and promise to perform
them according to the lx:st of my aljility
Johannes Van Eckkelen.
In the Dutch period all private schoolmasters
were required to be duly licensed by the civil and
ecclesiastical authorities. This requirement, in
substance, was continued and enforced by the
English. We quote as follows :
INSTRUCTIONS TO GOVERNOR DONGAN, GIVEN AT WINDSOR,
MAY 29TH, 1686.
38. And wee doe further direct that noe Schoolmaster bee
henceforth permitted to come from England & to keep
school within Our Province of New York without the license
of the said Archbishop of Canterbury ; and that noe other
person now there or that shall come from other parts, bee
admitted to keep school without your license first had.
Similar instructions were given to Gov. Sloughter,
January 31, 1689; Gov. Fletcher, in 1691 ; to the
Earl of Bellomont, August 31, 1697, and to Gov.
Hunter, December 27, 1709, except that the
Bishop of London, instead of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, was named in each of these cases.
Soundness in the beliefs and practices of the Eng-
lish Church was especially required.
The licenses to teach school have generally been
issued by the authority of the Colonial officers ;
but we now find one granted by municipal author-
ity as early as January, 1 700 :
Att a meeting of ye Mayor, Aldermen and Common Coun-
cil held in ye Citty Hall of Albany, ye 23d of January
T 699
The request of Cornells Bogardus by ye mouth of Mr.
Willm de Meyer to be admitted a schoolmaster for ye Citty
is taken into consideration and unanimously doe graunt ye
same, as also a freeman of this Citty upon his arrivall.
On the 27th of November, 1702, "An act for
the encouragement of a Grammar Free School
in the City of New York, " was passed by the Gen-
eral Assembly of the province. This is believed
to be the first legislative act for the encouragement
of public education passed within the colony.
"One able, skilfull and orthodox person" was to
be the schoolmaster ; "youth and male children
of French and Dutch extraction, as well as of Eng-
lish," were to receive instruction "in the lan-
guages or other learning usually taught in Gram-
mar schools," and ^^50 annually were to be paid
the said schoolmaster, who was to be licensed by
the Bishop of London or the Governor of the
province, upon the recommendation of the Com-
a 54
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
mon Council of New York City. Lord Cornbury
gave his official approval to the act, but it is not in
evidence that he took any interest in the school.
Under date of April 25, 1704, he licensed George
Muirson to teach English, Latin, Greek, v?riting
and arithmetic, and gave an order for the payment
of his half-yearly salary, October 20, 1 704. Soon
after the schoolmaster left for England, and Andrew
Clarke was licensed as his successor several months
later. But that he ever taught does not appear.
The act limited the school to seven years, and we
hear no more of it. It seems to have failed of suc-
cess. Nor is it worthy of mention, except as one
step, however faltering, on the part of the people,
to secure benefits for themselves and their children.
It is, also, an interesting fact in our history to put
on record that John Abeel, member of the General
Assembly from Albany County (1702-04), was one
of the committee that reported the bill to the
House.
Cornbury was ever ready to sign his name to
licenses, accompanied by feathery displays of
titles, because the times seemed to call for school-
masters. Several licenses were granted to candi-
dates for teaching in towns on Long Island, in
Westchester, in Kingston and New York cities dur-
ing the administrations of Cornbury and Hunter.
But we find but little said of the schools. Some of
the teachers are found, soon after the date of their
licenses, in speculative trade, in subordinate public
office, in brawls and lawsuits, either as plaintiffs or
defendants, or in taking clerical orders in the
church. It is evident that families of wealth and
political position took but little interest in public
schools ; their taxes went to support them, and the
children of the poor attended them. The poor
then had no votes; yet they had a strength to
which some respect must be paid. That respect
was paid mostly in promises.
A Dutch schoolmaster seems to have been em-
ployed at Kinderhook as early as 1702, as appears
from the following certificate in favor of Mr. Van
Kleck :
' Kinderhook the 30th Novemb., Anno Domine 1702.
In the first year of the Reign of her Majesty Anne, Queen
of England, Scotland, Ireland and France, Defender of the
Faith, We the undersigned inhabitants of Kinderhook
patent acknowledge and Declare that Paulus van Vleg
during the whole of the time that he hath resided here and
since he was accepted as Precentor and schoolmaster of our
Church hath truly comported himself to the Great content
of our congregation.
YOIIANNES VAN AlEN,
COENRAST BORGIIGHARDT,
AbRAM VAN Alstyn,
Zammert van Yansan.
An early Albany schoolmaster has, perhaps, no
other memorial of service in this capacity than the
following :
At a Common Councill held in ye Citty Hall of Albany this
first of May, 1703.
Evert Ridder of the Citty of Albany makes his humble
application to the Mayor, Aldermen and Assistance to be
permitted to teach schoole in the Citty aforesaid, which re-
quest is taken into consideration, and granted accord-
ingly.
Nearly twenty years later we find the following:
Att a Common Council held in the City Hall of Albany, the
8th day of April, 1721.
Whereas it is very requisite and necessary that a fitt and
able Schoolmaster settle in this cily for teaching and in-
structing of the youth in speling, reading, writeing and cyf-
fering, and Mr. Johannis Glandorf having offered his ser-
vice to settle here and keep a school if reasonably encour-
aged by the corporation, It is therefore Resolved by
this Commonalty, and they do hereby oblidge themselves
and their successors to give and procure unto the said
Johan's Glandorf free house rent for the term seaven years
next ensueing for keeping a good and commendable school
as becomes a diligent Schoolmaster.
That a "diligent schoolmaster'' was "very requi-
site and necessary " at that time is made patent by
this very document of the City Fathers.
It afterward appears that Mr. Glandorf com-
plained that the house assigned him was too small,
and, on his petition, the Common Council, on the
2ist of July, 1721, resolved to hire for him a
larger house at ;^io per annum, to commence in
the next November. After this, we hear no more
of Glandorf or his school.
Passing over all these feeble efforts in the cause
of public education, it is proper for us here to say
that no effort seems to have been made to revive
this free school act of 1 702, nor to make like pro-
visions by law for the encouragement of schools of
any kind, for a period of more than 30 years aftef-
ward. Nor do we find any record whatever of
legislation in the interests of primary education
during the colonial history of the State, nor until
after the State became one of the United States of
America.
The common schools, as intimated previousl}',
gave little attention to any except the most common
branches, such as spelling, reading, writing and the
fundamental rules of arithmetic in their simplest ap-
plications to accounts. Much attention was given
to the catechisms and formulas of religion as taught
in the dominant church. The Ten Command-
ments, Lord's Prayer and other portions of the
Bible were taught. The Apostles' Creed was some-
times included.
EDUCATION.
255
The study of the mathematical sciences was gen-
erally regarded as more important than the studies
of nature, belles-lettres and language. The pri-
vate schools of the highest order were expected to
teach arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry,
surveying, gauging and navigation. Very little at-
tention was given to geography and the natural
sciences. Little was known of them.
In the cities, some French, fancy work, dancing,
formal religion and social formulas, with a
little English language and literature, were taught
in one class of private schools. In another class,
boys were taught something of Latin, Greek
and practical mathematics, with grammar rules and
reading, spelling and writing. The student of an-
cient documents and records must see, in the bad
penmanship, miserable spelling and imperfect or
barren sentences, how little was acquired in these
schools.
But the people of that day had much physical
activity and energy, with much keenness and acute
observation. They were fully alive to the opportu-
nities in their way, and had about all the learning
that their times and situation demanded. Schools
and books and teachers and a broader and deeper
mind culture were sleeping in a future, in the dawn-
ing only of which, we may hope, we are now liv-
ing. The world moves slowly ; but it moves. We
must speak charitably as well as truly of the past,
modestly of the present, and hopefully of the future.
The venerable " Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts," incorporated in the
year 1701, sent many missionaries to this province
until nearly the period of the Revolution ; and, at
the suggestion of Col. Caleb Heathcote, furnished
a number of schoolmasters for various settlements
of the province, during a period of more than fifty
years. The following extracts from the official his-
tory and reports of the society more fully exhibit
the facts on this subject.
One of the first acts of the society was to send to
the English colonies on this continent, a mission-
ary to make personal examination. The person
selected was the Rev. George Keith, whose journal
relative to this tour is contained in the "Collections
of the Protestant Episcopal Society."
After Mr. Keith came over and had made a sur-
vey of the field before him, he, in conjunction with
the few clergymen then in the northern part of the
colony, made the following statement in November,
1702 :
New York. — There are some counties, five of which are
inhabited by Dutch and those of Dutch extraction, viz. : Al-
bany, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange and King's County, in
which the Church and Church of England Schools have not
yet been settled, but the Presence of the present Governor of
that Province, his Excellency the Lord Cornbury, has
mightily influenced many of the people of the said counties
to desire that Church of England Ministers and schoolmas-
ters may be sent amongst them; particularly Albany repre-
sentatives have desired his Lordship that an English School-
master might be established in that county. * * • This
Province, though it hath a great number of inhabitants, could
never yet obtain a public legally Established School.
A provision is made by law for six ministers. There is yet
no provision for Schoolmasters made by law, though by the
zealous recommendation of the Lord Cornbury to the gen-
eral Assembly, a legal maintenance is undoubtedly expected,
and till then the Church of England Schoolmaster in the
county of New York, as heretofore, will be supported by the
voluntary contributions of those whose children are instruct-
ed by him; notwithstanding it is humbly conceived that an
annual Pension for the support and further encouragement
of some Ministers and Schoolmasters in poor Towns will be
of great use and service to the Church.
No School house yet erected in this Province.
In all these Counties where the Church is established by
the law of this Province, the People generally are in a readi-
ness to embrace the Doctrines and Worship of the Church,
and to Encourage Free Schools.
Col. Heathcote seems to have conceived a plan
for the establishment of schools throughout the
province, having written to the Secretary of the
"Venerable Society," under date of April 10,1704,
as follows :
I had once formed a projection for fixing schools in this
country for the benefit of aU the youths therein, in order to
their being trained up, not only in learning but in their ten-
der years to ingraft them in the Church, but the storm
which was lately raised upon me concerning church affairs,
made me lay the thought of it aside for a while. However,
if God is pleased to spare my life a little longer, I will, with
His assistance, set it on foot, and hope it will be blessed with
its desired effect.
This society was very active, not only in edu-
cating the youth of the Church, but in furnishing
opportunity everywhere in the province to people
of every kind, even negroes and Indians, for ac-
quiring the elements of temporal knowledge and
lessons in religion as taught in catechisms, horn-
books and primers. Efforts were made to teach
the Mohawks and other Iroquois tribes for many
years, but with little success. Their wild and per-
verse nature, their roving, restless life, were all
against the missionary and the schoolmaster.
They, after several years of faithful trial, "aban-
doned this miserable race of men." This was in
1 71 8. Some fifteen years later, further efforts to
instruct the Indians were made, with better success.
The following specimen quotations from the
society's annual "Abstracts of Proceedings" are
of interest in this connection :
256
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Besides the Missionaries, there has been a great Demand
upon them for Catechists and School-Masters to Instruct
not only the Servants and Slaves (who have heretofore lived
as without God in the World) but also the Children of the
Planters, especially the poorer sort, in Reading, Writing,
and the Principles of the Christian Religion, as Taught and
Professed in the Church of England; but the Narrowness
of their fund having obliged the Society to send but few of
these, a worthy member of their body, Colonel Heathcote of
New York, has suggested an expedient of maintaining a
great many more School-Masters, at the easy rate of Five or
Six Pounds /fr annum, which the Society has most readily
embraced, and referred it to the Governor himself, and the
Missionaries of that Province, to put the proposal into
practice.
Mr. Hudlestone, Schoolmaster at New York, teaches fifty
poor children on the Society's Bounty to read and write,
and instructs them in the Church Catechism, many of which
are now fit for any Trade; and as they go off, his number is
always kept up, poor People daily coming to see if there is
any vacancy to admit their Children, being not able them-
selves to pay for their Learning.
The Society also have received an Account from Mr.
Peasly, in 1731-33, Schoolmaster at Albany, in the Province
of New York, That he hath lately instructed 8 negroes,
viz.: 6 Adults and 2 Children, who have been baptized by
the Reverend Mr. Miln, the Society's Missionary at Albany.
Mr. Noxon, the Schoolmaster, writes from New York,
August 6, 1 738, That he hath upwards of fifty poor Chil-
dren, whom he teaches to read, write and cypher upon the
Society's Charity; and brings to Trinity Church, onWednes-
days, Fridays and Holy Days, to be catechised. He adds,
there is great want of Common Prayer-Books and Psalters.
And as the maintenance of a learned and orthodox
Clergy abroad, though the principal, is not the only Intent
of this Corporation, but they are also to make such other
Provision as shall be found necessary for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts : The Society have done all
in their power to encourage the setting up of Schools, that
the rising Generation may be brought up in the Nurture and
Fear of the Lord, and they give Salaries to three Catechists
and twelve Schoolmasters for this purpose.
We give a few extracts from the standing orders
of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts relating to the schoolmasters :
I. That no person be admitted a Schoolmaster, till he
bring Certificates, with respect to the Particulars following:
1 . The Age of the Person.
2. His Condition of Life, whether Single or Married.
3. His Temper.
4. His Prudence.
5. His Learnmg.
6. His sober and pious Conversation.
7. His Zeal for the Christian Religion and Diligence in
his Calling.
8. His Affection to the present Government.
9. His Conformity to the Doctrine and Discipline of the
Church of England.
II. That no Person be sent, as a Schoolmaster by the So-
ciety, till he has been try'd and approv'd by Three Mem-
bers, appointed by the Society or Committee, who shall
testify, by Word or Writing, his Ability to teach Reading,
Writing, and the Catechism of the Church of England, and
such Exposition thereof, as the Society shall order.
Instructions for schoolmasters employed by the
Society:
I. That they well consider the End for which they are
employed by the Society, viz.: The instructing and dispos-
ing Children to believe and live as Christians.
II. In order to this End, that they teach them to read
truly and distinctly, that they may be capable of reading
the Holy Scriptures, and other pious and useful Books,
for informing their Understandings and regulating their
Manners.
III. That they instruct them thoroughly in the Church-
Catechism; teach them first to read it distinctly and exactly,
then to learn it perfectly by Heart; endeavoring to make
them understand the Sense and Meaning of it, by the Help
of such Expositions, as the Society shall send over.
IV. That they teach them to Write a plain and legible
Hand, in order to the fitting them for useful Employments;
with as much Arithmetick, as shall be necessary to the same
Purpose.
V. That they be industrious, and give constant Attend-
ance at proper School-Hours.
VI. That they daily use. Morning and Evening, the
Prayers composed for their Use in this Collection with their
Scholars in the School, and teach them the Prayers and
Graces composed for their Use at Home.
VII. That they oblige their Scholars to be constant at
Church on the Lords-Day Morning and Afternoon, and at
all other Times of Publick Worshiji ; that they cause them
to carry their Bibles and Prayer Books with them, instruct-
ing them how to use them there, and how to demean them-
selves in the several Parts of Worship ; that they be there
present with them, taking Care of their reverent and decent
Behaviour, and examine them afterwards, as to what they
have heard and learned.
VII. That when any of their Scholars are fit for it, they
recommend them to the Minister of the Parish, to be
publickly Catechized in the Church.
IX. That they take especial Care of their Manners, both
in their Schools, and out of them; warning them seriously
of those Vices to which Children are most liable; teaching
them to abhor Lying and Falsehood, and to avoid all Sorts
of Evil-speaking; to love Truth and Honesty; to be
Modest, Gentle, Well-behav'd, Just and Affable, and
Courteous to all their Companions; respectful to their
Superiors, particularly toward all that minister in holy
Things, and especially to the Minister of their Parish; and
all this from a Sense and Fear of Almighty God; endeavor-
ing to bring them in their tender Years to that Sense of
Religion, which may render it the constant Principle of
their Lives and Actions.
X. That they use all kind and gentle Methods in the
Government of their Scholars, that they may be lov'd, as
well as fear'd by them; and that when Correction is neces-
sary, they make the Children to understand, that it is given
them out of kindness, for their Good, bringing them to a
Sense of their Fault, as well as of their Punishment.
XI. That they frequently consult with the Minister of the
Parish, in which they dwell, about the Methods of manag-
ing their Schools, and be ready to be advised by him.
XII. That they do, in their whole Conversation, shew
themselves Examples of Piety and Virtue to their Scholars,
and to all, with whom they shall converse.
EDUCATION.
357
The labors of these schoolmasters and catechists
seem to have been very self-den3nng, devoted and
useful. They continued from about 1702 to 1776.
The annual salaries paid varied between £'] and
;^50, the clergy receiving the highest salary.
Says Rev. Dr. Berrian, speaking especially of
Trinity Church :
There is nothing with which I have been so much struck
and impressed, in the investigation of the early history of
this Parish, as the zeal, the earnestness, and devotedness of
the schoolmasters and catechists of that day. The former
appear to have been selected from among the laity with
great caution and care, and to have been persons of respect-
ability and worth. The latter were occasionally laymen,
but more commonly such as were preparing for holy orders,
or who had actually received them. Some of these were
men of liberal education, who in the commencement of
their professional life were full of promise, and who ended
it with respect and honor. But they all seem to have en-
tered wilh the same spirit upon their humble labors, and
to have prosecuted them with a patience, an interest and a
blessed result, which put ours to shame at the present day.
Intellectual was not then, to the extent that it is now,
separated from religious improvement, but both went hand
in hand throughout the week. The whole of early life was,
in a certain measure, devoted to Christian instruction, and
not merely reserved for the scanty intervals between the
hours of worship on the Lord's Day.
It is delightful to observe, in the annual reports of the
schoolmasters and catechists to the Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Gospel, with what cheerfulness and industry
they appear to have labored in their useful but lowly em-
ployment.
We have given enough to show that, however
lowly and incomplete were the labors of the
schools of this society for the education of the
children of the humbler classes in this State for the
first three-quarters of the last century, the work was
a noble one, and is specially deserving as it was
about the only work of the kind that was pursued
with zeal and patience during this long period of
general disturbance in public affairs. The instruc-
tion was purely elementary. John Adams, who
visited Rye in 1774, where this society sup-
ported a school from 1707 to the period of the
Revolution, says: "They have a school for writ-
ing and cyphering, but no Grammar School."
Rye belonged to Connecticut until 1683, and'ils
schools in its early history, we infer, were not in-
ferior to those of any other settlement in the prov-
ince of New York.
The establishment, in 1773, of "a public school
to teach Latin, Greek and Mathematics, in the
City of New York," under authority of an act of
the General Assembly of the province, may be
regarded as an event of considerable interest in the
history of public education in this colony; though,
like the Grammar Free School of 1 702-1 709, it
seems to have flourished during a period of only
about seven years. Both the schools referred to
may have been vitally, if not formally, connected
with the repeated proposals and attempts, begin-
ning as early as 1703, to found a college in this
province; though of this there seems to be no offi-
cial evidence.
This latter school was incorporated, October 14,
1732, with" Alexander Malcolm as schoolmaster.
He was required to admit and teach gratis as
many as twenty youths, apportioned among
the ten counties, of which Albany County had
two assigned. Candidates were not to be under
14 years of age, to have been "well in-
structed in reading and writing of English," and
to be recommended by the Justice of Sessions, or
by Mayor, Recorder and Alderman in cities.
This act was renewed for one year, amid much
opposition, December i, 1737. The members for
Albany County, Col. Rensselaer and Col. Schuyler,
favored the bill. Its conditions were not essentially
changed.
Female teachers were not plenty, as nearly as we
can learn, in the early history of New York; not
one do we find in New Netherlands. Some appear
in the schools of Long Island and Westchester,
where were many settlers from New England, in
the latter part of the seventeenth century. They
were, no doubt, importations from Connecticut,
where females were early employed, especially
in the summer schools. One writer thinks that
Rachel Spencer, who taught school in Hemp-
stead, and died in 1687, was the first schoolmistress
on record in the provinces; and that the nameless
"traveling woman who came out of ye Jerseys, and
kept school at several places in Rye Parish," about
1 7 16, was second schoolmistress in the provinces, of
whom we have any record. In this, however, we
think, he errs; as, in an old account book noticed
by Mr. H. Onderdonk, in Flushing, the book-
keeper, in 1 68 1, reckoned with Elizabeth Cowper-
thwaite, about " schooling and diet for children, "
and in 1683, with Martha Johanna "upon an
agreement for thirty weeks schooling, paid for by a
red petticoat." In 1685 Goody Davis keeps
schools at Jamaica in "a little house," soon after
used " as a shoppe. "
At a much later period, the girls in Mr. Hil-
dreth's school, at New York City, "in the after-
noon learned to write, being the rest of the day
under the care of a schoolmistress employed by
the Vestry," by whom they were "taught needle-
work."
258
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Who was the first schoolmistress in Albany
County? We have, thus far, asked in vain.
Some are and must be brighter and greater than
the rest. While wealth is no measure of wit or
learning, it affords larger opportunities for the culture
of whatever tact or talent may be native. And as
long as learning adds grace to riches and respect to
public and social position, it will be sought by
families who have money to aid in its attainment.
Hence, the children, especially the sons, of the
wealthy families of the colonial period in this
State were often placed under a private tutor, who,
sometimes, was the parish clergyman. Tuition
schools, usually of only temporary duration, were
established in the larger towns, especially in New
Amsterdam, to which the favored children of for-
tune resorted.
Under the English Government, private or sub-
scription schools were to be found all over the
country. In some neighborhoods Dutch was
taught.
Before the Revolution, if but little attention was
given to the mental culture of young men in the
schools, there was still less given to the young
women. Most in the humbler walks of life re-
garded themselves as born to household drudgery.
Beyond this few attained. In the realm of letters
they were usually ambitionless. Many bright
daughters, who married worthy men and became
excellent wives and mothers, could read only sim-
ple reading and rarely write at all, or, if at all,
only their names.
Those who attained more than this were usually
daughters of men of fortune and unusual intelli-
gence, who early manifested marked fondness for
knowledge and tact in acquiring. They learned
of parents or older brothers at home, or of private
tutors. Observation, books and conversation did
much for girls of active minds who had access to
these great educators.
As a remarkable illustration of a woman of those
days educated without the "advantages" of schools,
we quote what Mrs. Grant tells us, in her "Mem-
ories of an American Lady,'' of Miss Margaretta
Schuyler, who afterward became the wife of her
cousin. Col. Philip Schuyler, and the honored
^Madame Schuyler. Her mind from her earliest
years was distinguished for maturity and reniarka-
able aptness. Its culture came about by the keen
appreciation of her talents and the wise direction of
her mental training by her uncle. Col. Peter Schuy-
ler, after the early death of her father. Col. John
Schuyler. "He was at the pains to cultivate her
taste for reading which soon discovered itself, by
procuring for her the best authors in history, divin-
ity and belles-lettres. The few books of this
kind that she possessed were very well chosen; and
she was early and intimately familiar with them.
Whatever she knew she knew to the bottom; and
the reflections which were thus suggested to her
strong, discerning mind were digested by means of
easy and instructive conversation. " Col. Schuyler
was acquainted with the families of rank in New
York, where he had many relatives. Spending a
portion of every winter there, "he often took his
favorite niece along with him,'' who soon attracted
attention by her personal graces as well as by the
charms of her conversation." Here she was much
admired, because such " cultivation and refinement
were rare" — out of the routine common to )'oung
women of her time — and she had a mind strong
enough to bear the admiration bestowed upon her
without the conceit and pedantry of weaker minds.
She was never taught that the great motive to ex-
celling was to "dazzle or outshine others; she
never thought of despising her less fortunate com-
panions, or of assuming superiority over them.
Her acquisitions were never shaded by affectation."
Such was "Aunt Schuyler" of Albany in her
early womanhood, according to one who wrote of
her, long years after, as the model "American
lady. ' She was a queen all her life in the wide
circle that knew her. The women she lived
among "were all natives of the county, and few
had more than a domestic education.'' But men
who possessed the advantages of early culture and
usage of the world daily arrived in New York and
Albany. "Female elegance" in the colony was
notcommon. Says Mrs. Grant: "The supply was
notequal to the demand." Mrs. Schuyler received
due attention. " She was respected for the strength
of her character, the dignity and composure of her
manners," her unusual mental culture and her
practical common sense.
"The Mohawk language was early familiar to
her. She spoke Dutch and English with equal
ea'fee and purity; was no stranger to the French
tongue, and could read German." And3'etwe do
not find that she ever attended a fashionable ladies'
school.
"Books are, no doubt, the granaries of knowl-
edge; but a diligent, inquiring mind, in the active
morning of life, will find it strewed with manna
over the face of the earth, and need not, in all
cases, rest satisfied with intelligence accumulated
by others, and tinctured with their passions and
prejudices. Whoev.er reads Homer and Shake-
EDUCATION.
359
speare may daily discover that they both describe
nature and art from their own observation.
"The enlarged mind of 'Madame Schuyler'
and her simple yet dignified manners made her
readily adapt . herself to those with whom she
conversed, and everywhere command respect and
kindness, and, on a nearer acquaintance, affection
followed. But she had too much sedateness and
independence to adopt those caressing and insinuat-
ing manners by which the vain and artful soon
find their way into shallow minds. Her character
did not captivate at once, but gradually unfolded
itself You always had something new to dis-
cover. Her style was * * * without the least
embellishment, and at the same lime so pure that
everything she said might be printed without cor-
rection, and so plain that the most ignorant and
most inferior persons were never at a loss to com-
prehend it. It possessed, too, a wonderful flexi-
bility; it seemed to rise and fall with the subject.
I have not met with a style which to a noble and
uniform simplicity united such variety of expression.
Whoever drinks knowledge pure at its sources,
solely from the delight in filling the capacities of a
large mind, without the desire of dazzling or out-
shining others; whoever speaks for the sole pur-
pose of conveying to other minds those ideas from
which he himself has received pleasure and advan-
tage, may possess this chaste and natural style.
But it is not to be acquired by art or study."
We have given this example of Miss Schuyler,
afterward known as Madame Schuyler, as an ex-
hibition of the best type of an educated woman in
the New York colonial period, before the forma-
tion of our government, when female education
was generally little thought of, when scarcely any
public provision for it was made. She was an
Albany lady. She lived in the days of our grand-
mothers. The methods of her education, the use
she made of it, and its reflex influence on her
character, are deserving the careful consideration of
the girls of this generation, when the avenues to
knowledge are as plenty and free as water.
Lossing, in his Life and Times of Gen. Philip
Schuyler, tells us that young Schuyler (born in
1733), when a little more than 14 3'ears of age,
"had studied the ordinary branches of a plain
education under the instruction of his mother,
for the schools of Albany were very indiff"erent.
He also had the advantages of listening to the con-
versation, and perhaps actually receiving instruction
from educated French Protestants, who had ever
been welcome visitors to the mansion of Gen.
Schuyler at the Flats. He received some instruc-
tion in the science of mathematics from one of
those Huguenots who may have been employed as
a private tutor in some wealthy families at Albany."
Young Schuyler's education was directed toward
a mercantile life. He was sent to school, when 1 5
years of age, to New Rochelle, in Westchester County,
among the sons of French Huguenots and New
York merchants. At that time, no class of people
in the province was more thrifty and progressive;
none had superior culture in good manners and the
learning of the day. They were religionists of the
John Calvin school, and were matched only by the
Puritans in their zeal for mental and spiritual
progress, and for the rights of conscience and
popular government. This school, kept among
those French refugees of the latter part of the
seventeenth century and their descendants, was the
only one in New York, at that time, where was
taught the French language, and few, if any, taught
so well other subjects needed by an intelligent mer-
chant. Its principal, Rev. Mr. Stouppe, was a
Swiss, and pastor of the French Protestant Church
of the settlement. Three years later, Schuyler was
spending his summers among the hunters and
trappers of the upper Hudson. Pie became influ-
ential among the Indians. He spent several weeks
every autumn and winter with his relatives and
friends in the City of New York, where he found
congenial society. Large landed estates soon de-
manded his care, and the affairs of his country de-
manded his influence, his wealth, his talents and
his acquirements of head and heart. He is given
here as one of the best examples of the rhethods
and influence of the education of his times among
the young men of good family and ample means,
and who were not aiming at law, medicine or
divinity.
Schools in New York were of a very low order as
late as 1760. Said a writer of that time: "The
instructors want instruction, and through a long,
shameful neglect of all the arts and sciences our
common speech is extremely "corrupt, and the evi-
dences of bad taste as to both thought and lan-
guage are visible in all our proceedings, public and
private." Reading was neglected by all classes;
education was regarded as an affectation of learn-
ing, and a student was rarely found outside the
professions of law, medicine and divinity.
Some few of the young men were sent over to
Europe for education. They belonged to families
of wealth or social and political influence. There
were no higher schools for the people — for the
poor and toiling classes. If they obtained rank by
260
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
learning, wealth and title, it was the expression of
an irrepressible energy that nothing human could re-
sist. Such expression has become common all over
our country now.
Commerce engrossed the energies of the princi-
pal families of New York, in provincial times, as we
have often had occasion to say. It was the surest
avenue to wealth and social distinction. The young
men destined to these pursuits attended schools
for teaching writing and accounts ; went thence to
the counting room ; and, in due time, were sent on
some short trading trip, usually to the West Indies.
Affairs, society and the activities of the day did the
rest.
The leading hindrances to the promotion of
learning, especially of the masses, during the whole
English colonial period, may be summed up as
follows :
1. The helplessness of the working classes. A
large portion regarded themselves as born to igno-
rance and servitude, as powerless of influence, and
destined to nothing but lives of drudgery. Such
were most of the tenants, farm laborers and ordi-
nary mechanics and traders in Albany County.
2. The general indifference of the officers and
friends of royalty to anything that could elevate the
masses. Education set people to reading and think-
ing, as it did in New England. It led them to
know their rights, and knowing, to dare resist
tyranny and assert popular sovereignty. Royal
governors were afraid of schools for the common
people.
3. The aristocratic class, which possessed wealth
and some learning, were fond of association with
men of royal rank, fond of having dependants,
eager for increase of wealth and power. They were
quite willing to keep the poor in blissful ignorance
and poverty. They disliked paying taxes for
schools, and despised labor.
4. Wars, and rumors of war, characterized all
this period. These called for forts and munitions
of war, for training for war, and for active service
against the enemy. The arts of peace were ne-
glected or perverted. Schools were hindered when
contemplated, and interrupted when in operation.
So things continued until the close of the Revolu-
tionary war. Then men began to think and read
and talk of rights and duties.
HIGHER AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION.
There were no schools of medicine, law or
divinity ; no normal schools for teachers. The
3'oung disciples of Esculapius used " to ride " with
"the old doctor," and visit with him his bedside
clinics, and witness his office consultations and
treatment. Coke and Blackstone were read in the
office of some eminent knight of the green bag ;
and young aspirants sat at the feet of some learned
Gamaliel and listened to his wisdom, took in his
advice, and saw how he managed causes in the
courts. But it is said that Albany had no pro-
fessional lawyer for over 100 years. Students who
contemplated the ministry read courses in theology
in "the study" of some leading clergyman, and
prepared sermons subject to his criticism. The
clergy often gave academic instruction to those who
came to them, especially to young persons of their
parochial charge.
Gov. Montgomerie had the largest private library
in the province of New York previous to the Revo-
lution. It numbered 1,341 volumes. Judge Smith,
the historian, had a library of about 1,000 volumes,
including his law books. The first law library we
hear of was that of Broughton, Attorney-General,
1 70 1 to 1705, which contained only 36 volumes.
In 1730, Dr. Millington, of England, bequeathed
a thousand volumes to the "Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, " which was
sent to New York City, and kept in the old City
Hall, for the use of the clergy and gentlemen of
New York, and the neighboring governments of
Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, upon
giving security to return them. In 1754, 700 vol-
umes of well-selected books were purchased by
subscription, for the commencement of a public
library, which was the origin of the New York
Society Librar)'. The libraries of our own city and
county, and of more recent times, will receive at-
tention later.
According to Judge Campbell, in his Annals of
Tryon County, Rev. Samuel Dunlop, of the Scotch-
Irish race, educated at Edinburgh, came to Cherry
Valley, as pastor of the Presbyterian Church there,
in 1 74 1. He opened a school for the instruction of
boys in the classical and other branches of higher
education, which continued for many years. It
was the first school of this grade west of Albany.
His boys were received into his house and made a
part of his family. They came from Albany, Sche-
nectady and other towns along the Mohawk and
Hudson. Some of them became conspicuous dur-
ing the trying times of the Revolution.
There were but few academies in this State where
higher and classical studies were pursued before the
nineteenth century dawned. The boys went to the
New Rochelle School for French and business
training. In Kingston, Kinderhook and Schenec-
tady they pursued studies preparatory to college.
EDUCATION.
261
Academies were established in various parts of the
State soon after the Revolution, among which were
Dutchess County, Canandaigua, Erasmus Hall,
East Hampton, Farmer's Hall, Jownstown, Lan-
singburg, Montgomery, Oxford, Union Hall and
Washington, furnishing increased facilities for
higher instruction.
Albany Academy, for boys, was incorporated in
1 813, and has always held a high rank and been a
great force in the educational movements in this
county. A more detailed history will appear in the
City of Albany.
Rensselaeryille Academy, now taught by Prof
B. F. Eaton and wife, has long been in operation,
has taught a teachers' class for many years, and
has been well attended and done good work
in the southwest part of our county, reflecting
the intelligence and good sense of its Yankee
founders.
Knoxville Academy has done much to promote
intelligence in the Town of Knox and vicinity.
During the late war of rebellion eleven had entered,
from among its students, into the military service for
the Union.
Coeymans Academy, established in 1858, pros-
pered under the Misses Brace and Thomas McKee.
There has been, during these last eighty years, select
schools and various institutions for educating the
young in New Scotland, Watervliet and other towns
in the county, useful, no doubt, but brief in dura-
tion.
After the conquest of New Netherlands by the
English, no encouragement was given to the sub-
ject of education by the Colonial Government. For
almost a century " there was no institution in the
province where an academic education could be
acquired."
The historian, Chief-Justice Smith, referring to
this matter, while making allusion to the action
of the Legislature of the State in 1746, authorizing
the raising of /"2, 250, by lottery, for founding a
college, says: "To the disgrace of our first planters,
who beyond comparison surpassed their eastern
neighbors in opulence, Mr. DeLancey, a graduate
of the University of Cambridge, England, and Mr.
Smith were for many years the only academics in
this province except such as were in holy orders."
Although about one hundred and twenty years had
passed since the Dutch had commenced the setde-
ment of New Amsterdam, and about eighty years
since it came under the English Crown, the above
lottery law was the first legislative movement
toward founding a college in the present territory
of New York State.
Harvard, Yale, William and Mary and other
early American colleges became the first nursing
mothers of some of the boys of the province of
New York. A careful examination of general
catalogues gives us the names of those who were
graduates of American colleges, natives or residents
of New York, prior to the year 1800. We may
have omitted some few; but the list at best indicates
the great difference in favor of New England in the
zeal for higher education in those years. Some of
these graduates were New Englanders, who came to
New York after graduation; some less known to
fame are, no doubt, omitted.
The graduates from Harvard were Benjamin
Pratt, 1737; Samuel Auchmuty, 1742; John Van
Home, 1744; Daniel Treadwell, 1754; Philip
Livingston, 1755; Peter Livingston, 1757; Rufus
King, 1777; John Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and
Stephen Van Rensselaer, 1782; Ambrose Spencer,
1783; John Thornton Kirkland, 1789.
From Yale, Samuel Johnson, 1714; William
Smith, 1 71 9; Peter Van Brugh Livingston, 1731;
John Livingston, 1733; Henry Barclay, 1734;
Benjamin Nicoll and William Nicoll, 1734; Jacob
Cuyler and Philip Livingston, 1737; William Liv-
ingston, 1 741; Samuel Buel, 1741; Hendrick
Hans Hansen and William Peartree Smith,- 1742;
William S. Johnson, Caleb Smith and Benjamin
Woolsey, 1744; John Morin Scott, 1746; Richard
Morris, 1748; Gideon Hawley, 1749; Thomas
Jones, 1750; Ezra L'Hommedieu, 1754; John
Sloss Hobart, 1757; John H. Livingston, 1762;
Stephen Van Rensselaer, 1760; John De Peyster
Douw, 1777; James Kent, 1781; Francis Blood-
good, 1787; John Woodworth, 1788; Samuel A.
Foot, 1797.
From Princeton, John McKesson, 1753; Peter
R. Livingston, Philip P. Livingston and Jeremiah
Van Rensselaer, 1758; Peter V. B. Livingston,
1 756; Samuel Kirkland, 1765; Aaron Burr, William
Linn and William S. Livingston, 1772; Morgan
Lewis and John Blair Smith, 1773; Henry B.
Livingston, 1774; Henry P. Livingston, 1776;
Edward Livingston, 1781; Derrick Ten Eyck,
1782; Nathaniel Lawrence and Jacob Radcliff,
1783; Abraham Ten Broeck and Peter R. Living-
ston, 1784; John V. Henry, 1785; Maturin Liv-
ingston and Peter William Livingston, 1786; Smith
Thompson, 1788; Jacob Ten Eyck, 1792; John
H. Hobart, 1793; Abraham Ten Ej'ck, 1795.
From Rutgers, Simeon DeWitt, 1776; Pierre Van
Cordandt, 1783.
From Kings, now Columbia, Philip Van Cortlandt,
1758; Philip Livingston, 1760; John Jay, 1764; Eg-
262
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
bert Benson and Robert R. Livingston, 1765; Henry
Rutgers and John Watts, 1767; Benjamin Moore,
Gouverneur Morris, John Stevens, Gulian Verplanck
and Peter Van Schaick, 1768; Alexander Hamilton,
1774; DeWitt Clinton, 1786; John W. Yates, 1787;
Samuel Jones, 1790; Alexander Proudfit, 1792;
John Forbes, 1794; Daniel D. Tompkins, John
B. Romeyn, Rensselaer Westerlo, 1795, and others
less known to the public. Taken all in all, the
early sons of these early colleges were a Titanian
progeny; sons of thunder born in tempestuous times
and for great emergencies.
The intelligent student of local history will notice
that a good proportion of these graduates were
natives of Albany County, or were identified with
it as their home or by their distinguished public
careers while residents.
The first graduating class of King's College was
in 1758, and numbered seven. From 1776 to 1786
there were no graduates, the college buildings
having been taken for military purposes. This in-
stitution, the first of the kind in the State, has
produced many patriots, statesmen, divines and
scholars who have reflected honor on the college
and given useful lives to the State. Its first
medical class graduated in 1769. In 1797, it gave
Albany Dr. William Bay. It early contributed to
rendering the science and practice of medicine
inore respectable than it had hitherto been.
But sectarian feeling, as well as the all-absorbing
struggle for freedom at that period, did much to
retard the early growth of the college. The Episco-
pal Church had the political power under the Royal
Government; but the Dutch Reformed and Presby-
terian Churches were a power among the masses, and
had much wealth and influence. There was great
jealousy of a church establishment, especially of a
church that had a bishop at its head. William
Livingston led the opposition, but not as against all
religion. In that day, the divorce between learning
and religion was not thought of The State had
authorized a lottery, in 1746, which realized about
_^3,500. This was to go for founding a college.
The opposition to the charter was virulent, and
based on the principle that it ought not to
be controlled by any one sect, as its funds
were raised under State law for a non-sectarian
college.
Something of the character of the times is shown
by the remark made by Rev. Dr. Johnson, President
of the College, in 1762, that " it is a great pity,
when patents are granted, as they often are, for large
tracts of land, no provision is made for religion or
schools. "
King's College, now and since 1 784 Columbia,
was founded in 1754, after the long colonial days
of popular ignorance and official tyranny. Harvard
dates its beginning in 1638, and Yale in 1 701. It
was not lack of wealth or power that kept home
facilities for a higher education from the sons of
New York. New Jersey had its Presbyterian Prince-
ton before the Episcopal King's of New York, and
its Dutch Reformed Qaeen's, now Rutgers, soon
after. And even Dartmouth, which came near
raising its voice in Albany County,' appeared
among the rocky hills of New Hampshire, "vox
clamantis in deserto," as early as 1769.
The Regents of the University came in 1784; re-
organized in 1787; and have ever since been the
active, discreet and earnest guardians of academic,
collegiate and professional learning all over the
State, granting charters to academies and other
schools, providing funds, encouraging sound in-
struction, and diffusing in various ways that
" intelligence" which, as Jefferson says, "is the
life of libertj'. " Their office is kept in Albany and
all their meetings are held here.
Union College has been an important educa-
tional factor in Albany County as well as in Schenec-
tady, for about ninety years past. Its history ap-
pears in the latter county, because it is located there.
It appears that a project giving it a start as
Clinton College originated in 1779. One motive
is declared to have been to educate ' ' men of
learning to fill the several offices of Church and
State." Among these earliest and earnest movers
to establish a college in what was then Albany
County were Rev. Eilardus Westerlo, Gen. Philip
Schuyler and other prominent citizens of Albany.
When it went into operation in 1795, seven of its first
trustees were Robert Yates, Abraham Yates, Jr.,
Abraham Ten Broeck, Goldsbrow Banyar, John V.
Henry, George Merchant, Stephen Van Rensselaer
and Joseph C. Yates, all of Albany.
Eliphalet Nott graduated at Brown in 1793, and
William L. Marcy twelve years later. Dr. Nott came
to Cherry Valley as teacher and preacher, and thence
to Albany, in 1798, as pastor of the First Presby-
terian Church. From this church he went forth
as President of Union College in 1804, and, for 62
years, was distinguished as a skillful manager of
bo}'s. The influence of this college upon the cause
of learning in Albany County cannot be over-esti-
mated. Some of its most talented and useful sons
and citizens have been educated among its nearly
7,000 graduates. Albany Medical School, Albany
Law School and Dudley Observatory, with Union
College, now constitute Union University.
EDUCATION.
363
The law and medical schools of Albany, for
many years important agencies in educating our
sons, are specially mentioned in another part of
our work. So, also, is the Lancasterian School,
and other important schools, both public and
private, that have existed in this century, or do
now exist, in our capital cit}'.
But not all the parents of Albany boys believed
in a collegiate education. The following anecdote
comes to us from an old Albany merchant, as illus-
trative of the feelings of a type of utilitarian men
who are not all dead yet. Our Dutch citizen was a
man of hoarded wealth, who had one only son,
named Dirck. He was advised to give him an
education. After some thinking, he gravely re-
plied :
" If I educate Dirck in college, and he dies, the
money I spend on him is lost. "
Dirck did not go to college. He never earned
any money, but was clothed and fed and sheltered
by the savings of his ancestors. He was a wild
boy; he drank freely and kept bad company. He died
in the gutter one night, after a drunken carousal,
without the expense of a college education.
It is evident, then, that previous to the Revolu-
tionary war no general system of education was
established. It was confined chiefly to the wealthy
classes. The importance of schools for all the
people had not been recognized in New York.
All schools that were in operation were of a private
character, or were incorporated by special legisla-
tion. Often favored children received instruction
from the parish clergyman, or from some young
student who became a sort of family tutor while
pursuing his own studies. Rarely, some father,
elder brother or other relative gave direction and
stimulus to some bright mind which had the
taste, strength of mind and energy to acquire valu-
able and systematic knowledge and discipline
without school or schoolmasters.
In all its years of feudal power and inherited
wealth, years of control by a rich company of mer--
chants or by royal governors who grew rich by
selfish rapacity, there were no free schools for the
people, reckoning down to the close of the Revo-
lutionary war, and all along the rich valley of the
ever-trading Hudson from the sea to the Mohawk
Flats.
Consequently, New York had no Benjamin
Franklin, plebeian born and educated in the free
schools of Boston.
No, nor any Samuel and John Adams, and many
others of their spirit, whose first lessons were taken
in the intelligent homes and free colleges of the
common people.
But this spirit of liberty could not be confined.
It came to New York, especially to the city, from
New England, and inspired the Sons of Liberty to
resist oppression and establish freedom.
AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
The manorial lands of this county, after the
Revolution, were rapidly taken up by industrious
farmers, and the shops in the villages and the mills
along the streams were occupied by busy mechanics.
No provision had been made by the patroon for the
schooling of the children. Among the early settlers
upon the farms all over the county were not only
the frugal Hollander, but the peace-loving Hugue-
not, the hardy Scot and the earnest German. Nor
was the New Englander. absent. Indeed, he was
"all about, "and couldn't be content until his chil-
dren could have a school.
The Yankee schoolmaster was on hand, and a
spare room of the farm-house of some well-to-do
farmer was fitted up for a school a part of the year.
The school was started by a voluntary agreement to
pay so much for each pupil's schooling. Fuel was
cheap and readily contributed by the farmers ; the
"master'' or older pupils attended to building
the fires and cleaning the school-room. The
teacher "boarded around." The schools were
modeled upon the plan of the country schools in
the "Eastern States," from which most of the
teachers and many of the patrons came.
So matters went on for many years. The boys
and girls were taught spelling, reading and writing,
some arithmetic, and many other useful things.
Good manners were not left out. They were
waked up ; they were inquisitive ; many of them
read the weekly paper, the catechism, the New
Testament, and various books that belonged in
families, and were loaned to any one who would
read them.
Schools of to-day, many of them, are imperfect
enough in all conscience ; but just consider them
as they were, with very few exceptions, at the be-
ginning of the present century, and even later.
The school-houses, if any, were usually located
in one of the most God-forsaken spots that could
be found, where white beans and buckwheat would
not grow ; on some bleak hill or on some arid or
swampy place, surrounded by the drifting snows of
winter or the sands and miasma of summer. If in
a city, the location selected must be in some by-
place, where the land was cheapest, where business
was dullest and dirtiest, where the best families
264
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
would not be disturbed by the sight of the uncouth
garb and uncultivated noise of free-school children.
The rooms and surroundings were lacking in every
element of health, comfort or decency. Temperature
uneven, ventilation entirely disregarded, light bad
for eyes, seats and desks bad for bones, muscles
and lungs, — everything was provocative of weari-
ness, disease, mischief, dullness and bad morals.
The schoolmasters were usually more noted for
hate than love, for brutal severity and repulsive
manners than for that magic, winning power that
rules without ruining children. Few taught be-
cause they loved instruction or humanity. They
stepped into some other vocation at any early op-
portunity. Money, learning, life, church and
state have lost unmeasured values from such school-
houses and school-keepers !
Later, when summer schools began to be taught
by females, many might have said, as did one hon-
est ' ' schoolma'am, " ' ' 'lis little they pays me, and
little I teaches 'em." They were generally worthy
dames, who taught their pupils good manners ;
to rise and stand when the minister and school
officer visited the school ; the girls to make a low
courtesy, and the boys to take off their hats and
make a bow to all strangers and others whom they
met on the way to and from school, to perform the
same reverential duty to the teacher as they entered
the school-room door, and on making their exit.
There was much of reading the stories of the Bible,
and much of teaching maxims of piety and duty,
with oral instruction in matters of simple, every-
day knowledge.
Some of these worthy pioneers in the exercise
of woman's rights and duties, were exceedingly
lacking in scholastic knowledge. Some could
write only their names, in ill-favored letters, and
could teach only "easy reading," and in cypher-
ing were limited to the simplest problems and
tables in the fundamental rules. But they were
women of common sense, good conscience and
exemplary hves; and did much to help hard-work-
ing mothers to take care of their children, and
teach them obedience, order, neatness, and respect
for superiors. Knitting, sewing, patchwork and
lettering samplers were usually taught the girls in
these " woman schools ; " sometimes painting
in water colors and fancy needle-work, especially
in the private schools. The use of the rod was not
confined to the schoolmasters.
Such were most of the schools of the county in
the fifty years after the close of the war of the
revolution.
At the first meeting of the State Legislature, after
the adoption of the constitution, George Clinton,
then Governor, in his address, remarked that "ne-
glect of the education of youth is one of the evils
consequent upon war."
Gov. George Clinton was evidently a friend
of public schools for all the people, and used his
official influence in their favor. At the opening of
the legislative session of 1795, he says : "While it
is evident that the general establishment and liberal
endowment of academies are highly to be com-
mended, and are attended with the most beneficial
consequences, yet it cannot be denied that they
are principally confined to the children of the
opulent, and that a great portion of the commu-
nity is excluded from their immediate advantages.
The establishment of common schools throughout
the State is happily calculated to remedy this incon-
venience, and will therefore engage your early
and decided consideration."
April 7, 1795, the State Legislature appropriated
the sum of ^"20,000 annually for the term of five
years, for encouraging and maintaining schools in
the State. Of this sum, £i,'i<)0, or $3,975, was
allotted to Albany County. This was regarded as
a long stride toward a general free school system.
In 1 813, Mr. Spafford, of Albany, author of the
Gazetteer, thus expresses himself in regard to the
schools of our State and County : "At present the
modes of common school instruction in this State
are liable to many objections. In this respect, we
are considerably behind the New England States,
who have reduced this branch of education to a
system. But their method is rapidly gaining
ground, and common schools have considerably
increased in number and respectability within a
few years ; and this amelioration is more percept-
ible in the country than in populous towns, where
our schools for the elements of a common educa-
tion are not so good as in the country.
"The wealthy spare no expense in the education
of their sons, principally at academies and colleges,
though some continue thepractice of former times,
having private tutors in their families.
"The yeomanry and the ranks of middling wealth
resort to day and boarding schools ; the most com-
mon kind being the former, supported through the
year or only in the winter, and too little attention
is paid to the qualifications of instructors.
" The recent introduction of schools on the plan
of the benevolent Lancaster promises very bene-
ficial results to the poor in populous towns ; at
present, these are confined to the cities of New
York and Albany.
EDUCATION.
265
Of female education, he remarks: "The rich
spare no expense, and much time is spent in the
frivolous accomplishments of a genteel education,
to little purpose. Music and drawing, except in
cases of decided propensity, are of little ornament
and less utility, though they may amuse the idle."
He then admits that they "afford elegant and
agreeable diversion when cultivated with taste,"
and may " expand the mind formed for expansion."
Better facilities for the higher education of girls
began to engage the attention of intelligent parents
in Albany, early in this century. Private schools
were started with varied success. The most im-
portant enterprise of this kind was the Union
School, so called, started by Ebenezer Foot, in
Montgomery street, in 1814, from which grew the
excellent and widely useful Albany Female Acad-
emy, a history of which will be given in the history
of education in the city of Albany. We mention it
here only to say that its doors have always been
open to girls residing outside the city at reason-
able rates of tuition ; that it has usually had the
best of instructors and a wise supervision ; that its
course of study has favored the liberal and practi-
cal branches, and that its influence upon female
education in this county has been most benefi-
cent
In 1838, the distinguished English traveler,
Buckingham, made a brief sojourn in Albany, and
closely studied its institutions. In the Female
Academy he says he found about 2 50 in attend-
ance from the city and 140 from the country. The
school instruction and management, then for about
twenty years in charge of that eminent educator,
Alonzo Crittenden, he found most admirable. He
adds: "This experiment, which has now been
continued for upward of twenty years, has proved
abundantly what many have affected to disbelieve
or doubt, that the female intellect is in no degree
whatever inferior in its capacity to receive and re-
tain instruction in the highest and most difficult
branches of learning to the male ; that their
powers of application and their zeal for informa-
tion are, also, quite equal to that of the other sex ;
and that such differences as have hitherto existed
between the intellectual condition of male and
female youths have been wholly owing to their be-
ing subjected to different modes of education. "
These sentiments, regarded as questionable
sixty years ago, have been so firmly established by
the observation of teachers and school officers that
" experiment " is no longer called for, and " dis-
belief and doubt " are no longer found, even among
the oldest of the "old fogies " in education.
34
In Preston's Statistical Report of the county for
the year 1820, we find enumerated in the county,
155 common schools, "exclusive of parts of
schools adjoining other towns," to wit: in Albany,
25 ; Bethelehem, 25 ; Coeymans, 15 ; Westerlo,
16; Rensselaerville, 18 ; Berne, 30; Guilderland,
1 1 ; Watervliet, 1 2 ; also an academy of 1 50
students, Lancasterian school of 400 pupils, and a
mechanic school, all in the city of Albany. The
Albany Female Academy, although then in opera-
tion, is not named. The same writer, John
Preston, an old teacher of his day, residing in
Westerlo, says : "Our country schools, and many
in cities, at present are too tedious and too
expensive in teaching children the elementary
parts of sciences." He places a high estimate upon
the now exploded Lancasterian system of school
management, as " surpassing anything of the kind
heretofore discovered. "
Henry R. Schoolcraft tells us that his great-
grandsire was a schoolmaster, and taught the first
English school in Schoharie County, in his old
age, and was known as one of the very few promi-
nent ones in the region of Albany County, at that
early day.
ApoUos Moore came from Berkshire County,
Mass., and settled in Rensselaerville soon after the
Revolution, where he was long and widely known
as a successful schoolmaster. From 1812 to 1828,
he was County Judge, and for many years a lead-
ing citizen of the county. Moses Patten, from
New Hampshire, also resided in this town, and was
a leading teacher of public schools for many years.
He held the office of Surrogate from 1840 to 1844.
Hon. A. J. Colvin speaks of William Hicks as a
leading schoolmaster in Coeymans in the early
part of this century. He was a great speller,
and teaching spelling was his hobb}'. Only the
' ' common branches " were taught. The ' ' criminal
stick " recorded punishable crimes, and woe to the
young culprit who earned the ferule or the birchen
rod.
John Preston, of Westerlo, was one of the best
Yankee schoolmasters that taught in the country
towns of the county in the first part of this cen-
tury.
We wish we could give a complete list of these
pioneers, but it is not possible at this writing.
County Superintendents of Common Schools. — The
legislature passed an act, drawn by Hon. John C.
Spencer, May 26, 1841, requiring County Boards
of Supervisors to appoint biennially a County
Superintendent of Common Schools, charged with
the general supervision of the public schools in his
266
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
jurisdiction. The office was abolished, November
13, 1847. The following gentlemen served in this
office in Albany County : Royal Shaw, Francis
Dwight, Rufus King, Horace K. Willard, Abraham
Van Vechten, Henry S. McCall.
This office was abolished ' ' without petitions from
any considerable number of people and without
proposing a substitute.'' It became unpopular be-
cause, in some cases, incompetent men, appointed
as partisans, abused their trust ; and the small salary
was claimed by the niggardly as an added burden
upon the taxpayer. It was a backward step, and
so regarded by the best friends of education every-
where. It left all school supervision to Town
Superintendents, who, with rare exceptions,
neglected trusts for which they had no fitness.
Such was tlie united testimony of Samuel Young,
N. S. Benton, Christopher Morgan, Henry S.
Randall, Samuel S. Randall, Victor M. Rice, and
other prominent State officers and educators.
School Commissiotiers of counties are chosen for
a term of three years by the electors of their com-
missioner district. There are now three districts
in Albany County, exclusive of the cities-of Albany
and Cohoes, with the supervision of whose schools
these officers have nothing to do. Local school
boards are chosen by the cities to manage their
own school affairs. These school boards usually
elect an agent called Superintendent of Schools.
The County Commissioners are required to exam-
ine and license local public school teachers, except
such as hold State or Normal School diplomas; to
visit their schools; to aid in organizing teachers'
institutes; to do several other duties, and to report
annually to the State Superintendent.
ALBANY COUNTY, FIRST DISTRICT.
1856, John B. Shear, Coeymans; 1858, John G. Vander-
zee. Cedar HiU; iS6i, L. Carter Tuttle, Cedar Hill; 1864,
John C. Nott, Albany; 1867, William E Whitbeck, Beth-
lehem Center; 1870, Leonard A. Carhart, Coeymans; 1873,
John F. Shafer, Cedar HUl; 1876, David D. L. McCuUoch,
New Salem; 1879, Alexander F. Baker, Cedar Hill; 1882,
Samuel F. Powell, Coeymans ; 1885, John J. Callanan,
Callanan's Comers.
SECOND DISTRICT.
Peter Tinklepaugh; Edward V. Filkins, Berne; i86i,
George L. Boughton, Rensselaerville ; 1867, Zina W. Sny-
der, Potter's Hollow; 1870, Julius Thayer, South Westerlo;
1864 and 1873, Zebediah A. Dyer, East Berne; 1876, Sanford
Sisson, Rensselaerville; 1879, Rulus T. Crippen, Rensse-
laerville; 1882, Elias Young, Reidsville; 1885, Charles De
La Mater, Medusa.
THIRD DISTRICT.
1856, John H. Sand, Knox; 1858, William Arthur, Jr.,
West Troy; 1861, Thomas Helme, Guilderland; 1867,
George H. Quay, Knox; 1864 and 1870, John P. Whitbeck,
West Troy; 1873, Thomas Helme, McKownville; 1876,
William J. McMillan, West Troy; 1879, Charles E. Sturges,
Knox; 1882, Thomas P. Heenan, West Troy; 1885, George
McDonald, West Troy.
FOURTH DISTRICT.
1856, John Muckle.
The Commissioners whose terms expired De-
cember 31, 1856, were four in number, one from
each Assembly district. They were appointed by
the Board of Supervisors about June i, soon after
the passage of the act constituting them. After
this the county was divided into three School Com-
missioner Districts, not including the cities and
villages having special school acts relating to su-
pervision. Since November, 1857, the Commis-
sioners have been elected at the annual State elec-
tion, and commence their official term of three
years on the ist day of the January succeeding.
The first Stale Normal School was located in Al-
bany by law. May 7, 1844, under the supervision
of the State Superintendent and the Regents of the
University. We give a more extended history
of this institution in another place. We mention
it here as one of the great events in the history of
education, occurring in this county over forty years
ago, and, ever since, shedding its benignant influ-
ence upon all the schools in the State, but es-
pecially upon those of Albany County. It was,
with the characteristic conservatism of the educa-
tional legislation of the times, limited to an exist-
ence of only five years. DeWitt Clinton, in 1826,
and other eminent statesmen of that day, who saw
that poor teaching was the great obstacle to the
progress of popular education, had spoken of the
importance of such an institution. The best edu-
cators and school officers urged it Its establish-
ment as an experiment was a necessity. It was
opened as a school, with twenty-nine pupils, De-
cember, 1844. It has never been closed. April
12, 1848, it was made a "permanent establish-
ment" by law. July 31, 1849, it occupied its
present building. This autumn it is to be removed
to its new building on Washington Park, admirable
for location, architecture, and all needfiil appoint-
ments for its appropriate work.
Its successive principals are thus named : David
R Page, George R. Perkins, Samuel B. Wool-
worth, David H. Cochrane, Oliver Arey, Joseph
Alden, Edward P. Waterbury.
Teachers' Departments in academies were pro-
vided for by a legislative act of ^larch 30, 1849,
and kept up to this day by subsequent acts, by
which, under certain conditions, in academies se-
EDUCATION.
267
lected by the Regents of the University, a class of
pupils receive special instruction in the art of man-
aging and teaching schools a portion of each year.
Under this act I find that Rensselaerville Academy
and Knoxville Academy have done some useful
service in this way; but it has been very limited in
quantity and variable in quality.
Teachers' hislilutes have been a popular and
powerful agency in the working educational forces
of the State and County. The first in the State
was opened at Ithaca, April 4, 1843, ^Y P^of. John
S. Denman, of Tompkins County, and held two
weeks. Salem Town, James B. Thompson and
David Powell were the assistants. Twenty-eight
teachers attended. A law providing for holding
them annually in each county was passed, Novem-
ber 13, 1847, appropriating sixty dollars to each
county which should comply with its provisions.
We add as complete a list as we can now make
out of those held in this county. We do not find
that Albany County was among the earliest to com-
ply with the terms of the act.
For some years they were not held regularly,
and were thinly attended. Indeed, to this day, the
attendance embraces but a small part of the teach-
ers of the county, and but littie popular or pro-
fessional enthusiasm has ever been awakened in
these State institutions in Albany County. The
years and places of holding, and the number of
members enrolled for twenty years past, are here
given :
1865. — Clarksville, 118; East Berne, 106;
Watervliet, 173.
1866. — Chesterville, 181; Watervliet, no.
1867. — Cohoes, 93.
1868. — Chesterville, no; Knowersville, 'j'^.
1869.
1870. — Chesterville, 140 ; Coeymans, 66.
1 871. — Watervliet, 71.
1872. — Chesterville, 172.
1873. — East Berne, 167.
1874. — Knowersville, 131.
1875. — Clarksville, I44-
1876. — New Salem, 132.
1877. — Knowersville, 144.
1878. — New Salem, 163 ; New Salem, 8g.
1879. — Clarksville, 102; Adamsville, 75.
1880. — Knowersville, 145; Berne, 157.
i88i. — New Salem, 120; Coeymans, 78.
1882. — Chesterville, 146; Knowersville, 108.
1883. — New Salem, 62.
1884. — Coeymans, 121.
1885. — Knowersville, 97.
The State Geological Survey was authorized by
law, April 15, 1836, and was carried on in four
districts. Albany County was included in the first
district. The following distinguished scientific
men residing in Albany were engaged with others
in that survey as principals or assistants : Prof
William G. Mather, in geology ; Prof, Ebenezer
Emmons, in geology and agriculture ; Dr. James
Eights, in geology ; Prof James Hall, in geology
and paleontology. The work commenced in 1836
and terininated with their first reports in 1841, ex-
cept that of paleontology, which is still continued
under Dr. James Hall, who has served in this de-
partment since 1843, Besides the five annual re-
ports, twenty-one huge printed volumes, abounding
in facts and illustrations, attest to the extent and
thoroughness of the work done.
The State Museum of Natural History, recenriy
placed in the State Hall, of which James Hall has
been director since 1866, is a wonderful collection,
a great and impressive teacher of science, an out-
growth of this survey, continually increasing un-
der the fostering care of the Regents of the Univer-
sity, who are its legal trustees, and by the wise and
devoted activity of its museum staff, consisting of
Profs. James Hall, geologist ; Joseph A. Lintner,
entomologist, and Charles H. Peck, botanist.
In 1820, sixteen years before the above State
survey was commenced, a Geological and Agri-
cultural Survey of Albany County was made by
Prof Theodoric Romeyn Beck. This was the
first undertaking of the kind in the State.
Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, with character-
istic public spirit and zeal for promoting valuable
knowledge, employed Prof Amos Eaton, then of
Albany, to make a geological examination of the
rocks along the line of the Erie Canal. His
report was published in 1824, and was a work of
decided merit, considering the state of science at
that date.
Regents of the university, except ex officiis,
appointed since 1787, and having residence in
Albany County, with year of appointment, have
been as follows :
John Rodgers, 1787; PhiKp Schuyler, 1787;
Dirck Romeyn, 1787; Eilardus Westerlo, 1787;
John McDonald, 1787; Abraham Van Vechten,
1797; Thomas Ellison, 1797; Simeon De Wilt,
1798; James Kent, 1800; John Tayler, 1802;
Ambrose Spencer, 1805; Elisha Jenkins, 1807; De
Witt Clinton, 1808; Peter Gansevoort, Jr., 1808
Joseph C. Yates, 181 2; Solomon South wick, 181 2
Smith Thompson, 1813; John Woodworth, 18 13
Martin Van Buren, 1816; John Lansing, Jr., 1817
John De Witt, 1817; Samuel Young, 1817; Stephen
Van Rensselaer, 18 19; William A. Duer, 1820;
Harmanus Bleecker, 1822; Samuel A. Talcott,
1823; James King, 1823; Peter Wendell, 1823;
268
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
William L. Marcy, 1823; Jesse Buel, 1826; Ben-
jamin F. Butler, 1829; Gerrit Y. Lansing, 1829;
John Keyes Paige, 1829; John Tracy, 1830; John
A. Dix, 1 831; Erastus Corning, 1833; James Mc-
Kown, 1834; AmasaJ. Parker, 1835; Joseph Rus-
sell, 1839; John C. Spencer, 1840; Gideon Haw-
ley, 1842; John V. L. Pruyn, 1844; Martin Van
Buren, 1845; Jabez D. Hammond, 1845; Philip
S. Van Rensselaer, 1849; John N. Campbell, 1851;
George W. Clinton, 1856; George R. Perkins,
1862; Henry R. Pierson, 1872; Anson J.Upson,
1874; John A. Dix, 1876; Charles E. Smith, 1879;
St. Clair McKelway, 1883; Hamilton Harris,
1885.
Standard historians have scarcely noticed the sub-
ject of education. We have had little help from
them. They write of wars, and the strifes of kings
and other men struggling for wealth and power.
Theirs is a record of contending factions in Church
and State. From them the student of history learns
little of the homes of the people, of the training of
the young, of the pursuits of the student of
science and literature, or of the mighty influences
that come from wise and godly men and women,
working for humanity and country, in quiet places.
And 3'et these are all of vital importance.
School statistics, as published in our school docu-
ments, possess little value previous to about 1857.
Mr. Victor M. Rice is entitled to the credit of or-
ganizing apian for them, but little improved since.
He had able clerks in his department; and county
school commissioners were trained by him to a
habit of making intelligible and truthful reports.
An examination of the State Annual School Reports
for thirty years past will enlighten the student of
education, as he can be enlightened in no other
way, in regard to the progress of education in our
State and County. We would be glad to collate
facts and make comparisons from these tables, but
space forbids.
The influences that have been working for a
century past to advance the education of the masses
in this State, have been many. Albany County,
as embracing the State Capital, and the temporary
homes, at least, of legislators, statemen, jurists,
educators and philanthropists, from whom these
influences have proceeded, has had great advan-
tages. In the City of Albany these influences have
been powerfully felt They have led to the estab-
lishment of our many private schools, our excellent
academies and public schools, our schools of
law and medicine, our Dudley Observatory, our
libraries and Cabinets, and all our facilities for
advancement in knowledge.
It must be admitted that these influences have
slowly entered into our country towns. We have
no doubt that the manorial system, so long existing
in these towns, has been the chief paralyzing cause.
It made men groveling and ambitionless. A better
day for these beautiful valleys and hills, these
homes and villages, is lifting. Schools and school-
houses are better, and men and women of intelli-
gence and influence are multiplying.
No one can question that these good influences
had their origin and stimulus from New England.
The immigration from that land, which began im-
mediately after the Revolution, and has continued
ever since, has spread and intensified these influ-
ences.
Among the men whose exertions and influence
have essentially contributed to the establishment of
the schools referred to, and to the securing, finally,
of a real, permanent school system, free for all the
people, may be named the following who have had
residence in this county, not to speak of Governors,
Regents, and State Superintendents named else-
where:
Gideon Hawley, Eliphalet Nott, Alexander G.
Johnson, Henry B. Haswell, John O. Cole,
Franklin Townsend, John V. L. Pruyn, Bradford
R. Wood, Friend Humphrey, Henry Mandeville,
Alonzo Potter, Jabez D. Hammond, John C.
Spencer, Daniel D. Barnard, Ebenezer Foot, T.
Romeyn Beck, Francis Dwight, Alonzo Crittenden,
Benj. F. Butler, Thomas W. Valentine, John W.
Bulkle}', Samuel B. Woolworth, Alden March,
James H. Armsby, Daniel J. Pratt, Henry S. McCall,
Charies P. Easton, John E. Bradley, Merrill E.
Gates and many others, including, of course, all
competent and faithful educators, male and female.
Of these twenty-nine, nineteen are natives of New
England. They were acknowledged leaders.
Others, "of every kindred, every tribe," have
cheerfully co-operated or followed, and enjoyed
the benefit of their labors.
After years of struggling in the dark, without
system, Gideon Hawley, of Connecticut, was elected
State Superintendent of Common Schools, in 18 13,
and held the office, with a salary of $300, for eight
years. "To no individual in the State are the
friends of Common School Education more in-
debted for the impetus given the cause of element-
ary instruction in its infancy than to Gideon Haw-
ley." Organization, supervision, practical knowl-
edge of minute details, patience, perseverance,
honest work and sincere love for the cause were
the requisites in one man. Mr. Hawley united all
these. He settled in Albany, was long time Sec-
retary of the Board of Regents, and lived to see
the reward of his labors. Many followed him
EDUCA TION.
269
most worthily. The work was carried on in
the Secretary of State Department, with increased
experience, by such men as Yates, Flagg, Dix,
Spencer, Young, Benton, Morgan and the Ran-
dalls. In 1854 Superintendent Rice took the helm,
followed by Weaver and others. But none after
Hawley had a home in this county except during
their official terms. Jonathan Tenney and Addi-
son A. Keyes are the only Deputy State Superin-
tendents of Public Instruction who were perma-
nent residents in Albany County.
The Educational growth of our County has
been very rapid during the last one hundred years,
and especially so during the last fifty years. Its
history, to which we have given a few pages only,
could easily be expanded into a volume. In the
special history of Albany City we shall give more
attention to its local institutions of learning.
A LIST OF THE TOWNSHIPS (/.), CITIES (c), INCORPORATED VILLAGES (i v.),
VILLAGES {v.), HAMLETS {h.) AND NEIGPIBORHOODS {n.) IN
ALBANY COUNTY,
WITH THEIR DISTANCES FROM ALBANY CITY IN MILES, THEIR POST-OFFICES, RAILWAY STATIONS, LOCATION
IN TOWN, LOCAL NAMES, ETC., BY PROF. J. TENNEY.
Towns, Cities,
Villages, etc.
Albany
Arbor Hill
Groesbeckville
Martinsville
North Albany ....
Tivoli Hollow ....
Washington Park .
West Albany
Berne
Berneville
East Berne
South Berne
West Berne
Peoria
Reidsville
Thompson's Lake.
Bethlehem
Adams' Station ...
Becker's Corners. .
Bethlehem Center.
Cedar Hill
Hurstville
Kenwood
Normansville
Selkirk
Slingerlands
So. Bethlehem
Upper Hollow
Van Wie's
Wemple
COEYMANS
Alcove ,
Aquetuck
Coeymans Hollow.
Coeymans Junction
Coeymans Landing
Indian Fields
Reefer's Corners. . .
Mossy Hill
Stephensville
COHOES
COLONIE
GUILDERLAND
Dunnsville
French's Mills
Fuller's Station
Guilderland Center.
Post-offices.
P. O.
Albany P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Berne P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Berne P. O.
P.O.
W
Bethlehem Center P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Albany P. O.
J Adamsville or )
1 Albany P. O. j
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Adamsville P. O.
P. O.
Bethlehem Center P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Coeymans P. O.
Coeymans P. (J.
P. O.
P.O.
Alcove P. O.
P.O.
P. O.
P. O.
Fuller's Sta. P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
Railway Stations.
N. Y. C,
B. & A., etc.
N. V. C.
A. &S.
W. S.
W. S.
A. & S.
W. S.
w. s.
w. s.
R. & S. and
T. & S.
W. S.
Distances
in Miles
Location
from State
Capitol.
Town.
%
N.
I
S.
%
S.
^'A
N.
I
N.
I
W.
2
N.
23
23
N.
19
N. E.
21
S.
27
N. W.
27
N. W.
16
S. E.
17
N. E.
5
6
C.
8
S.
5
C.
8
S. E.
3
N.
2
E.
4
N. E.
10
E.
7
N. W.
10
S.
4
N. E.
5
E.
3
E.
•3
21
S. W.
16
S. E.
18
S. C.
13
E.
13
S. E.
20
N.
20
N. W.
22
S. W.
20
S. W.
9
9
E.
>5
N. W.
13
E.
13
C.
12
C.
Local Names and Other Notes.
f Fort Orange, The Fuyck,
J Beverwyck, Aurania, Or-
1 anienberg, Williamstadt,
[were early names.
Annexed from Bethlehem.
Named for George Martin.
Annexed from Watervliet.
Public Park.
Mostly in Watervliet.
Beaver Dam, Corporation.
Philla, n. Warner's Lake.
Mechanicsville, Peoria.
Named for Peoria, Ills.
Named for Sandy Reid.
Summer Resort.
Adamsville.
The Hook.
Babcock's Corner.
Steamboat Landing.
Mouth of Normanskill.
Upper Hollow.
Janes' Corners.
Normansville.
Stephensville.
Peacock's Corners.
Named for Balthus Keefer.
J A town from 1808-15, I
( now a part of Albany. \
Named for Christopher Dunn.
Named for Abel French.
Named for Maj. John Fuller.
Bangall.
h.
270
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
A LIST OF THE TOWNSHIPS,
CITIES, INCORPORATED
VILLAGES, ETC., ETC.
Towns, Cities,
Villages, etc.
Post-offices.
Railway Stations.
Distances
in Miles
from State
Capitol.
Location
in
Town.
Local Names and Other Notes.
Guilderland Station.
P. O.
Guilderland P. 0.
P.O.
P.O.
Guilderland P. O.
P.O.
Knox P. O.
Knox P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P. O.
P.O.
P. 0.
Jerusalem P. O.
P.O.
P. O.
P.O.
P.O.
Voorheesville P. O.
p."b.'
Union Church P. O.
P.O.
P. O.
Rensselaerville P. O.
P. O.
Rensselaerville P. O.
P.O.
A. &S.
8
I?
4
8
21
21
22
19
23
8
12
12
9
15
9
12
8
II
14
9
9
II
•3
23
32
29
'33
32
28
10
3
8
12
6
7
10
3
9
6
9
3
12
3
5
"s'
2
6
6
S
9
3
6
22
22
20
26
24
20
22
S. W.
E.
W. C.
S. E.
E.
'c."
N.
E.
W.
E.
S. E.
S. W.
S. E.
N. W.
S. E.
N. W.
E.
N. E.
S.
E.
E.
N.
W.
s. w.
s. w.
S. E.
S.'w.
S. w.
N. E.
S. E.
N. W.
'n.'
E.
N.
W.
E.
E.
N.
C.
W.
C.
N. W.
S.
N. E.
E.
C.
'w.'
S.
C.
C.
E.
N.
S.
E.
'c.'
E.
s. w.
S.
N.
C.
/,
Hamiltonville
N'd for Hon. Alex. Hamilton.
Named for Hon. Benj. Knower.
Named for Hon. Jas. McKown.
Hamiltonville, Sloans.
V.
Knowersville
McKownville
A. &S.
V.
h
Sloans
V.
Knox
t.
Knoxville
The Street.
Ii
Knox Station
A. & S.
East Township
West Township
New Scotland
V.
V.
t
Callanan's Corners
h
ClarksviUe
V,
W. S.
Jerusalem.
h
Helderberg
n.
Jerusalem
w. s.
Feura Bush.
h
New Salem
V.
New Scotland
h.
New Scotland Station.
j A. & S. and 1
\ w. s. \
" "w.s.""
w. s.
I A. & S. and 1
■j W. S. f
Voorheesville.
Tarrytovm.
Unionville.
V,
h
Union Church
Unionville
h.
h
Voorheesville
WolfHilL
j Named for )
( Hon. A. B. Voorhees. j
V.
Rensselaerville
t.
Cooksburg
Named for Thomas Cook.
Williamsburg.
Hall's Mills.
Obsolete; Willow Glen.
Named for Samuel Poller.
Named for John Preston.
Named for 1
Gen. S. Van Rensselaer, f
Named for Moses Smith.
Connersville.
V,
h
Peckham Hollow
h
Potter's Hollow
P.O.
P. O.
P. O.
Medusa P. O.
Rensselaerville P. O.
V.
Preston Hollow
Rensselaerville
Smith's Comers
h
Williamsburg
h
Watervliet
t.
Boght
Cohoes P. O.
Albany P. O.
Kamer P. O.
Groesbeck's Comers.
( Rural, St. Agnes and 1
j Anshe Emeth Cemeteries, j
Karner.
Railway Station.
Named for James Gibbons.
Tibbitt's Island.
The Boght.
Named for Rev. Selah Ireland.
Named for Theodore Kamer.
j Town House and 1
j Van Vranken's Corners, j
Named for Lord Loudon.
On the Mohawk.
Named for Florist Menand.
Named for John M. Newton.
Named for Peter Schuyler.
Shaker Community since 1776.
Named for Julius A. Spencer.
Van Vranken's.
Town Hovise Comers.
Port Schuyler.
h
Cemetery
R. &S.
N. Y. C.
T. &S.
R. &S.
R. &S.
Ji-
Center
ll
Crescent
fl
Gibbonsville.
West Troy P. O.
P. O.
Cohoes P. O.
Loudonville P. O.
P. 0.
Cohoes P. O.
P.O.
P. O.
Green Island.
■ '
Groesbeck's Corners. .
h
Ireland's Comers
Karner. .
N. Y. C.
h.
/l
Latham's Corners
Lisha'sKill
h.
Loudonville
Lower Aqueduct
■
Menand's
Albany P. O.
P. O.
A. &T.
/;.
Newtonville
Port Schuyler
'
Shakers
P.O.
West Albany P. O.
Cohoes P. O.
Cohoes P. O.
■
Spencerville
Town House Corners..
N. Y. C.
V.
J,
Van Vranken's Comers
ji
Washington
h.
WatervUet Center . . .
P. O.
P.O.
P.O.
P. O.
Westerlo P. O.
P.O.
So. Westerlo P. O.
P. O.
Westerlo P. O.
West Albany
N. Y. C.
R. &S.
Partly in Albany City,
f Includes former Port Schuy- 1
\ ler, Gibbonsville and \
( Washington. )
West Troy
Westerlo
t.
Chesterville
Named for Rev. John Chester.
Named for Daniel Dorman.
Dorraansville
h
Lamb's Corners
h
South Westerlo
V,
Van Leuven's Comers.
f Once Sackelt's Comers and J
X Preston's Comers; named >
( for Isaac Van Leuven. )
Westerlo Center
Tt.
POPULATION.
271
HISTORY OF POPULATION IN ALBANY COUNTY.
By Prof. J. TENNEY.
THE legitimate purpose of the Census seems to
be to determine matters essential to an intelli-
gent and equitable administration of public affairs.
At first nothing was taken account of except the
population classed by ages, sexes, and sometimes
by races. In this way the strength of a people for
the productive pursuits of peace or the destructive
hazards of war, was measured. And when some
respect began to be given to the popular demand
for natural rights, it was important, to begin with,
to have some scale of representation.
As imperfect as these census takings confessedly
are, they are valuable as an approximate measure
of the growth and prosperity of a people. To
take them as they come to us is the best we can
do, when we propose to show the historic move-
ment of population and the great events and in-
dustries that accompany it or depend upon it.
Hence, we have carefully collated, from every re-
source in our reach, this chapter as a valuable con-
tribution to our history.
As will be seen, the statements of population
during the Dutch Colonial period are but little
better than estimates; and even when taken by di-
rection of government officers, not only in the
English Colonial times, but even in this day, by
so many "enumerators," and from the mouths
of so many dishonest, ignorant or timid people,
the tabulated reports have never yet reached per-
fection.
Our facts and inferences in regard to the number
and condition of the population of New Nether-
lands during the Dutch period, and of New York
during the English period, are derived from the
documents and other historic papers of those
periods.
Wassenaer's Historia Van Europa, Amsterdam,
1621-1632, says: "There are now no families at
Fort Orange. They are all brought down. They
keep five or six and twenty persons, traders, there.
Bastiaen Jansz Crol is Vice-Director there. He re-
mained there since the year 1626, when the others
came down."
This helps confirm our opinion that no perma-
nent settlements in or near what is now Albany
were made prior to 1630; perhaps we ought to
say, prior to 1639.
The same writer, speaking of Fort Amsterdam,
says: "The population consists of 270, including
men, women and children." Fear of the savages,
and the dreary state of things about frontier Fort
Orange, thus early led the "families," " the women
and children," to "come down." to a place of
better security.
That the early population of both Manhattan
and Beverwyck consisted of few persons, except
the officers and servants of the West India Com-
pany, is well agreed. A little band of colonists
came over in 1630 as farmers and farm servants
under the patroon, and did service under leases or
otherwise, on the manor lands of Rensselaerwyck.
Few had families.
In 1638, most of the population was confined to
New Amsterdam and Fort Orange.
Their "High Mightinesses " had information in
April, 1638, that "the population in New Nether-
lands does not only not increase as it might, but
even that it is decreasing," which they attribute to
the neglect of the West India Company to properly
encourage immigration and provide for the protec-
tion of the immigrants by proper "inducements
and pre-eminences."
Free trade, in 1638, gave some impetus to im-
migration; but most who came over preferred trad-
ing with Indians to cultivating the soil. In 1646,
as shown by the Van Rensselaer papers, only 2 1 6
colonists had been sent over to Rensselaerwyck in
sixteen years, reckoning from the first arrival in
1630.
Governor Stuyvesant tells us that, in 1647, soon
after he came in charge of New Netherlands,
"The whole province could not muster 250 or, at
most, 300 men capable of bearing arms." This
includes, of course, all the settlements in and
around New Amsterdam, Esopus and Beverwyck.
This he attributes in part to the "exceedingly det-
rimental, land-destroying and people-expelling wars
with the cruel barbarians " that were aroused and
carried on under Kieft. In this connection he
speaks of his "troublesome neighbors of New
272
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
England," whose population numbered "full fifty
to our one." Not far from this time New England
was dotted over with agricultural and commercial
settlements, many of which had organized as inde-
pendent towns; and its population was reckoned
at 60,000.
Until 1656, the little church of nine benches
satisfied the religious worshipers of Fort Orange
and the Colony. The early population of Bever-
wyck was an unsettled one. Some few of the better
class purchased lands beyond the limits of Fort
Orange, and settled down as industrious farmers;
some returned to Fatherland; and others retired to
the more stirring town of New Amsterdam, down
by the sea. Population increased slowly upon the
frontiers up the Hudson and Mohawk. Many
were vagabonds of the lowest character; most
unfit as founders or builders of a permanent and
prosperous society.
In 1673, line years after the English came in
possession, we are told : " They and as many of
the Dutch nation as are yet residing under this
government is calculated to amount, women and
children included, to about six thousand."
In 1678, Gov. Andros writes: "Inhabitants and
planters about 2,000 able to bear armes; old in-
habitants of the place or of England, except in
and neere New York, of Dutch extraction, and some
few of all nations."
"The town itself is upon a barren spot of land,
and the inhabitants live wholly upon trade with
the Indians." Gov. Dongan in 1687, says this of
Albany.
The first attempt at taking a census in the Prov-
ince of New York, was made in 1686 by Gov.
Dongan, by request of the Board of Trade and
advice of Council. The Sheriff had the matter in
charge, assisted by constables or other under-ofl5-
cers, and reported on or before the ist of April to
the Governor.
A LIST OF THE HEADS OF FAMILIES,
And the number of men, women and children in
each household in the City and County of Albany,
June 16, 1697:
Chil-
Men. Women, dren.
Joannis Harmense i
Myndert Schuyler i
Joannes Schuyler i
Aryantie Wendels o
Alida Schuyler o
Pieter Van Brugh i
Marities Lervens o
Margaret Schuyler o
Melgert Abrahamse i
Wouter Van Derzee i
Pieter Van Olinde I
Chil-
Men. Women, dren.
David Schuyler i
Mrs. Bradshaw o
William Ketelhyn
Lucas Lucase
Jan Bratts Widdow
Roelof Gerritse
Jan Rosie
Isaac Caeperse
Hendrick Masselis
Hendrick Hals
Joannis Becker, Jun'r
Jacob Staets
Dirk Van der Heyde
William Hogan (I.)
Joannis Teller
John Fyne
Hendrick Lansing
Woter Wan der Uythof
Paulus Martinse
John Carr (E.)
James Parker (F.)
Hendrick Oothout
Colo. Pieter Schuyler
Pieter Van Woglom
Jacob Winne
Tennis Dirkes
Abraham Staets
Benoni Van Corlatr
Jurian Van Hoese
Joseph Yeats (E.)
Joseph Janse (Sp.)
Jonathan Broadhurst (E )
Jan Verbeeck
Eghbert Teunisse
Leendert Phillipse
Albert Ryckman 4
Fredrick Harmense
Jacob Cornelisse Bogart
Omie Lagrange, Jun'r
William Holie
Harman Gansevoort
Jan Quackebosse
Jan Salomonse
Godefridus Dellius
Hendrick Hause
Catelyntie Schuyler
Jacobus Schuyler
Geart Hendrikse
Jacob Van Schoonhoven
Joannis Bratt
Wessel Ten Broeck
Frans Winne
Maria Lookerman
Gerrit Rycker
Ryer Gerritse
Jan Vonda
Harpert Jacobse
Willem Gysberse
Takel Dirckse
Jan Cornelisse Viselaer
Jacob Teunisse
Anna Ketelheyn
Johannis Thomasse
Effie Lause
Johannis Hause
Barent Albertsc Brat
Comelis Van Ness
Anna Vander Heyden
Volkert Van Loese
Tierck Harmense
Anthony Brat
Jacobus Van Vorst
Thomas Harmense
Joannes D'Wandelaer, Junior
Jan Van Ness
Gerret Van Ness
Willcm Claesse
Myndert Fredrickse 4
Trynlie Carstens o
2
I
2
3
5
6
o
3
o
2
3
I
4
3
3
o
2
o
o
o
5
4
o
o
I
I
5
6
2
4
o
5
o
5
2
7
o
o
6
6
9
o
2
o
o
4
o
I
4
3
I
o
o
I
o
5
I
o
6
3
I
o
I
I
3
5
4
4
o
2
o
4
z
3
o
2
POPULATION.
273
Sweer Marcelis
Pieter Bogardus
Hendrick Van Rensselaer
Abraham Wendel
Evert Wendel
Dirk Wessel
Anthony Coster
Isaac Ouderkerk
Bastiaen Harmenss
Thomas Williams
Anthony Van Schaick
Hendrick Roseboom
Jonathan Janse
Ryer Jacobse
Cornells Schermerhoorn
Abraham Kip
Jacob Lookerman
Frans Pruyn
Anthony Bries
Catalynlie Jacobse
Gysbert Marcelis
Warnaer Carstense
Wouter Quackenboss, Junior ... .
Claese Ryrse Van Dam
Abraham Lansing
Evert Wendel, Junior
Geertie Ten Eyck
Barent and Hendrick Ten Eyck .
Abraham Cuyler
Steven Groesbeck
Martin Cregier
Jillis Vonda
Johannis Roseboom
John Gilbert (E.)
Daniel Brat
Abraham Schuyler
EstherTiercks
Joannes Appel
Claes Jacobse
W^illiam Jacobse
Lucas Gerritse
Johannis. Beekman
Isaac Verplanck
Rol)ert Livingston (Sc. )
PhiUip D'Foreest
Hendrick Van Dyck
Jacobus Turk
Harmanus Wendel
Phillip Wendel
Melgert Wendel
Joannes Lucase
Melgert Melgertse
Joannes Bleeker, Junior
Joannis Glenn
Jan Janse Bleeker
Hendrik Roseboom, Junior
Nanning Harmense
Abraham Tewisse
Pieter Mingael
Claes Rust
Jan Vinhagen
Gerrit Lansing
Jan Nack
Jan Lansing . . . '.
Gerrit Roseboom.
Cornells Slingerland
Albert Slingerland
Gerret Lucasse
Cornells Sherloyn
Myndert Roseboom
DirckBrat
Joannes Outhout
David Ketelheyn
Maes ComeUsse
Hillegont Rykse
Maes Rykse
Wednwe Gerritze
Jan Gerritze
Daniel Retelheyn
Men,
I
3
I
I
2
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
3
I
o
I
I
I
I
I
o
2
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
O
I
2
I
3
I
2
3
I
I
I
I
Chil-
Women. dren.
O O
3
3
o
2
4
o
I
5
3
4
I
o
4
2
3
o
4
2
I
3
o
o
o
o
6
4
o
3
o
S
o
4
S
o
2
I
Me
Mees Ilogeboom 2
Pieter Villeroy (F.) i
Marcellis Ffranse i
Rachel Ratcliffe o
Chil-
Women. dren.
[ I
7
o
7
IN RENSSELAERWYCK, OR THE COLONIE.
Kiliaen Van Rensselaer i
Henrich Van Ness 3
Harman Janse 2
Andries Gardenier i
Douwe Vonda 2
Wouter Quackenboss i
Jan Dirckse i
Evert Ridder i
Cornelis Teunisse 3
Dorothe Douw o
Andries Douw 3
Geestruy Janse o
Thomas Janse I
Lucas Janse I
Marten Cornelisse 2
Gerrit Gysbertse I
Claes Van Petten 2
Joannes Onderkerck 4
Joannes Onderkerck, Junior i
Henrick Beekman i
Barent Coeymans 4
Pieter Van Slyck i
Tennis Van Slyck i
Barent Gerritzey 2
Cornelis Hendrikse 2
Elizabeth Hendrikse o
Gerretie Jacobse o
Jan Spoor
Levinus Winne
Casper Leenderse
Daniel Winne
Gerit Van Wey
Ryk Michielse
Jan Huybertz and his mother
Claes Sewertse
Neeltie Van Bergen
Richard Janse
Matthys Hooltyling
Arent Slingerland
Solomon Van Vechten
Cornelis Tymese
Joannes Hanse
Cornelis Stevense
Cornelis Martense
T/s Janse
Robert Tewise
Isaac Janse
Nicolaes Janse
Jan Tewise
Servis Abrahamse
Jacob Janse
Hans Jury's wife , ,
Jan Salisbury
Joannis Visbeek.
Ffranch Hardin
Jan Van Hoese ,
Carl Hanse
Jochim Lamberts
Isaac Vosburgh
Gerret Jacobse
Andries Heugh
Samuel Gardner
Lambert Jochimse
Edward Wheeler (E.)
Jacob Bastiaense
Pieter Vosliurgh
Pieter Martense
Jan Tyse
Hendrik De Brouwer
Jan De Wever
Abraham Janse
Lambert Janse
o
5
o
3
3
o
o
6
9
4
3
4
2
4
I
3
7
4
I
S
7
o
S
4
4
2
5
3
2
3
6
3
3
I
274
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Chil-
Men. Women, dren.
3
2
2
I
I
6
2
O
6
4
o
3
4
S
3
6
6
4
o
5
2
I
O
2
Adam Dingmans I i
Lawrence Van Aden 5 o
Jannetie Severs 6
Andries Lause 2
Frans Pieterse i
Johannes Janse i
Coenraedt Hooftylingh i
Helmer Janse i
Phillip Konnings I
Jan Casperse I
WiUiam Janse I
Michiel ColUer i
Jan Alberse i
Jacob Casperse i
Andries Bratt i
John Van Loon i
Jan Brouck 3
Andries Janse 3
Gerrit Teunisse 3
Jonas Douwe i
Jan Baptist I
Dirck Teunissee 4
Gysbert Cornelisse 2
William Jan Shutt 3
Hillebrant i
At this count Benjamin Fletcher was Governor,
Simon Young, Sheriff of Albany County, and
Dircke Wessels, Mayor of Albany. The "list" is
specially interesting as containing the names and
enumeration of the ancestors, nearly two hun-
dred years ago, of many of the people of Holland
blood now living in this county. The census aggre-
gates 1,452, of which 379 are men, 270 women and
803 children. Of the letters in parentheses, E.
denotes English; R, French; Sp., Spanish; Sc,
Scotch; I., Indian. The others are supposed to be
Dutch.
The population of the city and county of Albany,
as taken by the order of Governor Bellomont, in
1698, at the close of King William's war, consisted
of 382 men, 272 women, 805 children and 23
negroes. In 1689, at the beginning of this war,
it had been 662 men, 340 women and 1,014
children. The decrease during the war was re-
ported as follows :
Men.
Departed 142
Taken prisoners 16
Killed by ye enemy 84
Dyed 38
Total 280
Women. Children.
68 209
68
209
The effect of the war of 1689-98 on the Five
Nations is reported as follows :
i68g. 1698.
The Mohoggs 270 no
The Onneydes 180 70
The Onnondages 500 250
TheCajouges 320 200
The Sennekes 1,300 600
Total 2,550 1,230
In 1703 the population of Albany city and
county is reported to have been 2, 273.
Rev. Thomas Barclay, in September, 1710,
writes : "In the city and county of Albany, there
are about 3,000 souls, besides the garrison. Most
of the inhabitants are Dutch, the garrison excepted,
which consists of three companies, each company
one hundred men."
Governor Hunter writes to the Board of Trade,
under date of June 23, 1712 : " I have issued or-
ders to the several counties and cities for an
account of the numbers of their inhabitants and
slaves, but have never been able to obtain it com-
plete, the people being deterred by a simple super-
stition and observation that sickness followed upon
the last numbering of the people." In 171 5 he
writes further that, " The superstition of this peo-
ple is so insurmountable that I believe I shall never
be able to obtain a complete list of the number of
inhabitants of this province. "
Governor Hunter, in April, 171 6, writes to the
Board of Trade: "The number of militia in this
province, by my last account, is 5,060. I cannot
say that the inhabitants increase in that proportion
as they do in the neighboring provinces, where the
purchases of land are easier."
In June, 1720, "A list of the Freeholders of the
City and County of Albany " was taken, by order
of the Court of Judicature, under direction of Gar-
rett Van Schaick, High Sheriff. The county then
included Kinderhook, Claverack, Schaghtioke,
manor of Livingston, Niskayuna, Schenectady,
Half Moon, Coxackie and Catskill. In the pres-
ent territory of Albany County, 153 freeholders
were reported for the city, and 81 for the manor of
Rensselaerwyck.
In 1723, there were reported as whites, 1,512
men, 1,408 women, 1,404 male children, 1,369
female children — 5,693 ; and " of negroes and other
slaves," 307 men, 200 women, 146 male children,
155 female children — 808. Total, 6,501.
Gosen Van Shaick, Sheriff in 1731, enumerates :
White males above 10 years old 2 481
" females " " " " l'2^i;
White males under 10 '. 2\«
" females " " \2\2.
Black males above 10 ' rgg
" females " " ....'....'..' 181;
" males under " W\\ , ,g
" females " " ..'.'."!.'.'.'.".!!...!..' 174
'^°'^' .8^
The remarkable excess of the male population
at this time is worthy of notice. The population
of New York City at this time was 8,622, with no
remarkable difference in the sex population.
Sheriff Van Schaick thus remarks upon the matter :
"It is remarkable that in New York there are,
POPULATION.
275
above ten years, 147 males and 995 females more
than in Albany, and 1,029 males and 185 females
(under ten) more than in New York; which is
accounted for by this part being a trading place,
and many of the males go abroad; of course, many
females lye fallor; and perhaps in the county
they are better breeders, I believe many younger. "
In 1737 the Albany County population is stated
as follows :
White males above 10 years 3,209
" females " " " 2,995
" males under" " I1463
" females " " " 11384
Black males above ** ** 714
" females " " " 496
" males under " " 223
" females " " " 197
19,681
This is an increase of 2,108 since 1731, and ex-
ceeds that of New York County by 1 7.
An account of the number of inhabitants in the
Province of New York was taken, June 4, 1746,
by order of Gov. Clinton. Every county was
taken except Albany. Upon this it was noted:
"Not possible to be numbered on account of the
enemy.'' This was during King George's war of
1744-48, called the war of the Austrian Succession;
At the enumeration taken by order of Gov. Clin-
ton, May 10, 1749, after this war was over, Albany
County contained :
Males under 16 years 2,249
" 16 and under 60 2,359
* * above 60 322
Females under 16 2,137
" 16 and upward 2,087
Total whites 9. '54
Male blacks under 16 309
" " 16 and under 60 424
" " 60 and upward 48
Female blacks under 16 334
" " 16 and upward 365
Total blacks 1,480
The whole province at this time contained 6,275
whites and 10,692 blacks.
The sheriffs of the several counties made another
enumeration in 1756, during the French and In-
dian war. The returns of Albany County showed :
Males under 16 3.474
" above 16 and under 60 3.795
" 60 and upward 456
Females under 16 3.234
" above l6 3,846
Total whites 14.805
Black males under 16 658
" " over 16 and under 60 786
" " 60 and upward 76
" females.under 16 496
•' " above 1 6 403
Total blacks 2,619
In 1 771 Gov. Tryon ordered a census, which re-
sulted for Albany County as follows :
Males under 16 9.740
" above 16 and under 60 9,822
" 60 and upward 1,136
Females under 16 9,086
" above 16 9.04S
Total whites 38,829
Black males under 16 • 876
" " above 16 and under 60 1,100
" " 60 and upward 250
" females under 16 671
" " above 16 980
Total blacks 3,877
Total population 42, 706
This was the last counting of the people under
the Colonial Government of New York. Less
than four years later the war for independence had
actually begun. The population during these
troubled times made slow increase. It probably
did not exceed 45,000 in Albany County during
the Revolutionary war. But it must not be for-
gotten that Albany County then included what are
now Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie,
Greene and Schenectady Counties. A part of Ver-
mont was also claimed.
Gov. Tryon, in 1774, makes the following re-
marks concerning the population of the province,
which includes Albany County : "The high price
of labor and the plenty and cheapness of new land
fit for cultivation, as they increase the means of
subsistence, are strong additional incitements to
marriage, and the people entering into that state
more generally, and at an earlier period of life than
in Europe, the proportion of marriages and births
so far exceeds that of populous countries that it has
been computed the colonies double their inhabit-
ants by natural increase only in twenty years. The
increase in this colony has been nearly in the same
proportion." He adds: "The accession to our
own numbers by emigrations from the neighboring
colonies and from Europe has been considerable,
though comparatively small to the number thus
acquired by some of the southern colonies."
The necessities of the Revolution made a fair
census desirable in all the thirteen colonies. Ac-
cordingly, one was ordered by the Continental Con-
gress in 1775, to be taken by committees in each
county. But the returns were imperfect, and only
fragments are preserved.
Another census, for the purpose of assigning
State quotas and means, was ordered in 1782.
A census was also taken in 1786 under the Con-
federation.
^76
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The first Federal census was taken in 1790, and
has been repeated every tenth year since by United
States marshals and their deputies, and has formed
the basis of representation in Congress. Besides
the enumeration of the people, classed in different
ways, almost every conceivable subject connected
wiih our nation's development has come to
be included in our decennial census returns.
But our purpose and space limits us chiefly to
population. Some of the most valuable facts
gathered for this county will appear in their appro-
priate places.
UNITED STATES CENSUS FOR ALBANY COUNTY.
Towns.
Albany
Berne
Bethlehem
Coeymans
Cohoes
Colonic
Guilderland
Knox
New Scotland
Rcnsselaervillc . . . .
Watervlict
Westerlo
I
790.
1800
1810.
1820.
1830.
1840.
1850.
i860.
1870.
1880.
3.506
5.289
.9.356
12,630
24,209
33.762
50,763
62,367
69,422
90.758
5.134
5-531
3.607
3.740
3-441
3,065
2,562
2,616
4.430
5."4
6,082
3,238
4,102
5.644
6,950
3.752
3.574
2,872
2.723
3.107
3,050
3>"6
3,077
15,357
2,912
19,416
1,406
2,476
2,270
2,742
2,189
2,790
2,143
2,912
3.279
2,021
3,459
3,246
2,025
3,304
3.132
1,656
3.4"
3.459
1,694
3.251
2.777
5,528
3.435
3.685
3-705
3,629
3.008
2,492
2,488
7,667
Z.365
2,806
4,962
10,141
16,675
25,449
22,609
22,220
3.458
3.321
3.096
2,860
2,692
2,384
Z.324
Incor-
porated.
1686
1795
1793
I79I
1869
1808
1803
1822
1832
1790
1788
181S
Notes. — In 1790 our present county had only the City of Albany and the Towns of Watervliet and Rensselaerville.
The column giving date of incorporation indicates when new towns have been made out of the same territory. These towns
have made some changes by division. The varying influences of manufactures and trade, the facilities of modern commerce
and travel, and the demands of modern life have made marked changes in their population.
The first State Constitution, adopted in 1777,
provided that a septennial census of electors should
be taken as a basis of representation in the Senate
and Assembly of the State. Under this authority
a census of this class was taken in 1790, 1795,
1801, 1807, 1814 and 1821, each provided for by
special acts. The persons counted were divided
into four classes, viz. :
1. Those allowed to vote for Senator, Governor
and Lieutenant-Governor, and required to be worth
$250 and over.
2. Those worth from $50 to $250.
3. Those not freeholders, but who rented es-
tates for $5 annually.
4. Those with no property qualifications, but
were freemen in New York City, October 14, 1775,
or in Albany, April 20, 1777.
No returns beyond these inquiries were made
before the fifth State census, made in 18 14, when
directions were given to ascertain the total popula-
tion. The last census under the first Constitution
was taken in 182 1.
The revised Constitution of 182 1 ordered a State
census to be taken in 1825, and every tenth year
thereafter, for the purpose of equalizing the r pre-
sentation. Changes have been made in the meth-
ods of enumeration and in the number of facts to
be gathered.
NEW YORK STATE CENSUS, GIVING THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE COUNTY.
Towns.
1 . Albany
2. Berne
3. Bethlehem .
4. Coeymans
5. Cohoes
6. Colonic
7. Guilderland
8. Knox
9. New Scotland..
10. Rensselaerville.
11. Watervliet
12. Westerlo
1814.
10,083
4,447
4,325
3.272
1.657
2,264
5.333
2,564
1821.
1825.
15,971
1835-
28,109
3,956
3,303
2,957
2,803
2,262
3, '30
3.507
6,961
3.074
1845.
42.139
3.667
3.315
2,978
2,995
2,161
3,288
3,589
11,209
2,957
1855-
57,333
3,206
5,i5>
2,963
3,188
1,888
3,227
3,088
20,889
2,648
1865.
62,613
2,851
5.928
3.264
3,207
1,809
3,3"
2,745
27,279
2,497
1875.
86,541
2,565
3,746
3,122
17,943
3.502
1,641
3,264
2.579
20,894
2,316
We regret that aU our researches have failed to give us the United States Census returns for the country towns in the
county m 1800, and of the State census returns in 1821 and 1825.
The act passed by the Legislature of 1885, providing for taking the State decennial census of that year, was vetoed by
Governor Hill, and no census has been taken.
ANTI-RENTISM.
277
ANTI-RENTISM IN ALBANY COUNTY.
ITS ORIGIN, RISE AND PROGRESS ITS ADVENT AS A POLITICAL POWER, AND ITS DECLINE AS SUCH REMARK-
ABLE sheriff's POSSE AND MILITARY DEMONSTRATIONS THE LEGAL CONTROVERSY THE QUARTER
SALE AND ITS OVERTHROW MANOR PROPRIETORS FINDING THAT THEY ARE NEITHER
LORDS NOR PATROONS, NOR LANDLORDS, SELL THEIR DISPUTED INTEREST
FORFEITURE AND CONFISCATION OF LANDS, WITH THE BUILDINGS
AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS ENFORCED BY SPECULATORS
PRESENT STATUS OF THE CONTROVERSY.
By Hon. A-NDRE-W J. COLVIN.
ANTI-RENTISM had its origin in Albany
County. It started into existence very soon
after the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer, the last
holder of the manor of Rensselaerwyck under the
British crown. His death occurred on the 26th
day of January, 1839. He was known to that
generation as the patroon, sometimes the good
patroon, and after his death as the old patroon.
The manor was more than a principality in size,
and comprised the greatest portion of the lands —
cultivated and wooded — in the present counties
of Albany and Rensselaer.
As primogeniture was the law of inheritance in
England, so it was of the colonies, and this Stephen
Van Rensselaer, therefore, as the eldest son, inher-
ited this manor of Rensselaerwyck. The revolution,
and the laws following, changed the rule of inheri-
tance, and gave to all the children alike.
To break the force of this radical change, and
to keep this vast landed interest in the hands of his
two eldest sons that might be, and their descend-
ants, if possible, this Stephen Van Rensselaer on
arriving at his majority adopted the system of sell-
ing his lands in fee, reserving to himself in the con-
veyances, and to his heirs and assigns, all mines
and minerals, all streams of water for mill pur-
poses and the like ; and then certain old-time feu-
dal returns, denominated rents, payable annually,
at the manor house in Watervliet, such as a speci-
fied number of bushels of good, clean, merchant-
able winter wheat, four fat fowls, and one day's
service with carriage and horses ; and, finally, the
reservation or exaction of one-quarter of the pur-
chase price on every vendition of the land.
This patroon was advised that he could do this,
even on grants in fee ; and it is reported that Alex-
ander Hamilton framed the form of conveyance to
be adopted.
There was at this time an English statute, known
as the statute of Quia Emplores, which rendered it
impossible for a subject, on a conveyance in fee of
his land, to make, or if made to enforce by re-
entry or forfeiture, such feudal reservations. That
was a right remaining in and belonging to the
crown alone.
It was, probably, assumed by Mr. Hamilton
that that statute was never in force in the colony,
and that it, therefore, had no existence in the State,
or any statute tantamount to it ; or he may, per-
haps, have had no knowledge of the English
statute, as it was adopted so long ago as the reign
of Edward I.
However that may have been, it is certain that
this patroon, acting upon such advice from some
quarter, sold in fee, with warranty of title, his
farming lands in Albany and Rensselaer counties,
the deeds containing the feudal reservations above
mentioned. The system seemed to work smoothly
enough during his life and the lives of the first pur-
chasers; but, on his and their death, the successors
of the latter, as owners, began to grow restive
under the burdens imposed; and, on being urgently
pressed after the death of the patroon by his sons
Stephen and William to make payments of the
rents in arrear as reserved in the deeds, they — the
owners of the lands — began to question the legality
of the reservations.
The patroon, by his will, devised all his interest
in the lands thus sold by him in fee, with the re-
servations of rents, to his two oldest sons, Stephen
and William R; the scrivener who drew the will
and himself undoubtedly supposing that he verily
owned the escheat or reversion of such lands; in
other words, and in more familiar language, that
he still owned or retained the soil thereof To the
oldest son, Stephen, was given the rents in Albany
278
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
County; and to William P., the second son, the
rents in Rensselaer County, as reserved in the
conveyances.
Here, on the death of the father, commenced
the first troubles of the landholders, or the tenantry,
as they were called by the manor proprietors.
While the old patroon was one of the most
gentle, kind-hearted and benevolent of men, and
often generously reduced the rents, and by many
sympathetic acts called forth the gratitude and love
of the landholders, the young patroons, — proud,
perhaps, of the great acquisitions, and it may be
withal in need of money, as the rents, after the
father's death, came in sparingly and reluctantly, —
were sternly exacting, and they required full and
prompt payments, and omission to pay was fol-
lowed by prosecution and threatened eviction.
It was not long, under these circumstances, be-
fore strong hostility was exhibited to the fee-farm
rent system in these two counties, soon extending
into adjacent counties affected by the same system.
It is remarkable, on taking advice of counsel,
as the landholders did, that no opinion was given
or suggestion made that the deeds of the patroon
being absolute conveyances of all his interest in the
lands, the reservations were, for that reason, invalid
as incumbrances, made so by the English statute
before mentioned.
The counsel consulted were either ignorant of
the existence of that statute or they dismissed the
consideration of it on the assumption that it was
never the law of the Colony or of the State. Had
that statute, at the time of the anti-rent outbreak,
been recognized as the law of the State, it is not too
much, probably, to assert and believe that, before
the distinguished judges who then adorned the
bench, with the Senate composing the court of last
resort — a popular as well as judicial body — the
anti-rent controversy would have been spared more
than a quarter of a century of political and legal
conflict, and the feudal-burdened counties have
become as enlightened, prosperous and free as their
sister counties of the State.
The anti-renters, desirous of compromising the
disputed matters on some equitable, even liberal
basis, early in the spring of 1839 held a conven-
tion or meeting, numerously attended, on the
Helderbergs, in the town of Berne, and appointed
a committee to wait on Stephen Van Rensselaer,
the eldest son of the old patroon, for the purpose
of ascertaining if an amicable settlement of manor
claims for rents in arrear could not be effected,
and to learn, in the language of the day, upon
what terms the soil could be bought, ignorant that
they owned the soil already by their deeds of con-
veyance.
The committee, consisting of such sterling men
as Lawrence Vandusen, of Berne, afterwards elected
county clerk, who acted as chairman; Edgar
Schoonmaker, Hugh Scott, Joseph Connor and
John F. Shafer and others of that town, and Deni-
son Fish, Lawrence Fenner, Isaac Hoag and others
of Rensselaerville, and other representative men of
the hill towns and towns below the hill, on the
2 2d of May, 1839, went to the manor office in
Watervliet to see and converse with Mr. Van Rens-
selaer on the subject for which they were appoint-
ed; but he refused to speak to or recognize them
even by a nod. Passing into the inner ofBce oc-
cupied by his agent, Douw B. Lansing, he held a
somewhat lengthened and confidential conversa-
tion with him, and the agent then came out and
said that Mr. Van Rensselaer would communicate
with them in writing. This excited great indigna-
tion, the committee feeling that they had been
treated with lordly and haughty contempt.
Mr. Van Rensselaer did some time subsequently
address a letter to Mr. Vandusen, the chairman of the
committee, which was read at meetings of the anti-
renters held at East Berne on the Helderbergs, and
other places in the summer of 1839. -^"^ '^^'^ com-
munication Mr. Van Rensselaer declined to sell on
any terms, saying, among other things, that he
would be doing injustice to himself, to his family
and to society at large should he consent to do so.
This determination of the manor claimant on
the Albany side of the river led to the wildest ex-
citement in the anti-rent towns of Albany County,
and open resistance to the collection of rents was
boldly urged and practiced. Rent agents were in-
sulted, and were not safe among the excited peo-
ple. Sheriffs were resisted in discharge of their
duties, by men masked and dressed in calico and
Indian costume; their horses were shorn of mane
and tail; the wheels of their vehicles were removed
and hidden; firearms were displayed; tar and
feathers threatened, and strong demonstrations of
force generally exhibited.
Such was the extent of the resistance that early
in December, 1839, '^^ Sheriff", Michael Artcher,
called to his aid, in serving process, the posse com-
itatus, or power of the county. Among many prom-
inent citizens summoned was ex-Gov. Marcy, who,
amid much laughter, declared grimly and facetious-
ly his readiness to go; and he did actually go
with the posse on foot as far as Adamsville, where
a gentleman friend found him and conducted him
in his carriage as far as Clarksville, and there the
ANTI-RENTISM.
279
Governor remained until evening, when he returned
with the posse to Albany.
The Sheriff, with \a% posse, consisting of six hun-
dred citizens, started from Albany on the third day
of December, 1839, for Reidsville, a hamlet on the
Helderbergs, about sixteen or eighteen miles from
Albany. On arriving within a few miles of the
place, the Sheriff, selecting from the body of the
posse a committee of seventy-five of the stoutest
hearted, left with them for Reidsville, where it was
understood the anti-renters were collected in force.
Just before reaching Reidsville the Sheriff and his
committee encountered a body of fifteen hundred
mounted men posted across the public highway,
barring and refusing their further progress, and or-
dering them to go back. Whereupon the Sheriff
and the committee returned obediently as directed;
and on making report to the main body of the
posse of the formidable resistance encountered, the
whole body gladly took the backward march to
Albany, where they arrived in safety the same even-
ing at 9 o'clock.
People generally at the time, in discussing this
unheard of posse and its ridiculous termination,
declared that a bold front on the part of the Sheriff,
with twenty resolute men, would have enabled him
to pass through the mounted horsemen without
injury, and do what he desired to accomplish of a
legal character.
On the morning after his return, the Sheriff gave
the Governor — William H. Seward — an animated
if not exaggerated account of the resistance he
had met with.
The Governor deemed it his duty, under the
circumstances detailed, to call out the military, and
he did so promptly and efficiently, for he ordered
out a force sufficient to capture every man, woman
and child on the Helderbergs. It was composed
of the Albany Burgesses Corps, Captain Bayeux;
Albany Union Guards, Captain Brown; Albany
Republican Artillery, Captain Strain; First Com-
pany Van Rensselaer Guards, Captain Kearney;
Second Company Van Rensselaer Guards, Captain
Berry; Troy Artillery, Captain Howe; Troy Citi-
zens Corps, Captain Pierce; and Troy City Guards,
Captain Wickes.
This formidable body of citizen-soldiery, in
general command of Major William Bloodgood,
headed by Sheriff Artcher, started for Reidsville, on
the Helderbergs, December 9, 1839, to encounter
and overcome the rent-resisters. With colors fly-
ing, drums beating, cannon rumbling, and bayo-
nets gleaming in the wintry sun, its march from
Albany was imposing.
It reached the Helderbergs without a shadow of
resistance, and, encamping at Reidsville, found no
enemy there to attack or oppose. It remained in
camp and on duty at that point, and other places,
for a week, and then returned to Albany, greatly
chagrined and sadly bedraggled, amid the peltings
of a pitiless rain storm of almost unexampled
severity.
Similar but much smaller demonstrations, under
proclamations of subsequent governors, set on foot
by rent claimants and timid sheriffs, have occurred
several times since. The object has always seemed
to be, not to serve and enforce process, for that was
never really impossible in the hands of a vigorous
and courageous officer, with only a respectable
posse; but by military exhibitions of display, ac-
companied by sheriffs' /ossw in force, to intimidate
and drive the landholders into settlement and pay-
ment of iniquitous demands.
The resistance to the collection of rents and at-
tempted enforcement of collections went on for
some time in the tumultuous manner stated, with-
out successful or encouraging results on either
side. The landholders hoped the petty and threat-
ened acts of resistance made by them might induce
Mr. Van Rensselaer to offer some terms of com-
promise; but he refused all compromise unless his
tenantry, as he called them, would cease all further
opposition, acknowledge themselves in the wrong
and pay up what they owed.
This obstinate state of the controversy led the
landholders, under the advice of some antiquarian
adepts in legal lore, to question the Van Rens-
selaer tide to the manor. It was insisted that the
letters patent were invalid on many grounds, not
necessary now to be stated, as it would lead to
fruitless discussion. It is enough to say of it that
it soon brought the feudal rent conflict into the
arena of politics.
Politicians, always keen to scent the advent of a
new and potent power for votes, were quick in
seizing this opportunity and putting the land-
holders in shape for political action. They must,
it was urged, have a public press to make their
cause and their grievances known to the people,
and this was done with little delay.
The Freeholder, published in the City of Albany,
became the organ of the embryo party. It was
conducted for many years with great ability. Both
of the old political parties, to a greater or less ex-
tent, entered into the controvers}', although the
National Republican or Whig party, then the op-
position party to the Democratic, furnished, appar-
ently, the largest number of anti-rent or land-
280
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
holders' advocates. The landholders now sought,
through political agitation, the enactment and en-
forcement of laws to protect them against the feudal
exactions. Their first object, therefore, was to se-
cure the Governor and a controlling number of
members of the Legislature ; and at once, in the
elections, they made their power felt. Rensselaer,
Columbia, Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster, Greene, Del-
aware, Otsego, Schoharie, Schenectady and Mont-
gomery Counties promptly sent representatives of
the landholders to the Legislature ; and Albany
County espoused their cause by overwhelming ma-
jorities. Ira Harris, as their especial representa-
tive, was elected to the Assembly in 1845 by a
majority exceeding two thousand votes. In 1846
he was elected a delegate to the Constitutional Con-
vention, and in the same year again to the Assem-
bly, and subsequently to the Senate, and finally to
a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court. Silas
Wright, whose name was a tower of strength, and
who, as the Democratic candidate for Governor,
carried the State in 1844 for Polk as President
against Henry Clay, was beaten for re-election by
John Young in 1846, because his action as Gov-
ernor with respect to the anti-rent outbreak in Del-
aware County, in which Steele, a deputy sheriff,
was killed, had given offense to this new and potent
organization. It would be out of place, in a his-
tory of Albany County, to detail the successes or the
defeats of this organization in other counties or in
the State, or its fate in the Legislature, or its decline
as a political body. It is sufficient to say that the
landholders' party, as a political organization, with
its organ, the Freeholder, died out gradually, and
that the contest subsequently became strictly legal
in its character.
Among the conditions contained in the manorial
grants in fee, as well in Albany as in other counties,
was a provision that the grantee, his heirs or as-
signs, was to pay to the lord or proprietor of the
manor, on every sale or vendition of the land ad
infinitum, one-quarter of the purchase price ; so
that, if a given farm — worth, for instance, |2,ooo —
with all its buildings and other improvements, put
on it by the landholder himself, was sold four
times, the manor proprietor would get the whole
value of the farm, including the improvements ;
that is, $500 on each vendition, making the full
sum of 1 2, 000 on the fourth sale.
Litigation in the courts first assumed shape on
this quarter-sale provision in 1848, and in 1S52 the
question was carried into the Court of Appeals for
final adjudication. The ground taken there by the
counsel for the landholders in opposition to the
quarter-sale was, that the condition was void be-
cause it was a fine upon alienation, repugnant to
the grant and against public policy ; but Judge
Ruggles, who delivered the opinion of the court,
placed the decision in effect upon the statute of
quia emptores, which, although he concluded was
not in force within the colony, and, therefore, not
in the State, yet, in his own words, "that
our statutes of escheats and of tenures, the
one passed in 1779 and the other in 1787,/
acting retrospectively, performed the same func-
tions and wrought the same changes in the
feudal tenures of this State as the statute oy quia
emptores did in England. They put an ency to all ,
feudal tenure between one citizen and another,
and substituted in its place a tenure between
each landholder and the people in their sov-
ereign capacity ; and, by taking away the grantor's
reversion or escheat, they removed the entire foun-
dation on which the power of the grantor to restrain
alienation by his grantee formerly rested, and they
placed the law of this State, in respect to the ques-
tion in controversy, on the same footing on which
the law of England now stands and has stood since
the reign of Edward the First" — that is, since
1290, when the statute of quia emptores was
passed.
Judge Ruggles also said : " The right of re-entty
for non-payment of rent, or the non-performance
of other covenants, is not such an interest in the
estate as makes the condition in question valid.
It is not a reversion, nor is it a possibility of re-
version, nor is it any estate in the land. " And
again he said : "A rent is not a reversion or a pos-
sibility of reversion, and nothing but such a rever-
sionary interest in the land has ever been held to
authorize a condition against alienation."
And Judge Ruggles adds, in the same opinion,
that, although the quarter-sale condition is valid
in leases for lives and years, for there the lessor has
a reversionary interest in the land, yet on convey- \
ances in fee it is void, for he has no reversionary
interest left. And such was the unanimous judg- i
ment of the Court of Appeals ; and so ended all
further enforcement of this hoary-headed exaction.
The life and soul of this decision is this: the
manor proprietors by sale and conveyance of their
lands in fee divested themselves of all estate in the
lands, and no relationship whatever of a legal charac-
ter thenceforth existed between them and their
grantees. They were not landlords, and the
grantees were not tenants; for it is idle to call him
landlord who does not own the land, and him
tenant who does own it. And so quarter-sale con-
ANTI-RENTISM.
381
dition died, and by parity of reasoning so died
also all other attempted feudal restrictions, by way
of covenants or conditions in deeds in fee, to free
commerce in manor or other lands in the State of
New York.
The Court of Appeals at the time of this
decision was composed of the following Judges:
Charles H. Ruggles, Chief Judge, and Addison
Gardner, Freeborn G. Jewett, Alexander S. John-
son, John W. Edmonds, Malbone Watson, Philo
Gridley and Henry Welles, Judges.
The Court of Appeals, in a subsequent decision,
pronounced in 1859, by Judge Denio, dissented
from the opinion of Judge Ruggles with respect to
the existence of the statute of quia emptores here,
and held that that statute was always the law of
the colony, and that it was the law of the State as
well before as after the passage of our act concern-
ing tenures in 1787. "A contrary theory," said
Judge Denio, "would lead to the most absurd con-
clusions. We should have to hold that the feudal
system, during the whole colonial period, and for
the first ten years of the State government, existed
here in a condition of vigor, which had been un-
known in England for more than three centuries be-
fore the first settlement of this country. "
/ After the decision of the Court of Appeals in
1852, the Van Rensselaers and other manor pro-
prietors were advised by their counsel to sell, as it
was evident that the other feudal conditions, such
as the payment of wheat in bushels, fat fowls,
days' service with carriage and horses and the like,
contained in the conveyances, and forfeiture of the
land in case of non-payment, must rest and be
rejected upon the same principle as the quarter-
sale condition, to wit, want of relation of landlord
and tenant between the parties; for if that relation-
ship did not exist in the one case, it was obvious
that it did not exist in the other, and could not,
therefore, exist at all.
While the manor proprietors, tired of the long
continued resistance and the failure to collect al-
leged rents, had, previously to 1852, in a few in-
tances, sold to some submissive landholders the
soil of their farms, as it was called, they now,
under the adverse litigation attending the quarter
sale, on the advice of counsel mentioned, expressed
a willingness to sell at prices ridiculously
small, if they really believed the rents claimed
were legal and collectable; and speculators or ad-
venturers in numbers, ever ready to take chances,
however desperate, or, if possibly successful, how-
ever detrimental to the general welfare, pressed
forward to buy; and they bought. The chief or
principal purchaser was Walter S. Church, then of
Allegany County, New York.
It must be here observed, once for all, that the
term speculator or adventurer in this case is not
made use of in an invidious or offensive sense, or
even reproachfully, but by way of designation or
discrimination. He is not an inheritor of manorial
rights, and he does not take by devise. He simply
comes in as a stranger on speculation, and buys
casual or disputed claims, as he would buy lottery
tickets or stocks in Wall street. He is, therefore,
a speculator or adventurer in the contest, in which
he purchases chances. If successful in the ven-
ture, his fortune is made, and he can take his
ease, and live and spend and entertain freely and
handsomely. If unsuccessful, he is no worse off
than other speculators who spend on a hazard ail,
perhaps, they possess, and all they can borrow.
The last mentioned purchaser or speculator has,
for more than thirty years, made a busy and
troublous time of the venture for himself and for
the landholders.
That he has been indefatigable in it, is saying
little. His labors and his activity have been im-
mense, and his presence, wherever or however re-
quired to promote or protect his interest, has been
almost ubiquitous. Did the controversy drift into
the Legislature, as it did from time to time, he con-
fronted it there, at every step, with an energy un-
tiring and sleepless, and open house and ample
table as potent auxiliaries. When it went into
the courts in the form of multiplied ejectment
suits, prosecuted under his personal direction and
in his interest, he was there alike active, untiring
and vigilant; and it must be written, or this histor-
ical sketch will be imperfect, honored judges did
not deem it improper, and have not considered it
incompatible with their position, to accept the
proffered hospitalities of his bachelor home, par-
take of his sumptuous repasts, sip his costly wines,
and receive his courtly attentions; and distin-
guished lawyers, and lawyers engaged in the cases
against the landholders, have participated in the
entertainments; even Governors and Lieutenant-
Governors have not refused to join in them.
It may be said that these social entertainments
have exercised no control in the judgments pro-
nounced by the courts. That may be so. But in
cases involving civil rights, the forfeiture of real
property and enormous pecuniary exactions be-
sides, it cannot be expected that the landholders,
victims in the actions, have regarded their possible
influence with indifference. In a great controversy
like this, in which judgments are given upon the
282
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
statutes of landlord and tenant — where such statutes
cannot possibly apply — the rule oi stare decisis should
not be allowed to prevail; and therefore the judges
should keep their minds open to further argument
and decision, without possible bias in any way or
from any direction; for it has been well said that a
single decision has never, in any case, been al-
lowed to stand if found opposed to principle, and
in a conflict of decisions the doctrine of stare decisis
does not hold.
It is familiar to every well-read lawyer that
there are hundreds of cases in the books that have
stood settled as law for centuries, which have been
overturned by the broad, luminous and analytical
mind of a Mansfield or a Marshall, a Spencer or a
Kent — intellects which have elevated and ennobled
the race, not debased and degraded it — and it will
scarcely do to say that this generation of judges
■is infallible, or wiser and greater than those illus-
trious prototypes.
If it be asked how the controversy has progress-
ed since the purchase by the adventurers, and how
it stands to-day between them and the landholders,
it may be summed up briefly.
In 1858, in the case of Van Rensselaer against
Ball, first, among many cases, that went to the
Court of Appeals after decision in the quarter-
sale suit, the right of the manor proprietors,
or the purchasers of their interest, to maintain
actions of ejectment against the landholders, was
put by that Court, in the opinion written by Judge
Denio, before alluded to, upon a statute passed by
the Legislature in 1805, authorizing grantors of
lands to have the same remedies for the recovery of
rents as if the reversion had remained in them.
Now, this statute was passed after the manor
proprietors had sold their lands, with scarcely an
exception, and could not, therefore, be legitimately
employed in the office it was called on to perform;
that is, it could not confer a right if none existed
before. But this was not all; Judge Denio then
proceeded to apply the statutes of landlord and
tenant to the cases, after he had demonstrated
beyond all contradiction that these statutes could
not by any possibility be made to apply, in con-
sequence of the prohibitory statute of quia
emptores, and our statutes of tenures and escheats.
This decision so shocked the public conscience,
that the Legislature in i860 promptly repealed the
statute of 1805, so far as conveyances executed be-
fore that time were concerned.
After that statute was repealed, the feudal rent
litigation was renewed; and other cases, having
gone through the lower courts, were carried to the
Court of Appeals for renewed decision, where they
were decided in 1863. That Court then took a new
departure, and held that the statute of 1805 was
not necessary to the maintenance of the actions,
but that the provisions of a statute enacted in
1846, abolishing distress for rent, and for other
purposes — a statute passed in the interest of the
landholders, through the agency of their own
representatives in the Legislature — supplied the
place of the statute of 1805. The opinion in the
case was written by Judge Henry R. Selden.
Judge Selden, after relying on the statute of
1846, as Judge Denio had done on the statute of
1805, to sustain the actions, undertakes to uphold
them on the strength of an opinion expressed by
Sugden in his work on "Vendors and Purchasers,"
and on two or three controverted English cases.
But neither Sugden nor the disputed cases ad-
vance the idea, or even hint at it, that there can be
any forfeiture of land for non-payment of rent, out-
side the relation of landlord and tenant; and it
may be asserted, without fear of contradiction, that
no case can be found, English or American, where ,
re-entry, or ejectment for default in thepaymentofrent, \
has been had or allowed, except where the relation of '
landlord aiul tenant existed, or was supposed to
exist.
It has been shown that the decision in the
case of Ball, in 1859, in which Judge Denio
wrote the opinion— is no exception to this
rule — for the judgment in that case was ex-
pressly affirmed, by help of the statute of 1805,
upon the statutes of landlord and tenant. And
Judge Selden, in his opinion in the Reid case,
written in 1863, is forced finally to admit and de-
clare that the actions are not maintainable, except
the relation of landlord and tenant exists between
the parties. His very language is here copied, and
is as follows : "In many cases in our courts, between
parties similarly situated, they have been spoken of and
treated as landlords and tenants, and the decisions in
the cases of Van Rensselaer v. Snyder {13 N Y.,
spp) and Van Rensselaer v. Ball (zp N. Y, 100)
can be sustained on no other ground, as they depended
entirely upon a statute applicable only to parties hold-
ing that relation {2 R. S.,p. joj, §Jo)."
Of the eight judges who composed the Court of
Appeals in 1863, when Judge Selden wrote his
opinion, it is notable that two of the most distin-
guished Judges of the Court, Wright and Rosekranz,
who heard the arguments, refused to take part in
the decision. They could not be brought to as-
sent to the remarkable doctrines announced by
Judge Selden.
ANTI-RENTISM.
383
Upon this indefensible assum|)tion by Judge
Selden of the relationship of lati3lord and tenant
between the parties to this controversy (where
such relationship does not exists), hangs the
enormous exactions thereafter, and even now, bit-
terly wrung from the cultivators of lands absolutely
owned by themselves.
The workings of the system, thus naugurated
by the Court of Appeals, may be illustrated by a
few out of many examples :
On the 1 7th day of February, 1 860, one of the
coldest days of the winter, the principal adven-
turer in the claims, accompanied by the Sheriff
and his posse, some fourteen or fifteen in num-
ber, armed with pistols and clubs, and handcuffs to
bind any that might be found to oppose, made a
sudden descent upon the farm and premises of
Peter Ball, situated on the Helderbergs, near the
village of Berne. The farm had been his and his
forefathers for generations, but then and there, in
the midst of a furious mountain snow-storm, they
cast him, with his family, consisting of his wife, a
sick daughter and an aged colored servant, from
the dwelhng, out upon the public highway.
The value of this farm, within the very limits
of the village, with its new, convenient and
handsome dwelling-house, and other improve-
ments, made by Peter Ball himself, was very con-
siderable. It was one of the most desirable and
picturesque places on the Helderbergs ; and as the
poor old people, the sick daughter and the aged
servant were forced to leave, their cries and their
tears touched many a tender heart
It may be truthfully asserted that when the Pa-
/ troon sold his lands on the Helderbergs, there was
not probably an acre that was worth more than
twenty-five cents. The value was given afterward
by the buildings and other improvements put upon
the lands by the purchasers.
It was necessary, it was said, to make an exam-
ple of Peter Ball, because he had been a leading
and persistent anti-renter, for the influence it might
exert at the time upon other anti-renters to come
forward and settle exacted claims.
Martinus Lansing, whose extensive farm lay on
the east or Greenbush side of the river, in view, prob-
ably, from the pinnacles of theCapitol, beneath which,
in august dignity, now sits the Court of Appeals,
is a more recent and flagrant case of dispossession.
On this farm, worth not less than twenty-five thou-
sand dollars, it has been estimated there was an un-
paid rent claim of about eight hundred dollars.
Mr. Lansing was required to pay six thousand dol-
lars to be reinstated, He paid four thousand dol-
lars, and because he did not promptly pay the other
two thousand, although he subsequently offered to
pay it, and the payment was refused, he and his
family were removed from their dwelling-house by
an armed body of officers and men. The great
farm, with all its buildings and other improve-
ments, put on it by Mr. Lansing's forefathers, with
extensive additions and betterments by Mr. Lan-
sing himself, was immediately taken possession of
by the chief speculator ; and he is to-day occupying
the fine dwellings and large barns, and planting
and reaping the broad acres, and pocketing the
fruits, rejoicing in the great acquisition, and mak-
ing exhibitions of it to admiring friends.
The reader will not be surprised to learn that
Mr. Lansing died of a broken heart, poor and pen-
niless, and that his unmarried daughters, forced to
support themselves as best they may, or dependent
upon the liberality of relatives, have suffered a
desolation, distress and mortification over which
sympathetic neighbors and friends have dropped
many a tear of charity.
Another case of dispossession was that of Will-
iam Witbeck, of Greenbush, whose farm lay west
of Mr. Lansing's, and nearer the river. The Olcott
place, which occupies a site commanding a view
of all Albany, forms in part its western boundary.
As a grass and stock farm, with its buildings and
other improvements put on by the Witbeck family,
it was very valuable — worth not less, probably, than
fifteen thousand dollars.
Witbeck had paid all assumed rent claims against
this farm, but there was yet unpaid, it seemed, the
costs of the ejectment suit, amounting perhaps to
one hundred and fifty dollars. These, by some over-
sight, had not been paid. They might have been col-
lected at any moment upon execution, if Witbeck
had refused to pay, as he had much cattle and other
property on this and other farms in the same neigh-
borhood. But this was not what the principal specu-
lator in fee-farm rents was seeking. Witbeck, he in-
sisted had been contumacious, and had forfeited his
right to retain the farm, and he declared his inten-
tion, therefore, to take possession. For this purpose
Hiram Griggs, a deputy of the Sheriff of Rensselaer
County, with an armed posse, was dispatched to
take possession. Witbeck, as he had given out he
would do, resisted, and in the encounter which
followed Griggs was shot, and subsequently died.
Witbeck and his two sons were arrested and in-
dicted for Griggs' murder. They were tried in
Saratoga County, and were acquitted. In the
meantime, secured against further resistance, the
speculator obtained peaceable possession of the
284
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
farm, and he retains it to this day, with its bounti-
ful ingathering of harvests and fruits.
Such are some of the results of landlord and
tenant statutes, where such statutes do not apply.
It is the merciless taking and appropriation of land
(by judicial accomplishment), with all the buildings
and other improvements, put on it by the owners
themselves, which never belonged to the manor or
proprietors nor to the purchasing speculators ; here
in the State of New York, near the close of the
nineteenth century, in a manner equal to anything
in atrocity that could have occurred in the bar-
barous ages of the ninth century, when feudalism
was first forced on allodial soil and on free men.
The system of swooping in farms, with the
buildings and other improvements, now practiced,
under the same incongruous statutes, (made pos-
sible by the like judicial action) may be illustrated
by the method in which it is done:
Ejectment suits are brought to recover one year's
rent claimed to be due — generally the last year —
and recovery of possession of the farm for non-pay-
ment. The landholder, on prosecution, goes to
the oflSce in Albany to pay the year's rent sued for,
and the costs of the action. Payment will not be ac-
cepted unless he will also pay all rents claimed to be
in arrear ; it may be for fifteen or twenty, perhaps
thirty years. The landholder remonstrates, on the
ground, as often happens, that he has only owned
the farm a few years, and should not be asked to
pay longer than he has owned. He is told that
that makes no difference ; the farm is liable, who-
ever may have been the owner, and he must pay
all rents claimed or lose the farm. On inquiry as
to the amount claimed, he is startled to learn that
it exceeds the value of the farm, perhaps, with all
the buildings and other improvements. That result
is brought about by charging the fullest prices for
the wheat, the fat fowls and the days' service with
carriage and horses, with annual accumulations of
interest on each. It is the old story ; the succes-
sors of the old Patroon chastised the landholders
with whips ; the adventurers chastise them with
scorpions.
The distressed farmer, sued for one year's rent,
goes home and communicates to his astonished
family the ruin that impends over their peaceful
habitation ; and ruin promptly comes in the person
of the speculator, with the sheriff and posse at his
back, who speedily close the scene upon the
wretched family by pitiless dispossession unless
every claim be paid.
The prices of rents claimed have been greatly in-
creased by the speculators since the days of the
Patroons ; then the fat fowls and the days' service
with carriage and horses, etc., were put at uniform
rates of moderate character ; now they are ad-
vanced to the extremest tension. It is this feature
of the fee-farm rent system, among others, which
makes it so bitter, harsh arid unendurable. In
cases between landlord and tenant, where that re-
lationship actually exists, the landlord must specify
in his petition or complaint the exact amount of
rent claimed to be due, so that the tenant may
know what he has to pay, and he pays it, or leaves
the premises at his option, to which premises the
tenant makes no claim, for he never owned them.
He has added nothing to their value by buildings
or other improvements, and he leaves them with-
out loss or distress.
Very different from this is it with the fee-farm rent
system. Here the courts do not require the specu-
lators, on prosecution, to fix the amount of rent
claimed to be due. That is left to their tender
mercy after they have got their ejectment judg-
ment ; and if the landholder don't then pay as
required, he loses his farm, with all the build-
ings and other improvements put upon it by
himself These buildings and other improve-
ments, even more valuable, perhaps, than the
land itself, the Court of Appeals declared in 1852,
in the opinion delivered by Judge Ruggles in the
quarter-sale suit, never belonged to the manor
proprietors, and certainly, therefore, never belonged
to the speculators in the manor claims. Yet these
speculators are now allowed, under the statutes of
landlord and tenant (with assistance of the courts),
to take the buildings and other improvements as
well as the land itself, which the Court of Appeals,
in 1852, as above declared never belonged to the
manor proprietors.
This category of the fee-farm rent system places
it in a light of terrific injustice.
It may be asserted, boldly and unflinchingly,
that the declaration of the Court of Appeals, before
mentioned and transcribed, that because, in many
cases, the parties to this controversy have been spoken
of and treated as landlords and tenants, there/ore,
their status as such is forever fixed and cannot be
changed, where that relationship does not exist, is ju-
dicial legislation and tyranny.*
* This language is used advisedly. Writers on social science con-
cede that the courts in this coiintrj' have assumed legislative power.
Lester F. Ward, A.M., of the Smithsonian Institution, in a recent
work on " Dynamic Sociology," says : " There are two classes of law-
making bodies— courts and legislatures. The growth of law through
the courts is almost unrecognized by the people at large : yet its de-
velopment by this agency is, perhaps, more rapid than by legislation.*'
The author is inclined to approve this usurpation, unmindful that judi-
cial legislation is insidious despotism, paving the way for imperialism ;
destructive assuredly of our system of government described by Pres-
ident Lincoln a^ the "government of the people, by the people, for
the people,"
ANTI-RENTISM.
285
This judicial legislation on this rent question
makes him who does not own the land, landlord,
and him who does own it, tenant, and gives the
former the latter's land, with all the buildings and
other improvements, without compensation.
The question admits of no dispute, and is of
ready solution : it is determined by inalienable
law, and all the courts in the civilized world can-
not controvert or change it.
Suppose a man, owningone of these manor farms,
dies without will, and without heirs, lineal or col-
lateral, to inherit, to whom does the farm escheat
or revert, to the manor lord, or in this case to the
speculator who has purchased his interest, or to
the people of the State in their sovereign capacity ?
Every tyro in the law knows that it goes to the peo-
ple. Why ? Because the reversion or escheat of
all lands held in fee is in the State.
This point may be further illustrated by the man-
ner in which the taxes upon these "anti-rent" lands
are assessed and paid; which is matter ofinterestto
distressed taxpayers generally, and to opponents of
non-taxable Government bonds. The speculators
have never been assessed for or paid any taxes on
these lands which they claim to own as landlords over
a peasant tenantry. If it be said that the manor
proprietors, or the speculators who have purchased
from them, are not bound to pay the taxes because
of the original indentures by which the farms were
acquired, that does not obviate the difficulty of
the assessment of the taxes. If the speculators
were the owners of the lands, the assessment would
be levied against them as the owners ; whereas, it
is a well-known fact that such taxes have always
been assessed to and paid by the farmers, as the
owners in fee of the lands, and not as tenants either
of the manor proprietors or of the speculators.
The speculators have not only paid no tax or
assessment of any kind on these "anti-rent" farms,
but they have successfully resisted the payment of
any tax on the vast amounts of rents which they
have collected from the owners of these lands, as
the tax receivers in the towns will testify. Hence
it ha.s now come to be understood that the specu-
lators have here, under the segis of the courts,
a bonanza ; a property superior to any other
in the country ; far better than non-taxable
United States bonds, for they have a limit of
existence, while this rent exaction is claimed to
be indestructible ; assuming always that the de-
cisions of the courts are never to be reversed on
this question.
The people of the State, therefore, are land-
lords of all these manor lands, as well as of all
other lands held in fee, and no individual grantor,
be he whom he may, has the slightest interest or
possibility of interest in any land after he has made
a deed of conveyance thereof
Servitude to the soil in perpetuity, or involun-
tary servitude (better known to early ages as feudal
servitude, the lords in which were known as lords
superior, and the cultivators of the land as vassals,
feuds or bondsmen), was imposed upon France by
despotic rulers in the ninth century. It was brought
from Normandy and planted on the allodial soil
of England in the eleventh century by William the
Conqueror. It was extirpated thence, in 1290, by
the statute of quia empiores.
That statute was the law of the colony of New
York, and it and tantamount statutes have always
been the law of the State. Yet the degrading sys-
tem, attempted to be fastened upon the eastern
counties of New York by pseudo-Patroons and
manor lords, has been actually fastened upon them
by judicial legislation, under anomolous statutes
of landlord and tenant, where such statutes do not
and cannot be made to apply, even by legislative
enactment; for our Legislature is not omnipotent,
like the British Parliament, but is controlled in its
action by both national and State constitutions.
Whether the system is to be perpetuated for the
benefit of the speculators and their assigns, or
their posterity, by judicial fiat, remains to be
seen.
However that may be, candid and generous men
will acknowledge that to the derided " anti-renters "'
must be accorded the honor of arresting the
progress over the continent of this revival of me-
diaeval despotism ; for there is no telling to what
length it might have extended over land in vast
tracts, comprising millions of acres, held by cor-
porations and wealthy capitalists, had it not been
for the determined and world-wide known resolute
resistance to the enslaving system by anti-renters
of the State of New York.
Through their sturdy resistance, the constitutional
convention of 1846 put the system under ban for
all future time throughout this commonwealth,
whence it is not likely ever to have further resurrec-
tion.
286
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
THE MANOR AND THE VAN RENSSELAERS.
By Frof. J. TBNNEY.
A HISTORY ought to be fair and unprejudiced;
and on a question which has caused so much
political and legal strife as was made by the con-
test between the opposing claimants upon the ma-
norial estates in Albany County, under the Van
Rensselaer leases or deeds, both sides should be
permitted to make the amplest statements. With
this view, I had early and frequent conversations
with Mr. A. J. Colvin and Mr. C. M. Jenkins,
lawyers upon opposite sides of the controversy
when it was in the courts; both eminent for learn-
ing and ability; both natives of the county, and
now among the few still living, at a venerable age,
who knew the whole matter from their personal
and local relations to it I invited both to present,
in writing, the historical and legal points in a con-
troversy that, in its day, in this locality, was hardly
excelled by that of anti-slavery in intensity of in-
terest Mr. Colvin only has responded to my re-
quest, giving, from his view-point, the only consec-
utive and detailed account of the contest in its
historical and legal aspects, and in its progressive
steps and present status, that has ever been given.
The preceding article commends itself by its clear
statements of both sides of the question, by its
forcible arguments, and its evident desire to be fair
to all parties and true to history.
The student of history will be interested in the
facts which we give below, gathered as reminiscen-
ces from some of the oldest living lawyers, and
from other reliable sources.
Alexander Hamilton, brother-in-law of Gen.
Stephen Van Rensselaer, the "old Patroon," is
said to have been his early legal counsel after he
came in possession of the manor, in 1 785. After
the death of Hamilton, in 1804, if not before that
event, John V. Henry, who died in 1829, and
Abraham Van Vechten, who died in 1837, among
the most eminent lawyers of their time, were em-
ployed as his counsel. It is said he paid them
each a salary of $r,ooo per annum. The following
anecdote has been given: About 18 15, Mr. Van
Rensselaer notified Mr. Henry that he could no
longer pay his salarj'. "Very well," replied Mr.
H. , " then I shall be at liberty to accept a retainer
from your tenants, and I will then show you that
they are no longer your tenants, but the owners of
the lands." The stipend was continued to the
close of Mr. Henry's life.
Teunis Van Vechten succeeded Abraham Van
Vechten as the Patroon's counsel. Then Teunis
Van Vechten formed a copartnership with Daniel
Cady, the distinguished lawyer, and they became
the counsel of the new manor proprietors on the
Albany side of the river, and David Buel, of Troy,
on the east side of the river. Jonathan Jen-
kins, of Rensselaerville, father of Charles M. Jen-
kins, acted as counsel for the "old Patroon," and
later for the "young Patroon," in the country,
while the Van Vechtens were acting as such in
Albany.
After the decision in 1852, in the quarter-sale
suit, it was David Buel, of Troy, one of the most
able real estate lawyers in the State, who publicly
declared that that decision put an end to the rent
controversy, and he would never after that defend
further any of the manor cases.
The lawyers that argued the quarter-sale case
for the so-called tenants, were Henry Hogeboom,
of Hudson, and Azor Taber, of Albany, a native
of Knox. Josiah Sutherland, of New York, after-
ward a Supreme Court Judge, argued the case for
the manor proprietors.
After the decision of this case, Andrew J. Colvin,
of Albany, and Anson Bingham, of Nassau, Rens-
selaer County, were employed in a number of cases
arising out of these claims for rents; Mr. Colvin
taking the Albany County cases, and Mr. Bingham
those of Rensselaer County. They took the posi-
tion that, if the quarter sales were invalid, so were
the rents in bushels of wheat, fat fowls, days' ser-
vice, and such like, on the same grounds, viz. :
that the manor proprietors had sold their lands,
not leased them. This led to acquaintance be-
tween these gentlemen, and finally to a copartner-
ship, with office in Albany. The first of their suits
which went to the Court of Appeals were the Ball
and Hayes cases, decided by that Court in 1859,
Judge Denio writing the opinion. Associated as
counsel with Colvin and Bingham, and present in
l^'
THE MANOR AND THE VAN RENSSELAERS.
287
Court at the argument, were William M. Evarts, of
New York, and Nicholas Hill and John H. Rey-
nolds, of Albany; Mr. Bingham and Mr. Reynolds
making the argument for the farmers, and Mr.
Charles M. Jenkins, of Albany, of the firm of
Jenkins & Cooper, for the rent claimants.
Some years afterward, Mr. Peter Cagger became
the lawyer for the rent claimants; then Samuel
Hand, with Mr. Cagger; then Hand & Hale and
Schwartz; then Mr. Rufus W. Peckham; then
Peckham & Rosendale; and finally Rosendale and
Hessberg, who now act as attorneys for Walter S.
Church.
THE LEGAL POINTS.
The historical sketch of anti-rentism by Mr.
Colvin, and the novel legal questions growing out
of it, have induced me, at the suggestion of some
legal friends, to look over the briefs or points of
the counsel on the argument of the Ball and Hayes
cases and the decision of the Court of Appeals in
those cases, made in 1859. On examining these
points on both sides, I found them elaborated by
extensive arguments and citation of authorities.
Deprived of the prolixity of legal technicality, the
pith of the points appears to be as follows :
Mr. Jenkins, who made the argument for the
manor proprietors, or those who purchased their
interest, presented, in substance, the following
propositions : i. That, while by the Van Rens-
selaer indentures, the grantees or purchasers took
an estate in fee or of inheritance in the land con-
veyed, yet taken and held under agreement expressed
in the conveyances, to yield and pay rent, the fee
was_conditional and defeasible and not absolute.
2. That reversion, or the relation of landlord and
tenant, was not necessary to sustain the actions, be-
cause of the contract by which the grantees or pur-
chasers agreed, for themselves and their assigns, to
pay the rents, whereby such rents became annexed to
the land and passed with it as part of the tenure by
which it was held. 3. But if these positions were
untenable, then Mr. Jenkins submitted that the
relation of landlord and tenant existed between the
manor proprietors and their grantees, and between
the assigns of each, because the King, as lord par-
amount, had here erected and granted to the orig-
inal proprietor or patentee under the British Crown,
a lordship and manor to all intents and purposes;
and thereby licensed the Patroon to be chief lord of
the fee or manor, with power to make tenants in
fee or perpetuity, holding of him; and, therefore,
\,the statute of quia emptores never applied to this,
\the manor of Rensselaerwyck. .
The answer of the opposing counsel in sub-
stance was, that the manor of Rensselaerwyck was
not and never had been aiordship in fee, and was
not excepted from the operation of the statute of
quia emptores ; that Mr. Van Rensselaer was simply
an individual and not a chief lord, and was, there-
fore, like other individuals, subject to the opera-
tions of the statute. That statute made it impos-
sible for him on the sale of his lands, to make, or
attach to the conveyances by agreement, condi- \
tions for the payment of rents of any description, i
and forfeiture of the lands for non-payment. It
was out of his power on absolute sale to make a
conditional or defeasible estate or fee for non-pay-
ment of rent, whatever the language of the convey-
ances. There was no escaping or avoiding the
force of the statute by any contract contrived or
entered into by the parties to overthrow its effect.
Its essence was explicit and might be put in the
following language : " Individuals may lease their
lands for life or lives, or for years, and attach '
thereto covenants and conditions for payment of '
rent, but they shall not do it if they sell their \
lands." Covenants and conditions are allowable
between landlord and tenant, but impossible be-
tween seller and purchaser of lands. So much, and
just so much, was resolved and accomplished by the
statute of quia emptores, in uprooting the feudal sys-
tem ; and Mr. Van Rensselaer having sold, and
not leased, his lands, was prohibited from burden-
ing them with conditions for rent payments.
In deciding these cases, the Court of Appeals, as
expressed in the opinion of Judge Denio, held
that this statute — the statute of quia emptores — was
always the law of the colony and that it had always
been the law of the State; and as Mr. Van Rensse-
laer had sold his lands, and not leased them, he
brought himself within the principles of its pro-
visions. His grantees became owners of the lands,
and not tenants, and the relation of landlord and
tenant never subsisted between him and them; and,
therefore, it was impossible to put on the lands,
when sold, conditions for the payment of rents.
Any mind can see that such is the inevitable corol-
lary from this decision.
It would seem to the common-sense mind that
this announcement put an end judicially, not only
to the Ball and Hayes cases, but to the anti-rent
controversy as well. Not so, however. Judge
Denio announced the judgment of the Court
against Ball and Hayes upon the condition con-
tained in the conveyances, as though it had been
made between parties occupying the relation of
landlord and tenant; and as though Ball and Hayes
288
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
were tenants and the manor proprietors and the
purchasers of their interest were landlords; for he
applied to the cases the remedies for the recovery
of rent provided by the Revised Statutes by a land-
lord against his tenant, on a term for years.
The state of the controversy now seems to be
1 this : No landlord and tenant in law, but landlord
and tenant to collect rents.
THE PATROONS.
I. — KiLLiAN, son of Hendrick and Maria (Pa-
fraats) Van Rensselaer, pearl and diamond mer-
chant of Amsterdam, Holland, was a man of
character and substance, of ancient family, de-
scended in the thirteenth generation from Henry
Wolters Van Rensselaer. He was a director in
the Dutch West India Company, of the Amsterdam
Chamber, established in 1621, and was one of the
foremost in availing himself of the advantages of
the "Charter of Privileges and Exemptions,'
passed by the States General in 1629, for the en-
couragement of Patroons to settle colonies in the
New Netherlands. It does not appear that he
ever saw the rich and extended territory, twenty-
four miles up and down the Hudson and twenty-
four miles on either side of that noble river, which
came into his possession. But, by the aid of his
co-directors and his agent, Wouter Van Twiller,
and others, he gained lawful possession by extin-
guishing the Indian titles, securing patents and ful-
filling, as nearly as could then be done, the condi-
tions as to colonial settlements on his vast acres,
within the limited time. His patents gave him
feudal honors and powers. He freely assisted his
immigrant farmers with stock, tools, clothing, pro-
visions and even money, until they got a fair start.
He leased his lands on certain stipulated condi-
tions, which do not seem very hard, and we
have no evidence that he was, in any way, disposed
to be oppressive. His policy was not to sell his
lands, but to allow them to pass, according to the
laws of primogeniture of that day, to the eldest
son or heir, with all their privileges and exemptions
and increased values. At first he reserved all
rights in trade, including the trade in furs with the
Indians; but these were so modified about 1638, as
to become open and free to all settlers. Many
of them neglected farming and engaged in the
more profitable fur trade. The Patroon also re-
served all mines, which were never of value in this
county; and all mill privileges, which he improved
by erecting grain and lumber-mills, of great utility
to himself and the settlers.
Killian married, first, Hillegonda Van Bylet, by
whom he had one son, John or Johannes. For
his second wife, he married Anna Van Wely, by
whom he had eight children, viz. : i, Maria; 2,
Jeremias, who married Maria Van Cortlandt; 3,
Hillegonda; 4, Jan or John Baptiste, who married
Susan Van Wely; 5, Eleanora; 6, Susan, who
married Jan de la Court; 7, Nicolaus or Nicholas,
who married Alida Schuyler; 8, Ryckert or Rich-
ard, who married Anna Van Beaumont. Killian
died in 1646, without sight of the promised land,
and was succeeded by
II.- — John or Johannes, his eldest son, then a
minor. We find some mention of him in certain
official or business papers, but learn of nothing
done by him, except that he married his cousin,
Elizabeth Van Twiller, and had a son named Kil-
lian, who died early and without issue. He never
came to Rensselaerwyck. The plucky Brant Van
Schlechtenhorst had charge of his interests in the
manor about six 3'ears, until 1652, when he was
succeeded by Patroon John's brother, Jan Bap-
tiste, as director.
In 1658, Jeremias succeeded his brother, Jan
Baptiste, as director, and finally became proprietor.
He held his position sixteen years, until his death,
October 12, 1674. He is reported to have been a
man of learning for his times, and much wisdom.
He discharged his trust with great acceptance to
all who were immediately interested. The contest
for rights claimed by Governor Stuyvesant, the di-
rector of the West India Company, is discussed in
the chapter entitled Rensselaerwyck and Beverwyck,
pp. 49-67-
When, in almost the last extremity, under the
Stuyvesant dj'nasty, a General Assembly of dele-
gates from all the towns and colonies was called,
to meet at New Amsterdam, in the City Hall, April
ID, 1664, Rensselaerwyck was represented by Jere-
mias Van Rensselaer and Dirck Van Schelluyne, and
Fort Orange by Jan Verbeeck and Gerrit Schlech-
tenhorst. Van Rensselaer was made president of this
convention of twenty-two members. It adjourned
without giving any support to Stuyvesant and the
West India Company.
When Fort Orange surrendered to the
English, on demand, September 24, 1664, and
was named Fort Albany, Jeremias Van Rensselaer
peaceably took the oath of allegiance to Charles II
and James, Duke of York and Albany. No change
was then made by the English proprietor James, as
to the rights and privileges of the lord of the manor
of Rensselaerwyck.
THE MANOR AND -THE VAN RENSSELAERS.
289
Jeremias, two years before this, July 12, 1662,
had married Maria Van Cortlandt, who survived
him fifteen years. She died January 29, 1689. They
had two sons: Killian, born August 24, 1663, ^.nd
Hendrick, born October 23, 1667. This family
had its home in Greenbush. When Jeremias died,
October 12, 1674, his eldest son was in his twelfth
year, and as eldest surviving male descendant in the
line of Patroons of his generation, was the heir ap-
parent to the manor. Jan Baptiste, who returned
to Holland and died in 1678, had released all his
rights in the manor to this Killian. The heirs of
the original co-directors of the first Patroon Killian,
had sold their claims. Nicholas, the clergyman,
who came over from Amsterdam in 1675, and
Richard, who came soon after, succeeded their
brothers, Jan Baptiste and Jeremias, as directors of
the manor during the minority of their nephew,
the heir to Rensselaerwyck. Madam ^^an Rensse-
laer acted as treasurer of this colonie, and her
brother, Stephen Van Cortlandt, had charge of the
books.
III. — Killian, son of Jeremias, born August
24, 1663, was the first Patroon who resided in the
manor. His house was probably situated near
where the Patroons have ever since resided. He
came to his trust in 1684, and held it during those
troublous times, so far as we can learn, with much
discretion and approbation. The patent was con-
firmed to him by the Duke of York, October 17,
1685, and reconfirmed by Queen Anne, May 20,
1704. Before this time, Jeremias had represented
to the English government that the manor included
Fort Orange and vicinity, territory which Stuyve-
sant had claimed as belonging to the Dutch West
India Compan)', and had forcibly seized, set-off",
and held by military possession. It was his request
that the government look into the matter and
restore to the Patroon his territorial rights. The
decision of the English crown " upon a perusal of
the Ranslaer's papers," was in favor of the claim
of the Patroon, "that it did belong to them." The
injustice and arrogance of Stuyvesant was discov-
ered. Says Gov. Dongan, " The town of Albany
lyes within the Ranslaer's colony." " They
settled the place." Orders were issued to put the
Patroon in possession of Albany, and conditions of
rent were fixed ' ' that every house should pay,
some two beavers — some more, some less, accord-
ing to their dimensions — per annum, for twenty
years, and afterwards the Ranssalears to put what
rent upon them they could agree for." These
orders were placed in the hands of Gov. Andros,
but not put in execution. When the honest Don-
37
gan became governor of the province the orders
were brought to him. He frankly declined putting
them in execution for this very sensible reason;
" I thought it not convenient to execute, judging it
not for his majesty's interest that the second town
in the government, and which brings his majesty
so great a revenue, should be in the hands of any
particular men." But, wishing justice and peace,
he adds: "By meanes of Mr. James Graham,
Judge Palmer and Mr. Cortlandt, that have great
influence on that people, I got the Ranslaers to
release their pretense to the town and sixteen
miles into the country for commons to the King,
with the liberty to cut firewood within the colony
for one and twenty years. After I had obtained
this release of the Ranslaers I passed the patent
for Albany." Albany received its charter July 22,
1686, and thus early was it done because of the
magnanimous generosity of the Van Rensselaers
and the sagacity of Gov. Thomas Dongan.
Killian II, probably, came in possession as sole
proprietor and lord of the manor on attaining his
majoiity in 1684. He conveyed to his brother
Hendrick, June i, 1704, a few days after his
patent was fully confirmed by Queen Anne, all of
Claverack or the lower manor, and 1,500 acres of
the upper manor, including an island in the Hud-
son, and Greenbush running back one mile. He
seems to have been a man of public trust and in-
fluence. In 1693 he was Captain of a troop of
horse and Justice of the Peace. During the time of
Leisler he was strenuously opposed to his govern-
ment, and went as delegate to Connecticut to secure
military aid in the troubles that threatened Albany.
From 1691 to 1703 he represented Rensselaerwyck
in the .Provincial Assembly, and was a member of
the Council from 1704 to 1719. The important
ofiice of Indian Commissioner was held by him
from 1706 to 1720.
His will, made in 1718, was proved May 10,
1720, probably soon after the date of his decease,
at the age of 57. He married Maria Van Cordandt,
October 15, 1701, by whom he had nine children,
six of whom survived him. From him and his
brother Hendrick, of Greenbush, who married
Catharine Van Brugh, came all the blood of the
Van Rensselaers in this country.
IV. — Stephen I, son of Killian and Maria (Van
Cortlandt) Van Rensselaer, was born March 23,
1707. He became Patroon in 1728, eight years after
the death of his father, and married Elizabeth
Groesbeck, July 5, 1729. They had six children, be-
sides others that died in early infancy. Among these
were Elizabeth, born July 12, 1734, who became.
290
UlSTOkY Of TtlE COtlNTT Of ALBANT.
in 1753, the wife of that eminent man, Gen. Abra-
ham Ten Broeck, and Stephen, who succeeded his
father. Of Stephen I we find no record of public
office, except that of Indian Commissioner in 1745.
He was seemingly a modest, quiet man, faithfully
devoted to the interests of his princely territory.
He was buried at the Mills, July i, 1747, at the age
of 40. His wife, Elizabeth, was buried December
31, 1756.
V. — Stephen H, son of Stephen and Elizabeth,
was born June 2, 1742, and came to his manorial
trust in 1 763. His health was feeble and his life
was short He died of pulmonary disease in 1769,
at the age of 27. January 23, 1764, he married
Catharine, daughter of Philip Livingston, the
Albany signer of the Declaration of Independence.
One daughter and two illustrious sons were the
fruit of this marriage : Stephen, the sixth Patroon,
and Philip Schuyler, bom April 15, 1756. Philip
S. held many important trusts, among which was
that of Mayor of Albany for nineteen years, from
1799 10 1816, and 1819 to 1821. In 1765, that
grand old structure, the present manor-house, so
long the abode of plenty, refinement, intelligence
and hospitality, was erected by Stephen II. It
took the place of a building situated near by, which
had, for many years, been the family home of the
patroons, and was so arranged as to serve the Pur-
pose of a fortress as well as of a dwelling. His
widow, Catharine, married, in 1775, Rev. Dr.
Eilardus Westerlo, for many years pastor of the
First Dutch Reformed Church. He died in 1790.
VI. — Stephen III, son of Stephen and Catha-
rine (Livingston) Van Rensselaer, was bom No-
vember I, 1764. At the age of five years he was
an orphan. Gen. Ten Broeck, his uncle by mar-
riage, was his guardian during his minority. Dur-
ing some of his early years he was under the super-
vision and direction of his talented and accom-
plished mother, whose influence did much to give
bent to his life in those elements of religious faith
and regard for holy things which always marked
his character. His school-days were spent in the
school of John Waters, near his home ; afterward
in Elizabeth town, N. J.; and then in Kingston
Academy, where he made preparation for college.
One year he spent at Princeton, and then entered
Harvard College, where he graduated in 1782.
In 1825, Yale conferred upon him the degree of
LL. D. Before he was 20, he married Margaret,
daughter of Gen. Philip Schuyler, who became the
mother of three children, and died March 7, i8gi.
In May, 1802, he married Cornelia Patterson, of
New Jersey, who died August 6, 1844, having
given him nine children, four only of whom sur-
vived him. His death occurred January 26, 1839,
at the age of 75 years. His life was truly full of
years and honors, distinguished by usefulness,
good examples, public confidence, and the affection
of all that best knew him. From his earliest man-
hood he was a devout and consistent Christian, in
the communion of the church of his fatherland and
of his fathers. He was a sublime moralist; a pa-
tron of learning; a friend of the poor; a kind
neighbor; a public-spirited citizen, and an unflinch-
ing patriot He was born under a king; by in-
heritance a feudal lord of vast wealth ; a pro-
nounced advocate of the federal constitution that
succeeded the war of revolution, and a zealous poli-
tician of the Washington, Adams, Jay and Hamil-
ton school; which, with all its mistakes, was the
purest and most intelligent party that ever had a
name in our political history.
His policy as a land-holder was to dispose of
his large landed estate to actual tillers of the soil.
He adopted the plan of offering what were called
leases in fee, and at what was considered moderate
rent. In this way he succeeded in bringing most
of his lands, situated in Albany and Rensselaer
Counties, into cultivation. These brought him a
good income.
" He had none of that morbid appetite for
wealth which grows ravenous by what it feeds on."
Nor could he "bring himself to feel and indulge
that passion for profit and gain which consumed
those around him." Hence, he was a kind, in-
dulgent man with the farmers, whom he regarded
as his tenants. He had no schemes for making
larger profits, none for mere speculation. He
made no change of policy for such purpose. He
was always giving to the poor; always forgiving
their dues to the unfortunate; always helpful in pro-
viding good schools and promoting religious in-
struction among the manorial farmers. The peo-
ple all loved him, and often called him "the good
Patroon," or "the good old Patroon," as he came
to venerable age.
But our space will allow us to name the honora-
ble positions of tmst which he held, and scarcely
more — positions held to adorn by his character and
benefit by his influence. In military Ufe, for which
he had no special fondness, he was made a Major
in 1786, a Colonel in 1788, and Major-General of
cavalry in 1801. As is well known, he reluctantly
took command of the militia, as Major-General in
the northern department, in the war of 18 12, from
motives of patriotism and public policy. He was
appointed by Governor Tompkins, and did heroic
THE MANOR AND THE VAN RENSSELAERS.
291
service at Queenstown and elsewhere. In polit-
ical life, he was Member of the Assembly in 1789,
1808, i8ioandi8i8; of the Senate, from 1791 to
1795; of the Constitutional Convention of 1801 and
1821. He was Lieutenant-Governor, 1796 to 1802;
Member ofthe Council of Appointment in 1792; and
of the United States House of Representatives from
1823 to 1829. In 1801, he was the candidate of the
Federalists against George Clinton for Governor
ofthe State, and in 1813, against D. D. Tompkins,
with a very strong vote. In literature, he was
trustee and benefactor of local schools and acade-
mies; President ofthe Albany Institute from 1824 '
to 1839; a Regent of the University from 1819;
and Chancellor from. 1835 until his death in 1839.
He was on the Erie Canal Commission from 18 10,
and President of the Canal Board fifteen years. He
was one of the founders of the New York State
Agricultural Society, and its first President. In
Masonry he became Master of the Grand Lodge of
the State. In the early banking and railroad move-
ments, and other matters of public improvement,
he was among the foremost. The Rensselaer Poly-
technic Institute, Troy, was founded by him; and
he was a constant patron of literature and literary
men.
When he died, none ever had a simpler funeral.
It was his own request. His body was borne to
the tomb of his fathers on men's shoulders. The
family mourners and the citizens that knew him
and loved him so well, followed from the North
Dutch Church to his last resting place on foot.
There was no parade, no ostentation of any kind.
Albany never buried a man who was loved more
sincerely or mourned more sorrowfully. In many
ways he was a great man; in all ways he was, what
is better, a good man.
His estate, under the United States Constitution
and the laws of 1787, could not descend to the
oldest son. The last Patroon died with him. His
landed interests were divided between his sons
Stephen and William Patterson, the Albany County
lands going to the former; those of Rensselaer
County to the latter.
VII. — Stephen IV, only son of Stephen and
Margaret (Schuyler) Van Rensselaer, was born
March 29, 1789. He had possession of the man-
sion, and was usually called, by courtesy or cus-
tom, " the young Patroon. " He married Harriet
E. Bayard, of New York, and had eight children,
six of whom survived him. His death occurred
May 25, 1868, in his eightieth year. He never
sought official honors, but lived a quiet and unob-
trusive life. He was interested in many charitable
objects, and a liberal giver. In the church of his
fathers, of which he was a prominent member and
officer, he was always valued. He was called Gen-
eral, a title which belonged to him as an officer of
that rank in the State militia. The anti-rent con-
troversy, described by Mr. Colvin, broke out and
raged in his time.
William Patterson, oldest son of Stephen and
Cornelia (Patterson) Van Rensselaer, was born
March 6, 1805, and occupied for a time, his lands
in Rensselaer County. He built what is now
called Forbes Manor for his residence ; but never
occupied it. He resided, for a while, in the build-
ing in Albany now converted into St. Peter's Hos-
pital, and after his financial aflFairs became compli-
cated, he made his residence in and near New
York City, the rest of his life.
Thus closes our brief history of the Patroons —
men who held that title for about 238 years, and
whose relationship to the landed interests, to the
business interests, and, indeed, to every interest in
this county, was peculiar and lasting. Taking all
in all, they and their descendants generally deserve
to be spoken of with respectful consideration, some
of them with distinguished gratitude and praise.
THE HENDRICK VAN RENSSELAER
BRANCH.
Many of the descendants of Hendrick, the sec-
ond son of Jeremias, and brother of Patroon
Killian, deserve place in our history, as persons
who have led lives of eminent usefulness and
honor. We only wish we had space to render
them the honor they deserve. Among them
we may name, as especially eminent. Colonel Kill-
ian, son of Hendrick, who was once Chairman of
the Committee of Safety. He had four distin-
guished sons. General Henry K., a brave revolu-
tionary officer, who was crippled for life by wounds
received in battle at Fort Ann, July 8, 1777; Col.
Philip, who was for many years Commissary of
Military Stores in the northern department, and
who built the Cherry Hill Mansion, and died there
in 1798; Colonel Nicholas, who was one of Gen-
eral Montgomery's aids at the storming of Quebec,
December 31, 1775, and was afterwards aid to
General Schuyler, and fought at Ticonderoga,
Fort Miller, Fort Ann and Bemis Heights. He it
was who bore the news of Burgoyne's defeat to Al-
bany, October 17, 1777. Another son, Killian
K., was an eminent lawyer in Albany, and repre-
sented the County in United States Congress, ten
years, from 1 801-18 11. General Solomon, son of
General Henry K., was one ofthe bravest of patri-
292
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
otic men, and an eminent civilian. He fought the
Indians at Maumee with Waj'ne and Harrison in
the Northwest, and was also at the battle of Queens-
town as aid to General Stephen. In both battles he
was seriously wounded. He was for sixteen years
Adjutant-General of the State ; four years in the
United States Congress, and many years Postmas-
ter of Albany. His brother, Killian H., was a
Lieutenant in the United States Navy. Jeremiah,
Hendrick and John B., represented Rensselaer-
wyck in the colonial assemblies, filling up the
thirty-five years between 1726 and 1761. Another
Jeremiah, son of John, was Lieutenant-Governor
of the State from 1801 to 18 10. John S. was a
brave soldier in the war of 181 2. Robert was a
delegate to the Provincial Congress in 1775-77.
Colonel James was one of Montgomery's aids at
Quebec; and many others of this branch filled up
the measure of good citizenship.
Females of the Family. — Three distinguished
patriots of the revolution married Van Rensselaer
daughters : General Philip Schuyler married Cat-
rina, daughter of John ; General Abraham Ten
Broeck, Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen, the fourth
Patroon; and General Leonard Gansevoort, Maria,
daughter of Colonel Killian. Mrs. Catharine Viss-
cher, youngest daughter of General Solomon, and
widow of Rev. Samuel W. Bonney, author of
^
"Legacy of Historical Gleanings," and now Presi-
dent of Claremont College, Catawba County, N. C. ,
deserves special mention here, as a lady of exalted
worth and fine accomplishments. The female
members of the Van Rensselaer family with very
few exceptions, make a long list of excellent daugh-
ters, wives and mothers, ornaments to their name
and their sex.
Representation. — Rensselaerwyck had a repre-
sentation in the colonial assemblies, separate from
Albany, from April 9, 1691 to April 3, 1775, a
period of eighty-four years. The representatives
were: 1691 to 1704, Killian Van Rensselaer; 1701-2
and 1715-26, Andries Coeymans ; 1703-4, An-
dries Douw; 1705-14, Hendrick Van Rensselaer;
1726-43, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer; 1743-61, John
B. Van Rensselaer; 1 761-75, Abraham Ten Broeck.
It is worthy of remark that all the members of
this wealthy and aristocratic family were always
found on the side of popular liberty. As citizens,
they voted on that side; as civil officers, they con-
tended for it even when in a minority and against
the English crown; as soldiers, they bravely fought
for it and generously spent of their wealth for it.
And yet they must have known that a simple rep-
resentative free government would, as it did, at
once abridge and finally destroy their feudal de-
scended rights and powers.
LAND PATENTS, SETTLEMENTS, LEASES, TITLES
AND BOUNDARIES.
THE claims of the native proprietors to the soil
were admitted by the Holland companies and
the Patroon, and purchases of lands were made from
the Indian owners "for certain quantities of duf-
fels, axes, knives and wampum." In this manner
purchases were made by the Van Rensselaer
Patroons and others, who made original purchases
of Indian tracts of lands. The general policy of
these Patroons was to lease lands and transmit
them to their heirs, not to sell them. This has
been briefly spoken of in other parts of our volume.
Much could be said under our heading, but we
propose to say but little — just enough to give a few
facts and suggestions on a subject of great interest
and extensive relations.
In 1678, Governor Andros thus writes of land
grabbing: " New York is in 40° 35', Albany abt.
43°- The Colony js several long narrow stripes of
wh. a great part of the settlemt. made by adventu-
rers before any Regulacon by wh. Incroachmts.
without pattents, wh. towns have lately taken but by
reason of continuall warrs noe Survey made &
wildernesse, no computacon can be made of the
planted and implanted." True to his King, this
Governor endeavored to place a check upon such
proceedings. But with poor success.
The extravagant land grants made in this State,
to private persons, by some of the English Govern-
ors were in such vast parcels that the government
thereby lost much revenue, which caused much
uneasiness and discontent. Individuals came into
collision on account of the irregular manner in
which the grants usually were located — without
surveys or boundaries. The most reckless gover-
nors in these transactions were Governors Fletcher
and Cornbury, Land§ by 50,000, 100,000, and
LAND PATENTS, SETTLEMENTS, LEASES, TITLES AND BOUNDARIES. 293
even a million of acres were placed in the hands of
unscrupulous speculators. Conflicting claims made
great trouble ; honest settlers were defrauded ; and
the setdement of good lands by worthy citizens
greatly hindered. The King interfered ; called
home some governors in disgrace, and vacated
some of the grants. No State in the Union has
suffered so much by the extravagant and unguarded
distribution of its domain as the State of New York.
The hurtful consequences have always been felt as
prejudicial to the public interests.
The recognized claim of the Patroons, dating so
far back, and being so well established by the ex-
tinguishment of the Indian claims and the actual
occupation of the land, prevented any trouble from
such grants in Rensselaerwyck.
While the title of the lands in this county could
not be disputed, having been duly purchased of the
aboriginal owners by the Van Rensselaers and con-
firmed by the States General of Holland, the man-
ner of dividing off the farms was not well considered.
Land was plenty and the value small. Patents and
farms were located by spotted trees, stsnes, streams,
and other points subject to decay, removal or other
change. One badly defined lot was bounded as lying
next to another just as badly defined. Lots over-
lapped each other, and gores or other shapes were
left between lots without a legal occupant. Lands
were stepped off, or measured with a pole, a rope,
or the "leading line" of a harness. Courses were
run by unskilled surveyors, running northerly
or north-by-west from any evanescent or un-
certain point that first came to notice in the line.
In after time came the difficulty of finding
the old points and retracing the old lines. This
has cost labor, expense and perplexity. Many
questions pertaining to the farm lands in this
county are yet unsettled, the farmers wisely con-
cluding that it would cost more than it would
come to to hire a surveyor ; much more to go
to court. So, by some neighborly compromise, the
unsettled line of division has long remained un-
settled ; and we may hope that it long may, except
it be peaceably.
Joel Munsell tells us that the boundaries and
tracts were quite indefinite, and as they became
cultivated, all traces of the described bounds utterly
ceased to be distinguishable. For instance, a farm
now in the heart of the City of Albany, leased by
the Patroon to Isaac, son of Casper Halenbeck, is
thus described in the lease: "Bounded on the
north by the plain and hill ; on the east by the
swamp ; on the south by the Bever Kil ; on the
west bv the woods." Nothing now remains but
the Kil to mark the boundaries of this tract, and
that is partially arched over and used as a sewer.
The hill was long since leveled, the swamp filled
in and built upon, the woods cleared up, and the
area occupied by streets and a dense population.
'1 he Duke of York, as proprietor and as King, as
well as his successors, saw the good policy of treat-
ing the Hollander well, and readily confirmed the
rights and patents that dated under the government
of the States General or of the Dutch West India
Company. All other lands were claimed as belong-
ing to the English crown ; and, after satisfying the
Indian title as a matter of policy, all grants were
finally subject to the approval of the King.
The acknowledgment of the just title of the
Patroon of Rensselaerwyck to the territory that
became the City of Albany in 1686, unfairly disputed
by Governor Stuyvesant, reflects credit on the
policy of the English government at that time, as
discussed in another place.
The claim of England to the territory of New
Netherlands, by right of prior discovery, has been
referred to elsewhere, and needs no further discus-
sion here. It was at a time when might made right.
Indeed, when and where in the world's history has
it not been so .? But how litde did King James
realize the value of his province of New York !
Nor was George III much wiser.
Writing concerning the state of lands- in the
Province of New York in 1732, Cadwaifader
Golden, Surveyor-General, says: "By the 3d
article of Surrender agreed to with the Dutch
Govt, it is stipulated (in 1664) that 'all people
shall continue free denizens, and enjoy lands,
houses, goods, ships, wheresoever they are within
the country, and dispose of them as they please.'
And by the nth article, ' The Dutch here shall
enjoy their own customs concerning inheritances.'"
In pursuance of this the inhabitants took out
confirmations of their lands and tenements under
the hand and seal of Colonel Nicolls, the first
English Governor under th e Duke of York, in which
their title under the Dutch is recited. The form
of these confirmations appear to be everywhere the
same.
Governor Nicolls likewise, granted unimproved
lands to any who were willing to settle and improve
them; and these first grants were made without any
previous survey or without reciting any certain
boundaries, but only to contain, for example, 100,
200, or 300 acres adjoining such another man's
land or a certain hill, or river, or rivulet.
Subsequent governors made land grants with
surveys or without, as it pleased them, Some parted
294
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
with valuable lands and large tracts for a mere trifle
to their favorites. Land was plenty. The few who
had influence with the government, and desired in-
crease of power and wealth, saw their opportunity
in large territory which they might settle with de-
pendents. The evil that came from such a policy
has cursed this State even to our day; giving us
confusion of titles and boundaries; vexatious and
expensive lawsuits; many bitter contentions, that
have grown so mighty as to move the whole body
politic; and kept many hard-working tenants and
their families in a condition but little better than
abject servitude, with all its consequences in ig-
norance and lawlessness. Albany County is a
witness of this condition of things. The article
on Anti-rentism in this volume clearly exhibits
the evils that have sprung from feudal tenures,
rents conditioned upon leases in perpetuity, and
exacted by the Patroons and their assignees. The
conflicting opinions of learned legal authority are
perplexing to the lay citizen. The financial ruin
of many so-called tenants, and the physical, mental
and moral degradation frequently consequent
upon this condition of things, are too patent for
denial, and excite commiseration. This state of
things shows that a great wrong has been the nat-
ural outgrowth of the policy of such land grants
made long ago, no doubt, at first, with a worthy
purpose. Nor is there any doubt that the Patroons,
or' original landholders, regarded their manorial
claims as beneficial to the State as well as advan-
tageous to themselves. They designed to treat the
farmers who occupied their lands with justice, and
usually did treat them with a policy both benevo-
lent and lenient The evils that resulted were the
fruits of the system. One of the worst ills that has
resulted from the lease system in this county has
been its effect upon the family of the lessee, which
has occupied the same soil for many years without
owning anything.
If men do not possess the right of soil, however
cheap the lease rents, they never can be indepen-
dent citizens. They are always under the influence
of their landlords. Their minds are apt to be-
come debased and their enterprise destroyed.
When their vassalage becomes hopeless, they live
as dumb, driven cattle.
The exact boundaries of our county, and of the
towns of which it is constituted, are not accurately
defined. Says Mr. J. T. Gardner, in State Survey
Report for 1877 :
"Less than one hundred years ago, however, sur-
veyors, carrying only the compass, chain, ax and
rifle, contending with innumerable obstacles in
pathless forests, forced their way to the utmost
limits of a wilderness stretching from the Hudson
River to Lake Erie. They traversed every part, and
roughly measured lines, dividing the lands into tracts
of suitable size for coming settlers, and marking the
lots by notching or ' blazing ' surrounding trees.
" There has been no survey of the State since
the pioneer surveyors ran their compass lines
through the woods.
"The maps of New York are false to the extent
of one, two, and even three miles in the positions
ascribed to prominent points. * * * It is
well known that we are far behind the rest of the
world in knowledge of our own territory."
What is true of the State is measurably true of
the smaller divisions of the State, of which it is
composed. There is something yet to be done by
the surveyors and engineers of the future.
The sagacity of the Dutch settlers is shown in
their selection of lands, and the tenacity with
which they held possession of them. They rarely
occupied the hills. Their native Holland was a flat
country, abundant in water, lying by the sea, and
traversed by rivers and canals. The early colonists
of this county planted their homes, usually, upon
level tracts, upon the rich alluvium of the Hudson
River, or other streams that run into it These
they were apt to leave to their heirs. The later
German took the best he could find in the valley of
the Mohawk, or else looked for his home on some
fertile spot but a little removed from some stream.
The following is a list of patents of lands located
in or near Albany County by the Dutch Govern-
ment from 1630 to 1634, so far as they now have
been found recorded in the Book of Patents and
Town Records. It will interest the many de-
scendants of our original landholders:
Kiliaen Rensselaer: Indian land east of Hudson,
Rensselaerwyck, August 6, 1631; Indian land west
of Hudson, Rensselaerwyck, August 13, 1631;
Indian land, Papskenea, Rensselaerwyck, April 13,
1637; Indian land, Katskill, April 19, 1649; In-
dian land, Claverack, May 14, 1649. JanMichelsen:
a lot, Beverwyck, May 23, 1650. Rutger Jacob-
sen: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. Goosen G.
Van Schaick: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652.
Anthonie De Hooges, a lot, Beverwyck, April 23,
1652. Cornells Teunissen: a lot, Beverwyck,
April 23, 1652. Andries Herbertsen: a lot, Bever-
wyck, April 23, 1652. Dirck Jansen: a lot, Bever-
wyck, April 23, 1652. Arent Andriessen: a lot,
Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. Volkert Jansen: a
lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. Albert Gerritsen:
a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. Jacob Adrien-
LAND PATENTS, SETTLEMENTS, LEASES, TITLES AND BOUNDARIES. 295
sen: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. Willem
Teller: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652. An-
netje Bogardus: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652.
Tennis Jacobsen: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652.
Rut Adriensen: a lot, Beverwyck, April 23, 1652.
Jacob Janz Schermerhorn : a lot, Beverwyck, No-
vember 9, 1653. Jochem Backer: a lot, Bever-
wyck, April 23, 1653. Pieter Loockermans: a
lot, Beverwyck, July 7, 1653. Hans Kierstede: a
lot, Beverwyck, July 18, 1653. Ryer Elbertsen:
a lot, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Laurens
Lourenzen: a lot, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653.
Jochem Kettelliuyn: a lot, Beverwyck, October 25,
1653. Evert Janz Van Embden: a lot, Bever-
wyck, October 25, 1653. Casper Jacobsen; a lot,
Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Michel Reycker-
sen: a lot, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Hen-
drick Andriessen: a lot, Beverwyck, October 25,
1653. Jan Verbeck: a lot, Beverwyck, October
25. 1653. Thomas Jansen : a lot, Beverwyck, Oc-
tober 25, 1653. Andries DeVos: a lot of wood-
land, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Thomas
Sandersen: two lots, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653.
Rut Adriensen: a lot, Beverwyck, October
25, 1653. And. Janz Appel Van Leyden: two
lots, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Jacob Janz
Schermerhorn: two lots, Beverwyck, October 25,
1653. Jan Labadie: a lot, Beverwyck, October
25i •653. Laurens Jansen: a lot, Beverwyck,
October 25, 1653. Captain Abram Staets, a lot,
Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Jacob Hendrick
Sibbinck: a lot, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653.
Jacob Symonz Klomp: a lot, Beverwyck, October
2 5> 1653. Hags Brunj'sen: a lot, Beverwyck,
October 25, 1653. Jan Frs. Van Hoesen: a lot,
Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Gillis Pietersen: a
lot, Beverwyck, October 25, 1653. Captain Abram
Staets: Cicheckawick, north of Claverack, March
17, 1654. Leendert Phillipsen: a lot, Beverwyck,
March 24, 1654. Hendrick Marcelis: a lot,
Beverwyck, March 24, 1654. Gillis Pietersen: a
lot, Beverwyck, April 14, 1654. Wynent Gerrit-
sen: a lot, Beverwyck, August 29, 1654. Ad. J.
Van Leyden Appel: a lot for an inn, Beverwyck,
December 16, 1654. Ph. Pietersen Schuyler: two
lots, Beverwyck, June 16, 1656. Adrien Janz
Ilpendam: a lot, Beverwyck, October 28, 1656.
Mattheus Abrams: a lot, Beverwyck, October 28,
1656. Claes Hendricksen: two lots, Beverwyck,
September 25, 1657. Pieter Jacobsen: a lot,
Beverwyck, February 23, 1658. Jeremias Van
Rensselaer: a lot, Beverwyck, February 25, 1658.
Sander Senderts Glen: a lot, Beverwyck, July 13,
1658. Ph. Pietersen Schuyler: a lot, Beverwyck,
September 10, 1658. Pieter Meersen: a lot,
Beverwyck, October 31, 1658. Thomas Cham-
bers: a lot, Beverwyck, November 8, 1653.
Volckert Jansen, et al. : a plantation. Fort Orange,
March 31, 1659. Andriessen: a plantation.
Fort Orange, March 19, 1659. Arent Van Curler:
a plantation, Beverwyck, March 23, 1659. Pieter
Hartgers: two lots, Beverwyck, September i, 1659.
Jan Daretha: a lot, Beverwyck, February 5, 1660.
Peter Jacobsen: a lot, Beverw3'ck, February 23,
1660. Peter Mees: a lot, Beverwyck, August 17,
1660. Jan Costers Van Aecken: a lot, Beverwyck,
March 7, 1661. Jan Tomassen: two lots, Bever-
wyck, March 10, 1661. Rutger Jacobsen, et al. :
Pachnach Killick Island, near Beverwyck, March
10, 1661. Rutger Jacobsen: Constable's Island,
Beverwyck, March 19, 1661. Arent Van Curler,
et al. : Indian land, Schonowe, July 27, 1661.
Schenectady, Great Flalt confirmed April 6, r662.
Jan Jansen Van Hoesen: Indian land, Claverack,
June 5, 1662. J. B. Wemp, et al. : Martin's
Island, Schenectady, November 12, 1662. Peter
Bronck: a lot, Beverwyck, 1663. Symon Symonz
Groot: a lot, Beverwyck, May 11, 1663. Casper
Jacobsen: a lot, Beverwyck, December 29, 1663.
Jan Tomassen: a lot, Beverwyck, March 10, 1664.
Cornells Van Nes: twenty-one morgen, Schenec-
tady, June I, 1664. Tennis Cornelissen: twenty-
four morgen, Schenectady, June 16, 1664. Sy-
mon DeBakker: twenty-four morgen, Schenectady,
June 19, 1664. Pieter Adriensen: twenty-six mor-
gen, Schenectady, June 16, 1664. Willem Teller:
twenty-three morgen, Schenectady, June i6, 1664.
Ph. Pietersen Schuyler: Indian tract, Half-Moon,
July 10, 1664.
All lands within this State are allodial, so that,
subject to their liability to escheat, the owners
have entire and absolute property in them, accord-
ing to the nature of their respective estates. No
leases can now be made of agricultural lands for a
time longer than twelve years, and all quarter sales
or other restraints upon alienation, reserved in any
grant hereafter made, are void in law.
Albany County never had any State lands except
those occupied by State buildings. It has no
United States land except that occupied by the
Watervliet Arsenal and the Government building in
Albany. It has had no Gospel or school lands, no
literature lands, no military land grants, nor were
any patents covering its territory or any part of it,
ever granted originally by the English government.
Some of its citizens, as the Livingstons, the Schuy-
lers, and the Van Rensselaers, had large patents
located in other parts of the State.
296
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
THE BEAVER AND THE FUR TRADE.
THE earliest industry in the territory now called
Albany County was the beaver trade. Nothing
else brought the first Dutch adventurers to New
Netherlands, as nothing but the love of gold led the
earliest adventurers from our Eastern States to the
mines of California. Had it not been for the beaver,
we cannot tell how much longer the settlement of
our county would have been deferred. A brief ac-
count of this fur-bearing rodent, and of the impor-
tant relation he sustained to our early history, seems
due to him. Without it our work would be in-
complete.
How much he was esteemed is shown in part by
the local preservation of his honored name in
Beverwyck, Beaverkill, Beaver street, Beaver block
and the like.
We begin with a description in popular language
of the beaver himself, that we may better under-
stand his character and habits.
The beaver is one of the most extraordinary of
all animals. It is between three and four feet in
length, and weighs from forty to sixty pounds. Its
teeth, which are long, broad and sharp, project
considerably beyond the jaw, and are curved like
a carpenter's gouge. In its fore-feet the toes are
separated, as if designed to answer the purposes of
fingers and hands. Its hind-feet are accommo-
dated with webs, suited to the purpose of swim-
ming. In no animal does the social instinct and
habit appear stronger or more general than in the
beaver. Wherever a number of these animals are
found, they immediately form an association to
carry on their common business. Their societies
are generally formed, in June and July, and fre-
quently number two or three hundred, all united
in promoting the interests of the whole community.
The society of beavers seems to be regulated alto-
gether by naturaj dispositions and laws. It is one
of peace and affection, guided by one principle.
No contention or disagreement is ever seen among
them; but harmony and unity prevail throughout
their dominion. The principle of this union is not
the superiority of any individual; there seems to be
among them nothing of the authority or influence
of a leader or chief Their association has the as-
pect of a pure democracy, founded on the principle
of perfect equality and the strongest mutual attach-
ment.
When these animals are collected together, they
give attention, first, to their public affairs. Being
amphibious, they spend part of their time in the
water. Their first work is to find a situation con-
venient for both their land and water purposes. A
lake or a running stream of water is chosen for
their habitation, selected always of such depth that
they mayliave sufficient room for swimming under
the ice. They seem to have an eye to undisturbed
possession. Such is their foresight or instinct, that
they are said never to form an erroneous judgment
Having selected their site thus carefully, they next
construct a dam; and so well chosen are both the
place and form of this, their home, that no engi-
neer could give them a better, either for conven-
ience, strength or duration.
The materials used are wood and earth. If there
be a tree on the side of the river which would nat-
urally fall across the stream, several beavers go to
work with their teeth, with great diligence, to fell
it. Trees twenty inches in diameter are thus
thrown across a stream as the formation of their
dam. Others are cutting down smaller trees, which
they divide into convenient lengths. Others serve
as porters, conveying the trees to the needed places;
and others, still, engage in the masonry of the
work. The earth is brought in their mouths,
formed into a kind of mortar with their feet and
tails, and spread over the interstices between the
stakes in such a way as to render the whole imper-
vious to water. The magnitude and extent of these
dams is marvelous when we consider the artisans
and their instruments. They are from fifty to one
hundred feet in length, and from six to twelve feet
thick at the base, forming ponds, frequently of
500 or 600 acres.
When the public works are completed, their
domestic concerns next engage their attention.
The beavers separate to build houses, each division
for itself, along the borders of the pond. These
houses are of an oval form, resembling a haycock
in appearance, and varying from four to ten feet in
diameter, according to the number of families they
are designed to accommodate. In these huts the
families of beavers live, enjoying the fruits of their
THE BEA VER AND THE FUR TRADE.
297
labors. But if any injury is done to their public
works, the whole society unites to repair it.
Nothing can exceed the peace and regularity
which prevail through the whole commonwealth.
No discord ever appears in any of their families;
every beaver knows his own apartment and store-
house, and there is no pilfering or robbing from
one another.
The color of the beaver varies with the climate,
being nearly black in the colder regions, and grow-
ing brown in the warmer. Its fur is of two sorts,
one being long, coarse and of little use; the
other consisting of a fine, thick down, about three-
quarters of an inch long, which has the com-
mercial value.
The beaver attains its greatest magnitude and its
highest perfection of society only where it is un-
disturbed by man. Hence it makes its home only
in uncultivated regions, retreating as man ap-
proaches.
Some idea of the trade in beaver, in those prim-
itive times, may be gathered from the facts which
follow.
The ship Nieu Nederlandt took 1,500 beaver
and 500 otter skins from Fort Orange at the close
of the first season.
The number of beavers reported from New
Netherlands in 1624, as Hazard tells us, were
4,000; also 700 otters — all valued at 27,125 guild-
ers. About ID years later the returns were 14,891
beavers and 1,413 otters, estimated at 134,000
guilders.
The ship Arms of Amsterdam sailed from New
Amsterdam September 23, 1626, and arrived in
Amsterdam, November 4th, following, with a cargo
of 7,246 beaver skins, 853! otter skins, 48 mink
skins, 36 wild cat skins, 33 mink and 34 rat skins,
besides some wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat,
canary seed, beans and flax, and considerable oak
and hickory.
In 1632, the Dutch Colonists were reported
to have sent over to Holland "15,000 beaver
skynnes, besides other commodities. "
About 1633, it was estimated that about 16,000
beaver skins were sold in the Hudson river trade,
mostly at Fort Orange.
The value of furs exported in 1626 was reckoned
at about 819,000; in 1632 it had been raised to
$50,000.
In 1638, the States General observe that nothing
comes from New Netherlands but beaver skins,
minks and other furs. About this time the fur trade
was made free. Every boor became a fur trader.
38
The trade in furs at Albany was very flourish-
ing in the years from 1645 to 1660.
In 1645, an arrival of tobacco and beavers is
reported in Amsterdam — the latter invoiced as "10
cases containing 2,137 pieces of beavers," which,
valued at 7 guilders, amount to 14,959 florins.
The number of furs exported from Fort Orange
and vicinity in 1656, amounted to 34,480 beaver
and 300 otter skins. In 1658 the number reached
57,640 beaver and 300 otter skins.
In 1657, according to the record of Johannes
Dyckman, 40,940 beaver and otter skins were
shipped to New Amsterdam from Fort Orange, now
Albany.
Here we take note of the commercial value of
beaver.
When specie was scarce and paper money had
not come into use, beaver skins and wampum, or
seawant, were used among the people as currency.
In 1656 a beaver skin was worth 8 to 10 guilders,
or $3. 50 to $4. The former was the usual price,
the real value of which would be $3. 20 in our cur-
renc}'. One guilder equals 40 cents.
In 1676 "good merchantable beavers" were
valued at 1 2 shillings a piece or 9 shillings a pound.
A negro boy, nine years old, hale and sound, was
valued at the sum of twenty-eight merchantable
beavers in this same year.
Wheat and other goods were often sold at
" beaver price. " In 1678 five schepels, equal to
about three pecks, of wheat were valued at one
beaver.
In April, 1680, the Labadists, Bankers and Sluy-
ter paid each one beaver price, 25 guilders in
seawant, for their boat passage from New York
to Albany. A guilder seawant was worth about
one-third as much as a guilder beaver.
In 1705 thirty beavers were valued at £1^.
During these years the boschloopers or bush-run-
ners, who made it their business to meet the In-
dians on their trails to Albany and go to their vil-
lages with the purpose of intercepting their trade,
caused much excitement. In 1655, orders forbid-
ding this kind of traffic were made by the Court.
These ancient drummers were not allowed to drive
trade in this way ; nor were the merchants allowed
to allure the Indians having peltry to sell, to their
own houses. After this the magistrates rescinded
the order. Governor Stuyvesant was next called
in by the savages themselves to interfere ; and in
1660, at a meeting with the Indians, he assured
them of his displeasure at the conduct of these in-
298
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
terlopers, who interfered with their right to trade
with whom they chose, and promised his protec-
tion if they used even blows to keep off these offi-
cious middlemen or any other mercenary inter-
meddlers, who shut them into their houses to
compel their trade while in Beverwyck.
The fur trade was so profitable at Fort Orange,
that fur traders from New Amsterdam, and others
who had no residence near this fort, engaged suc-
cessfully in competition with the Patroon and his
officers and merchants, by intercepting the Indian
huntgrs and by advancing the price, much to the
detriment of the Beverwyck traders. This led to
a great deal of trouble. The fort erected on
Bearen Island and the controversy that followed, as
stated in another part of this work, were the out-
growth of this foreign intermeddling in what the
Patroon, for a time, regarded as his exclusive
right.
There can be no question that this trade did
much to demoralize the inhabitants of Rensselaer-
wyck. Agriculture for a long time was neglected,
and every other pursuit, except hunting and trad-
ing in furs. Every farmer left tilling his land and
became a fur trader as soon as the restrictions
were taken off and the trade was free to every one.
Legitimate methods of securing the wealth that
this business promised, were violated. Not only
were the Indian trails filled with drummers, and all
the arts of flattery and special attention bestowed
upon the fur-bearing traveler from the woods as he
came to the village of Beverwyck, but he was
bribed by trifling gifts and made drunk with fire-
water. Strifes arose among the people, and quar-
rels among the savages. Cheating became common.
The Dutchman's hand balancing a pound of bea-
ver in the scale, and his foot two pounds, as stated
by the veritable Knickerbocker in his "History
of New York," if not strictly true, as it may have
been, illustrates one of the methods of cheating the
Indian.
The trade in . fur began seriously to diminish
about 1660. The beavers had either been trapped
and skinned, or had retreated to regions north and
west, farther away from the white man. The re-
sources of the Indians in the neighborhood of
Beverwyck had become nearly exhausted. Scarcity
of furs on their tramping ground was felt by them
and the traders. They had sold some of their
land, and what remained possessed no value to
them. They parted with it for trifles to the settlers,
who now began to give more attention to cultivat-
ing the soil as their best resource for a livelihood.
About this time (1661) several important families.
including Commissary Arent Van Curler, the In-
dians' friend, purchased the "Great Flatts," where
now is Schenectady, and began a settlement. This
diverted much trade from Beverwyck, which led
to rivalry and much bitter feeling between the two
neighboring villages.
Bankers and Sluyter, in 1680, made the fol-
lowing entry in their journal, speaking of Fort
Orange :
"As this is the principal trading fort with the
Indians, and as the privilege of trading is granted
to certain merchants, there are houses or lodges
erected on both sides of the town, where the In-
dians who come from the far interior to trade, live
during the time they are there. This time of trad-
ing with the Indians is at its hight in the month
of June and July, and also in August, when it falls
off, because it is then the best time for them to
make their journey there and back. "
In 1687, Governor Dongan speaks of the inter-
meddling of the Governor of Canada with the fur
trade. Sixty young men of Albany and some Al-
bany Indians had undertaken a trading expedition
to the distant tribes, and on their return were in-
tercepted and taken prisoners, with their goods, by
the French and Canada Indians. He complains
that the revenue of the province was very much re-
duced by the course taken by Canada in persuad-
ing the Indians to take their furs to Montreal, or
by depredations like the above. He adds, "in
other years we used to ship off for England 35,000
or 40,000 beavers, besides peltry, and this year
only 9,000 and some hundreds peltry in all."
In 1699, the Indians in council at Albany, com-
plained of the diminishing value of the beaver
trade, alleging that the earlier traders lived in small
huts, but now are grown rich and high, and wear
fine clothes and dwell in great houses, and all this
from profits on the beavers, which they brought
from afar on their backs. And now they paid little
for beaver and put a large price on their goods.
In 1700, the vigilant and judicious Governor
Bellomont writes to the Lords of the Admiralty:
"The beaver trade here and at Boston is sunk to
little or nothing, and the market is so low for beaver
in England that 'tis scarce worth the transporting.
I have been told that in one year, when this prov-
ince was in possession of the Dutch, there were
66,000 beaver skins exported from this town (New
York), and this last year there was but 15,241
beaver skins exported hence, from 24th of June,
'99, to 24th of June, 1700. * * * A few years
ago beaver skins sold in London at 14 shillings
a pound, and then the custom was but 4d. the
THE BEA VER AND THE FUR TRADE.
399
skin. Now beaver has fallen to 5 shillings per
pound in England and pays gd. per skin here,
3d. per skin freight, and 1 2d. when it is un-
shipped in England." The Governor then urges
the bad effects of such a state of things on popula-
tion and trade, and advises free trade in peltr)'.
He also claims that it is wise to keep the Indians in
favor with the King, by a policy -that will encourage
him in his favorite pursuit of hunting and selling
beaver.
On the 19th of July, 1701, the Sachems of the
Five Nations deeded all their beaver hunting lands
in the Province of New York and vicinity to King
William III of England and his successors. The
quit claim deed was made at Albany, signed and
sealed by Governor John Nanfan and the Sachems
of the Senecas, Mohawks, Cayugas, Onondagas and
Oneidas, and comprehended a territory claimed as
extending 800 by 400 miles. John J. Bleecker,
Mayor, and the Aldermen and other city officers
were present as witnesses. The only consideration
seems to have been protection of their persons and
possessions against the French. The only reserva-
tions made were peaceable homes and free hunting
to themselves and their descendants.
It having been found that the French, through
their missionaries, were rapidly gaining upon the
English in the matter of profitable trade. Governor
Bellomont, in January, 1701, proposes to the Lords
of Trade some course by which this trade could be
diverted from the French and turned from Missis-
sippi, Canada and Nova Scotia to the English col-
onies. He writes thus from New York: " In order
to this design the beaver trade ought to be encour-
aged by Parliament — all duties wholly taken off',
both here and in England, from beaver and other
peltry exported from this Province. * * * *
The French King, to encourage the beaver trade,
has ordered the Parliament of Paris to put forth
and requiring all the hatters to mix a certain
quantity of beaver's furr in all their hats, under a
severe penalty, which is a wise course, and I wish
our Parliament would take such a course to help
the consumption of beaver, which at present is
grown almost out of use in England since Carolina
hatts have been so much and fur hatts so little in
fashion." The following table gives the value of
furs imported from the Province of New York for
the years from 1717 to 1723;
£ =■ <l-l £ =• d.
1717-18 10,704 3 Il'l720^2I 6,659 4 I'
1718-19 7.138 2 5I7II-22 7,045 310
1719-20 7.48716 5:1722-23 8,333 5 4
In 1721, the Worshipful Mayor, Aldermen and
Commonalty of the City of Albany adopted most
stringent rules, designed to put an end to long-ex-
isting abuses in the Indian trade. They forbade,
under penalties of ;^5 and upwards: i. Receiving
or concealing in their houses or elsewhere any
packs of furs belonging to any Indian. 2. Lodg-
ing and entertaining any Indian or squaw, except
Sachems, in their houses or other buildings. 3.
Conveying any Indian, his wives or children in any
wagon or cart from the westward towards Albany,
or any of his goods, without payment. 4. Carry-
ing Indians or their goods, in like manner, for any
other person for a price or a gift. 5. Speaking to
any Indian outside the stockades and coming from
the West, or enticing them to trade. 6. Employ-
ment of brokers.
The whole purpose of the ordinance was to
leave the matter of trade with the Indians them-
selves, they going to any person whom they chose
without influence or hindrance.
At other times orders were passed restricting the
sale of firearms and intoxicating drinks to the sav-
ages.
The importance of the trade, the character of the
traders, and the evils that existed are made evident
by these ordinances.
The struggle between the English in New York
and the French in Canada for the control of the
beaver trade was very great, especially during the
fiist fifty years of the eighteenth century. This was
carried on by regulating the prices paid the Indian
hunters, who carried their goods where they could
secure the best returns. The prices paid depended,
of course, very much upon what the colonial
traders could realize in the European market. It
appears that the beaver had taken himself from the
beaver dams of New York to more secluded places
in Canada and the North, because he was more re-
mote from danger. But the hunter found him in
his northern resort and took the precious fur beaver
in great numbers. Canada had the advantage of a
near market; but the English took good advice,
and, with Anglo-Saxon good sense, oflfered the fur
merchants free trade and a better price, and made
it up by increased manufactures, and sales at ad-
vanced rates. The Indians were better paid by the
English colonial trader and carried their furs to the
better paying market. So it appears from the cor-
respondence of the colonial traders and Governors
in the Colonies both of Canada and New York,
during the years from about 1720 to 1750. The
English thus secured the most of the Five Nations
as their friends — a great loss to the French. And
yet, by priestly art and smugghng, the Canadians
300
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
had, much of the time, a good trade. In the
two years 1746 and 1747, the French Company of
the Indies reaHzed a profit of 430,785 livres from
the beaver trade alone.
Peter Kalm, the intelligent Swedish naturalist,
who visited Albany in 1749, throws light upon the
fur traffic as it appeared to him at that time. He
writes: "Albany carries on considerable commerce
with New York, chiefly in furs, etc. * * *
There is not a place in all the British Colonies, the
Hudson Bay Settlements excepted, where such
quantities of furs and skins are bought of the In-
dians as at Albany. Most of the merchants in this
town send a clerk or agent to Oswego, an Indian
trading town upon the Lake Ontario, to which the
Indians resort with their furs. * * * The mer-
chants from Albany spend the whole summer at
OswegOj and trade with many tribes of Indians
who come to them with their goods. Many people
have assured me that the Indians are frequently
cheated in disposing of their goods, especially when
they are in liquor, and that sometimes they do not
get one-half or even one-tenth of the value of their
goods. I have been a witness to several transac-
tions of this kind. The merchants of Albany glory
in these tricks, and are highly pleased when they
give a poor Indian a greater portion of brandy than
he can bear, and when they can, after that, get all
his goods for mere trifles. The Indians often find,
when they are sober again, that they have been
cheated. They grumble somewhat, but are soon
satisfied when they reflect that they have, for once,
drunk as much as they are able of a liquor which
they value beyond anything else in the whole
world, and they are quite insensible to their loss if
they again get a draught of this nectar. Besides
this trade at Oswego, a number of Indians come to
Albany from several parts, especially from Canada;
but from this latter place they hardly bring any-
thing but beaver skins. There is a great penalty in
Canada for carrying furs to the English, that trade
belonging to the French West India Company;
notwithstanding which the French merchants in
Canada carry on a considerable smuggling trade.
They send their furs by means of the Indians to
their correspondents in Albany, who purchase it at
the price they have fixed upon with the French
merchants. The Indians take in return several
kinds of cloth and other goods, which may be got
here at a lower rate than those which are sent to
Canada from France."
Smith, the historian, in 1757, speaks of the fur
trade as "very much impaired by French wiles
and encroachments."
Coneiogatchie, one of the Chiefs of the Iroquois,
in a speech made in council in 1782, said; " Your
traders exact more than ever for their goods and our
hunting is lessened by the war, so that we have fewer
skins to give for them. This ruins us. We are poor. "
Elkanah Watson, in 1788, speaks of the trade in
furs at Albany as extinct. The British Hudson
Bay Company was then carrying on the trade.
T^x^ Albany Gazette, in 1796, speaks hopefully of
a revival of the fur trade in the city, nine wagon
loads of furs and peltries having been received by
one of the merchants from the Northwest territory.
But it was only a temporary matter. The old-time
fur trade was no more.
SLAVERY IN ALBANY COUNTY.
SLAVERY was introduced at an early day into
the American colonies. The first introduction
of African slaves was in 1619, by a Dutch vessel
sailing up the James River in Virginia, and selling
twenty negroes from Africa to the planters. The
trade in negro slaves did not increase very rapidly
until after 1700. In 1714 the whole number of
slaves in the . colonies was 55,850; of this number
about 30,000 had been imported. In 1808, the
total number imported was not less than 400,000.
The United States Constitutional Convention of
1774 resolved to discontinue the slave trade. In
1789, the Convention to frame the Federal Consti-
tution looked to the abolition of the traffic in 1808.
On March 2, 1807, Congress passed an act against
the importation of African slaves into the United
States after January i, 1808.
In violation of these laws, the trade continued to
an alarming degree for many years; and as late as
1855, New York city was largely engaged in the
nefarious business. An article in De Bow's Re-
view in 1855, quotes Captain Smith, who says:
" New York is the chief port in the world for the
slave trade, and is head-quarters for fitting out ves-
sels for all the slave ports. "
As early as 1628, frequent mention is made or
blacks owned as slaves in the colony of New
Netherlands. The West India Company in 1629,
\
SLA VERY IN ALBANY COUNTY.
301
granted to "all persons who will plant colonies
in New Netherlands, to supply them with as many
blacks as they conveniently can, on condition and
in such manner that they shall not be bound to
act for a longer time than they shall think proper."
It appears that parties who leased land from the
Company also leased servants or slaves from indi-
viduals for a term of years. The Company itself
was not above this business, since we learn that in
1644, Nicholas Toorn, of Rensselaer wyck, acknowl-
edges the receipt of a young black girl to be re-
turned at the end of four years, "if yet alive, " to
the Director-General or his successor. In 1650,
the West India Company sold at Albany "a farm-
house, hay-loft, two mares and a horse, and a
negro, all now in use by Thomas Hall."
In 1650, the States General of Holland sub-
mitted a plan to the deputies of the West India
Company that the inhabitants of New Netherlands
shall be at liberty to purchase negroes wheresoever
they may think necessary, except on the coast of
Guinea, and bring them to work on the bouweries
on payment of a dut)'. They also gave permission
to import as many negroes as were required for
the cultivation of the soil under certain conditions
and regulations.
In these early days of slavery the price varied,
fioo to $200 being the value. Rev. Johannes
Polhemus, a colonial minister, paid, in 1664, $175
for a slave. Rensselaer Nicol gave permission to
Jan De Decker, October 8, 1664, to sail from
Albany with eight negroes for the French planta-
tions of Martinico and Guadeloupe. Slaves could
be emancipated after eighteen or nineteen years of
service to the Company. At a court of Mayor and
Aldermen for the city of Albany, Myndert Freder-
ickse's negro, Hercules, was found guilty of steal-
ing a chest of wampum from his master, and the
court sentenced him "to be whipped throu ye
towne att ye cart tale by ye hands of ye hangman
forthwith, for an example to oyrs, and his masters
to pay ye costs." He confessed the theft, and said
he entered by an open window. This appears in
City Records, 1686. In the Records of 1679 it is
resolved, "That all Indians within the colony were
free, nor could they be forced to be servants or
slaves. "
The Colonial General Assembly in 1683 enacted
laws defining the privileges of slaves; also empow-
ering officers to follow and arrest runaway slaves.
They could not give, sell, or trust any commodity
whatsoever, under penalty of corporal punishment;
neither was any person allowed to buy of a slave
or trade with one. The old colonial statutes are
filled with laws relating to negroes and slaves. We
quote the substance of some of them. In 1704,
liquors were not to be sold to negroes or Indians
on the Sabbath, and tavern keepers were forbidden
to entertain or harbor them in their houses. In
1705, an act was passed to prevent negro slaves
from running away from Albany to the French in
Canada. Other acts, passed at sundry times, for-
bade all trading with those who were in bondage;
allowed owners to punish with discretion; no more
than three slaves to meet together under penalty of
whipping; provided that a slave who struck a man
or woman professing Christianity must be im-
prisoned fourteen days; the testimony of negroes
good only in plotting among themselves; forbade
slaves to be further away from Albany than Sara-
toga under penalty of death, except with master or
mistress; encouraged the baptizing of negroes,
Indians, and mulattoes. The law of r73o pro-
vided that no person shall traffic with a slave;
that no one shall sell to a slave rum or other strong
drink under a penalty of forty shillings; that each
town or manor have a whipper of slaves, to be paid
not exceeding three shillings a head; that any one
harboring a slave shall forfeit to the master ^5 for
every twenty-four hours, but not to exceed the
value of the slave; that the owners of slaves are
liable for thefts; and that no slave shall carry fire-
arms. In 1775, a law was enacted that slaves must
do military duty in cases of imminent danger, and
that one or more slaves above the age of fourteen,
in time of invasion, found a mile or more from
the habitation of his master, without his consent
or a written pass, was adjudged a felon, and jt was
lawful for the person so finding any slave to shoot
him.
The early laws of the State relative to slaves,
referred to their services in the American army.
The act of 1788 revised many of the existing laws,
and, in 1793, a law existed binding all owners of
slaves to have them housed at an early hour. In
1798, the corporations of Albany and New York
frequently granted warrantee deeds of slaves.
The price of slaves was as changeable as other
commodities. In 1710, Melgert Vanderpool sold
a negro for ^65, and a negress for ^35. In 1790,
Captain Bloodgood, of the sloop Olive Branch,
carried a slave from Albany, the property of Mrs.
Staats, to Antigua, and sold him for £^\.
In 1 76 1 a law was passed which laid a fine of
;^ro on every master who allowed a slave to beg.
In 1 710, Harmanus Fisher, of Albany, states
that his negro, Yorke, had been found guilty of
burglary and sentenced to be whipped round the
302
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
city, to receive nine lashes on his bare back at
every corner. The sentence was not executed, but
the sheriff dunned Fisher for £\i 7s., the amount
allowed by law for the service.
In November, 1793, several attempts were made
to fire the city of Albany by slaves. Some were ar-
rested and confessed their guilt. In January, 1794,
Pomp, the property of Matthias Visscher, bought of
JacobRoseboom,Jr.,in 1788, for _^9o, a negro slave,
was charged with having set fire to the stables of
Leonard Gansevoort He was tried and found guilty.
Belt and Deane, two female slaves, were also tried
as accomplices and convicted of the same offense.
All were sentenced to be hanged. On January 24th
the sentence was respited for six weeks. The two
girls were hanged on the 14th March, and Pomp on
April nth. The gallows was erected on Tyburne
Hill, in the rear of the house of the late Rufus
H. King, near the lower part of Fayette street
The concourse of people to witness the executions
was immense.
A custom prevailed in slavery days of advertising
them, when for sale, and the newspapers generally
had one or more of these ' ' Negro for Sale '' adver-
tisements in them. We give a few samples : In
1784, the executors of Mrs. Schuyler offered for
sale at auction, at Lewis' Tavern " A likely negro."
In 1796, we find : " To be sold. — A healthy, active
negro wench in her nineteenth year. Can be rec-
ommended for honesty and sobriety, and sold for
no fault. " "A negro wench about thirty years old,
strong and healthy, for sale." "For sale. — A
healthy negro wench about thirty years old ; can
be recommended for honesty and good conduct.
Also, her two male children, both in good health.
One, nearly three years old, until he arrives at the
age of twenty-five years. The other, about four
weeks, will be sold for life. "
The abolition of slavery in the State of New
York was agitated at the formation of the first
constitution in 1777. When John Jay urged the
early abolition of slavery he declared, "Till America
comes to this measure, her prayers to heaven
will be impious." Other early statesmen and philan-
thropists advocated this great doctrine of law and
liberty, and claimed freedom and protection as the
inherent right of all men.
The agitation was continued in this and other
States. The first to abolish slavery were Penn-
sylvania and Massachusetts in 1 780 ; New Jersey,
provisionally, in 1784 — all children bom of a
slave woman after 1804 to be free in 1820. In
1784 and 1797, Connecticut provided for gradual
extinction. In Rhode Island after 1784, no person
could be bom a slave. The ordinance of 1787
forbade slavery in the territory northwest of the
Ohio. New York provisionally abolished slavery
in 1799; twenty-eight years' ownership being al-
lowed to those born in slavery after this date.
This was the commencement of successive legisla-
tive acts and amendments for the years including
1 80 1 -04-07-09- 10. In 1813, laws were enacted
relative to vagabond slaves, and to prevent kidnap-
ping, with severe penalties. In 181 7, a new law
was passed with more severe penalties, and a more
important amendment — no less than a final decree
of abolition of slavery in the State of New York —
was added as follows : "And be it further enacted
that every negro, mulatto or mustee within the
State, born before July 4, 1799, shall from and
after the 4th day of July, 1827, be free." This
law was passed by twenty affirmative votes, out of
a total of thirty-two in the Senate; and by seventy-
five, out of a total of 128, in the Assembly. It was
signed by Governor De Wilt Clinton.
The enactment of 18 19 made it a misdemeanor
to send away from the State any slave or servant
except such as might have been pardoned by the
Executive for some offense ; and owners of slaves
who resided for a time in other States were for-
bidden to sell to parties not resident within the
State. This was the last enactment, and the in-
stitution ceased to exist in the Empire State, July
4, 1827.
For the most part the slaves of the Dutch were
employed as domestic servants, and their condition
was not as hard as that of those who performed out-
door work. The treatment of the negroes was gen-
erally humane. Stories of cruelty among Albany
County slaves were seldom heard. Laws, it is trae,
were passed for their punishment as well as for their
protection. Among slave-owners, in many in-
stances, an attachment was formed that lasted
through life. The slaves were usually faithful and
true to their masters and mistresses, and aside from
their being bond slaves and chattels, their lot was
comparatively happy. The blacks who were form-
ers or mechanics were allowed their own domestic
animals.
Negro slavery existed in its mildest form in Al-
bany County, not only in the Dutch, but in the
English colonial days, and in its latter years, after
the Revolution. Individual exceptions to this
statement were very rare. It was so among the
farmers and mechanics of Rensselaerwyck, as well
as among the merchants and gentry in and near the
City of Albany. The testimony of the excellent
Mrs. Grant, in her " Memoirs of an American
SZA VERY IN ALBANY COUNTY.
303
Lady," is appropriate here. She writes : "In the
society I am describing, even the dark aspect of
slavery was softened into a smile. And I must,
in justice to the best possible masters, say that a
great deal of that tranquillity and comfort, to call
it by no higher name, which distinguished this so-
ciety from all others, was owing to the relation be-
tween master and servant being better understood
here than in any other place. Let me not be de-
tested as an advocate for slavery, when I say that I
think I have never seen people so happy in servi-
tude as the domestics of the Albanians. One rea-
son was that each family had few of them, and that
there were no field negroes. They would remind
one of Abraham's servants, who were all born in
the houses which was exactly their case. They were
baptized too, and shared the same religious instruc-
tion with the children of the family, and for the
first years there was little or no difference with re-
gard to food or clothing between their children and
those of their masters. I have nowhere met with
instances of friendship more tender and generous
than that which here subsisted between the slaves
and their masters and mistresses."
Affectionate and faithful as these home-bred
servants were in general, there were some in-
stances, but very few, of those who, through levity
of mind, or a love of liquor or finery, betrayed
their trust or habitually neglected their duty. In
these cases, after every means had been used to
reform them, no severe punishments were inflicted
at home. But the terrible sentence, which they
dreaded worse than death, was passed; — they were
sold to Jamaica.
One must have lived among those placid and
humane people to be sensible that servitude— hope-
less, endless servitude — could exist with so little
servility and fear on the one side, and so little
harshness or even sternness of authority on the
other.
Amidst all this mild and really tender indulgence
to their negroes, these colonists had not the small-
est scruple of conscience with regard to the right
by which they held them in subjection. Had that
been the case, their singular humanity would have
been incompatible with continued injustice. But
the truth is, that of law, the generality of those
people knew little; and of philosophy, nothing at
all.
They sought their code of morality in the
Bible, and there imagined they found this hap-
less race condemned to perpetual slavery; and
thought nothing remained for them but to lighten
the chains of their fellow Christians, after having
made them such.
Arguments for the right are of small account as
weighed against interest. The irrepressible con-
flict at last came, and involved the nation in
a cruel, bloody and expensive civil war. It decided
that the system of human slavery was a national
evil, and could not be extended and protected as a
national institution. Blood and iron in this great
conflict severed the fetters of every black man in
the land, and legalized slavery was blotted for-
ever from the constitution and the laws of the
United States. The people of Albany County did
well their part in this great struggle.
Records and statistics relating to the number of
slaves in this county are very incomplete, and not
wholly reliable. Those given below are compiled
from census returns and other sources. The same
may be said of the enumeration of negroes or
blacks, as the early record did not often distinguish
the slaves. It may be presumed that most persons
counted as negroes before 1800 were slaves.
The following lists exhibit all we are able to
give at this writing:
1. Negroes in the State census, including slaves,
in specified years: 1790, 25,978; 1800, 31,320;
1810, 40,350; 1820, 39,367; 1830, 44,949: 1840,
50,031; 1850, 49.069; i860, 49,145; 1870,
52,549; 1880, 56,121.
2. Negroes in Albany County, inclusive of
slaves, in the years specified: 1698, 23; 1714, 213;
1723, 808; 1731, 1,273; 1737, 1,630; 1749, 1,480;
1756, 2,119; 1771, 3,877; 1795, 4,094; 1800,
2,094; 1810, 1,638; 1820, 1,271; 1830, 1,595;
1840, 1. 314; 1850, 1,194; i860, 939; 1870, 1,095;
1880, 1,367.
3. Colored persons in the towns of Albany
County in 1880, were as follows;
Albany, 1,036; Berne, i; Bethlehem, 91; Coey-
mans, 59; Cohoes, 17; Guilderland, 2; Knox, 2;
New Scotland, 25; Rensselaerville, o; Watervliet,
131; Westerlo, 3; total 1,367.
4. We gather the following census of slaves in
this County by towns:
Albany, 1810, 256; 1820, 109. Berne, 1810,
35; 1820, 30. Bethlehem, 1810, 137; 1820, 73.
Coeymans, 1810, loi; 1820, 36. Colonie, 1810,
30. Guilderland, 1810, 66; 1820, 47. Rensse-
laerville, 1790, 11; 1810, 21; 1820, 14. Water-
vhet, 1790, 730; 1810, 128; 1820, 96. Westerlo,
1820, 8. Total 1790, 741; 1810, 772; 1820, 413.
304
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
HOMICIDES IN THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Collected and A-rraiiged by ET^ISHA. MLA-CK.
1 687 —JOHN CASPERS, indicted for caus-
' ing the death of his negro girl. No
record of trial.
1767. — Jack, the negro of James Starting, in-
dicted for murder.
Two indictments against Sarah Seecles for child
murder. ,
1780. — Pomp, indicted for the murder of Pete,
both negro slaves of George Sharp.
1782. — ^Joseph Bettys, convicted of treason and
murder. Conditionally pardoned by General
Washington. Recaptured for murder and hanged.
1806. — Daniel Chambers, Jr., indicted for kill-
ing Peter Roff. Tried and convicted of man-
slaughter. Sentenced to State Prison for thirteen
calendar months.
George Van Derwerken and John C. Hemstraat
were indicted for killing Peter Roff. Tried and
acquitted.
John Pye, innkeeper, whose house was feloni-
ously entered in the night-time, shot and fatally
wounded the burglar — a case of justifiable homicide.
1807. — Benjamin Gates, indicted for the murder
of an Indian named Joe. Tried and acquitted.
181 1. — Isaac Killan, indicted for manslaughter
in the first degree. Tried and acquitted.
1813. — Thomas Burns and Joseph Mosher, in-
dicted, tried and convicted for the murder of John
E. Conklin and sentenced to be hanged. Burns
was executed. Mosher was respited by Governor
Tompkins until the meeting of the Legislature.
He was subsequently pardoned.
181 5. — Anson Spooner was sentenced to State
Prison for manslaughter for the term of five years.
David Allen, Jr., indicted for murder, was dis-
charged by order of the court.
1816. — ^James Walsh, convicted of manslaughter.
18 18. — ^James Hamilton, indicted, tried and
convicted for the murder of Major Benjamin Bird-
sail. He was sentenced to be hanged. Executed
November 6, 1818.
1820. — Jack Van Patten, indicted for murder
and assault and battery. Tried. Verdict: "Not
guilty of murder, but guilty of assault and batter}'
only." Sentence; County Jail for thirty days.
1823. — Robert Anderson — trial for murder — was
acquitted.
1824. — Barent Haner, indicted for kilHng a
negro with a club. Tried, convicted and sen-
tenced to State Prison for ten years.
1825. — William Bell and Samuel Bromley, in-
dicted for manslaughter. Tried. Bromley was
convicted and sentenced to State Prison for ten
years. Bell was acquitted.
1826. — James Wilson, indicted for the murder
of John Queen. Tried and acquitted.
Robert Carhart, indicted for murder, was tried
and convicted of manslaughter. Sentence: State
Prison for twelve years.
1827. — Jesse Strang, indicted, tried and con-
victed for the murder of John Whipple. He was
sentenced to death, and executed August 24,
1827.
Elsie D. Whipple, indicted as accessory before
the fact, for the murder of her husband, John
Whipple. Tried and acquitted.
1829. — George Thomas, indicted for murder.
Tried and convicted of manslaughter in the second
degree. Sentenced to State Prison for seven
years.
1 83 1. — ^John Snyder, indicted for murder. Con-
victed of manslaughter and sentenced to State
Prison for two years.
William Wilson, for killing Thomas Piatt, was
indicted for manslaughter. Convicted of an assault
and battery, and sentenced to the County Jail for
three months.
William Lackey, indicted for the murder of Peter
Turner. Tried and found guilty of manslaughter
in the third degree. Sentenced to State Prison for
three years.
1833. — Geerge Sims, convicted of manslaughter
in the fourth degree. Sentence: State Prison for
two years.
1835. — Daniel Riley, tried for murder. Ac-
quitted.
1836. — John Hamilton, indicted for the murder
of William Duffy. Tried and acquitted.
Sally Ann Harden, indicted for murder. Tried
and acquitted.
HOMICIDES IN THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
305
1837. — Daniel Murray, convicted of manslaugh-
ter in the fourth degree. Sentence: Jail for forty
days.
1838. — Thomas Rector, mdicted for the murder
of Robert Shepherd by striking him on the head
with a wooden bar, fracturing his skull. He was
tried and convicted. A new trial was granted, the
venue fixed at Ballston, Saratoga County, where
he was convicted of manslaughter in the second
degree. Sentenced to State Prison for seven
years.
George Thompson, indicted for the murder of
John Johnson by striking him on the head with a
cart-stake, fracturing his skull. Tried and con-
victed. Sentenced to be executed; commuted to
State Prison for life.
Jane'Dupang, indicted for the murder of her in-
fant by drowning. Tried. The jury did not agree.
Prisoner discharged.
1839. — Isaac Hallenbake, indicted for man-
slaughter in the fourth degree, causing the death of
Seth B. Barman, under twelve years of age, by ad-
ministering to him spirituous liquors. Acquitted.
1840. — Jacob Leadings, indicted for murder —
killing his wife, Harriet, by shooting her with a
gun. Tried, convicted and sentenced. Was exe-
cuted December 29, 1840.
Edward Snooks, indicted for the murder of Mary
Jenks. Tried and acquitted.
1841. — Henry P. Van Zand t, indicted for mur-
der. Tried and acquitted.
Aaron Hughes, indicted for murder. Tried and
convicted of manslaughter in the second degree.
Sentence: State Prison for seven years three months
and eleven days.
Bridget Hughes, indicted for murder. Ar-
raigned and discharged.
1842. — Louis Bourgeois, indicted for manslaugh-
ter in the third degree by stabbing James Kennedy.
Tried and convicted. Sentence: State Prison for
four years.
Christian Boork killed his wife by striking her on
the head with an ax, crushing her skull. He
ended his life by hanging himself.
1845. — Robert Black and Patrick Markey, in-
dicted for manslaughter in the fourth degree by
running their sleigh into another sleigh in which
was Miss Lydia Oliver, who was thereby instantly
killed. Tried and convicted. Sentence: State
Prison for two years.
Harman B. Campbell, indicted for manslaugh-
ter. Tried and acquitted.
George Wilson, held to bail for manslaughter in
the fourth degree, whereby Mrs. Anthony, of Co-
hoes, was instantly killed by a locomotive running
over her. Wilson was not indicted.
1846. — Charles Gouche, Joseph and Charles
Malay, indicted for murder by shooting John Bar-
man. On trial, Gouche was convicted of man-
slaughter in the first degree and sentenced to State
Prison for life. The Malays were acquitted.
1847. — Jeremiah and Eugene Sullivan, indicted
for the murder of James Smith. On trial, Jeremiah
was convicted of manslaughter in the third degree.
Sentence: State Prison for four years. Eugene was
acquitted.
Michael Teeven struck Michael Walls on the
head with a stick of wood, causing death in a few
hours. Teeven escaped.
1848. — ^John McGuire, indicted for murder —
killing, by kicks and blows, James Connolly. Tried
and acquitted.
Thomas Kelly, a lunatic, killed, by shooting and
stabbing, James C. Mull. Kelly died in the State
Lunatic Asylum in Oneida County.
James Whalen, for the murder of Peter Turner,
by beating and kicking and throwing him in the
canal, causing death. Tried and convicted of
manslaughter in the third degree. Sentence: State
Prison for seven years.
George Erwin, bailed for manslaughter in the
second degree. Can find no record of trial or
acquittal.
William Maxted killed Michael McGown by
stabbing him with a knife. Tried. Convicted
of manslaughter in the third degree. Sentence:
State Prison for four years.
1849. — Barney Leddy, for the murder of his
wife by kicks and blows. Convicted of man-
slaughter in the first degree. Sentence: State
Prison for life.
Three unknown assassins robbed and murdered
Joseph N. Becker. No capture.
John Robinson, indicted for the murder of Chris-
topher Jocelyn by striking him on the head with a
heavy club. Tried and convicted of manslaughter
in the second degree. Sentence: State Prison for
seven years.
Eseck Carr, indicted for the murder of his wife,
Jane, by poison. Tried and acquitted.
1850. — Reuben Dunbar, indicted for the mur-
der of two small boys, Stephen V. and David L.
Lester. Tried, convicted and sentenced to be
hanged. Executed January 31, 1851.
John S. Jackson, indicted for the murder of
his mother-in-law, Margaret Thompson. Tried
and convicted. Sentenced to State Prison for
four years.
306
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1 85 1. — In the night-time, one or more assassins
killed, by kicks and blows, Harriet Smith. No
capture.
John Osborn killed, by beating with a stone,
Tennis S. Slingerland. Osborn escaped.
Susan Gaynor, for manslaughter in the fourth de-
gree. Sentenced to the Penitentiary for six months.
John Moore killed his wife, Elizabeth, by shoot-
ing her, tearing off the upper part of her skull. He
then shot himself, causing instant death.
1852. — Patrick McEnroe killed, by kicking and
beating, Thomas Cassidy. Tried. Convicted of
manslaughter in the third degree. Sentence: State
Prison for two years.
James Moore, indicted for murder — killing his
wife, Elizabeth. Tried and convicted of man-
slaughter in the third degree. Sentence: State
Prison for two years.
John Henderson, convicted of manslaughter in
the third degree. Sentence: State Prison for two
years.
1853. — John Hendrickson, Jr., indicted for the
murder of his wife, Maria, by administering to her
poison. Tried and convicted. Sentenced to be
hanged. Executed May 4, 1854.
Richard Dyness, indicted for manslaughter in
the fourth degree. Tried, convicted, and sen-
tenced to the Penitentiary for four months.
1854. — John H. Phelps, indicted for the mur-
der of his wife, by stabbing her with a dirk. Tried,
convicted and sentenced to be executed. Com-
muted to State Prison for life.
John H. Hotaling stabbed William Gibson,
causing his death. Tried. Convicted and sen-
tenced for manslaughter in the third degree. Sent
to State Prison for four years.
Catharine Slingerland, an imbecile, killed her
infant. Indicted for murder. Pleaded guilty of
manslaughter in the fourth degree. Sentenced to
the Penitentiary for one year.
1855. — ^John Dunnigan, indicted for murder —
killing his wife, Catharine. Tried and convicted.
Sentenced to be hanged. Commuted to State
Prison for life.
William McCrossin, indicted for the murder of
Michael Brennan, by shooting him with a pistol,
causing instant death. Tried and acquitted.
1856. — Patrick Lane, indicted for manslaughter
in the second degree, by kicking and beating,
causing the death of James Carlin. Tried and
convicted. Sentence: State Prison for four years.
Francis McCann, indicted for the murder Qf his
wife, Agnes, by striking her on the head with an
ax. Arraigned. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter
in the first degree. Sentenced to Slate Prison for
life.
John Cummings, indicted for murder, by shoot-
ing with a gun Frederick Stumpf. Tried and con-
victed. Sentenced to be executed. Commuted
to State Prison for life by Governor King. Par-
doned by Governor Fenton.
James Carney, indicted for the murder of Patrick
Carroll by throwing stones and otherwise beating
him, causing his death. Pleaded guilty of man-
slaughter in the first degree. Sentenced to Slate
Prison for life.
Assassins, unknown, killed Mrs. Anastatia Bul-
ger.
1857. — Robert Morrison, indicted for man-
slaughter, by keeping bears on a public thorough-
fare, whereby one John Hoey and an Indian
named Joseph Harney were killed. Tried and
acquitted.
Susan Anthony, indicted for murder — strangling
her infant Tried and convicted of manslaughter
in the first degree. Sentenced to State Prison for
life.
1858. — Robert Morrison, Jr., held to bail for
manslaughter in the third degree. No record of
trial found.
Michael Naughton, a boy, indicted for murder —
killing, by stabbing in the breast with a knife,
Joseph O'Callaghan, Jr. Pleaded guilty of man-
slaughter in the fourth degree. Sentenced to the
House of Refuge.
Thomas N. Francis, indicted for the murder of
Rachel Hilton, by beating her with a bar of wood.
Tried. Verdict: guilty of manslaughter in the first
degree. Sentence: State Prison for life.
John Wilson, indicted for the murder of Patrick
McCarty, by striking him on the head with a
hatchet. Tried and convicted. Sentenced to be
executed. Commuted to State Prison for life.
1858. — Mary Hartung, indicted for the murder
of her husband, Emil Hartung, by administering
poison to him. Tried, convicted and sentenced
to be executed. Proceedings stayed. Discharged.
William Rheinmann, indicted as accessory for
the murder of Emil Hartung. Tried and ac-
quitted.
1859. — Oscelia Mastin, indicted for causing the
death of a young woman pregnant with child, by
abortion. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
second degree. Sentence: State Prison for four
years.
Catharine Messer, causing the death of an infant
by giving it poison in porridge. Find no record
of trial.
HOMICIDES IN- THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
307
Jefferson W. Bennett, indicted for the murder of
Robert Morrison. Tried and acquitted.
Michael O'Brien, indicted for the murder of
his wife by beating her. Tried and convicted.
Sentenced to be executed. Executed June 3,
1859.
John Osborn, indicted for murder. Pleaded
guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree. Sen-
tenced to the Penitentiary for one year.
John Irvin, indicted for murder, by beating his
wife with a club. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter
in the second degree. Sentence: State Prison for
four years.
Adam Murray, indicted for murder — killing John
Cahill by stabbing him with a knife. Pleaded
guilty of manslaughter in the second degree. Sen-
tence: State Prison for four years.
i860. — ^John McCotter, indicted for the murder
of Thomas O'Halloran by stabbing him with a
chisel. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
third degree. Sentenced to State Prison for two
years.
Terence Leavy, indicted for the murder of
Michael Burk by stabbing him with a knife.
Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the third degree.
Sentence: State Prison for three years.
1861. — Walter Barrett, indicted for the murder
of Terence Boyle by stabbing him with a knife.
Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the third degree.
Sentence: State Prison for three years and eight
months.
1862. — Michael Hewson, indicted for the mur-
der of Thomas Costello by stabbing him with a
knife. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
second degree. Sentence: State Prison for two
years and eight months.
1863. — William J. Church, indicted for the
murder of his wife, Ann, by stabbing her with a
knife. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the sec-
ond degree. Sentence: State Prison for twenty
years.
Patrick Flynn, indicted for the murder of John
N. Colburn by striking him on the head with a
heavy stave. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in
the second degree. Sentence: State Prison for
seven years.
Matthew Brumaghim, indicted for the murder
of Charles Phillips by shooting him with a pistol.
Tried and acquited.
1864. — Mackey Dunnigan, indicted for the
murder of John Connors by shooting him with a
pistol. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
third degree. Sentence; State Prison for two years
and two months.
Bridget and David McCarty, indicted for the
murder of Michael Gilmartin by beating him with
a stove cover and a stone or brick-bat. No record
of trial.
George E. Gordon, indicted for murder in kill-
ing Owen Thompson by beating him with a club.
Arraigned and tried. Convicted of murder. Sen-
tenced to be executed. Exceptions taken and
carried to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.
Final sentence: State Prison for life.
John P. Cordell, Philip Damp, and Frederick
Damp, indicted for manslaughter in the first degree,
by causing the death of the wife of Frederick
Damp by inflicting upon her blows and otherwise
brutal treatment. Acquitted.
David Crawley, indicted for murder. Tried.
Verdict: guilty of manslaughter in the second de-
gree. Sentence: State Prison for seven years.
1865. — Some four or five persons were suspected
of throwing the missile that struck John Mclnner-
ney on the head, fracturing his skull and causing
his death a few days after the fatal deed. The
criminal was never captured.
1866. — Michael Chestnutt, without felonious
intent, struck John Hanna a blow with his fist,
causing him to fall, striking his head against some
hard substance, fracturing his skull, of which
injury he died. Chestnutt was indicted for man-
slaughter in the first degree. Convicted of man-
slaughter in the fourth degree. Sentenced to pay
a penalty of fifty dollars.
Judson W. Palmer, indicted for murder. On
trial the jury did not agree upon a verdict. Dis-
charged.
1867. — George W. Cole, indicted for the mur-
der of Hon. L. Harris Hiscock by shooting him
with a pistol. The jury did not agree. On the
second trial the prisoner was acquitted.
1869. — Henry Trainor, indicted for manslaugh-
ter in the second degree, for killing John Donnelly. ,
Tried and convicted. Sentence: Penitentiary for
one year.
1870.— Lorenzo Murphy, indicted for man-
slaughter in the second degree. Sentence: Peni-
tentiary for one year.
Robert Pickett, indicted for murder. ' On trial
the jury was withdrawn and the prisoner dis-
charged.
John O'Neil, indicted for murder. Pleaded
guilty of manslaughter in the third degree. Sen-
tence: House of Refuge.
1871. — Lemuel P. Van Hoesen, killed his wife,
Harriet A., by beating her head with a stew-pan,
fracturing her skull. The prisoner was declared
308
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
insane. A few years since he committed suicide
at Omaha, Neb.
1872.— William Wilcox, indicted for murder of
John Seib by shooting him with a pistol. Tried.
Convicted of manslaughter in the fourth degree.
Sentence: State Prison for four years.
Michael Hifford, convicted of manslaughter in
the third degree. Sentence: House of Refuge.
1873. — Emil Lowenstein, indicted for the mur-
der of John D. Weston, by shooting him with a
pistol. Tried and convicted. Sentence: death by
hanging. Executed April 10, 1874.
Margaret Lyons, indicted for the murder of an
infant by administering phosphorus. Pleaded
guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree. Sen-
tenced to State Prison for one year.
1874. — David Landers was tried for killing
Thomas Van Aernam by hitting him on the head
with a stone. Verdict: guilty. Sentenced to pay
a penalty of one hundred dollars.
1875. — Rachel Bartell, indicted for causing
death by abortion. Tried and convicted. Sen-
tenced to the Penitentiary for eighteen months.
John Barrett, indicted for killing Ira B. Mosely
by stabbing him with a carving knife in the breast,
penetrating a lung. Find no record of trial or
acquittal.
1876. — Lewis Theus, indicted for murder in the
first degree by throwing a butcher's knife, striking
John Gresser, aged fourteen years, causing death.
Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the third degree.
Sentenced to the Penitentiary for three years.
Mary A. McDonald, indicted for rhanslaughter
in the third degree for shooting her husband, Rob-
ert McDonald. Tried and acquitted.
1877. — Edward Scully killed John Davis by
stabbing him with a knife. Scully escaped cap-
ture.
1 878. ^Daniel Van Deusen, indicted for murder
in the first degree by stabbing with a knife Philip
Hyde. Pleaded guilty of murder in the second
degree. Sentence: State Prison for life.
1879. — John C. Hughes, indicted for murder in
the first degree by stabbing William J. Hadley
with a knife, causing death. Tried. Verdict: mur-
der in the second degree. Sentenced to State
Prison for life.
Helaire Latromouille, indicted for murder in
the first degree by stabbing with a knife Cath-
erine Dunsbach. Tried. Verdict: guilty of mur-
der in the first degree. Sentence: death by hanging.
Executed August 20, 1879.
Thomas Mallon, indicted for murder in the first
degree by shooting his wife, Ann, with a gun.
Tried and convicted of manslaughter in the fourth
degree. Sentence: State Prison for two years.
Person unknown murdered Stephen Dugan.
1880. — William McNeal, indicted for murder in
the first degree, by stabbing with a knife, his wife
Catharine. Tried. Verdict: murder in the second
degree. Sentence: State Prison for life.
Hiram G. Briggs, indicted for murder in the first
degree by shooting Erskine Wood. On motion,
the indictment was quashed. The prisoner was
arraigned on a new indictment similar to the
former. Pleaded guilty of manslaughter in the
third degree. Sentenced to the Penitentiary for
two years.
Charles Burt killed, by shooting with a pistol,
Catharine Smith. He immediately shot and killed
himself.
1883. — William Dyer, indicted for manslaughter
in the second degree by carelessly driving a two-
horse team attached to a truck wagon, and running
over a small boy named Charles Cook, causing his
death. Tried and convicted. Sentenced to the
Penitentiary for one year.
Person or persons unknown killed Michael Bio-
fore.
1884. — Peter Edwards killed his wife, Cornelia,
by beating her with a hammer and stabbing her
with a butcher's knife. He inflicted injuries upon
himself of which he died.
Catharine Schreiver, wife of Christopher Schreiver,
in one night killed four of her children by cutting
their throats. She then caused her remaining
child, a daughter nine years of age, to accompany
her to a place half a mile distant on the New York
Central Railroad, known as Black Rock, where
the affrighted child, in obedience to the stern
command of her crazed mother, sat upon the rail,
while the mother prostrated herself across the rail-
road track. Soon the down train came rapidly,
decapitating the mother and so mangling the child
that she too was soon numbered with the dead.
Michael Downey, indicted for murder in the
first degree by shooting with a pistol, Dennis Des-
mond. Arraigned. Pleaded guilty of murder in
the second degree, and was sentenced to State
Prison for life.
Ah Kay, indicted for murder in the first degree
by shooting Wee Kee. Both were Chinese. Ar-
raigned and tried. Convicted for murder in the
second degree. Sentenced to State Prison for
twenty years.
Mrs. IMargaret Ahem, indicted for murder in
the second degree by maliciously pushing Peter
Clark off a stoop, causing instant death. Tried.
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION.
309
Verdict: manslaughter in the second degree,
tence: Penitentiary for three years.
Assassin unknown killed James Larrison.
Sen-
Elisha Mack, who industriously and conscientiously
compiled this paper on "Homicides in Albany Co.," is
able to give a more extended history of most of them. He
has also written out, very fuUy, the history of other noted
criminals in this city and county, many of whom were
brought to justice by his own detective skill, while he was
(for nearly twenty years) on the Police force. No man ever
held this trust with more integrity, and few with more
acceptance. The Police records, kept by those high minded
Police Magistrates — Cole, Kane, Comstock and Loveridge —
testify to his sagacity and skill in making important arrests,
and bringing to light cunningly hidden iniquity. Want of
space prevents us from inserting some of his marvelous de-
tails, told, as he tells them, with remarkable clearness and
delicacy. If they could be printed in book form the record
would be valuable to the police, the lawyer and the Courts
everywhere. Mr. Mack was born in Windsor, Berkshire
County, Massachusetts, February 7, 181 1. He came to
Albany in 181 6, and still lives among us, active and highly
respected, in his 75th year.
It is worthy of note that the number of murders is very
small for a county so old, and with so large a population
made up of people of such varied nationality and pursuit.
The number convicted, sentenced, and punished with the
extreme penalty, is also remarkably small.
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION IN ALBANY COUNTY.
THE native Indian, in his journeyings, had mark-
ed out his paths by the courses of the streams,
by the peaks of the hills, and observations of the sun,
moon and stars. We have named them Indian trails,
and early European hunters, trappers and settlers
found them very useful. When the Indian came
to navigable waters he paddled his light canoe,
which he took up when he came to dangerous
rapids or wished to cross from one water to another,
and launched in the desired place in his route.
When the early immigrants from Holland came
to this country, they came up the Hudson in the
sailing craft of their time. The Dutch knew how
to construct and navigate ships. The water-way
between New Amsterdam and Fort Orange, after-
wards New York and Albany, was much traveled
by the early adventurers in the fur trade; by colonial
farmers, settlers, and speculators of every name; by
curious travelers; and by public functionaries of the
Patroons, of the Dutch West India Company, and of
the English crown. All came and went in canoes,
batteaux, rafts, or some kind of ship. Trade was
carried on in the same way ; and the trade, of bring-
ing supplies for a people whose chief business
was hunting and trading, whose manufactures and
farming were of the most simple kind, was large.
It took in return, to the New York, West India
and European marts, furs, peltries, and, after a
time, the surplus products of the forest and farms.
In all the years from the discovery of the Hudson
to the war for American independence, the carriages
and the carrying, both by land and water, were
essentially the same. Most of the settlements here-
abouts were from the Atlantic waters along up the
Hudson River and the Mohawk. Those few who
dwelt a little way off from them or other waters,
got to them, when necessity or profit impelled,
either on foot, bearing their bearable burdens on
their backs, or using the rudest conveyances that
ox or horse ever dragged or drew.
Some improvements in carriages were introduced
by the English in the later colonial period and
especially by those who came from New England.
But the best of these, rude as they were compared
with those of to-day, were few and owned only by
the wealthy. The enormous carts or wagons which
the early immigrants from New England used in
which to bring their families and their household
goods, created amazement and amusement to the
natives along the Hudson and the Mohawk. But
these moving Saxons from "the Eastern States "
brought ideas with them and cute ways of doing
things. Heavy wagons were used for transporta-
tion in this vicinity during the revolutionary war;
but the lighter travel was pursued on horseback or
on foot, for long journeys. For some years after
the dawning of the present century, there were no
light wagons in the new settlements and no roads
for them. The dominie made his parish visits on
horseback; the doctor visited his distant patients
on horseback, carrying his medicines in saddle-bags;
and the lawyer, taking his green bag, rode to court
on horseback. Social visits were interchanged
between friends residing at remote distances in
this same way. Church-goers in neighboring
towns came on horseback, several miles, to attend
service in Albany, taking all day and often spend-
ing the night with friends. The same horse carried
310
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the wife, sitting on the pillion behind the husband,
and frequently an infant for baptism. When they
could not ride, parents and older sons and daugh-
ters often walked long distances to do an important
errand, to visit friends, or to listen to their pastor's
Sabbath instructions. In one or the other of these
ways the grist was taken to mill, the fleece to the
wool-carder and clothier, and the little surplus
produce to the city merchant.
Time makes many changes to meet the require-
ments and necessities of mankind. New inven-
tions to economize domestic affairs and to lighten
the burdens of toil were sought; many rude im-
provements were the result. New and better con-
veyances, first used by the more prosperous citizen,
were introduced, while the laborer back in the
forest long continued to ride in his rudely con-
structed cart, often drawn by a yoke of oxen.
When the carriage and coach made their appear-
ance for the aristocracy, the farmer was usually
content in the comfort he realized from the rude
wagon, the workmanship of home skill. All these
vehicles were improved to meet the demand of
progress. The years that followed the first quarter
of this century witnessed rapid strides in better
facilities for intercommunication and the convey-
ances for travel and transportation.
Travel from Albany to distant points began to
assume considerable proportions as new fields of
enterprise were opened. Increase of population,
the multiplied demands of agriculture, manufac-
tures and home industries, brought a corresponding
increase in travel, trade, and other branches of
business which contribute to prosperity. Among
the first considerations of a practical kind was to
find a market for surplus agricultural products
and manufactures. These found a natural outlet
by the river, and commodities were usually shipped
upon it by sloops or schooners. Trade was open-
ing beyond Albany westward, along the Mohawk
valley to Johnstown and even to Cherry Valley.
Roads must be made. At first they naturally
followed the Indian trails. Those from the north
and west were b}' five routes centering in Albany.
In time they were improved and used as wagon
roads by early travelers, and served during the
revolution for transporting supplies and for other
military purposes.
The earliest traveled route, as has been said,
between Albany and New York was by the Hudson
River. In 1785, the Legislature granted to Isaac
Van Wyck, Talmage Hall and John Kinney, the
exclusive right to drive stage wagons on the east
side of the river for the term of ten years.
The fare was fixed at four-pence a mile. A year
later, communication with Springfield, Mass., was
opened, and in 1 789 a stage commenced running
to Lansingbargh.
Public wagon roads, about 1790, were opened
for travel east ; also to Whitestown on the west,
which soon extended to the Genesee country.
Thus was a new idea suddenly brought to the no-
tice of active men, from which they hoped to realize
success in new enterprises. Among the first was
a line of stages by way of Schenectady to Johns-
town, Canajoharie, Fort Plain and Warrensbush.
In 1790, the Legislature granted to Ananias Piatt
the exclusive right to run a stage between Albany
and Lansingburgh. In 1791, a stage route was ex-
tended by the Legislature to Bennington, Vt. In
1792, aline of stages was established from Albany
to Whitestown, performing the journey once in two
weeks. In the spring of 1793, Moses Seal carried
passengers from Albany to Canajoharie once a
week ; the fare was three cents a mile. About
this time John Hudson established an opposition
line to Schenectady ; fare, four shillings. A line
connecting Albany with the Connecticut River Val-
ley was soon started. In 1 794, Mr. Piatt ran his
stage between Lansingburgh and Albany twice a
day. So great was the increase in travel, that in the
winter of 1795 the number of daily trips was six ;
and in the summer of 1 796, it was necessary to
employ twenty stages daily between Waterford,
Lansingburgh, Troy and Albany, averaging more
than one hundred and fifty passengers daily. The
mails in 1796, were carried between Albany and
Philadelphia in three days. This year there were
five post routes centering in Albany. The fare
to New York was reduced from ten to eight
dollars.
After the war of the revolution, there was general
activity in the direction of internal improvements.
The great object was to connect existing highways
with the Mohawk River, extend trade to other
places, and bring the products west of Schenectady
to Albany, and thence to New York for a market
The Mohawk not affording a continuous route,
on account of the Cohoes Falls, to obviate this ob-
struction, and to secure a more economical and
expeditious method, the Northern Inland Lock
and Navigation Company was organized as early
as 1790, followed in 1792 by the Western Inland
Lock Navigation Company, to connect the central
lakes with the Mohawk. Philip Schuyler was
president, and Barent Bleecker was treasurer ;
Elkanah Watson and Stephen Van Rensselaer were
active in the enterprise. In 1796, $40,000 worth
TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION.
311
of furs and peltries were received by one Albany
house from Western companies, and irade was in-
creasing rapidly. The heavy lumbering wagons
with their four and six horses, loaded with tons of
produce and merchandise, formed a line on this
road not unlike an Eastern caravan. It is recorded
that, in the winter of 1795, one thousand two
hundred sleighs passed through this city in three
days with emigrants to the Genesee Valley-
They were from New England — ancestors of the
prosperous citizens of the farms and shops of West-
ern New York. They soon had abundant products
to sell and demanded a highway of trade. It was
for the interest of Albany and New York that it be
made. Following the enterprise of a few public
benefactors, improved facilities for transportation
on the Mohawk to Schenectady were undertaken.
In 1797, was incorporated the Albany and Sche-
nectady Turnpike, then one of the most important
roads in the State. It became the leading highway
for travel and traffic connected with the wonderful
progress then developing in the western part of the
State, opening lateral outlets of vast importance.
This road continued to be profitably patronized
until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1823, when
its usefulness and profit were diminished. The
Hudson and Mohawk Railroad in 1832 was a great
competitor. Turnpikes became an enterprise in
which capitalists eagerly invested. They were a
great improvement upon the old roads; but few of
them proved profitable to the stockholder, and
several of them are now abandoned.
The trade that centered in Schenectady was a
source of rivalry. To obtain a share of the business
and to secure a portion of this coveted treasure,
the Troy and Schenectady Turnpike was incorpo-
rated in 1 806, which, after a few years of successful
operation, shared the fate of other similar roads.
Travel and freight have been diverted to other
methods, and are now conveyed by the agency of
steam.
In 1798, the Legislature chartered the Lebanon
and Albany Turnpike; in 1799 the first company
of the Great Western Turnpike was chartered; in
1804 the Bethlehem Turnpike; and in 1805 the
Albany and Delaware Turnpike. A turnpike on
the west side of the river to Catskill was chartered
about this time. All these roads had in view the
concentration of travel to Albany, and for many,
years Albany was the starting point of a score of
stage lines, and mail routes diverged in all direc-
tions, extending west as far as Buffalo.
After 1800, until the completion of the canal,
travel and transportation to Buffalo and other points
were exclusively performed by heavy wagons drawn
by four or six horses.
After the completion of the canal, Albany became
a great highway for travel; for many years the
packet boats were well patronized, as they offered
the passengers many comforts, and facilitated
social enjoyment. The first packet boat on the
canal, direct from Albany, that visited Buflf'aJo was
the Benjamin Wright, which arrived October 29,
1825. The event was duly celebrated in that village.
In 181 1, a line of stages was started from Albany
to reach Niagara Falls in three days, thence to
Buffalo. The fare to Canandaigua was $16.25.
The old swinging stage coach rumbled over
these roads, and its departure or arrival was hailed
with interest by the villagers, who gathered at the
taverns to gossip, to hear the news and to see the
sights.
The stage owners located at Albany were Thorp
& Sprague, Rice & Baker, Baker & Waldridge, Hal-
sted, and some others. These parties owned a good
number of horses; but upon the completion of
the railroads, the glory and usefulness of their
business departed, and the iron horse now super-
sedes the weary men and jaded horses.
The year 1807 marked a new era and introduced
a new power in the economy of travel. From that
year to the present, steam has wrought wonderful
changes, and the Hudson River claims the honor
of the first successful steamboat enterprise. Since
the establishment of this mode of travel on the
Hudson River, steamboats have been improved,
from the simple craft of Fulton — which left New
York on September 5, 1807, with twenty-seven pas-
sengers, and October 7th with one hundred pas-
sengers, taking from 24 to 36 hours time to make
the trip — to the gorgeous and spacious floating
palaces of the present, which make the trip in nine
hours or less, and have accommodation for 6co to
800 passengers, and often carry a larger number.
The fare on Fulton's boat was seven dollars, now
it is from one dollar to one dollar and fifty cents.
In 181 1 there were two steamboats carrying pas-
sengers to New York, the Hope and North River.
In 1836 there were twelve steamboats and seven
towing boats. The steamboat travel on the river
in past years has been immense, but the railroads
on either side of the river have become formidable
rivals to the once monopolized privileges of the
passenger boats, so that the number has somewhat
diminished as compared with former years. We
have space to give the names only of a few of the
principal steamboats that have ploughed the Hud-
son River.
312
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
In 1820, the Chancellor Livingston, 175X 50 feet.
Had beds for 160 passengers and settees for 40.
Fare, eight dollars.
In 1823, the Constitution, Constellation, Swift-
sure and Saratoga began to run
In 1828, the North America, "the most beautiful
and swift of the floating palaces on the Hudson;
or, as I believe, I may add with truth, in the
world," says Dr. Charles Stuart.
In 1835, the Champlain followed by the Dia-
mond, Swallow, Reindeer, Henry Clay, Hope and
Columbia. After 1850, by the Alida, New World,
Francis Skiddy, Empire City, Jonas C. Heart.
After i860, came the Armenia, Daniel Drew,
Isaac Newton, Mary Powell, St. John, Chauncey
Vibbard, Vanderbilt, Dean Richmond, and the
Albany.
Many of these recent steamboats have made the
trip between New York and Albany in seven hours
forty-five minutes, and sometimes in six hours forty-
two minutes.
In the -words of Lossing: "The steamboat itself
is a romance of the Hudson. Its birth was on its
waters, where the rude conceptions of Evans and
Fitch were perfected by Fulton and his successors.
How strange is the story of its advent, growth and
achievements! Living men remember when the
idea of steam navigation was ridiculed. They re-
member, too, that when the Clermont went from
New York to Albany without the use of sails, against
wind and tide, in thirty-two hours, ridicule was
changed to amazement The steamboat was an
awful revelation to the fishermen, the farmers, and
the villagers. It seemed like a weird craft from
Pluto's realm, — a transfiguration of Charon's boat
into a living fiend from the infernal regions. Its
huge black pipe vomiting fire and smoke, the
hoarse breathing of its engine, and the great splash
of its uncovered paddle-wheels filled the imagina-
tion with all the dark pictures of goblins that ro-
mancers have invented since the foundation of the
world. Some thought it was an unheard of mon-
ster of the sea ravaging the fresh waters; others re-
garded it as a herald of the final conflagration at
the day of doom. Some prayed for deliverance;
some fled in terror to the shore and hid in the re-
cesses of the rocks; and some crouched in mortal
dread of the fiery demon.
" The Clermont was a small thing compared with
the great river steamers of the present time. Ful-
ton did not comprehend the majesty and capacity
of his invention. He regarded the Richmond (the
finest steamboat at the time of his death) as the per-
fection of that class of architecture. She was a
little more than 100 feet in length, with a low,
dingy cabin, partly below the water-line, dimly
lighted by tallow candles, in which passengers ate
and slept in stifling air, and her highest rate of
speed was nine miles an hour. Could Fulton re-
visit the earth and be placed on one of the great
river steamboats of our lime, he would imagine
himself to be in some magical structure of fairy-
land, or of forming a part of a strange romance; for
it is a magnificent floating hotel, over four hundred
feet in length, and capable of carrying a thousand
guests by night or by day at the rate of twenty
miles an hour. Its gorgeously furnished parlors,
lighted with gas, and garnished with rich curtains,
mirrors and elegant furniture; its cheerful and well-
ventilated dining-room; and its airy bedrooms, high
above the water, compose a whole more grand and
beautiful than any palace dreamed of by the Ara-
bian story-tellers. It is the perfected growth of the
Indian's bark canoe."
For a few years, about 1850, plank roads were
chartered, and five were constructed in the county.
These for a time were a novel enterprise, and com-
manded a large share of local travel; but now they
are mostly abandoned, except on short lines, the
travel having been diverted to lateral railroads.
Since the first railroad — the Mohawk and
Hudson — was built, and began to be operated in
this county in 1832 with ils open coaches, a new
system of journeying began at once to be intro-
duced.
The facilities centered at Albany, by railroad and
steamboat, for reaching any given point, will com-
pare favorably with any city in the State. Roads
center here from all points, and connections are
made with other and continuous lines leading to
everywhere.
The New York Central and Hudson River Rail-
road, with its consolidated branches from New
York to Buff'alo, makes Albany a great thorough-
fare. During the year 1883 this road carried on
its several branches nearly eleven million passen-
gers. During the month of May, 1885, there were
sold at the Union Depot, Albany, 53,228 passen-
ger tickets. In the same month sixty-five passenger
trains were dispatched daily. The fare on this road
averages about 2.05 cents per mile.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's
Railroads are of immense utility to this County.
This great corporation leases and operates, among
other roads, the Albany and Susquehanna, the
Rensselaer and Saratoga, and the New York and
Canada, which start from Albany. The number of
passengers carried on these roads in 1884 was
RAILROADS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
313
2,622,174, and for the month of May, 1885, there
were sold at the Albany office 56,823 passenger
tickets, and seventeen regular passenger trains were
sent out daily. The fare on this road is three cents
per mile.
The Boston and Albany Railroad has its station
in the Union Depot. This road carried in 1883
over eight million passengers; and in the month of
May, 1885, sold at the Albany office 37,099 pas-
senger tickets, and despatched seven regular pas-
senger trains daily.
The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Rail-
road was opened to Albany in 1883. There were
sold from the Albany offices for the month of May,
1885, 9,095 passenger tickets, and eleven trains
were sent out daily with passengers. The fare is
three cents per mile.
The Troy and Boston Railroad sends six daily
trains. It passes through Hoosac tunnel.
The several railroads that center at Albany sent
out for the month of May from thiscit)' about 105
passenger trains daily, and the same number
arrived daily. The total number of passenger
tickets sold at the Albany offices for the same
month was 156,243.
The whole number of passengers carried on the
several steamboats from Albany for the season of
1884 was about 1,500,000.
Stages run daily from the city to New Scotland,
New Salem and Berne; also to Clarksvijle, Westerlo
and Rensselaerville, via Bethlehem Centre; to
Guilderland Centre every afternoon; to New-
tonville, Nassau and East Schodack daily; and to
Greenbush every fifteen minutes.
RAILROADS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
ALBANY has become a very important railroad
center. It was one of the earliest points of rail-
road interest in the United States. The construc-
tion of a railroad parallel with the Hudson River,
connecting the City of New York with the City
of Albany, affording a communication between
the two cities at all seasons, was considered an
object of so much importance, that, in 1832, a
number of enterprising citizens obtained from the
Legislature a charter with a capital of $3,000,000,
and powers to construct the same. But a sufficient
amount of the capital stock was not subscribed,
and the project was abandoned for about twenty
years. The then estimated cost of the road for
a single track was $12,000 per mile, which would
amount to nearly $2,000,000 for the whole line.
It was believed that branches of this road might
easily be constructed to Hartford and New Haven,
and a large amount of business might be expected,
not only from the eastern counties of this State,
but from Berkshire County, Mass., and Litchfield
and Fairfield Counties, Conn. The railroad com-
missioners of 1833 have this curious speculation
concerning the profits of the proposed road: That
it would accommodate a large number of the pop-
ulation in the vicinity of the route; that the amount
of transportation which would be paid to the road
by this population, on produce, minerals, manufac-
tures and merchandise would amount to $350,000,
to which was added a larger amount to be ob-
40
tained from travelers and light freights between
New York and Albany, particularly in the winter;
that the annual income of the proposed road would
amount to $852,000. "This railroad," says this
report, "will connect at Albany with the grand
chain of railroads now in progress, or contem-
plated, from Albany to Buffalo, viz. : the Mohawk
and Schenectady, completed; Utica and Schenec-
tady, in progress; Syracuse and Utica, contem-
plated; Auburn and Syracuse, stock subscribed;
Auburn and Rochester, contemplated; Tonawanda,
contemplated, from Rochester through Batavia to
Attica. " Fifty-two years ago there was no railway
between Albany and Buffalo, except the short line
then known as the Mohawk and Schenectady, and
no railway connection between New York and
Albany; and the great road now known as the New
York Central and Hudson River Railroad was not
in existence.
The Albany and Schenectady road had been in
operation since September 12, 1831, under the
name of the Mohawk and Hudson. The Hudson
River Railroad, chartered in 1832, and abandoned
for lack of the necessary capital, obtained a new
charter May 12, 1846, and on October 3, 1851,
the road was opened from New York to East Al-
bany. November i, 1869, the New York Central
Railroad and Hudson River Railroad companies
were organized by consolidation. The New York
Central Railroad Company was organized April 2,
314
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1853, authorizing the consolidation of the railroads
between Albany and Buffalo, as follows:
Albany and Schenectady; Schenectady and
Troy; Utica and Schenectady; the Mohawk Val-
ley; the Syracuse and Utica; the Syracuse and
Utica direct; Rochester and Syracuse; Buffalo and
Rochester; the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara
Falls; the Buffalo and Lockport.
Articles of agreement, taking effect May i,
1853, were filed May 15, 1853. The first Board
of Directors was elected July 6, and the whole
line delivered to the new company August i,
1853.
The first railroad ever built in the State was the
Albany and Schenectady, chartered in 1826 as the
Mohawk and Hudson. It was opened September
12, 1831. In 1847, the name was changed to Al-
bany and Schenectady.
Previous to the consolidation of the Hudson
River Railroad with the New York Central, the
Troy and Greenbush road, chartered in 1845, was
leased to the Hudson River road, June i, 1851, for
seven per cent, on $275,000 capital stock. The
lease runs during the time of the charter, or any
extension of the same. It was assumed by the
New York Central and Hudson River road on
consolidation.
The New York and Harlem, chartered April 25,
1 83 1, is one of the routes from Albany to New
York — formerly from Greenbush — the corporate
existence of which was extended December 28,
1874, four hundred years. It leased its steam por-
tion, running to Forty-second street, New York
City, April i, 1873, to the Central. This lease ex-
pires April I, 2274, the annual rent being the in-
terest on its funded debt and eight per cent, on its
capital stock.
Before the construction of the railroad bridges
which span the Hudson at Albany, all passengers
and freight arriving at Albany en route for New
York or the East were shipped by ferry to Green-
bush. The two bridges now crossing the Hudson
to East Albany are owned nominally by a separate
organization called the Hudson River Bridge
Company. The ownership, however, is vested
really in the New York Central and Hudson
River Company three-fourths, and the Boston and
Albany Railroad one-fourth. Except for foot pas-
sengers, they are used exclusively for railroad pur-
poses. Each company pays its proportion of main-
tenance in operating. The cost of the road, con-
solidated, with all its rolling stock, etc., was |ii4,
731,917. Two hundred and ninety-five miles of
the road between Albany and Buffalo has four
tracks; between Albany and New York there are
four tracks. It owns, in all, 2,361 miles of track,
and controls by lease 324 additional miles; it owns
655 locomotives, 361 first-class passenger cars and
22,973 freight cars. It employs 15,355 persons,
paying them during the year 1883, $8,401,208 for
services. During the railroad year ending Decem-
ber 31, 1883, it carried 10,746,925 passengers and
10,892,440 tons of freight; the average rate per
mile per passenger was: through, 2.05 cents; way,
2.04 cents. The freight rates per ton per mile are
.69 cents on through freight; .67 cents on way. To-
tal earnings, $33,770,721, from which is deducted,
including an 8 per cent, dividend amounting to
$7,148,131, $33,591,697, leaving a balance in
favor of the road of $179,024.
ALBANY AND SUSQUEHANNA RAILROAD
COMPANY.
This road was incorporated under the General
Railroad Law, April 19, 1851. It was open for
travel and traffic from Albany to Central Bridge, a
distance of thirty-five miles, September 16, 1863,
and to other points at various dates, and to its ter-
minus at Binghamton, January 14, 1869. The
property of the company was leased February 24,
1870, to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com-
pany for the term of its charter, one hundred and
fifty years from April 19, 1851, paying a rental as
follows: Six per cent, upon the Albany City bonds;
seven per cent, upon the first, second and third
mortgage bonds and first consolidated mortgage
bonds; seven per cent, upon the capital stock;
and $r,ooo for maintaining the organization.
The interest and dividend are paid by the lessees
directly to the stock and bondholders. A payment
of $5,000 semi-annually is also made by the lessees
to the trustees of the sinking fund of the City of
Albany, and is invested by the latter in certain
funds for the ultimate payment of the Albany City
bonds.
The following statement shows the condition of
its funded debt:
RAILROADS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
315
STATEMENT OF FUNDED DEBT.
Kind of Bonds
OR
Obligations.
If and How
Secured.
Date
OF
Issue.
When
Due.
Rate
OF
Interest.
Amount of
Authorized
Issue.
Amount
Actually
Issued.
Outstand-
ing.
First mortgage
Second mortgage
First consolidated mort.
Albany City
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
By mortgage.
July I, 1863.
Oct., 1865.
April I, 1876.
Nov. 6, 1865.
May I, 1866.
Nov. I, 1866.
May I, 1867.
July I, 1888.
Oct. I, 1885.
April I, 1906.
Nov. 6, 1895.
May I, 1896.
Nov. I, 1896.
May 1, 1897.
.07
■07
.06 and .07
.06
.06
.06
.06
$1,000,000 00
2,000,000 00
•10,000,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
$1,000,000 00
2,000,000 00
4,556,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
$998,000 00
1,627,000 00
4,556,000 00
250,000 00
Albany City
250,000 00
250,000 00
250,000 00
Albany City
Albany City ....
Total
$14,000,00 000
$8,556,000 00
Total outstanding .
$8,181,000 00
' Includes $3,450,000 to be used in exchanging other classes of bonds, as per terms of amended lease.
Albany is largely interested in various ways in
the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
The total cost and equipment of the road was
$6,701,691.55. The following is the balance sheet
for the year 1883, showing the moneyed interest
of the City of Albany therein:
Dr.
BALANCE SHEET AT END OF YEAR.
Cr.
Cost of road and equipment
Additions and betterments made by the
lessee
Sinking fund in the hands of the trus-
tees of the City of Albany, applicable to
retiring the Albany City bonds issued to
this company
New York and Albany Railroad Company
stock
Cash by last report $487 88
Trustees' account by last report 419 58
Cash by this report $887 90
Trustees' account by this report 419 58
Other assets
Income account
Total :
By last
Report.
$6,701,691 55
4,706,255 91
237.466 54
7,000 00
90747
419 14
52,51330
$11,706,255 91
By this
Report.
$6,701,266 55
5,689,786 63
260,237 37
7,000 00
I ,307 48
30,18860
$12,689,786 63
Capital Stock. .
Funded Debt..
Unfunded Debt
Total..
By LAST
Report.
$3,500,000 00
7,134,000 00
1.072,255 91
$11,706,255 91
By this
Report.
$3,500,000 00
8,881,000 00
1,008,786 63
$12,689,786 63
Income or Profit and Loss Account.
Debitbalanceof income account, Sep. 30, 1882. . $52,515 30
Deduct items of gain 22,326 10
Balance of income account, Sep. 31,
$30,186 60
THE ALBANY AND VERMONT RAILROAD.
This road was chartered October 17, 1857, and
was leased in perpetuity to the Rensselaer and Sar-
atoga Railroad Company, June 12, i860, and is
operated by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com-
pany. The main line of the road from Albany to
Waterford Junction, is twelve miles in this State.
Its capital stock, as authorized by charter and paid
in, is $600,000; number of shares, 6,000; number
of stockholders, 47.
The total earnings of the road for the year end-
ing 1883 were $21,060.00. The charges against
these earnings were $19,200, giving surplus of
$1,860.
BOSTON AND ALBANY RAILROAD.
This important and thoroughly equipped rail-
way, uniting Albany with Boston, was chartered
November 2, 1870. It is made up of a combina-
tion or consolidation of roads, as follows: Western
Railroad Corporation, established by the Common-
316
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
wealth of Massachusetts March 15, 1833; Castle-
ton and New Stockbridge Railroad Company, in-
corporated by New York May 5, 1834. Its name
was changed to Albany and West Stockbridge Rail-
road Company by an act of May 5, 1836.
On November 11, 1841, a permanent contract
was made for transportation by the Western
Railroad Corporation and the Albany and West
Stockbridge Railroad Company for the operation
of the latter by the former.
On the 24th of May, 1867, the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts passed an act consolidating the
Western Railroad Corporation with the Boston and
Worcester Railroad Company, under the name of
the Boston and Albany Railroad Company. This
was done under authority of an act of the Legisla-
ture of the State of New York, passed May 20,
1869. By an act of the Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts, passed May 23, 1869, the Boston and
Albany Railroad Corporation, the Albany and
West Stockbridge Company, and the Hudson and
Boston Railroad were united, and became the
Boston and Albany Railroad Company. This
grand scheme of consolidation was consummated
November 2, 1870.
It is a direct route from Albany to Pittsfield,
Worcester, Springfield and Boston. The Albany
station, at this time, is Union Depot.
STOCK AND DEBT.
By last Report.
By this Report.
Capital stock as authorized by charter
$27,325,000 00
20,000,000 00
20,000,000 00
20,000,000 00
10,858,000 00
1,012,722 15
11,870,722 15
5, 6 and 7 per cent.
$27,325,000 00
Capital stock as since fixed
Capital stock paid in . . .
Funded debt
10,858,000 00
906,729 58
11,764,72958
5, 6 and 7 per cent.
200,000
6,124
Unfunded debt
Total funded and unfunded debt
Average rate per annum of interest on funded debt . .
Number of shares of ordinary stock
Number of stockholders
The cost and equipment of this road was $28,363,-
874.78, of which $1,215,000 is invested in loco-
motive engines and fixtures; $408,000 in passenger
and baggage cars; $1,442,400 in freight and other
cars; $1,182,731.13 in bridges. It has 244 loco-
motives, 229 passenger cars, 5,437 freight cars.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROAD.
Main line of road from Albany to Boston
Main line laid
Branches owned (built)
Lines leased (built) or operated
Total main line (laid), branches owned, and lines leased or operated
Second track on main line
Second track on branches owned, or lines leased or operated
Total second track
Third track on main line
Fourth track on main line .
Total third and fourth tracks
Sidings and turnouts on main line
Sidings and turnouts on branches owned, and on lines leased or operated '.
Total sidings
Aggregate of all tracks on main line, branches owned and lines leased or
operated, including all sidings and turnouts
Length in
THIS State.
Miles.
39-3°
39-3°
17-33
56-63
39-30
1. 00
40.30
24.81
6-99
31-80
128.73
Length out
OF this
State.
162.35
162.35
8.-25
74-03
317
63
162
8
35
22
170.57
8
8
36
35
16
71
125.05
38.72
163
77
668.68
Total
Length.
Miles.
201.65
201.65
98.58
74-03
374-26
201.65
9.22
210.87
8.36
8.35
16 71
149.86
45-71
19s -57
797-41
EXPRESS BUSINESS IN ALBANF COUNTY.
31t
Expenses for operating the road for the year
1883, including expenses for specific purposes,
13.205,358.65. Of this sum $161,740.06 was
paid conductors, baggage and brakemen of pas-
senger trains, and $345,879.10 to freight con-
ductorSj baggagemen and brakemen; $795,383.49
was expended for fuel; $61,328.08 for oil and
other lubricants and waste; for loss and damages
of goods and baggage, $10,342.89; for damages
to property, including damages by fire and cattle
killed on road, $7,116.73; for damages for injury
to persons, $17,259.61; for stationery and print-
ing, $33,560.05; advertising, $6,268.44; legal ex-
penses and counsel fees, $12,685.11; telegraph
services, $17,402.20.
Total earnings of the road, $8,539,875.88.
Charges against these earnings, including dividends
dated quarterly and rate eight per cent per annum
on all stock, except that owned by the State of
Massachusetts, for which was given in exchange,
$3,858,000 five per cent bonds, $1,407,100;
making all charges against earnings $8,303,904.07,
leaving a surplus for the year of $235,971.81.
Of the 8,079,072 passengers carried over the
road during the year 1883, not a person was killed
or injured. Of the 3,411,324 tons of freight car-
ried, but a small per cent, of the same was injured.
WEST SHORE RAILROAD.
This railroad is properly the New York, West
Shore and Buffalo Railroad. For a long time the
project of building a road along the west shore of
the Hudson, from Weehawken, through Albany,
and thence westward to Buffalo, was considered.
But the difficulties of construction, especially
along the Hudson, were so great, that the plan
was delayed until some time in 1880, when it took
definite and active form, and June 14, 1881, it
received its charter. It was prosecuted with such
vigor, that on July 9, 1883, it was opened for pas-
sengers to Albany, and on January i, 1884, it was
opened to Buffalo. Albany is connected with the
main line by a branch from Coeymans, a distance
of twelve miles south. It is 407 miles by the road
from Weehawken to Buffalo. There are, at this
writing, 135 locomotives, about 70 passenger
cars, and over 3,234 freight cars. The depot
of this road is at the foot of Maiden lane, at the
Delaware and Hudson River Canal Company's
Depot.
During most of the year of 1884-5, through
the sharp competition between railroads, resulting
in what was termed a "railroad war," rates for
passengers were cut to such an extent, that but one
cent per mile was charged on all railroads leading
out of Albany. The "war" was closed in the
Autumn of 1885, and the West Shore is now said
to be under control of Wm. H. Vanderbilt, and
running as before at the old rates.
RAILROAD DEPOTS.
With all the railroads passing in and out of Al-
bany, there are really but two depots in the city.
The Central and Hudson River and the Boston and
Albany Railroads occupy the Union Depot just
north of Maiden lane and east of Broadway. The
Rensselaer and Saratoga, the West Shore, and the
Susquehanna division of the Delaware and Hud-
son Canal, have their depot at the foot of Maiden
lane. The cars of the latter pass the steamboat
landings, and during river navigation, passengers
desiring to take the boats leave the train. The
West Shore trains arrive at and depart from the
depot at the foot of Maiden lane.
EXPRESS BUSINESS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
IN the early history of this county we find
pack-horses, then lumbering wagons, and then
stage-coaches drawn by four, six or eight horses,
were the usual vehicles for transportaiion. The
cross-road post and the village or country tav-
ern served as package offices. These, in time,
were superseded on certain lines by the steamboat
and canal boat. Then the advent of those more
formidable rivals, the railroads, wrought a change
truly marvelous.
For many years the stage-coach served as a
" carry all,'' the driver of which was employed to
perform many errands, and empowered to transact
important commissions of trust, including a mul-
titude of messages, bills to collect and money
packages to deliver, for which trouble he received
a very small perquisite. It may be recorded to
their credit, that for honesty and faithfulness, few
men have a better record. There are no authentic
cases in which they proved recreant or dishonest
318
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
in the performance of the trust committed to
them.
Before the introduction of railroads, the stage-
coach lines that centered in Albany were numerous,
and considered among the most useful and even
necessary institutions contributing to the business
interests of the city. These lines extended in all
directions. Every post-road and turnpike was a
mail-route. The inhabitants of every village and
hamlet anxiously waited for the arrival of friends,
of the mail, and of important messages and pack-
ages by stage.
The stage-coach and carrier of the post were as
indispensable then as the steamboat, railroad and
express systems are now. But their rough life and
hard experience was a source of excitement. The
stage-driver was a jolly, jovial Jehu, with his four-
in-hand team, the envy of all the bigger boys. In
the important positions they occupied, they were as
proud of their "rig," as the modern locomotive
engineer is of his seventy-ton engine, or the con-
ductor of his lightning express or palace-car train.
Now their swinging throne and exalted occupation
are gone.
Providence seems to govern all things for man's
welfare. The inspirations that bring forth such
marvelous inventions as the whole system of rail-
way and steamboat locomotion, the telegraph and
ocean cable, the telephone and electric light, may
be regarded as of more than human origin.
To William F. Harnden belongs the credit of
recognizing a public want before the public had
any definite idea of what that want was; and not
merely recognizing it, but going practically to
work with energy to supply it.
He was the beginner and earliest practical
worker of an institution which, for rapid growth
and business importance, is without a parallel.
The package express of modern times was un-
known until Harnden started it in 1839; although
special expresses for the transmission of important
private and public intelligence have been in use,
occasionally, for hundreds of years past.
Special expresses for the conveyance of im-
portant public news were sometimes employed by
enterprising newspaper proprietors, as in the case
of the Websters, early journalists of Albany.
The origin of the express, as an institution, was
brought about by the introduction of the railway,
which made a revolution in former methods.
Business men began to require a more rapid and safe
delivery of valuable packages and sundry parcels.
The old way demanded large confidence, and
sometimes became a burden and an inconvenience
to friends and acquaintances. There are now
living those who well remember how anxious men
were to send by some friend going to New York or
Boston, parcels of bank notes, drafts, bills collect^
able, or other valuables; and it was expected to
be cheerfully performed as a favor. Mutual con-
fidence among men at that time prevailed; misap-
propriation was almost unknown; embezzlement
was punished; and honesty generally regarded as
necessary to respectability.
William F. Harnden in the spring of 1834,
was conductor on the first train of the Boston
and Worcester Railroad. He continued to serve
on this road until the close of the year 1838.
Weary of working sixteen hours a day, he told
his friend "Jim" Hale, one day, that the confined
employment of the past years had injured his
health, and he was determined to seek some more
active business. James W. Hale, the originator of
cheap postage between Boston, New York and
Philadelphia in 1837, and in a measure the father
of the express business in this country, is now
"hale" and hearty at 84 years old. Hale ad-
vised him to do errands between New York and
Boston ; that there was an urgent want of a parcel
express which would command the patronage of
all classes of business men. He at once secured
facilities and a contract on the Boston and Prov-
idence Railroad.
Little did Harnden, or any other living man,
dream what immense results his humble express
was leading to.
The earliest public hint of this enterprise is
contained in a Boston Newspaper, dated February
23, 1839, in which Harnden advertises: " He will
accompany a car himself for the purpose of pur-
chasing goods, collecting drafts, notes and bills,
delivering packages, bundles and forwarding mer-
chandise, etc."
The "extra car ' was a little play of fancy;
an ordinary valise serving to hold all that the
original expressman had to carry for months
after this time. The identical valise is now in
the possession of Benjamin P. Cheney, Boston.
For the first few months, Harnden served as his
own messenger; but business soon increased so
that he was obliged to extend facilities and employ
help.
The burning of the Lexington on Long Island
Sound, January, 1840, was a bitter experience to
this enterprise.
In 1842, Harnden was upon the top wave of
popularity, and his lines began to reach in all
directions. When Henry Wells had urged upon
EXPRESS BUSINESS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
319
him, a year or two before, the importance of ex-
tending his line to Albany and Buffalo, and thence
Westward, Harnden replied: "Put a people there,
and my express shall soon follow."
THE AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY.
In 1 84 1, or a little earlier, Henry Wells, agent
of Harnden at Albany, suggested to George Pom-
eroy that it would pay to start an express from
Albany to Buffalo. Pomeroy made three trips.
His express had been relinquished for some time,
when Crawford Livingston proposed to Wells that
he should join him in resuming the enterprise.
Wells consented, and Pomeroy & Co. 's Albany and
Buffalo Express was established. Its transporta-
tion at that time was by railroad to Auburn; thence
by stage, twenty-five miles, to Geneva; thence by
Auburn and Rochester Railroad to Rochester;
thence to Lockport, sixty miles, by stage; thence to
Buffalo, thirty miles, by private conveyance; from
Rochester to Batavia, thirty-four miles, by Tonan-
anda Railroad; and thence to Buffalo, forty miles,
by stage. The trip was made once a week, and
occupied four nights and three days. It is now
accomplished in about nine hours.
About 1843, Pomeroy & Co. commenced run-
ning a Hudson River Express. They had for
competitors Pullen & Copp. This continued only
a few months, when Pullen & Copp gave up the
Albany and Western business, acting as messengers
on the Troy route for Pomeroy & Co.
In the winter of 1843-44, Harnden & Co. sold
their Philadelphia Express to George Hatch & Co.,
who run it for a short time and then sold it to
Johnston and William A. Livingston. In a month
or two the latter sold out to the former and went
to Albany, where William A. Livingston engaged
in the express business.
About 1844, the firm of Livingston, Crawford,
Wells & Co. was established. This firm continued
until the latter part of 1846, when W. A. Living,
ston bought the Wells interest in the Western Ex-
press, and Livingston & Fargo became a company.
W. A. Livingston acted for many years as the
agent at Albany for Livingston, Wells & Co.
About this time Henry & Co.'s Express started
a short-lived business upon the Albany and Buffalo
route.
Crawford Livingston died in 1847, aged thirty-
four; Harnden died January 14, 1845. aged thirty-
three.
In the autumn of 1849, an opposition express
was started over the New York Central Railroad
by Butterfield, Wasson & Co. James D. Wasson
was then postmaster of Albany. Both partners
had formerly been stage proprietors.
The American Express Company as now exist-
ing, is a consolidation of Wells & Co. , Livingston &
Fargo, and Butterfield, Wasson & Co. These were
merged into Wells, Butterfield & Co., and Living-
ston, Fargo & Co., which comprise the joint stock
concern of 1850. It was then valued at $500,000.
In 1854, the United States Express Company
suddenly started into existence as a joint stock
company; but after a few months it was merged in
the American.
The present United States Express Company was
organized in 1854, with a view of doing business
on the New York and Erie Railroad. This rail-
road company for a time transacted its own express
business; but in August, 1858, transferred its ex-
press to the United States Express Company, which
had no operations east of New York. Another,
called the United States and Canada, which" trans-
acted an express business from Albany to points
East and West, in June, 1882, united with the Erie
and New England Express from Boston to Bing-
hamton, over the Fitchburg Railroad, via Hoosac
Tunnel, and the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com-
pany. In June, 1883, the United States and
Canada Express passed into the hands of the Amer-
ican, while the United States withdrew, June, 1885,
in favor of the National Express Company.
The Merchants' Union was consolidated with
the American, December i, 1868, and had an
office in Albany, southwest corner of Broadway
and Maiden lane during its existence there. Mr.
D. T. Hunt was agent
THE NATIONAL EXPRESS COMPANY.
The original projector of this excellent company
was J. A. Pullen. He was an early and efficient
aid of Harnden, and served as messenger in 1842,
between New York, Albany and Troy, via the Hud-
son River steamboats.
In the winter of 1843-43, Harnden having sold
out his Hudson River Express, Pullen & Copp started
a like business from New York to Albany, Troy,
and Saratoga Springs. At this time Pomeroy & Co.
were doing business between Albany and Buffalo.
In 1844 or 1845, these two companies made a
division of their routes, Pullen & Copp taking Troy,
north; Pomeroy & Co., Albany, west. Copp re-
tired and Major Pullen took E. L. Stone as a part-
ner. In 1843, Mr. Jacobs had started an express
from Albany to Montreal. E. H. Virgil acted as
320
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY
his messenger and agent for about a year, and then,
in company with N. G. Howard, purchased Jacobs'
interest. Its route was by packet boats or stage
from Albany to Whitehall; thence, north, by other
conveyance. It connected at Troy and Albany
with Pullen & Co. Early in 1844, H. F. Rice
bought Howard's interest, and the firm became
Virgil & Rice. Soon after it changed to Pullen,
Virgil & Co.'s Express. Office in Exchange
Building.
Upon the opening of the Albany Northern Rail-
road in 1845, Robert L. Johnson and others estab-
lished a northern express, under the style of
Johnson & Co., from Albany to Rutland. This
enterprise came in competition with Pullen, Virgil
& Co. In the spring of 1855, it became a joint
stock express under the style of the National Ex-
press Company. E. H. Virgil, of Troy, was super-
intendent of the routes, and Robert L. Johnson,
agent, located in Old Exchange Building. At the
present writing, in 1885, the record of this com-
pany in the county is as follows: Commenced
business in 1849 in the Exchange Building, the
ground now occupied by the Government Building;
in 1873 removed to the corner of Maiden lane and
Dean street, in a large, capacious building owned
by the company, in which are their several offices.
James W. Hutt, General Superintendent; George
W. Slingerland, Assistant Superintendent. The
railroads upon which this company does business to
or from Albany are the Rensselaer and Saratoga;
Albany and Susquehanna; New York, West Shore
and Buffalo. There are, in the county, twenty-six
offices, one hundred and twenty-eight employees,
and twenty-two horses in daily use.
THOMPSON & CO.'S WESTERN EXPRESS
Was commenced in 1841 by William F. Ham-
den. Its route was from Boston to Albany, and its
original agent in Albany was Henry Wells. In 1 844,
Harnden & Co. sold this Western Express to James
M. Thompson, its agent. The new propietor
was shrewd, systematic and persevering. E. Lamb
Stone, Thompson's earliest agent in Albany, was
succeeded in the autumn of 1 844 by Robert L.-
Johnson, then only seventeen years old. He had
been, for a year or two, a clerk for Pomeroy & Co.'s
Express. When, in May, 1845, Thompson & Co.
occupied the same premises. Exchange Building,
in Albany, he acted as their agent. In 1847, R.
L. Johnson, the Albany agent, started an express
between Albany and Troy, over the Troy and
Greenwich Railroad, acting as his own messenger.
He continued in this service until the spring of
1853, when he was taken into the partnership of
Thompson & Co. This company connected at
Albany with the American Express Company, and
Johnson acted as agent.
The Albany, Springfield and Boston route was
sold to the American by J. M. Thompson, R. L.
Johnson and William N. Melcher in i86j.
HOWARD & CO.'S EXPRESS.
N. G. Howard was agent for Harnden & Co. at
Albany in the summer of 1842. In the following
year he became associated with E. C. Bailey, under
the style of Bailey & Howard. Harnden, desirous
of connecting at Albany with some other express
than Pomeroy & Co., brought into existence Bailey
& Howard, which firm soon dissolved. Shortly
after abandoning his Albany and Buffalo enterprise,
Howard joined E. H. Virgil in running an express
between Albany and Montreal. This proving up-
hill work, Howard accepted an offer from Harnden
to take charge of the Philadelphia office, which he
did in the spring of 1844.
In 1866 The Merchants' Union Express Com-
pany was organized as a stock company of prom-
inent men, with a large capital. This proved un-
successful, and the company was consolidated,
December i, 1868, with the American, under the
name of The American Merchants' Union Express
Company. This name was retained until Febru-
ary I, 1873, when it was changed to
THE AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY.
By these consolidations, and the vast growth of
its operations in the Far West, the capital of the
American was increased to $18,000,000. Its
managing forces were augmented by the accession
of Messrs. Theo. M. Pomeroy, General John N.
Knapp and William H. Seward, and two other
business men of capital, enterprise and approved
judgment, thus rendering it without a superior
among the mercantile institutions of America,
The American Express Company doing busi-
ness in Albany County is largely the growth from
seed sown by such men as Henry Wells, Crawford
Livingston, William A Livingston, R. L. Johnson
and George Pomeroy. More than two-score years
ago, in 1 84 1, when Harnden induced Henry
Wells to serve him as agent, Wells, then young,
sanguine, full of- energy and willing to work, fixed
his headquarters in Albany. He became associ-
ciated with George Pomeroy and Crawford Liv-
EXPRESS BUSINESS IN ALBANF COUNTY.
531
ingston, in 1842, in the Hudson River Express,
and having been an agent and runner for the river
steamboats, he was well schooled for this special
enterprise and proved a valuable partner. Craw-
ford Livingston at this time was a coal merchant,
with only a few hundred dollars at his command.
With his associates and unremitting hard work, he
commanded respect and was in a measure pros-
perous. Pomeroy and Wells had, so far, served
as the two messengers of the concern, having a
desk in the Exchange Building, where the first ex-
press business was transacted in this city. Many
years afterwards it was a daily scene of hurry and
commotion. Dispatch and delivery were executed
promptly. Crawford Livingston was on hand here
daily, a most indefatigable agent, clerk and man-
ager, his firm representing both Pomeroy & Co.
and Harnden & Co. Samuel Carter became assist-
ant agent in this office. Crawford Livingston re-
moved to New York 'to take charge of the business
of the new firm of Livingston, Wells & Co. , William
A. Livingston taking his brother's place in Albany.
Soon after this, in 1844, the Western Express
Forwarders became identified with a new force,
the late William G. Fargo becoming resident part-
ner and manager at Buffalo, assisted, subsequently,
by his brothers, James C. and Charles Fargo. The
Western Express firm name was Livingston,
Fargo & Co., its style in Albany being originally
Livingston, Wells & Co. , and after Crawford Liv-
ingston's death, in 1847, Wells & Co. "Robbie''
L. Johnson at that time was label boy and general
helper in the Albany office. He was a bright,
rosy-faced, energetic, honest little fellow, and grew
into great popularity and prosperity in the express
service in Albany. He became a partner and local
agent for Pullen, Virgil & Co.'s Troy and Montreal
Express, now the National Express Company;
also partner of Thompson & Co. Mr. Johnson
was a man remarkable for his strict integrity, great
financial and executive ability, and superior busi-
ness qualities. In his social relations he was re-
spected by all, a worthy citizen of whom Albany
was proud. He died here a few years ago. The
agents who have served the American at Albany since
the beginning, in 1842, have been Henry Wells,
Agent of Harnden's Boston and New York Express
and Pomeroy & Co.'s Hudson River Express, which
were merged in Livingston, Wells & Co. in 1843,
with Crawford Livingston as Agent; in 1845, Will-
iam C. Spencer was Agent. In 1850, Butterfield,
Wasson & Co.'s Express was consolidated with it,
under the corporate name of The American Express
Company. Henry Wells was President ; John
41
Butterfield, Vice-President; William C. Fargo, Sec-
retary; and Alexander II I'and, Treasurer, who
served for thirty-five yearj.
The Superintendent of the New York State East-
ern Division of the American, M. B. White, long
resided at Albany. He was, in October, 1867,
succeeded by E. H. Sly, who as clerk, messenger,
and line superintendent or route agent between
Albany and New York, resided here. For a year
past C. W. Selleck has served the company in like
capacity. It has headquarters on the second floor
of the Express Building, corner of Broadway and
Steuben streets. John L. Van Valkenburgh, who
was first employed by the company in March,
1863, succeeded Mr. Sly as superintendent, Feb-
ruary, 1874. He is still the highly esteemed,
popular and faithful agent of the popular Amer-
ican, with a force of fifteen clerks, forty messengers
and general supervision. The business requires
the services of twenty-four horses, twelve drivers,
and other helpers as needed.
The business of this company was originally
from Albany to New York City by the river, and
extended to Buffalo, via several short railroads
and stage lines, in 1845. Now, and for thirty-five
years past, it is making full use of the Hudson
River Railroad and the New York Central, with
their connections, and the Boston and Albany
Railroad. It has exclusive control of 34,417
miles of railroad, 4,718 offices and 7,053 em-
ployees.
Other line superintendents are or have been A.
G. Nickerson, J. Schermerhorn, H. M. Dwight,
and John B. Prentiss, with headquarters at Syra-
cuse.
The American is fortunate in retaining the best
of its employees, and when, after many years faith-
ful service, they decline into the sear and yellow
leaf, and, unfitted for the active duties of express-
men, become superannuated, the company accords
them pensionary support adequate to their neces-
sities, and respects them for their past fidelity and
usefulness. Among this class in Albany, the most
worthy of honorable mention are Andrew Weather-
wax and B. P. Wheeler, who have served as ex-
press messengers thirty-two years each. Alexander
Stone, in the American's service twenty-five years,
is still on a money wagon, performing daily duty,
greatly respected by the company and its many
customers in this city.
The writer is specially indebted to A. L.
Stimson and John L. Van Valkenburg for kindly
giving aid and counsel in making up this express
history.
323
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
BAGGAGE EXPRESS.
This branch of business was begun in Albany as
early as 1868, by Ransom Garrett and Thomas H.
Wygant, from and to the railroad and steamboat
depots. Wvgant&Co. have been repressnied bvT.
H.XVv^anfjT. B. Morrow and Geor;e Hendrick^on.
The firm is now composed of T. H. Wygant and
George Hendrickson. Baggage is received, deliv-
ered or tiansfjrreJ, at small expense, to the seveial
railroad depots, steamboat landings, hot-Js or pri-
vate residences in any part of the ciiy. Agents pass
through the principal and express j assenger trains
when Hearing the city, collect checks, and upon
arrival deliver the baggage with promptness. They
also answer calls by telephone and receive orders
by call books in the baggage-rooms of the differ-
ent depots and several designated places in the
city. The charges are : Inside of Lark, Arch and
Livingston avenues, thirty cents for a single piece
of baggage, and twenty-five cents for each addi-
tional piece, and special rates for combinations,
with charges according to distance, beyond speci-
fied rates. Union Depot, Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company and West Shore Railroad Depots
are the principal offices. The company employs
fifteen persons and thirteen horses. Connected
with their business is a boarding stable located at
46 Spencer street.
The Albany Five Cent City Express is located at
No. 8 James street and does a good bus'ntss.
The Cohoes, Troy and Lansingbur^h Express
has an office at 74 St.Ue street. It transports mer-
chandise, etc., by wagons.
TELEGRAPH BUSINESS.
THE City of Albany is very intimately connected
with the early history of telegraphy. Per-
haps, with the exception of S. F. B. Morse, no one
performed a more important part in discovering the
means of transmitting intelligent sounds through
wire by magnetic force than Joseph Henry, a native
of Albany, who from 1826 to 1832 was one of the
professors in the Albany Academy. It was in an
upper room of the academy building that Henry
first demonstrated the theory of the telegraph, by
the transmission of the tones of a bell through a
mile of wire strung around the room. It has been
well said: "The click heard from every joint of
those mystic wires which now link together every
city and village all over this continent, is but the
echo of that little bell which first sounded in the
upper room of the Albany Academy." Professor
Henry had long been a sanguine believer that elec-
tricity would ultimately accomplish all it has in
the transmission of sound, and as early as 1829,
by successful experiments, had discovered many of
the fundamental principles of telegraphy. An
article on this subject written by him, and pub-
lished in a scientific journal in 1831, attracted
much attention. In fact so many important dis-
coveries on this subject were made by Professor
Henry, that some of the scientific men of to-day
regard him as the originator of the underlying
principles of the Morse system of telegraphy. The
relationship between Henry and - Morse was close
and intimate, as revealed by the friendly corre-
spondence between them on a subject so dear to
both, a number of years prior to Morse's well-
known triumph in 1844. From Professor Henry,
Morse, admitted having not only received much
encouragement, but much practical assistance.
Our venerated townsman, Professor Philip Ten
Eyck, once a professor in Albany Academy, well
remembers Professor Henry's experiments and the
assistance he rendered.
After Morse had demonstrated the success of his
experiments, by sending a message over a wire
stretched from Baltimore to Washington in 1844, it
was not long before men of capital began to take
hold of the scheme.
Prominent among the men in this State to be-
come interested in the new telegraph enterprise in
1845, were Theodore S. Faxton, John Butterfield
and Hiram Greenman, three men well known in
Albany at this time as pioneers of the old stage
line through central and eastern New York. They
went to Wa.shington, and with the utmost care
made themselves familiar with all the details, and
formed a favorable judgment of an invention then
but little understood, and looked upon with incre-
dulity. Early in June, Mr. Butterfield closed a con-
tract with Mr. Kendall to erect a line of the Morse
telegraph between Springfield, Mass., and Buffalo,
via Albany, and from Albany to New York.
July 16, 1845, an association was formed in
Utica to construct the Springfield, Albany and
-Buffalo Telegraph Line; Trustees were appointed.
TELEGRAPH BUSINESS.
323
These were Theodore S. Faxton, John Butterfield,
Hiram Greenman, Henry Wells and Crawford Liv-
ingston. The capital was fixed at $200,000, with
power to increase it to $250,000. The trustees be-
came the contractors to construct the line, which
was to consist of two copper wires.
At this time this enterprise was looked upon as
foolish and impracticable. Steps were soon taken
to prove it could be made of practical utility. In
September, 1845, ^ wire was stretched from Utica
to the fair grounds, and the successful working of
the system was regarded with wonder and amaze-
ment. November 7, 1845, ^ '^\'ce. was run from
Buffalo to Lockport, being the first line opened in
America for regular commercial business. Mean-
while the State was canvassed and a fair subscrip-
tion secured. No interest was taken, strange to
say, by Albany capitalists in this movement.
The first section of the new line was built between
Albany and Utica. To this Mr. Faxton devoted
his whole time. In this city, where he was well
known, he did not receive much encouragement;
some of his friends even laughed at what they con-
sidered his foolish zeal, and predicted naught but
failuie.
The line between Albany and Utica was finished
and reajy for bu-ine=!S, January 31, 1845. The
Albany office was located in the old Exchange
Building, and was under the management of O.
S. WooJ and S. P. Carier. The opening of this
office caused great cxciiemrnt in the city. The
newspapers of that day show how intensely the peo-
ple were moved. One of the earlier feats of these
primitive times w.is to telegraph from Albany to
Utica the New York news brought up by the
Albany boats which arrived in Albany in the
morning.
The line from Albany to New York was com-
pleted July 3, 1846; to Hudson, October 28, 1846;
Troy, August 7th; Syracuse, May 1st; Auburn,
May 25th; to Geneva, November 9th.
When the office was opened in Rochester, June
ist, the whole city seemed in a general excitement.
The papers gave glowing descriptions of the ma-
chinery and the influence which the telegraph was
to exert on human history.
Connection was made with Buffalo, July 3, 1846;
and the whole line from Buffalo to New York com-
pleted September 9, 1846.
January 5, 1847, Governor Young's message of
5,000 words was sent from Albany to New York in
two and one-half hours by W. C. Buel and John
Johnson. This was regarded as a wonderful per-
formance.
During the winter of 1846-7, a severe sleet storm
nearly demolished the wires from Albany to Am-
sterdam, and from Troy to Hudson, suspending
operations for six weeks. The comparative strength
of iron and copper wire to withstand the force of a
severe storm was then demonstrated in favor of
iron wire, now in universal use.
May I, 1847, when the Albany office had been
removed to the Delevan House, Mr. Carter, the
manager, while receiving a message from Utica,
found the paper had become twisted. As he with
difficulty attempted to translate, W. C. Buel, the
assistant manager, who was sitting near, said: "I
think Utica asks ' if the nine o'clock train has ar-
rived. ' " Scarcely knowing how the intelligence
came to him. Carter was much astonished to find
it correct. Mr. Ten Eyck, oi \h^ Evening Journal,
who was present, made the incident the subject of
an article, which was extensively copied, even in
Europe. Thus Buel is justly claimed to be one of
the original sound readers.
The success of the Springfield, Albany and
Buffalo Company awakened opposition. About
two years after the establishment of this line,
the House State Printing Telegraph Company
constructed a line from New York to Buffalo
by way of Albany, and opened an office in this
city in the Exchange Building; but subsequently
removed to the old Museum Building. The
method of receiving messages by this company
was somewhat different from the Morse system,
which at this time consisted of certain signs punc-
tured on white paper, to be translated by the oper-
a'.or. By the House method the messages as
received were printed in Roman characters, the
wires being connected with a type machine, with
alphabetical keys similar to the present type-writing
machines. A short time after the House Company
became established, the Merchants' Stat: Telegraph
Company was constructed from New York to
Buffalo. This company used what was known as
the Bain patent. '1 he existence of this line was
mainly owing to the exertions of Henry O'RciUv,
of Rocheste-, and by his name the company was
generally known. Its office in this cily was in the
old Museum Building. This line was run as an
opposition line to the Springfield, Albany and
Buffalo Company and the House Companv, until
1852, when it was consolidated with the former
company.
In 1857, the American and the New York, Al-
bany and Buffalo lines were formed. The latter
company at this time purchased the property and
rights of the House Printing Company. The office
324
HISTORY OF THE COt/NTF OF ALBANY.
of the American was located at 450 Broadway, and
in 1864, removed to the corner of State and Broad-
way. It had connections with Boston, Providence,
St. Johns, Pittsfield, Springfield, Hartford, Port-
land, Halifax, and intermediate places, with con-
necting lines to all other parts of the Eastern States
and the British Provinces.
From 1864 to 1866, the United States Telegraph
Company had an office in this city in the Exchange
Building.
In 1864, the Western Union Company was
formed. It was originally a Western line, known
as the Mississippi Valley Telegraph Company, its
lines running from Mississippi to Buffalo. In the
same year it purchased the New York, Albany
and Buffalo line, and the Springfield, Albany and
Buffalo line, which, from 1845 to this date, had an
office in this city. Thus was opened up a direct
communication between the West and New York
City. The central office in Albany was located in
the old Museum Building, under the management
of George B. Prescott. Up to the time of the sale
of the Springfield, Albany and Buffalo line to the
Western Union, its affairs had been managed in this
city, besides those already mentioned, by C. S.
Cutler, J. R. W. Johnston, S. C. Rice, E. S. Keep,
C. S. Jones, M. L. Morgan and Fred H. Law-
rence.
In 1866, the Western Union purchased the
United States line, and from this time to 1870,
when the Atlantic and Pacific line was constructed,
had a monopoly of the telegraph business in this
section.
The Atlantic and Pacific Company's office was first
located at 463 Broadway, and afterwards removed
to 444 Broadway, with branch offices in the Lum-
ber District and at the Capitol.
In 1877, this company was consolidated with the
Western Union. The Western Union had no other
competing line in this city until the American
Union line was constructed in 1880, with an office
at 444 Broadway. But this company was in
existence but a short time, when it was consolidated
with the Western Union.
In 1882, two competing lines were constructed,
with offices in Albany, the Mutual Union and the
American Rapid. The former opened an office at
462 Broadway and the latter at the corner of State
and James. Neither existed as a separate com-
pany more than a year, the Mutual Union becom-
ing consolidated with the Western Union, and the
American Rapid being leased to the Bankers' and
Merchants'.
In 1884, the Bankers' and Merchants' and the
Baltimore and Ohio opened offices in this city, the
former at 444 Broadway and the latter at 462 Broad-
way. The Bankers' and Merchants', a short time
ago, was sold to the United line. Its office
in this city is now under the capable management
of J. H. Rugg, who for many years has been
connected with the telegraph business in Alban)'.
The Baltimore and Ohio in this city is under the
management of E. J. Slattery. This company has
branch offices in this county at West Troy and
Coeymans. The central office of the Western
Union in this city is located in the old Museum
Building at the corner of State and Broadway,
with branch offices at the Capitol, West Albany,
Delevan House, Union Depot, Lumber District,
People's Line Office, Delaware and Hudson Canal
Railroad Office, and at the Kenmore Hotel. Out-
side of this city, within the county, it has offices at
West Troy, Cohoes and Coeymans. Its local man-
agement is under F. W. Sabold.
In 1871, the New York Central and Hudson
River Railroad and the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Company constructed a line of telegraph along
their respective roads and opened offices in this city.
These lines are still in use, but only for the accom-
modation of the respective railroad companies, and
not for the general public.
The American District Telegraph Company,
chartered in 1875, "S simply a local telegraph line,
with messenger service for the City and County of
Albany. It went into operation in 1876, with a
central office at 444 Broadway, afterwards removed
to 468 Broadway. It is now owned by the Com-
mercial Telephone Company, under the manage-
ment of A. B. Uline.
The Capital District Telegraph Company, similar
to the American District, went into operation in
this city in 1881, with a central office at No. 100
State street, and is now under the management of
W. H. Hamilton.
THE TELEPHONE AND MESSENGER SERVICE.
325
THE TELEPHONE AND MESSENGER SERVICE.
THIS comes from one of the most recent and
remarkable inventions which contribute to
man's innumerable wants. In this county it was
the outgrowth of the American District Telegraph
Company, located in the City of Albany, and char-
tered in November, 1875. It began operations in
February, 1876, by instituting messenger service,
which has been, in part, superseded by the tele-
phone.
The American District Telegraph Company
made a contract with the Bell Telephone Company,
of Boston, for the use of the latter's instruments, in
March, 1878, and in May established a telephone
exchange in Albany, with about one hundred sub-
scribers. The Albany District Company controlled
the business until July, 1879, when the Commer-
cial Telephone Company began operations in the
city.
The owners of the Commercial Company ob-
tained control of the American District in Novem-
ber, 1880, and the two companies were consolidated
in January, 1881, under the name of the Com-
mercial Telephone Company.
This company was located at 468 Broadway
(Van Heusen & Charles' Marble Building), with
branches at 68 Washington avenue and corner of
South Pearl and Hamilton streets. The officers
were: Henry R. Pierson, President; N. D. Wen-
dell, Treasurer; J. L. Van Valkenburgh, Secretary;
A. B. Uline, Manager.
The Hudson River Telephone Company began
operations in 1883, and are now the owners of the
Commercial Company, with lines and commu-
nication extending to the following places in the
county: The Abbey, Berne, East Berne, West
Berne, Cedar Hill, Coeymans, Clarksville, Cohoes,
Green Island, Hurstville, Chesterville, London-
ville, Menands, Potter's Hollow, Slingerlands,
Sloans, West Albany, West Troy, Watervleit
Centre, Newtonville, New Scotland, Delmar,
Rensselaerville, Bethlehem, Guilderland, Preston
Hollow, with about 2,000 stations or instruments
distributed in the city and county. The employees
number about one hundred.
The officers of the Hudson River Company are:
J. Bigler, President; H. L. Storke, Secretary and
Treasurer; A. B. Uline, General Manager. Direc
tors: J. Bigler, H. L. Storke, A. B. Uline, C. S.
Beardsley, D. A. Smith, A. O. Morgan, Theo. N.
Vail. General office. No. 468 Broadway, Albany.
Branch offices: 68 Washington avenue and corner
South Pearl and Hamilton streets.
The Messenger Service, beginning here in 1875,
under the American District Telegraph Company,
has been fully identified with the business interests
of the city as one of its very useful, almost neces-
sary modern conveniences. The S3'stem adopted
is for each subscriber to have a box, and by pulling
down a crank, a number peculiar to that box is re-
corded at the office, which is answered promptly
by a uniformed messenger boy. This method is
still used to some extent, the telephone in a great
measure taking its place. The Commercial Tele-
phone Company became the owners of the Amer-
ican District Telegraph Company, both of which
are now owned by the Hudson River Telephone
Company. From forty to sixty boys are employed.
Boxes are placed at convenient locations free of
cost, subscribers paying only for service. The
rates are: For 30 minutes or less, 10 cents; 30 to
45 minutes, 15 cents; 45 to 60 minutes, 20 cents;
each continuous hour after the first, 15 cents. The
boys are called to perform all kinds of errand work.
They distribute invitations, wedding cards, circu-
lars, packages, etc., etc. Offices for this service
are at the Hudson River Telephone Company's
offices. This company now controls all the terri-
tory from New York City to Clinton County east
to the State line, and west fifty miles along the
Hudson River to Jersey City, It is the only com-
pany operating from this city or in the county.
In 1880, the Construction Telephone and Sup-
ply Company contracted to build lines and ex-
changes throughout the State. A. B. Uline,
President and Manager; W. B. Butler, Secretary
and Treasurer. This was finally purchased by the
Bell Telephone Company, of Boston, and afterward
sold to the Hudson River Telephone Company.
326
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
AGRICULTURE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
AGRICULTURE, or the cultivation of the soil,
is the first and one of the most important
occupations of the human family, having been in-
stituted and blessed by the Creator as soon as the
earth was ready for man's habitation. Then was the
command given that by the sweat of his brow was
man to earn his bread. Agricultural art is a factor
in molding human events and in adjusting the in-
terests of communities. Its rational pursuit is not
incompatible with the highest intellectual attain-
ments and the best development of the individual
citizen and of the public service.
Many of the sciences are useful servants of agri-
culture, and the most learned often become its most
skilled exponents.
The energies of the thrifty husbandman lead to
substantial comforts, and no one better deserves
and enjoys the luxuries of life.
In the early settlement of this county, its agricul-
tural inducements were not very inviting. For
many years, little progress was made in this direc-
tion. The land was covered with a heavy growth
of trees that required to be felled and rempved be-
fore the soil could be_planted -arnd tilled. Sturdy
blows from the pioneer's ax cleared the forest for
an opening upon which to erect his log cabin and
extend his fields for culture. Here, too, he was
met by Indians and wild beasts — enemies cruel,
treacherous and savage, which were to be tamed or
subdued. In these days the settler and his family
experienced the greatest hardships and difficulties.
Useful implements and other conveniences were
needed, the lack of which made his labor burden-
some and of slow progress. Another and, per-
haps, greater want was that of domestic animals,
then introduced only to a limited extent for food
or for assistance in the daily demands of labor.
The poor man dwelt in his cabin-home and pa-
tiently wrought, with spade and grub-hoe, a scanty
subsistence from the soil. The native forest fur-
nished him with wild game and the streams an
abundance of fish.
Nine-tenths of the farmers of that day com-
menced life bare-handed, as tenants or in debt for
land, with small means for purchasing stock, im-
plements or necessaries. Yet they possessed rug-
ged constitutions, a determined spirit, and a will to
labor. None knew, from hard experience, better
than these farmers and their wives, the necessity of
self-denial, unflinching industry and careful econ-
omy, in their heroic struggles to secure a home and
rejr a fam ly ; nor the firm reliance and strength-
giving trust in God and each other needed to sus-
tain them through the long years of discouraging
t.ials and unceasing toil.
There were C;jnditior)s and unfavorable sur-
roundings which attended these early adventurers
in their choice of occupancy. IMany of these
early farmers were unused to labor of thii kind,
having been engaged by the West India Company
as traders or servants. But dependence on this was
not proving permanently profitable to the Dutch
boor. He at first telccted lands of easy culture
near Fort Orange. Small beginnings were made.
In time others followed, extending their possessions
farther in the forest, seeking the best lands within
easy communication. At the same time he held
his trade with the Indians as well as he could for
the benefit of the company. Farming was neg-
lected in these early years and by these first col-
onists.
The West India Company, by their charter, had
the right to navigate the rivers of New Netherlands;
and in 1623 equipped a vessel of 130 lasts, called
the New Netherland, whereof Cornells Jacobs,
of Horn, was skipper, with thirty families, mostly
Walloons, to plant a colony. They sailed in the
beginning of March, and in May entered the River
Mauritius. Eight of these families came to Albany.
But they came not as farmers.
In 1625 and 1626, "there arrived for New
Netherlands, at Mauritius, 103 head of cattle— stal-
lions, mares, steers and cows, hogs and sheep, for
breeding and multiplying." Few, if any, were
taken to Fort Orange. The Patroon charter of
1629, provided, that within four years, at least fifty
persons over fifteen years of age, one-fourth of whom
should be located within the first year, should settle
in every colony. Eariy in the spring of the follow-
ing year, a number of colonists with their families,
and provided with farming implements, stock and
other necessaries, sailed from Texel and landed in
safety at the Manhattes. In a short time afterwards
some of them landed at Fort Orange, and were
AGRICULTURE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
327
soon furnished with farms, houses and other
dwellings at the expense of the Patroon and his
associates. Other colonists followed each succeed-
ing season. Needful supplies of stores were kept
by the agents of the Patroon and sold to the col-
onists. In 1644, Priest Jogues, says of Bever-
wyck : "There are twenty-five or thirty houses
along the river, built of boards and thatched.
They cultivate some land for their horses, of which
they have a large stock."
Among the products cultivated were Indian
corn, wheat, flax, hemp and tobacco. Sugar made
from the maple was a substitute for cane-sugar.
These articles were bartered with the agents of the
company in return for foreign goods for household
and domestic use.
There seems to have been very little progress
made or interest developed in farming until after
English rule in 1664, when a change in govern-
ment brought some encouragement to the few
tillers of the soil. Hardships were many; the
winters were severe, with cold and snow; the
travel was bad; the means of living scanty; the
surroundinss cheerless and exposed to dangers.
From this time to 1700, the condition of the few
coloni-ts upon lands of the Patroon were not much
improve.!, although some progress was apparent
in the increased acres under cultivation, the addi-
tions to stock and the increased quantity of grain
and other farm products. The few bushels of
grain, or pounds of flax, hemp and tobacco that
could be exchanged, were taken by tlie agent. In
1665, wheat, corn, or any sort of grain was not
allowed to be transported from the city down the
Hudson River. Some produce was exported in
1678. In 1680, when Uankcrs and Sluytcr were
in this count)', wheat and rye weic culli\atcd, and
a trade with the West Indies was car.ied on. The
soil of the farming lands was well adapted to the
growth of every variety of grain, fruit and vegeta-
bles. The low lands along the streams furnished
luxuriant pasture and abundant hay. Wheat, in
1692, was sold at four shillings per bushel.
The settlement of lands on the manor was slow.
In 1714, there were only 427 white persons and
181 slaves. In 1719, there were very few leases in
the hands of the settlers. As late as 1767, from a
map made for the Patroon, the number of families
on the west side of the river is given as 148. This
number does not probably include those on the
Coe'ymans and Slingerland patcnti of 1673 and
1685.
There were a few families of Bradts who had
-settled under the shelter of the Helderbergs;
along the Normanskill, and in the northeast part
of the county. After the close of the Indian and
French disturbances, there was a marked increase
of permanent settlers throughout the county, some
of whom had been soldiers, and now exchanged
the sword and musket for the ax and plow. These
men were bred farmers in their native land, and by
industry and frugality became worthy citizens.
The tenants of the Patroon brought their rent and
surplus grain to his store-house at Albany. Ship-
ments down the river were under his control. In
1770, there were several sloops trading at Albany,
loaded with grain and other farm produce, evidence
of growing prosperity of the farmers.
The period from 1780 to 1800, witnessed the
change from war to peace; from foreign power to
an independent government. It was a new era in
the development of agricultural pursuits, as well as
in social and political life.
During the hostile years of revolutionary war, the
agricultural interests of this county were not ma-
terially affected. There were no serious conflicts be-
tween the contending parties nearer than Saratoga,
and the farmers, many of whom remained at home,
were ready and anxious to furnish needed supplies
from their cultivated acres. After hostilities ceased,
and peace spread her protecting wings over the
valleys and plains of this region, new life and en-
couragement was assured to the practical farmer.
Prominent men engaged in the work, and gave
the results of their experience to others.
As early as 1784, an agricultural society was
formed,- and an annual fair for the sale of cattle
was held in Albany. Chancellor Livingston, in
1790, introduced the use of gypsum as a fertilizer.
In 1785, grain and other farm products were
shipped from Albany ; and in 1790, Capt. Blood-
good loaded a vessel with surplus local products,
among which was a negro slave, the property of
Mrs. Staats, which he sold in Antigua for fifty-one
pounds. In 1794, trade in wheat and other grain
was quite extensive. The yield was from sixteen
to twenty bushels per acre, and it brought seven
shillings a bushel. In 1799, it was sold at fourteen
shillings a bushel.
Farming lands in the county began to be held,
generally, by a class of men who brought experience
and knowledge to practical farming. Wheat was
the staple product, and the soil gave generous
yield; rye, oats, corn, buckwheat, hemp, flax and
root crops were cultivated. Sheep were a source
of profit, as they could be kept on the new and
unimproved lands. Neat-cattle, of native stock,
were raised only for home demands. During the
328
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
war of 1812, wheat was sold for |2.oo and I3.00
per bushel.
This date marks another era of improvement in
all branches of agriculture and domestic hus-
bandry. Its interests, as connected with the pros-
perity of the State, enlisted the attention of public
officials and all men of intelligence. Among the
men most actively interested near this time, and de-
serving of special mention, were Matthew Bullock,
De Witt Clinton, Solomon Southwick, Stephen
Van Rensselaer, Jesse Buel, C. N. Bement, Ezra
P. Prentice, Erastus Corning, Thomas Hillhouse,
Christopher Dunn, and Proctor & Hawes.
Hemp and flax culture has almost or quite dis-
appeared as a paying branch of farming. Cotton
has, to a great extent, taken their place in domestic
fabrics as being more readily obtained and more
economic in the family. The rope-walk, spinning-
wheel, and farm-house loom have nearly disap-
peared, and millions of dollars are now invested in
machinery and factories employing thousands of
operatives and producing millions of yards of
woolen and cotton fabrics in this county.
The cultivation of hops has in a large measure
been substituted for hemp and flax. Increased
acreage is devoted to small fruits and garden
products, now largely cultivated in the county.
The near-by city markets consume the supply of-
fered. These and the orchard products are a prof-
itable source of income to the farmer. In 1865
there were produced in the county 46,585 pounds
of hops, and in 1885, 250 acres were under culture,
with an estimate of 150,000 pounds. The value of
orchard products of all kinds, sold or consumed in
1879, was$i38,88i; of market products, $208,420.
Hay is one of the staple products, and for the
past thirty years has been the main crop relied
upon for prompt sales and largest returns. The
hay crop of 1864 was 74,133 tons, and in 1879 it
equaled 95,137 tons. Albany County has a terri-
tory extensive and varied enough; a soil suited to
almost every variety of grain and vegetable, fruit
and flower.
The grain crops in this county have been re-
markably free from the ravages or destruction caused
by the pests which sometimes commit fearful waste.
The Hessian fly has never been troublesome.
About 1833 the grain-worm and weevil made their
appearance, and for several years were very de-
structive to growing wheat. This compelled farm-
ers to abandon this crop altogether. Other grain
was more largely cultivated ; more acres were
given to grass; more orchards were planted. For
the past twenty years there has been a steady in-
crease in the acreage of wheat, with a fair yield. In
1864, the number of bushels harvested was 1,858,
and in 1879, 23,128. All the usual cereals are
grown in the county, and furnish a range for the
rotation system. Rye produced in 1864, 114,785
bushels; in 1879, 158,600 bushels. Oats in 1864,
259,694 bushels; in 1879, 787,529 bushels. Corn
in 1864, 159,200 bushels; in 1879, 296,145
bushels. Barley in 1864, 10,017 bushels, and in
1879, 17,952 bushels. Buckwheat in 1879, 211,-
225 bushels. Potatoes as a farm crop in 1879
amounted to 495,402 bushels.
Farm implements and machinery of improved
invention are extensively in use.
The following items are taken from census re-
turns for 1880; Value of all farms in the county,
including fences and buildings, $19,898,866. In
1865, the same were valued at $16,966,583. Value
of farming implements and machinery in 1865,
1797,486; in 1880, $1,047,171. Estimated value
of farm products sold or consumed in the year
1880, $2,783,028.
The present condition of agriculture in the
county is encouraging, and the average crops that
contribute to the prosperity of the people will com-
pare favorably to-day with other counties. Changes
have been necessary to meet the demands of suc-
cessful farming. Productive new methods, experi-
mental systems, scientific investigations, and im-
proved machinery have been introduced to make
labor easier, to lessen cost, and to increase
returns.
The better construction of farm buildings is an
evidence that improvement upon the past has been
made. Spacious mansions, beautiful farm-houses,
and well arranged cottages, with barns, stables,
sheds, and other necessary structures, all planned
and finished with architectural skill, attest the
owner's wealth and taste. His material prosperity
results from an intelligent knowledge of the best
methods for producing desired returns, which crown
the laborer and reward him for his toil and perse-
verance. The key to unlock the golden treasure
hidden in the earth is "first and last, lots of
manure and lots of brains." The manure is the
easier to get and the sooner to give out.
The following farm and agricultural statistics for
Albany County are taken from the tenth census of
the Upited States, 1880.
Total number of farms, 3,325; number less than
3 acres, 2; number of 1,000 acres, i; average
acres per farm, 92; value of farms and improve-
ments, $19,898,866; value of machinery and im-
FARM ANIMALS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
329
plements, $1,047,170; value of farm products,
$2,783,028.
Number of farms cultivated by owner, 2,635;
number rented for fixed money rental, 381; num-
ber rented for share of products, 309.
Number of acres in county, 306,257; number of
acres improved, 254,521; number of acres unim-
proved, 51,737; improved and covered by woods,
43,307-
Barley, acres, 1,077; bushels, 17,952. Buck-
wheat, acres, 14,774; bushels, 211,225. Corn,
acres, 11,845; bushels, 296,145. Oats, acres,
30,169; bushels, 787,529. Rye, acres, 14,710;
bushels, 158,600. Wheat, acres, 1,652; bushels,
23,128. Potatoes, bushels, 495,402. Hay, tons,
95,137-
Whole number of horses, 9,469; whole number
of swine, 12,027; whole number of milch cows,
13,042; gallons of milk sold or sent to factory,
1,390,662; pounds of butter made, 1,154,969;
pounds of cheese, 6,560; pounds of honey, 64,267;
pounds of wool, 115,847.
Value of orchard products, $138,881; value of
grain products, $208,420. Barn-yard poultry,
number, 118,348; dozens of eggs produced,
627,374.
FARM ANIMALS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
AMONG the first to import into this county im-
proved breeds of foreign cattle was Matthew
Bullock, an Englishman, who bought a farm in
now New Scotland, where he resided until his
death. The property remained in the possession
of his sons for a few years, and is now owned and
occupied bjrTlobert Huist. Mr. Bullock was a suc-
cessful farmer, and noted breeder of improved short-
horn cattle, which became celebrated throughout
the United States. The introduction of this breed
of cattle into the county is of so much importance
that a special record is given, the facts of which
are obtained from authentic sources. Previous
to 181 5, an Englishman by the name of Cox, who
lived in Rensselaer County, imported from one of
the established herds of England, a bull, cow and
heifer which were pure short-horns, and are said
to have been bred by Robert Colling, of Brampton,
England, whose herd was sold in 1810, one ot
his bulls bringing one thousand guineas. Mr.
Bullock purchased his stock of him in the year
1815. Upon the death of Cox, his cattle and their
produce were purchased by Bullock, who bred
them with the bulls Comet and Nelson, im-
ported by Matthew Bullock and John Waine, in
June, 1821. The herd, in 1843, passed into the
hands of his sons, one of whom, William M., con-
tinues to breed them with some degree of purity.
The descendants of this stock were remarkable
for their robust size and extraordinary milking
qualities, and for several years in succession, after
1 81 8, at fairs and cattle shows, Mr. Bullock was
awarded premiums for the best cattle exhibited.
About 1815, Jesse Buel, of Albany, purchased
of Mr. Cox an imported short-horn bull and two
cows, which were crossed with the above-named
Comet and Nelson.
In 1823, Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer imported
from the herd of Mr. Champion, the bull Washing-
ton and the cows Pansy and Conquest. Pansy
has many descendants, which were distributed
through many of the States.
In the year 1835 or 1836, Ezra P. Prentice, of
Albany, began breeding short-horns from the stock
of Van Rensselaer ; and from 1838 to 1841, he
made several importations of this breed from vari-
ous herds in England. He bred his stock with
such skill and success that it was much sought
after by purchasers from other States and Canada.
In 1842, he added to his stock, by importation,
Ayrshire or Scotch cattle; and in 1837, he imported
a choice flock of Southdown and Colswold sheep.
The encroachments of the city upon his Mount
Hope Farm compelled him to discontinue this
branch of farming, in which he took so much
interest. He disposed of his stock in 1850, the
sheep being purchased by Mr. Mclntyre.
About the year 1836, Erastus Corning, Sr., im-
ported the cow Wildair, and a bull and heifer.
This cow has progeny mentioned in the American
Herd Book.
C. N. Bement, as early as 1835, had on his Three
Hills Farm, Durham short-horn registered cattle,
and in 1838 a cow and a bull of the Hereford
breed. Benjamin Tompkins commenced the
breeding of this variety of cattle about 1 766, near
330
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Hereford, England. In 1819, his herd of fifty-two
head was sold at auction for £^,(ilZ■ They were
originally brown or reddish-brown, with white
faces, and came, probably, from Normandy. The
first importation to this country was made about
1 81 7, by Henry Clay, of Kentucky. Massachusetts
farmers began to import them in 1824.
The first direct importation of these cattle into
this county was by Wm. H. Sotham in 1840.
The Hon. Erastus Corning, of Albany, was inter-
ested in this transaction. The Albany Cullivator
said: "One of the most important importations
of cattie and sheep that has ever taken place in
this county has been made by the Hon. Erastus
Corning, of this city, and Wm. H. Sotham, of
Jefferson County. It consists of twelve cows,
calves and heifers, and twenty-five sheep. The
cattle are the very best animals that could be
selected, and the expense of this importation was
nearly $8,000." At this time was imported the
celebrated stallion Sampson, a heavy draught
horse of fine proportion. The progeny of this
horse possessed marked features, which have been
transfused with native stock, and is yet counted
in the pedigree of his direct offspring.
Messrs. Corning & Sotham continued together
in breeding Herefords until July, 1847, when the
firm was dissolved, and Mr. Sotham took a portion
of the herd and removed to Black Rock. Mr.
Corning retained a portion, and his son, Erastus
Corning, Jr., maintains the reputation of the herd
by occasional importations. In 1853, he imported
three fine Herefords, a bull and two cows, selected
in England especially for him, from Lord Berwick's
prize stock. Stock from this choice herd are in
demand, and are sold to all parts of the United
States and Canada.
A strain of Durham or short-horn cattle called
"Cream Pots," originated with Col. Jacques, by
a cross with Ccelebs and Flora, in 1819; and for
several years Hon. Wm. H. Slingerland has been
a successful breeder of this choice stock, celebrated
for their remarkable milking qualities as well as
butter makers. Jenny Lind, a cream-pot cow,
the property of Mr. Slingerland, in 1859 "was
awarded the first prize at the State Agricultural
Fair as the best butter and milk cow exhibited.
Jenny Lind, in her prime, gave thirty-six quarts
of milk a day.
The first record of the Devon breed in this
county, was a bull and cow, the property of Caleb
N. Bement, of the Three Hills Farm, as early
as 1839. Since that time the breed has been in-
troduced by several practical farmers, and has pro-
duced satisfactory results. The largest breeder
and owner of this fine stock in the county is
Captain Joseph Hilton, whose herd contains some
of the choicest specimens in the State. Mr. Hilton
is a very successful breeder, and is usually awarded
first and second prizes for herds or single animals.
His bull. Prince of Wales, has been the winner
of first prizes at State Fairs for several years. This
animal stands at the head of the best herd of
prize Devons, and is considered the finest Devon
bull in America.
The origin of the Jersey cattle is quite obscure.
They probably came first from Normandy and
Brittany with the early settlers, and thence to the
Channel Islands, where they developed character-
istics that are modified to a remarkable degree from
those on the mainland.
The Channel Islands are English possessions, and
are composed of Guernsey, Alderney, Jersey and
Sark. Within the past 30 or 40 years, efforts have
been made among breeders of dairy cattle to develop
a greater degree of docility of disposition with
continuous milking tendency and extreme richness
in butter qualities. Cattle from the Channel
Islands were selected for this purpose by parties in
England. As early as 18 17, Mr. Richard Morris,
of Philadelphia, describes "a cow of the Alder-
ney breed " imported by Mr. Wurts. Early im-
portations from these islands were usually shipped
from a port in Alderney; hence the common name
of "Alderney." This breed was imported to
some extent into the United States by Mr. John
A. Taintor, of Hartford, Conn., about the year
1850, and has been a favorite with special regard
to their rich milking qualities, possessing many of
the characteristics of the cattle from Jersey.
The Jersey cow is a product of the Island of
Jersey. Its genial climate has produced a small,
docile, useful and beautiful domestic animal.
These fine qualities are said to be greatly due to
the constant care and presence of women; for in
Jersey the women have charge of the cattle.
The primary object in breeding the Jersey cow
is for family use and butter dairies. This animal
is simply a machine for first-class milk and butter.
She produces the richest of milk, from which butter
can be made of superior flavor, finer texture and
richer gold color than any other. It also com-
mands higher prices in the market. The im-
portations made about the year 1850, by farm-
ers near Hartford, Conn., were the foundation
stock, which was largely distributed in several
States. Numerous importations have been made
since then. The finest herd of registered Jerseys
FARM ANIMALS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
331
in this county is the property of Erastus Corn-
ing, collected from his own importations and
selected with great judgment Other parties in the
county who have imported animals of this stock,
are E. J. Larabee, John McEwen, G. E. Waring
and L. S. Hardin.
In 1840, an importation of Guernseys was made
by Nicholas Biddle, of fine animals from the Island
of Guernsey. Since then several importations have
been made, and the cattle have been received with
favor and are considered but little inferior to the
best Jerseys, which they resemble in some points.
There are in the county some fine animals.
Those belonging to the herd of John S. Perry
have been selected with great care from direct im-
portations or progeny of imported stock.
The first importations into Massachusetts of the
Dutch Holstein-Friesian, were made as early as
1852. In May 1885, the breeders and importers
of Dutch cattle adopted the name of "Holstein-
Friesian " as their title.
Mr. C. L. G. Blesssing is the largest and most
extensive breeder and importer of Dutch cattle in
the county. In 1881, he was the owner of an im-
ported cow ; in 1882, he imported six head of Frie-
sian cattle ; and in 1884, he made a successful
importation of fifty-one head, selected by himself
from the best herds of Holland. Schuyler Brothers,
E. Sweet, John Gardner, Martin J. Blessing, and a
few others of this count}', have individual animals
or small herds of choice and blooded stock, which,
since their recent introduction, have acquired a high
reputation for their many excellent qualities.
The improvement in neat caltle has been quite
successful. There is scarcely a distinguished herd of
short-horns, Devons, or Herefords in England, Ayr-
shires in Scotland, or the more recent introduction
of Jerseys, Alderneys and Guernseys, or of the Hol-
stein-Friesian from Holland, that has not its repre-
sentative in this county. The grades and crosses have
made a decided impression upon the general utility
and produce of this class of animals, which return
the farmer great profits in milk, butler and beef. The
number of milch cows in the count)' in the year
1820, was 8,995. In 1865, cows, 10,615; heifers,
9,388 ; oxen, 792. In 1875, cows, 11,951; heifers,
4,029 ; oxen, 964. In 1S80, cows, 13,042 ; heif-
ers, 7,314; oxen, 515. Number of pounds of
butter made in 1879, 1,154,969; of cheese, 6,560.
Number of gallons of milk sold or taken to cheese
factories, 1,390,663.
To write up fully the subject of horse-raising and
breeds introduced in the county for the past eighty
years, would require more tirtie and space than
can be given in these pages. Although a subject
of much interest, it has received, until recently, but
little consideration compared with other advanced
farming industries from which success has resulted.
The earliest historic locations to which we can
trace back the modern horse on this continent,
are found in New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah.
No horses, either wild or domestic, existed on this
continent at the time of the Spanish conquest of
Mexico in 1556 ; but those introduced at that
time escaped, and multiplied rapidly on the plains
of South America and Texas. In time they spread
to the Western prairies.
The several breeds that were early found in this
county came from thorough-bred stock, and the
points of excellence they possessed were adapted
to the requirements of that period. Of this class
were the stallions Eclipse, Goldfinder, Blucher,
Mambrino, Albion, Diomede, Messenger, and
others. The Messenger stock, through its de-
scendants, has in a wonderful manner perpetuated
the endurance and the quality of speed that was
characteristic of its ancestors.
Later, the Morgan, Black Hawk, Hambletonian,
and Henry Clay stock, introduced a strain of blood
into previously well-bred animals, and this infusion
has had a decided and valuable influence in pro-
ducing a class of horses possessing superior action
as coach and roadsters. Many of them have rec-
ords of great trotting speed.
In 1840, Messrs. Corning & Latham imported
into this county, from England, the draught-horse
Sampson, which, with the native mares, produced
a class of horses possessing qualities desirable in
a horse for farm work, and enhanced his market
value as a draught-horse.
At the present time the Percheron, Norman and
Clydesdale are being introduced and bred with
native mares, and the experiment is attended with
fair results The Percheron is a pattern of strength,
and impresses this character upon his progeny. As
a race they are remarkably hardy, of excellent tem-
per, docile, of great endurance, with a disposition
and willingness to work. The horse that the
farmer needs is one that can do his work with ease
on the farm, be active enough for the road and
market, with style and action to command pur-
chasers.
One of the reasons why the breeding of horses
as an industry is very much depressed in this
county is, that farmers, for several years past, have
largely bred from fancy or trotting stock without
regard to size, figure, usefulness or local require-
333
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ments. The number of horses in the county in
1820 was 8,893; ill 1865, 10,529; in 1875,
8,963; in 1880, 9,469.
Sheep husbandry supplies two of the great ne-
cessities of life — warm clothing and nutritious
food. When the slopes and hill-sides of our county
were first cleared, they furnished natural pasturage
which the farmer stocked with sheep, and from
which he realized a large return for his capital and
labor. They required herding at night as a pro-
tection from the ravages of wild beasts, then com-
mon in the forests.
For many years, the farmers of this county gave
considerable attention to this branch- of industry —
almost every farm had more or less sheep. But
many have latterly abandoned sheep husbandry
to devote their lands to greater breadth of grain
crops, potatoes and fruit. After hay became a
staple commodity for transportation, many a farm-
er found greater profit in growing hay ; the sheep
pastures were generally abandoned and converted
into meadows.
The destruction of many sheep by the unrestrict-
ed control of dogs, was a great detriment to this
special interest, and many have abandoned the
business from this cause alone. In some of the
towns containing hill-side or rough lands, small
flocks are yet to be found.
As early as 1838-40, some of the improved
English stock were introduced, and a few farmers
now have small flocks. The varieties of improved
breeds are fairly represented in the county. Yet,
it is a fact, that sheep husbandry has steadily de-
creased for the past thirty or more years, and it is
evident that the business of wool-growing has
ceased to be a profitable branch of general farming
in this count)'. Number of sheep in the county in
1820, 52,613; in 1865, 33,543; in 1875, 18,120;
in 1880,24,393. The clip of wool for 1880 equaled
115,847 pounds.
Improvement marks swine-raising in this county.
The days when the only care that hogs received was
a rustic ornament about their necks and a horse-
shoe nail twisted in their nose, have passed away.
When not confined in filthy pens, they ranged the
highways and trespassed on their neighbors, or
were turned in autumn into the woods or weedy
pastures to seek their own living.
The long-eared, slab-sided and lank hog with
protruding nose, is a relic of the past. As early
as 1832, S. Hawes, who came from England and
settled about three miles west of Albany, brought
Berkshire hogs and New Leicester and Southdown
sheep. But the credit for the first introduction of
Berkshire hogs belongs to Thomas Hillhouse,
who, in 1824, at the Albany County Fair and
Cattle Show, exhibited this improved breed. After
Hillhouse, Christopher Dunn and C. N. Bement,
in 1835, were engaged in breeding Berkshires and
improved China hogs from New Jersey stock.
There is now a fair exhibit of all the different im-
proved breeds in the county, including fine speci-
mens of Berkshires, Chester Whites, Cheshires,
China Reds, Poland, Essex, Suffolks and York-
shires. The number of swine in the county
in 1865 was 11,450; in 1875, 8,814; in 1880,
12,027.
Poultry-raising and the production of eggs is an
industry that receives great attention. Almost
every farm has its brood of hens, from which a
fair profit is realized for a small outlay. With ju-
dicious management and proper selection of stock,
this branch should be a source of pleasure as well
as gain. Since 1850, the improved varieties have
largely increased, and the introduction of these,
with crosses, have produced many desirable quali-
ties for both market-fowls and eggs. Beside barn-
yard fowls, many farmers profitably raise turkeys,
geese and ducks. Among the wonders of the age
is the invention and machinery for artificial hatch-
ing, brooding and raising of poultry, which is rap-
idly improving and becoming a special industry.
Not a few of these incubators are already in opera-
tion both in the city and county towns. The
census report of 1880 gives 118,348 as the number
of barn-yard or domestic poultry, and the produc-
tion of eggs, 627,374 dozen.
HORTICULTURE, FLORICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL LITERATURE. 333
HORTICULTURE, FLORICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL
LITERATURE IN ALBANY COUNTY.
OOLOMON SOUTHWICK came from Rhode
v3 Island to Albany in 1792; became connected
with The Albany Register, and in 1808, its pro-
prietor. In 18 1 9, he conducted The Ploughboy,
the first agricultural paper published in the county,
under the no7n de plume of Henry Homespun.
The Farmers', Mechanics' and Workingmen's Ad-
vocate, daily, was started in 1830 by McPherson &
McKercher, and the next year it appeared as The
Daily Freeman's Advocale and Farmers^, Mechanics'
and Workingmen's Champion, and was published for
a year or two.
The American Quarterly Hemp Magazine was com-
menced in 1833 and continued two years.
The Silk-worm, monthly, was commenced in
1835, published two years, then changed to TheSilk-
worm and Sugar Manual ; discontinued in 1838.
The Cultivator, monthly, was established in 1834,
by Jesse Buel, who came to Albany from Connec-
ticut in 1813; and soon after established The
Albany Argus, his interest in which he sold in 1820,
and purchased a farm of eighty-five acres on the
sand barrens west of Albany. Here he was very
successful in experimental and improved husband-
ry, proving that these sand lands, before considered
as worthless, could be made highly productive, and
the returns made remunerative. He gave the public
the benefit of his labors through the columns of
The Cultivator. The system he adopted was heavy
manuring, under-draining, thorough tillage, clover
seeding, root crops, and fallow crops for naked
fallow. This was his practical farming. He was
also an advocate for improved (arm stock, of
which he possessed many fine specimens. He also
established, in 1838, the first nursery of fruit trees
in the county, with James Wilson as partner. In
this nursery were grown millions of Moms multi-
caulis trees. At this time the country was in a
fever and excitement over the silk-worm humbug.
Mr. Buel was a member of several agricultural so-
cieties in different States and foreign countries; was
several times the honored President of the State
Agricultural Society. In 1839, he was President of
the Horticultural Society of the Valley of the Hud-
son; also of the Albany County Horticultural So-
ciety. His writings comprise his many addresses
on agricultural subjects, six volumes of The Culti-
vator; "The Farmers' Instructor;" and "Farmers'
Champion." Connected with him in conducting
The Cultivator were J. P. Beekman and J. D. Was-
son.
The Cultivator was subsequently published by
Luther Tucker, W. Gaylord, associate editor, in
November, 1839. January, 1840, The Genessee
Farmer was consolidated with The Cultivator, and
conducted by L. Tucker & Son.
The Country Gentleman was started at Albany,
January, 1853, by J. J. Thomas and L. & L. H.
Tucker. It was afterward published by L. Tucker
& Son, and, in January, 1866, was united with The
Cultivator. Since the death of Luther Tucker in
\%'] I, The Country Gentleman has been conducted by
his sons, Luther H. & Gilbert M. Tucker, with dis-
tinguished ability and devotion to the interests of
progressive agriculture, diffusing practical knowl-
edge as to the best methods. Its circulation is very
large.
The American Quarterly Journal of Agriculture
and Science was commenced in January, 1845, by
Dr. E. Emmons and A. T. Prince. In 1846, it was
changed to a monthly and published by E. Em-
mons and A. Osborn. In 1848, it was sold to
Caleb N. Bement, and discontinued in December
of the same year.
The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and
Rural Taste was commenced in July, 1 840; pub-
lished by Luther Tucker, and edited by A. J.
Downing. In 1854, it was removed to Rochester;
in 1855, was published in Philadelphia by R. P.
Smith; and in 1858, brought to New York and pub-
lished by C. M. Saxton, with J. J. Smith, editor.
The Journal of the New Fork State Agricultural
Society w2lS commenced in 1850, and published an-
nually.
Forest, Forge and Farm started in June, 1883;
H. S. Quackenbush, editor, Tweddle Building.
The Poultry Monthly commenced in November
1879; published by the Ferris Publishing Com-
pany, at 481 Broadway.
Mount Hope Farm, since 1834, has been the
property of E^ra P. Prentice, succeeded by his son,
334
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The plot was originally owned by Maria, wife of
Philip Van Rensselaer, and by her conveyed to her
daughter, Harriet, wife of General Solomon Van
Rensselaer, in 1805. It was used, in 1827, as a sum-
mer resort. After Mr. Prentice got possession, he
erected new buildings and otherwise improved the
premises and stocked them. He was an eminent
stock-breeder as well as practical farmer. His 102
acres of improved land supported fifty head of cat-
tle, six horses, fifteen to twenty swine, and a flock
of sheep. Adjoining Mr. Prentice on the south,
were Joel & John F. Rathbone's premises, upon
which attractive improvements were madeini835,
the grounds laid_2ut and beautified, green-houses
erected, and other buildings constructed with cul-
tivated taste. This property is now owned by the
Catholics, upon which is the College of the Sacred
Heart.
Other men in this county who deserye special
mention for their intelligent and practical ex-
periments in advancing the best interests of agri-
cultural pursuits, at this period, are Christopher
Proctor, Christopher Dunn, C. N. Bement, Joel
B. Nott, the Watervliet Shakers, and some others.
These men were ever ready to communicate
their individual experience that others might be
benefited, and their influence was a force in com-
munity exerted to obtain better results from given
methods. The practical effects resulting from the
teaching of these men can be measured only by the
value that has been realized in the development
and formation of better methods with increased
production, establishing a system of higher agricul-
ture. They introduced a superior grade of neat
cattle and farm stock in general. Experience is a
teacher, and they are wise who follow its teachings.
The farmers of this county are intelligent as a
class ; many of them are foremost in adopting and
applying new methods with satisfactory results.
Many farmers have engaged in growing garden
vegetables and other staple products included in
" truck-farming," denominated horticulture. A few
acres are devoted to this branch, from which is
realized a fair profit. The small farms near the
city are almost wholly cultivated in this way.
Among the "men who are largely engaged in truck-
farming may be mentioned Mefsrs. C. V. Baker &
Son, at Fair View Farm ; James Hendrick, of
Font Grove ; E. Van Allen, and many others.
The several islands and river flats of the Hudson
are almost exclusively planted with cabbages, of
which many thousands are grown.
The earliest nursery established in the county
was by Bull & Wilson, 1839. Wilson, Thorburn
& Teller had nurseries about 1848. George A.
Legget and Erastus Coming, in Bethlehem; James
McElroy and Markle Brothers, of New Scotland;
and James Hendrick, of Font Grove, have been
prominent nurserymen. At the present time there
are no nurseries devoted wholly to fruit trees and
small fruits ; a few of the florists cultivate a limited
stock in connection with their green-houses and
shrubbery culture.
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the first
green-house in Albany about 1824, which at that
date was the only green-house this side of New
York City. Along the river were those of Dr.
Hoosick, near that time. James Wilson was gar-
dener for the Patroon. It was in these houses that
the century plant — Agave Americana, or aloe —
bloomed in 1842. The plants and stock of these
houses were ultimately disposed of to different
parties and the buildings taken down. The grape-
house is now doing service on the farm of James
Hendrick.
James Wilson established his green-houses with
small fruits and trees in 1835, on what was then a
waste place in this city, at the comer of South Knox
and Morris streets. His grounds were about three
acres, on a sloping hill-side ; this was carefully
cultivated and planted with nursery stock and flow-
ering shrubs. Mr. Wilson was the originator of
the famous "Wilson strawberry.'' He died in
1855. His widow and son continued the business
until 1866, when it passed into the hands of
John Sprague, then of Fredk. J. Welch, and,
about 1870, of Thomas Davidson, the present pro-
prietor. Mr. Davidson has six green-houses and
an extensive collection of plants.
At Kenwood, the Rathbones built green-houses
in 1837. After the property changed owners, many
of the choicest plants were taken to the city, where
they now beautify and ornament the private con-
servatory of General Rathbone.
Louis Menand located, in 1842, upon the Troy
road and established his present green-houses and
nursery. He has about ten acres of land, upon
which are twelve green-houses containing many
rare and valuable plants, with a large stock of
flowering and ornamental shrubbery and fruit trees.
The whole plot and surroundings are attractive and
beautiful for situation. L. -Menand & Sons also
conduct green-houses near the rural cemetery.
Erastus Corning, on his farm below Kenwood,
on the River road, erected a green-house in 1845.
Since that date extensive improvements have been
made, grading, filling and planting the inclosure
THE NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
335
of ten acres with native and foreign trees, many of
which are very ornamental, rare and valuable.
This private park contains fourteen extensive green-
houses connected with gardeners' cottages. The
grounds in summer are very delightful. The
houses contain many rare and beautiful tropical
and other exotic plants. The collection of orchids
is the most extensive of any green-houses in this
country; probably the finest in the world. Mr.
Wm. Gray is superintendent and gardener. Ta-
wass-a-gun-shee, is the Indian name given to
these green-houses, meaning a place of much
water.
John Dingwall, in 1847, located and erected
green-houses upon eight acres of land on the Troy
road, opposite the Van Rensselaer mansion
grounds, where he has six green-houses well-
stocked with a fine collection of valuable plants.
Nursery stock is cultivated in the open spaces.
This garden occupies the ground made memorable
as the spot upon which Daniel Webster delivered
his great Albany speech in the Harrison campaign
of 1840, heard by 10,000 listeners.
Louis Gloeckner has green-houses and shrub-
bery at the rural cemetery for cut flowers, plants
and other decorative supplies.
P. G. Pfordt's Sons conduct green-houses in the
City of Albany, on North Broadway, for the culti-
vation and sale of plants and flowers. These were
formerly located on the Shaker road, north of West
Albany, and were conductedby Joseph G. Pfordt,
as nurseryman, florist and farmer.
A. F. Chatfield, florist and proprietor of Ex-
otic Green-houses, is located at 66 Chestnut street,
Albany City. Established in 1858.
James Hendrick, of Font Grove, at Slinger-
lands, established extensive green-houses in 1869.
He, for a time also engaged in the cultivation of
fruit trees and nursery stock. He has twenty-one
green-houses, 15 x loo feet, which occupy, with
out-door culture, about six acres, for cut flowers
and plants to supply his trade. He has an office
at 36 North Pearl Street, Albany.
Whittle Brothers erected extensive green-
houses on a plat of five acres on Madison avenue,
Albany, in 1884. Here are grown plants and
ornamental shrubbery in great variety, for cut
flowers, bouquets and the trade. Connected with
these green-houses is a store in Tweddle Building.
Washington Park, Albany, has extensive green-
houses for cultivating plants and shrubbery,
under the care j)f Matthew Fink, superintendent.
These were built in 1883, upon a portion of the
Alms-house property, on the New Scotland plank
road and near the Lexington avenue entrance to
the park.
A. J. BiNLEY, No. 323 Clinton avenue, first lo-
cated on First street in 1880, has a green-house
and lot for the cultivation and sale of plants and
flowers.
THE NEW YORK STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
WAS organized by a few public-spirited men,
assembled in Albany in the year 1832 from
different parts of the State. A constitution was
adopted and the following officers elected: Le Ray
De Chaumont, President: Ambrose Spencer, Jacob
Norris, Edward P. Livingston, Robert R. Rose,
Vice-Presidents; Philip S.Van Rensselaer, Record-
ing Secretary; Jesse Buel, Corresponding Secretary;
Charles R. Webster, Treasurer; Henry W. Del-
avan, Horatio Hick ox, John Townsend, Executive
Committee. The society held a cattle show and =
fair the next year; but the want of funds prevented
a continuance of fairs. The charter was granted
for twenty years. It was renewed in 1842. An
act passed by the Legislature for the encourage-
ment of agriculture, appropriating $8,000 for five
years, to be divided among the societies, gave the
friends of agriculture renewed courage. The soci-
ety was reorganized in 1841, with Joel B. Nott, of
Bethlehem, as President. The first fair was held
the same year at Syracuse, and in Albany the next
year. Since that date the society has held fairs and
agricultural exhibitions, as well as floricultural and
mechanical displays, at Albany in the following
years: 1850, 1859, 1871, 1873, 1876, 1880 and
1885.
The annual fairs, with a change of location each
year, have become one of the institutions of the
State; and the throngs of people who annually
flock to its exhibition grounds from all classes and
ranks of' society, give very gratifying evidence of
high public appreciation.
336
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The society meets annually at its rooms in Albany
and has a winter exhibition of agricultural and
dairy products. Connected with this State society is
the interesting Agricultural Museum, which oc-
cupies rooms in the building on State street, corner
of Lodge, in which are the offices of the society and
special accommodations for its extensive depart-
ments. On the 19th of November, 1784, an an-
nual fair for vending cattle was held in Albany.
Chancellor Livingston was a farmer of intelligence.
He is credited with introducing gypsum as a fertil-
izer as early as 1789.
In 1790, a Society was instituted for the Pro-
motion of Agriculture, Arts and Manufactures.
Among its active members were Chancellor Liv-
ingston, Simeon De Witt and Ezra L'Hommedieu.
The society continued its labors and issued its
publications until 1804, when it was merged into
the Society for the Promotion of the Useful Arts.
It subsequently was merged in the Albany In-
stitute.
The first anniversary address was delivered be-
fore the society, January, 1792, by the learned
Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell.
ALBANY COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
IN 1 818, an Albany County Agricultural Society
existed, which received $350 from the State,
and held three annual fairs. The firat annual ex-
hibition of the Albany and Rensselaer Horticul-
tural Society was held in the Geological Rooms,
Albany, September, 1848. Fairs and exhibitions
followed in 1849 and 1850. The town of Coey-
mans organized an Agricultural Society in 185 1,
with James W. Jolley, President. This was after-
ward merged into the County Society.
Thursday, May 14, 1 853, a meeting was held in the
rooms of the State Agricultural Society at Albany
for the purpose of organizing an agricultural soci-
ety for the County of Albany. At this meeting
James W. Jolley, of Coeymans, was called to the
chair, and Joseph Warren, of Albany, acted as
Secretary. After the usual preliminary discussion,
the organization was effected by the election of the
following officers : President, James W. Jolley ;
Treasurer, E. E. Piatt ; Secretary, Joseph Warren ;
with a Vice-President for each town.
The first annual fair of this society was held at
Bethlehem Centre, October 4, 5 and 6, 1853. The
receipts were $900. The fair grounds were lo-
cated too far frorn the city, with no conveniences
for reaching them.
The second annual fair took place on the Wash-
ington Parade Grounds in November, 1854.
1855. — The third annual fair was held on
Washington Parade Grounds, September 25, 26
and 27.
January 2, 1856, the society was reorganized,
with Levi Shaw, President ; Richard Kimmey,
Vice-President ; Charles R. Wooley, Secretary ; L.
G. Ten Eyck, Treasurer.
1856. — The fourth annual fair was held on
Washington Parade Grounds, September 23, 24
and 25.
1857. — Joseph Hilton, President. Fair was
held in Albany in October.
1858. — William Hurst, President Fair held on
Washington Parade Grounds, September 21, 22,
23, 24.
1859 and i860. — William Hurst, President.
Fair held at Albany, September 18, 19, 20, 21.
1861. — Wm. Hurst, President. No fair this
year.
1862.— William Tuttle, President.
May 8, 1862, was organized the Town Union
Agricultural Association of the County of Albany.
The following officers were elected: President,
Jurian Winne; Vice-President, James W. Jolley;
Treasurer, Wm. H. Slingerland; Secretary, Samuel
C. Bradt.
June 7, 1862, The Town Union Agricultural
Association, at a special meeting, changed its title
to Albany County Agricultural Society. Its organ-
ization was made to conform to the Act of April
'3; 1855- The officers chosen were: President,
Jurian Winne; Vice-President, James W. Jolley;
Treasurer, Wm. H. Slingerland; Secretary, Samuel
C. Bradt. No fair held this year.
1863. — ^Jurian Winne, President. Fair held on
Washington Parade Grounds, September 29, 30
and October i and 2. Receipts, $4,000.
1864. — Leonard G. Ten Eyck, President Oc-
tober 4, 5, 6 and 7. Fair held on Parade Grounds.
1865. — Henry Callahan, President Albany and
Rensselaer Counties jointly held a fair on Island
Park, September 19, 20, 21 and 22.
THE SHAKERS OF ALBANF COUNTY.
337
1866. — Jacob Messenger, President. Fair held
last week in September.
1867. — The Albany City and County Agricul-
tural and Industrial Societies held a fair and exhi-
bition in Albany in September.
1869. — ^Joseph Hilton, President. The above
societies held their fair and exhibition at Albany ]
the first week in October. !
1 871. — William Ramsay, President; D. V. S.
Raynsford, Treasurer; Thomas Bagley, Superin-
tendent; John H. Farrell, Secretary. August 13th
of this year the society was organized as a stock
company. A fair was held at Hurstville in Octo-
ber. The weather was rainy and unfavorable,
and financially it was a failure, being remote
from the city and attended with many incon-
veniences.
1872. — George Tweddle, President. No fair.
1873. — December 2d, the Albany County Society
held a meeting to elect officers.
1873. — In the month of June the Albany Agri-
cultural and Art Association was organized; Presi-
dent, Thomas W. Olcott; Vice-President, Maurice
E. Viele; Treasurer, Wm. H. Haskell; Secretary,
Volkert P. Douw.
The society purchased about forty-four acres
of land four miles north of the city, between
the Watervliet turnpike and horse railway on the
east, and the Albany and Saratoga Railroad on the
west. This location was adapted to the purposes
intended by the society as permanent exhibition
grounds, with all the necessary buildings, ma-
chinery and other facilities to render them attract-
ive, convenient and comfortable for general and
special purpose.s.
The ground was planned by John Bogart, who
superintended the grading, road-making, plant-
ing trees and other improvements. The soci-
ety erected buildings, sheds, machinery depart-
ments, offices and other structures, at a cost of
$30,000. The ground was inclosed by a close
fence. On the west, platforms were erected for
railroad conveniences. The New York State Agri-
cultural Society held their fair on these grounds
after completion of buildings in 1873.
1874. — Thomas W. Olcott, President. This so-
ciety, with the Albany County Society, held a joint
fair on these grounds September 22, 23, 24, 25.
Volkert P. Douw, Superintendent.
The last officers elected for Albany County Agri-
cultural Society were George Tweddle, President;
John H. Farrell, Secretary; D. V. S. Raynsford,
Treasurer. The society has held no fairs since
1874.
THE SHAKERS OF ALBANY COUNTY.
THE United Society of Believers, called Shakers,
reside in the township of Watervliet, and are
located at Shaker Post-office, six miles north of
Albany. The post-office was established in 1871.
This settlement was founded as a religious and
secular society in the year 1775, by Ann Lee,
born in Manchester, England, in 1736. She
came to America when she was 38 years old,-
with a few of her followers.
The society now has four families, called the
Church family, the North family, the West family
and the South family, all numbering about 300
souls. Mother Ann, as she was called, died Sep-
tember 8, 1784, and is buried in the Shaker
cemetery, in a plain plat of inclosed ground, with
nothing to mark the spot save a simple slab of
white marble inscribed with the name of the dead.
Our article is compiled from verbal statements
and frorh a volume prepared by Calvin Green
and Seth Y. Wells. The doctrine and faith
of this society are fully treated in this book
as those which Mother Ann taught. They are sub-
stantially as follows : The second appearing of
Christ in person; that all will become Christ's when
fitted by self-denial; that Jesus became the Christ
at His baptism; the community of all temporal
things and effects; a life of consecrated celibacy;
non-resistance and freedom from the strifes of war;
and non-interference with political parties, with no
distinction of government.
The society owns about 3,000 acres of land in
diff'erent parts of the town, which is in a good
state of cultivation, and upon which productive
crops of grass, grain, broom corn, vegetables and
fruit are grown. About 100 head of neat cattle
furnish the several families with the necessary dairy
supplies, and 50 horses are required for labor on
the farms, trucking and marketing. The pursuits
of the people are varied according to the wants of
the society and the demands of trade. Some are
338
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
engaged in agriculture, some in horticulture, and
some in the mechanical arts. Still others are en-
gaged in canning fruit and vegetables, while the
saw-mill, broom factory and several other shops
give employment to many busy hands.
The domestic and household affairs are presided
over by faithful superintendents, assisted by the
necessary help. Order, system, neatness and punc-
tuality prevail in every department.
Their dwellings, offices, factories, shops, store-
houses and farm-buildings of every description are
all substantial, plain structures, built for use, not
ornament, containing all the necessary improve-
ments of modern invention that skill can devise for
the convenience of man and the comfort of
domestic animals. The mechanical work in its
several branches is performed by members of the
society, many of whom are skilled workmen.
Water and steam power are used for manufacturing
purposes. During the season of general admission
to their Sabbath worship, great crowds from the
surrounding country visit them, mostly to hear their
impressive singing and witness their peculiar danc-
ing. Their present church edifice is a large plain
building, having a seating capacity for i,ooo persons.
In their moral training they are carefully taught
to regard the principles of honesty, punctuality and
uprightness in all their conduct; to keep a con-
science void of offense towards God and all men ;
to be neat, cleanly and industrious; to observe the
rules of prudence, temperance and chastity; to
subdue all feelings of selfishness and hatred; to let
the law of kindness, love and charity govern all
their feelings towards each other; to shun contention
and strife; careful neither to give nor take offense; to
conduct themseves with civility, decency and good
order before all people; to promote the happiness
of each other; and to live in gospel purity, peace,
union, and social harmony. These are among
those virtuous principles which actuate the people
of the United Society in all their temporal concerns,
and which tend greatly to promote the health and
prosperity of the society, and insure the blessings
of divine providence upon all their labors.
A well conducted monthly, called the Shaker
Manifesto, is published in this community, edited
by Rev. G. A. Lomas. All visitors, if courteous
themselves, are treated with marked attention and
courtesy. The business relations of these people
with merchants, and all others who have dealings
with them, are those of well-established integrity
and trust.
The history of this interesting society in its
origin is so peculiar, and so largely identified with
our county, that we give it more in detail. Mother
Ann, while in England, was often shamefully
abused and a number of times imprisoned upon
various charges brought by her enemies ; after a
time her people were allowed to enjoy their faith
in peace, but their public testimony ceased in
England about a year before they embarked for
America.
Mother Ann was, by a special revelation, direct-
ed to repair to America, and this revelation was
communicated to the society, which was confirmed
by signs, visions and manifestations to many of the
members, who were given permission to accompany
her. Accordingly, those who became the com-
panions of Mother Ann in her voyage to America,
and professedly members of her society, were
Abraham Stanley, her husband, William Lee, her
brother, James Whittaker, John Hocknell, Richard
Hocknell, James Shepherd, Mary Partington and
Nancy Lee.
Having settled their affairs, they embarked at
Liverpool on board the shipMariah, Captain Smith,
of New York, and sailed on the 19th of May, 1774.
After enduring the storms and dangers of the sea in
an old leaky ship, they arrived safely in New York
on the 6th of August following.
After Mother Ann and her little family arrived in
this country, they passed through many scenes of
difficulty of a temporal nature. Being strangers in
the land and without any means of subsistence,
they were obliged to seek employment where they
could find it, and at the same time arrange plans
for their future residence. Accordingly, William
Lee and John Hocknell went up the river and con-
tracted for a lot of land in the County of Albany.
Mother Ann, her brother William, and the others
went to Albany, where they found employment.
But she did not reside there permanently. In the
beginning of the autumn of 1775 Abraham Stanley
was taken sick, and, after his recovery, and before
he was fully able to labor, he began to associate
with the wicked and lewd, and lost all sense of
religion. Unwilling to forsake his wicked ways,
the relation between Mother Ann and her hus-
band ceased. John Hocknell, with his family, re-
turned from England December 25, 1775, and
met Mother Ann in New York, where they re-
mained until February following, and then went
on to Albany by land. Having brought their
effects from New York after the opening of the
river, their next object was to prepare for a settle-
ment in the wilderness by clearing their land,
erecting suitable buildings and making other nec-
essary provisions, which they accomplished in the
THE SHAKERS OF ALBANY COUNTY.
339
course of the summer, and in the month of Sep-
tember, 1776, they took up their residence in the
woods of what is now Watervliet, about six
miles northwest of Albany City. These lands were
in the Van Rensselaer manor and were leased from
the Patroon on the usual terms and conditions, and
were mostly the light sandy plains of the vicinity.
Here, in a wilderness state, they began with zeal
and industry, through sufferings, to prepare the
way for a permanent settlement. Here they held
their meetings for three years and a half, until the
way was opened for giving their testimony to the
world in the spring of 1780.
During this year the society was encouraged in
its work by additions to their numbers; new con-
verts were added, and their meethigs were largely
attended by persons from a distance, notably from
New Lebanon. From various parts of the country
many embraced the faith of the society. This new
sect and their religion were looked upon by the
world as fanatical. The country being at war,
these people were accused of being enemies to
freedom. The charge of treason was publicly made
against thern. In consequence of these accusa-
tions. Mother Ann and a number of the leading
characters ^^•ere, in the month of July, imprisoned
in Albany. This naturally excited great s)'mpathy,
and as they appeared an inoffensive people, many
from various quarters visited them and were soon
convinced not only of their innocence, but of the
truth of their testimony.
Their enemies were highly offended when they
saw their object defeated, and concluded that by
separating Mother Ann from her followers, the so-
ciety would come to an end. They sent her down
the river about the middle of August, with a view
to banish her to the British army, then in New
York; but not being able to accomplish their ob-
ject she was landed at Poughkeepsie, and impris-
oned in the jail of that town.
About the 20th December following, those who
had been confined at Albany for five months were
released without trial. They immediately visited
Mother Ann at Poughkeepsie, and through their
intercession with Governor George Clinton, she
was released about the last of December. Thus
ended the only imprisonment they suffered in
America.
On May 3, 1781, Mother Ann, with some
of her followers, set out on a visit to Harvard,
in Massachussetts. But here, as usual, she met
enemies, and persecution was at once set in mo-
tion. Every evil report and every wicked device
were called forth to render them odious in the eyes
of the people. The usual charges of being enemies
to the country, of living in debauchery and prac-
ticing witchcraft were alleged against them.
In consequence of these accusations they
suffered much personal abuse, and were shame-
fully and cruelly treated. These persecutions, how-
ever, like the imprisonment at Albany, served only
to accelerate the means of extending the testimon)',
which greatly increased the number of believers.
About the beginning of July, 1783, they left Har-
vard to return westward, and on their journey
visited the other societies. Leaving New Lebanon
on the 4th September, they returned to Water-
vliet, having been absent two years and three
months.
In July, 1784, the society was called to sustain a
severe trial in the death of Elder William Lee.
This event M'as soon followed by another, in the
loss of the visible presence and protection of their
dearly beloved Mother. Being herself sensible
that her time was short, she often reminded the
people of it and exhorted them to faithfulness and
perseverance in the way of God. Having finished
her work on earth, she was called to bid adieu to
all worldly things, and was released from her labors,
her sorrow and sufferings, and calmly resigned her
soul to God, on the morning of September 8, 1784.
The society being now deprived of their faithful
friend and guide. Elder James Whittaker succeed-
ed her in the ministry, and was henceforth called
Father James. The society labored on in the
work before it, and, with increasing prosperity,
saw the necessity of being gathered into a more
united body, for greater protection and a further
increase of their spiritual travail.
In the autumn of 1785, was raised the first house
of public worship ever built by the society. From
this time the affairs of the society began to' assume
a more regular form and order. This house stiil
stands, well preserved.
Father James died July 20, 1787, and was suc-
ceeded in the ministry by Joseph Meacham and
Lucy Wright, who was appointed as the first lead-
ing character in the female line. These two were
established by the gift of God as spiritual parents
in church relation and first ministers of gospel
order. Under their ministration the people were
gathered into a united body, and were gradually
formed into church relation at New Lebanon, unit-
ing their interests in one common stock, both
spiritual and temporal, having all things in com-
mon.
Mother Ann possessed remarkable powers and
faculties of mind by nature, which were greatly
340
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
enlarged and strengthened by the gift of God. At
times, when under the power and operation of the
Holy Ghost, her countenance shone with the glory
of God, and the influence of her spirit at such
times was great beyond description, and no one
was able to gainsay or resist the authority by which
she spoke. Her whole soul appeared to be always
engaged in the work of God, and the Spirit of God
seemed to breathe through all her words and
actions.
TEMPERANCE WORK IN ALBANY COUNTY.
PEOPLE of different countries have many cus-
toms, habits, and social relations in common.
These are dependent, in a measure, upon educa-
tion, temperament, and constitutional heredity.
In the settlement of this county, it shared in
both the good and the bad elements that were
brought by the settlers. Perhaps no two greater
evils could, by any possibility, have been introduced
and fostered, under sanction of custom and law,
than human slavery and intemperance caused by
the use of alcoholic beverages. Both evils made
rapid growth : the first through the slave trade, and
the latter by immigration. Human slavery was
abolished by statute in this .State and county in
1827, without the loss of life or bloodshed; but
the institution, as a national evil, existed in other
States until 1863, when, through a war which cost
thousands of lives and millions of dollars, slavery
was forever abolished in the United States.
The future of this law-protected evil, the manu-
facture and traffic in alcoholic and malt liquors, is
becoming a national danger, and its final overthrow
will require heroic measures. How to accomplish
this is a momentous question, and has occupied
the consideration of worthy and thoughtful men.
It is not by any sudden or arbitrary legislation that
great social evils and the burdens of human woes
are lessened. Let children and youth have light.
Let us have more formation and less reformation
will be needed. Few are made drunkards after
they are forty years old. Few are reformed after
they reach that age.
After many years of experience, temperance re-
formers have learned that victorious parties are
born of many elements in citizenship, gathered
about one great issue of paramount importance,
and parties die when they fail to force that issue
upon the conscience and manhood of a free
people.
For fifty years, or more, men and women have
zealously labored to modify the traffic and sup-
press the ravages of intemperance in this county,
and whatever of success has attended these efiforts
for mitigating the evil, opposing forces and special
interests, arose dissensions and differences of
opinion in regard to methods brought divisions;
and numerous societies and organizations followed.
Temperance societies in the county did not
assume much importance until about 1830.
One of the earliest societies was organized in
1828, in the school-house near Chestervilie. The
meeting was called and presided over by Deacon
Holmes. Two persons signed what was called
the open pledge, which allowed the person to
drink all beverages but distilled liquors. Mr.
Evans, one of the signers, is dead; the other, Peter
P. narrower, is living in Albany, an honored
minister of the Methodist Church. This pledge
proved a complete failure. A few years later, the
principles of total abstinence were advocated and
inserted in the pledges. Men who were at first
unwilling to give this subject careful thought,
began to investigate the facts that were presented,
and many prominent citizens became convinced
and identified with the efiforts of societies that
followed.
The following memoranda of early temperance
movements and societies in Albany were furnished
by Professor McCoy.
1. In the year 1832 there were fourteen temper-
ance societies in Albany, with an aggregate mem-
bership of 4, 164.
2. The First Ward Temperance Society, Erastus
Corning, President, and Gerrit L. Dox, Secretarj',
had 1,227 members.
3. The Second Ward Temperance Society,
Charles R. Webster, President, and Eli Perry,
Secretary, had 410 members.
4. The Third Ward Temperance Society, Uriah
Marvin, President, and Israel Williams, Secretary,
had a membership of 410.
5. The Fourth Ward Temperance Society, Joseph
Alexander, President, and John Davis, Secretary,
had 270 members.
TEMPERANCE WORK IN ALBANY COUNTY.
341
6. The Fifth Ward Temperance Society, H. A.
Fay, President, and George W. Carpenter, Secretary,
had 349 members.
7. There was a Canal Temperance Society, of
which Thaddeus Joy was President, and Horace
Meech, Secretary.
8. The Albany Apprentices' Society numbered
1 1 1 members. E. J. Hosford was President, and
William Bleeker, Secretary.
9. The Furriers' Temperance Society had 112
members. Ezra P. Prentice, President, and C. J
Taylor, Secretar)-.
10. The Hibernian Temperance Society, Rev.
Charles Smith, President, and P. M. Morange,
Secretary, had 123 members.
11. The African Temperance Society had 192
members, with B. Lattimer, President, and Rich-
ard Thompson, Secretar}'.
12. The Albany Young Men's Temperance
Society, Bradford R. Wood, President, and Archi-
bald McClure, Secretary, had 500 members.
13. There was an Albany County Temperance
Society, membership not given, of which A. Piatt
was President, and Benjamin F, Butler, late
Attorney-General of the United Slates, was Vice-
President.
14. The Albany Academy Temperance Society,
W. P. Pohlman, President, and E. T. Griffith,
Secretary, numbered 150 members.
15. In some cases one person probably be-
longed to two societies. Perhaps the total mem-
bership in Albany County included 8, 500 persons.
The total population of Albany in 1832, was
26,000.
16. 1832 was the year of the cholera. The
whole number of deaths by cholera in Albany, of
persons over ten years old, was 336. Of these but
two were members of temperance societies.
17. The Albany Young Men's Temperance So-
ciety probably led to the formation of the Albany
Young Men's Association. The members of the
former, Amos Dean, Bradford R. Wood and others,
were founders of the latter.
The organization of these societies was largely
due to the heroic labors, resolute purpose, and
powerful influence of Edward C. Delavan, of
Albany, a wine merchant, the great and well-known
apostie of temperance, who, with a terrible fear-
lessness and zeal advocated the suppression of the
sale of intoxicants and the awful danger of drink-
ing habits. He revolutionized customs which had
been long in existence. His zeal in this reform
was so great, that his opinions were at times uttered
with great vehemence and enthusiasm. His oppo-
nents he treated with fairness; yet he never receded
from what he believed to be right and just.
A temperance sentiment began to grow in
Albany. It gained the attention of a few clergy-
men and prominent citizens, who examined and
approved the necessity of action in this reform.
Public meetings were held, at which free discussion
and inquiry were made. These meetings caused
the organization of temperance societies as above.
Public sentiment was changed. Clergymen did
not hesitate to express their opinions. Eminent
judges saw the evil. Chancellor Walworth said :
"It was his opinion that the time would come
when men would as soon be engaged in poisoning
their neighbors' wells as dealing out to them in-
toxicating drinks as a beverage."
As auxiliaries in this great reform, one of the
most potent means early employed was the publi-
cation of tracts and papers devoted to this subject,
which were distributed in the community as edu-
cators. For the first twenty-five years of this re-
form they exerted a powerful influence. Added
to public addresses, numerous societies and other
practical methods, the newspaper, the lever that
moves the world, has contributed its full share of
influence. The following have been published in
Albany in the interest of temperance reform :
The Temperance Recorder, monthly, was pub-
lished in 1 83 1 by the State Temperance Society.
American Temperance Intelligencer was com-
menced in January, 1834. Published monthly.
The Youfh's Temperance Enterprise, monthly,
was started November, 1842, by J. Stanley Smith,
and continued three years.
The Sons of Temperance and Rechabite, an 8vo
monthly, was published in 1846, by J. Stanley
Smith & Co.
The Telegraph and Temperance Journal was com-
menced in 1848 by S. Meyers, and continued four
years.
The Temperance Courier was commenced Feb-
ruary, 1849, by Jasper T. Hazen, and subsequendy
published by J. T. Hazen & Son.
The Washingtonian and Rechabite was issued in
1849, by J. T. Hazen. In 1855 it was united with
the Courier.
The New York Reformer was published for ten
months; edited by John Abbott.
The Prohibitionist, monthly, was commenced in
1854 as the organ of the New York State Temper-
ance Society. It was edited by A. McCoy, and in
1857 it was united with the Journal of the American
Temperance Union.
342
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
July 4, 1 844, J. Hyatt Smith and Isaac Edwards
delivered orations at Guilderland Centre. These
were printed by Joel Munsell.
In 1854 was published an address delivered in
the Assembly Chamber by E. C. Delavan before
the New York State Temperance Society.
In i860, E. C. Delavan published "Temperance
in Wine Countries." He also had printed and pub-
lished for free distribution numerous papers, ad-
dresses, tracts and other matter relating to
temperance. After the libel suit against him in
1840, he had the proceedings of the trial pub-
lished in pamphlet form.
February 12, 1835, an article ably written ap-
peared in the Albany Evening Journal, charging that
John Taylor, the brewer, used for malting purposes
filthy and stagnant water, taken from a small pond
then in existence at or near the present location of
the Trinity Methodist Church. For this an action
was soon after laid for libel, with damages. It
was not until April 21, 1840, that this case was
brought to trial, and the record is as follows:
John Taylor vs. Edward C. Delavan; prose-
cuted for an alleged libel; triel at Albany circuit,
April 21, 1840, Judge Cushing presiding. Coun-
sel for plaintiff: Messrs. Stevens, Reynolds, McKown
and Van Buren; for defendant: Beardsley, Taber
and : Wheaton. Libel published as above, and
charged "that Taylor, the plaintiff, caused his
malting establishment, on the hill (corner of State
and Lark streets) in Albany, to be supplied with
filthy, stagnant, putrid water, such as is taken from
pools, gutters and ditches, in which were dead
animals; that the water was often so foul and pol-
luted as to be green on the surface and nearly as
thick as cream with filth; and that such water had
been used for malting, etc."
This trial occupied six days. Seventy witnesses
were examined pro and con. The jury rendered a
verdict for the defendant with costs. Other suits
had been instituted with damages of over $300,-
000, but were never prosecuted. Delavan was
victorious, and the friends of temperance and re-
form were encouraged to renewed efforts in the
work.
Higher ground was taken ; more aggressive
and stringent methods advocated, and a general
interest for the cause manifested by the addition
to its ranks of many men of intelligence and
character, who earnestly and fearlessly entered
upon the work as lecturers or organizers of various
societies.
In 1840, the Albany City Temperance Society
was organized, with Israel Smith as President.
In 1840, Rev. J. A. Schnellar, Pastor of St.
Mary's Catholic Church, Albany, organized a tem-
perance society, with a test pledge for one year;
and in May, 1841, reorganized with a pledge for
life, including this condition: that if a person
wished to be released from his or her obligation,
he must present his petition to the pastor of this
church.
July 4,1841, the temperance societies of the city
joined in a procession to the Second Presbyterian
Church, where an oration was delivered by Ben-
jamin Nott.
In 1842, the Washingtonian movement reached
Albany. The Washingtonian Total Abstinence So-
ciety w|s organized with a large membership, and
efficiently presided over by John C. Ward, who was
a pioneer in the work, and has been a zealous and
faithful member of various societies.
Meetings were of frequent occurrence, many emi-
nent public speakers and prominent reformers
addressing them. Hawkins and Pollard, Washing-
tonians, were engaged to address large assemblies,
at which the pledge was always presented for sig-
natures. The influence of this remarkable agita-
tion infused new life into the old societies, and
called into existence the secret orders.
In June, 1842, a day was devoted to a great
temperance celebration in the city.
July 4, 1842, in the afternoon, the wives and
children of the Washingtonian temperance societies
formed a procession, with banners and badges, and
marched to the National Garden on Broadway,
where they had a celebration.
In 1843, the following citizens, members of the
State Temperance Society, addressed a letter to
Drs. Warren, Mott and Horner for their opinion in
regard to the drawings of Dr. Sewall, representing
the pathology of drunkenness, for the use of
schools: Azor Taber, Ira Harris, I. N. W}ckoff,
B. T. Welch, Erastus Corning, B. R. Wood and
Barent P. Staats.
In 1844, was instituted Albany Division, Sons of
Temperance, No. 24.
July 4, 1845, temperance societies celebrated the
day with enthusiasm. Samuel G. Courtney and
John H. Carroll delivered orations, and Jacob C.
Cuyler read the Declaration of Independence.
In the year 1846, Tivoli Temple of Honor and
Temperance, No. 22, was organized. Albany So-
cial, No. 22, was connected with this temple.
During 1844 and 1S46, these several temperance
organizations were instituted: I. O. ofRechabites
— Forest Tent, No. 75, and Sche-negh-ta-da Tent,
No. 304: Order of Social Circle — Albany Circle,
TEMPERANCE WORK IN ALBANY COUNTY.
343
No. I, Constellation Circle, No. 4; Albany Dorcas
Temperance Society ; and Albany County Tem-
perance Society.
June, 1849, '^he Temperance Pavilion, a large
tent, was erected in North Pearl street by Mr. Van
Wagner, the " Poughkeepsie Blacksmith," in which
were held meetings that were crowded to excess.
In 1849, Father Mathew, the Irish orator and
apostle of temperance, came to Albany and deliv-
ered lectures to great multitudes of people. His
intense discourse and fervent appeals touched the
hearts of many. His mission was successful, and
the good he wrought has borne fruit for all the
years since.
October, 1851, a City Temperance Society was
organized, with Bradford R. Wood as President.
During Father Mathew's second visit to Albany
in 1851, atone of his meetings, September 19th,
Mrs. Susannah C. Maguire, wife of Martin J.
O'Heaney, signed pledge numbered 6,100,990.
This represented the number of pledges given to
him at that date.
January 27 and 28, 1852, State temperance so-
ciety and temperance organizations of the city held
meetings which were attended by large numbers.
Many persons were turned away for want of room.
Great enthusiasm prevailed. Albany Social, No.
22, was organized.
October, 1852, State Temperance Convention.
January 19, 1853, temperance meetings were
held in the city churches, with crowded houses.
January 21, 1853, ^ delegation of the Women's
State Temperance Convention was permitted to
enter the Assembly Chamber for the purpose of
presenting memorials signed by 28,000 persons,
petitioning for the abolition of the sale of intoxi-
cating liquors.
April 10, 1855, the Delavan House was splen-
didly illuminated, on the occasion of the passage of
the temperance bill, and a supper was given to the
friends of the measure.
January 7, 1861, a lecture was given at Tweddle
Hall by Professor Amasa McCoy, on the "Curious
and Humorous Phases in the History of Temper-
ance,'' and a City Temperance Society was organ-
ized, with Rev. Dr. I. N. Wyckoff, President; Jas-
per T. Hazen, Corresponding Secretary; Wm.
Headlam, Recording Secretary; Wm. McElroy,
Treasurer; and Philip Phelps, Auditor.
July 4, 1869, was celebrated in a fine grove on
the farm of Rensselaer Markle, near the village of
New Salem, by the several divisions of Sons of
Temperance in the county. A large concourse of
people assembled in the grove to partake of the
bounties spread before them by the generous
hearts and hands of the Sons and Daughters. A
spirit of enthusiasm, mingled with enjoyment, pre-
vailed. The speakers were Revs. A. A. Farr, J.
G. Noble and others.
In 1869, a series of temperance meetings, con-
ducted by the Christian Temperance Compiittee,
were held in Washington Park and elsewhere on
Sunday afternoons. Among the speakers were Dr.
Wilson, of Albany, who delivered several ad-
dresses.
St. Joseph's Total Abstinence Society, of Albany,
owes its origin to the zeal and perseverance of
Messrs. James J. Hartwell and James Wilkinson.
The organization was perfected January 13, 1870,
under the title of St. Joseph's Temperance
Society. During the year 1875, the members
thought the word Temperance did not clearly
indicate the scope of the societ}', and the name was
changed to its present title.
The society holds weekly meetings in St. Joseph's
Hall, corner of North Pearl and Colonie streets.
It uses the Father Mathew Pledge, as follows:
"I solemnly promise, with Divine assistance, to
abstain from all intoxicating liquors, and to pre-
vent, by advice and example, intemperance in
others.'' Wine and cider are strictly prohibited.
The present officers are James H. Dalin, Presi-
dent; John J. McMahon, Vice-President; M. F.
McGowan, Recording Secretary; Wm. Sennett,
Fmancial Secretary; James J. Hartwell, Treasurer;
R. J. Kelly, Clerk; Patrick Costello, Marshal.
Another society, connected with St. Joseph's
Church, meets in St. Joseph's Hall, of which
Thomas Murphy is President. St. Mary's Guild
meets in St. Mary's Church, corner of Pine and
Chapel streets; J. J. Franklin, Regent.
Societies throughout the county have been
numerous. Some maintained their organizations
for many months, and then disbanded, to be again
reorganized through the efforts of lecturers, many
of whom have addressed large audiences in the
rural districts.
In the summer and autumn of 1878, Mrs. T.
L. Courtney lectured in several of the townships
under the auspices of the Women's Christian Tem-
perance Union, and organized auxiliary societies.
At the present time there is in West Troy a
Lodge of Good Templars and a Women's
Christian Temperance Union.
Green Island has a Lodge of Good Templars,
of which John P. Lansing is presiding officer; and
Cohoes has a Women's Christian Temperance
Union; also a Gospel Temperance Association.
344
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The pledging of men and women against the
manufacture, sale and use as a beverage of all that
can intoxicate, has been the foundation of all these
societies. For this purpose we have Women's
Christian Temperance Unions, The Sons of Tem-
perance, The Temples of Honor, The Good
Templars, Father Mathew Societies, Blue Ribbon
Leagues, and many other organizations with rec-
ords of two-score years or more of labor in the
cause of total abstinence.
In the past fifty years the people of this county
have witnessed great changes in the customs,
habits and public sentiment wrought through the
efforts of these societies. At that time the use of
ardent spirits was well nigh universal, and men
of all classes and professions indulged freely with-
out losing caste. Then officers and members of
churches considered it no impropriety. Ordina-
tions, weddings, christenings, funerals, and in
fact every assembly and gathering was considered
incomplete without a plentiful supply of spirituous
liquors. But these customs of the people have un-
dergone a change, and reform marks a higher
standard of sobriety and moral intelligence.
A brewery was erected in Albany, on the Rut-
ten-Kill, as early as 1637, with the exclusive right
to supply retail dealers with beer. About the
beginning of the present century, Mr. Gill was
proud of the fact that he produced 1 50 barrels of
beer yearly in Albany. During the year 1883,
there was manufactured in this county 353,133
barrels, or 11,123,689 gallons, of malt and brewed
liquors; and for the year 1884, 369,977 barrels, or
11,654,275 gallons. The several malt-houses,
during the year, manufacture about 1,200,000
bushels of malt, with a capacity for 1,500,000
bushels.
There are not less than i, 200 places in Albany
where distilled and malt liquors are sold; in
Cohoes, 160; West Troy, 140; Green Island, 40;
and in the several towns about 100, making a total
of nearly 1,650 licensed and unlicensed resorts for
the sale and traffic in these beverages.
From the Supervisor's Report of Albany Peni-
tentiary for 1884, the following facts and figures
are taken: Total number received, 2,270. Of this
number, 658 were from Albany County. Of the
2,270, 1,894 admitted themselves to be intemperate.
SECRET TEMPERANCE ORDERS.
SONS OF TEMPERANCE.
THE organization called Sons of Temperance
was brought into existence in the City of New
York September 29, 1842, and consisted of sixteen
members. Not long after this event, Selick Slaw-
son, a member of the Washingtonian Society of
Albany, brought this new organization to the at-
tention of his associates, who became pleased with
its methods. A subordinate division was institu-
ted here March 7, 1844, by Grand Deputy John
W. Edmonds, under the name of Delavan Division.
The name was changed, December 23, 1844, to
Albany Division, No. 24, Sons of Temperance.
The installation took place in the building then
standing comer of State and South Pearl streets,
now occupied by the Globe Hotel. Its charter
members were Thomas Mygatt, Smith Quacken-
bush, John C. Ward, Selick Slawson, Alexander
Shepherd, Jacob Wetzell, Daniel Luscom, Joseph
Courtright, Allen Adams, and John W. Dean.
These, with others, were duly initiated. Its first
officers were : Thomas Mygatt, W. P. ; John C.
Ward, W. A.; William C. Schuyler, R. S.; Daniel
Salisbury, A. R. S. ; Smith Quackenbush, T. ; John
King, Chap. ; Jacob Wetzell, A. C. ; Selick Slawson,
I. S. Most of the members had been members of
the Washingtonian Total Abstinence Society. After
forty-one years of action and faithful membership
in this and other societies, two of the charter mem-
bers are among the living — ^John C. Ward and Selick
Slawson.
The present officers of this division are James
Kelly, W. P. ; Charles Sexton, W. A. ; A. P. Thayer,
Chap. The division meets at 586 Broadway, oppo
site Delavan House.
For the years intervening between 1865 and
1875, the growth of this order in the county was
rapid. Numerous divisions were instituted and
the membership increased, including many men of
prominence and influence. In 1865 there was one
division; in 1868, nine; and in 1872, twenty-four
divisions in the county.
After this the decline was as rapid. Interest in
the good of the order and attendance upon its
regular services were neglected. In some instances
SECRET TEMPERANCE ORDERS.
345
jealousy and dissensions arose, and the disband-
ment and surrender of charters followed. Of the
many once flourishing divisions in the county, only
one now exists, No. 24, of Albany City, the first one
instituted.
THE TEMPLE OF HONOR.
The first Temple of Honor was organized in De-
cember, 1845, by prominent Sons of Temper-
ance. Although in its infancy as compared with
other societies embodying benevolent features, it
has steadily advanced until temples have been
reared in every State, and Albany records five
temples and councils in working order..
The Temple of Honor is a secret organization,
and has its signs, grips, and other tests to secure
friendship and protection, and enable brethren to
recognize each other whenever and wherever they
chance to meet
In the council department of the order are con-
ferred the three degrees of Love, Purity and Fidel-
ity, and the sublime, solemn and impressive de-
grees of Tried, Approved and Select Templars are
adorned with appropriate paraphernalia.
Every member of the order in good standing
who can pass a medical examination, may become
a participant in the endowment fund.
The Junior Templars of Honor is an order
where youths are taught the principles of total
abstinence from intoxicating drinks, obedience to
the laws of God, parents, and country. No boy
under twelve is admitted, and he must possess a
good moral character, and use no profane, improper
or indecent language. At the age of fifteen the boy
maybe initiated into the Degree of Honor; and
anjf Junior Templar on arriving at the age of
eighteen years may be received into membership in
the Temple of Honor.
The Social Department is where women can
join hands in this labor of love. All worthy Tem-
plars and all ladies of good moral character are
eligible to this department, to which are attached
three degrees.
The following are the subordinate temples in
the County in working order :
Tivoli Temple of Honor, No. 22, organized at
Albany City, 1846 ; meets at 586 Broadway. Wm.
H. Mogridge, W. C. T.; C. H. Meyer, W. V.;
O. C. White, W. R.; A. P. Thayer, Chaplain.
Among its first members were Daniel L. Weaver,
David Rose, Selick Slawson, Elisha Mack, and
John Reid.
Excelsior, No. 23, Albany City, organized 1866;
meets in Lavantall's Hall. Officers: J. Edward
Stremple, W. C. T. ; Wm. S. Pattison, W. V. ; A.
C. Van Vorst, W. R.
Capitol Council, No. 4, Select, Albany, organ-
ized 1866. Officers: A. P. Thayer, C. ofC. ; O.
C. White, R. of C. ; John Reid, Chap.
Itruria Council, No. 3, Select, Albany, organ-
ized 1868; meets 66 South Pearl Street. Officers : J.
Halley Lindsay, C. ofC. ; Wm. S. Pattison, R. of C.
D. J. Johnson Temple of Honor, No. 33,
Cohoes, organized 1873. George Mathews, W.
C. T.; Archibald McLean, W. V.; David White,
W. R. In 1872, there were three temples, three
councils and two social temples.
The Grand Temple of Honor has been repre-
sented in its sessions by the following Albany
members: Ehsha Mack, G. W. Vice-Templar; J.
Halley Lindsay, G. W. Usher; A. P. Thayer, G. W.
Chaplain.
INDEPENDENT ORDER OF GOOD
TEMPLARS.
In the year 1851, Daniel Cady, of Poughkeepsie,
came to Utica and instituted an order known as the
Knights of Jericho. There were three lodges of this
order in Oneida County. The lodge at Utica had,
among other members, L. E. Coon, J. E. N. Backus
and Thomas L. James, afterward Postmaster-Gen-
eral. The order had a fantastic initiatory ceremony
and did not please some of the members. One
evening, L. E. Coon made a motion to change the
name to the Good Templars. After some debate
the motion was carried, and in two weeks eight
lodges were instituted. Thus was organized in
New York State the first lodges of this order.
The first Good Templar paper was the Crystal
Fount, published at Hamilton, N. Y., by T. L.
James and others.
On August II, 1852, a Grand Lodge was formed
at Syracuse, with Nathaniel Curtis, G. W. C. T.
The revised ritual was written by Rev. Dr. D.
W. Bristol, of Ithaca; accepted by the Grand Lodge,
without alteration, in 1853. Regalia was provided
and the State divided into districts. Thus was the
order fully established and prepared for that won-
derful growth which it has enjoyed for so many
years. The degrees were written by Dr. Bristol,
and this year, in December, at a convention held in
Pennsylvania, a seal was adopted, with a device
representing the three great principles of this order:
Faith, Hope and Charity.
This order takes the broadest ground upon all
questions connected with the temperance reform.
The following platform was adopted at the annual
session in 1859:
346
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1. Total abstinence from all intoxicating liquors
as a beverage.
2. No license, in any form or under any cir-
cumstance, for the sale of such liquors to be used
as a beverage.
3. The absolute prohibition of the manufacture,
importation and sale of intoxicating liquors for
such purposes. Prohibition by the will of the
people, expressed in due form of law, with the
penalties deserved for a crime of such enormity.
4. The creation of a healthy public opinion
upon the subject by the active dissemination of
truth in all the modes known to an enlightened
philanthropy.
5. The election of good, honest men to admin-
ister the laws.
6. Persistence in efforts to save individuals and
communities from so direful a scourge, against all
forms of opposition and difficulty, until our success
is complete and universal.
Women are admitted and are entitled to all the
honors of the order. In the obligation, initiation
and solemn ceremonies of this organization, signs,
grips, pass-words and signal raps are used, with
pledges of secrecy.
In May, 1867, a resolution in favor of juvenile
societies was adopted, and in 1870, the Cold Water
Temple was adopted.
The order in the county was tardy. Not until
1867 was a lodge instituted, and that owed its ex-
istence and much of its prosperity to Andrew S.
Draper, a representative of Albany, who stands as
high as any living Good Templar in the regard of
the order.
Hon. A. S. Draper was initiated into the order
December, r866, atWestford, Otsego County, and
in July, 1867, he assisted in the organization of the
first Good Templar Lodge in Albany County, named
Harrison Lodge, and became its first W. C. T.
At the Rochester session, in 1869, he was elected
a member of the first Board of Managers. In 1 873
he was elected G. W. Counselor, and in 1874
and 1875, G. W. Treasurer. In 1876, at the Sar-
atoga session, he was honored with the highest
office in the gift of the Grand Lodge. At the thir-
teenth annual session of the Grand Lodge of New
York, held at Elmira, August, 1877, he presided
as G. W. C. T. At the Cooperstown session of
the Grand Lodge, he was, for the fifth time, elected
G. W. C. T. In 1879, at the R. W. G. L., held
at Detroit, he was elected R. W. G. Counselor.
He resigned the office of G. W. C. T., January i,
1 88 1, having been elected a Member of Assembly,
but in August, 1882, attended the Grand Lodge
session at Ithaca as P. G. W. C. T. He has many
times been a representative in the R. W. G. L.
About thirty lodges have been instituted in the
County, some of which have ceased to exist.
Albany County Lodge was instituted 1869.
Holds meetings quarterly and annual meetings in
September. The present officers are: C. C. T,
John B. Hilton; C. S., Fred. F. Wheeler; C. D.,
Richard Kennedy; G. D. D., Rev. C. L Wilcox.
At the session of the Grand Lodge of New York,
held at Elmira, August, 1877, Albany County re-
ported nine subordinate lodges, and the county
was represented by Andrew S. Draper as G. W.
C. T. ; Alden Chester and George H. Niver, Repre-
sentatives. At the annual session of the Grand
Lodge, held at Ithaca, August, 1882, Albany
County reported twenty-one subordinate lodges.
At this session Mrs. George H. Niver was elected
General Superintendent of Juvenile Temples, and,
with A. S. Draper, P. G. W. C. T., were officers
of the Grand Lodge. The county was represented
by Alden Chester.
Mrs. George H. Niver, C. S., Albany, reports for
the year 1882, nine juvenile temples in the county.
THE OLD STADT HUYS.
THIS venerable building has been used as a City
Hall, a County Court Building and Prison, and
as a State House. It was also the place where con-
ventions, councils, and other gatherings of a pub-
lic nature were held in the elder days. From its
uses it may properly be counted among the county
institutions. It stood on the northeast corner of
what is now Broadway and Hudson avenue, just
inside the stockades. It is uncertain at what ex-
act period it was erected; but, as near as the time
can be ascertained, it was about 1635, while the
Colony of New York was under the control of the
Dutch. We are led to the belief that this was the
time of its erection from some minutes in the
journals of Wouter Van Twiller, the sixth Dutch
Governor of the province. It is certain that some
punitory building was erected on that spot under
the direction of Van Twiller that year. As Albany
was then a frontier trading town, a substantial
building for Courts of Justice, in which should be
a proper prison for the confinement of criminals
and desperadoes, was necessary. According to an
account given of it in 1646, it was a substantial,
and, for that time, large, solid, three-story building,
ALBANY COUNTY JAILS.
347
the lower story being of stone, which was used as a
jail. The building was surmounted by a cupola
or belfry, from which rose a vane ornamented with
a gilt ball. In the belfry was a bell brought from
THE OLD STADT HUVS OR CITY HALL.
Holland, and placed there soon after the completion
of the building. For nearly one hundred and sixty
years it was rung on all public occasions to sum-
mon legislators, lawyers, judges, and municipal
officers to their duties in the rooms below.
After the building was demolished, the bell was
placed in the cupola of the new capitol, where it
hung for many years, discharging the same duties
it had done in the tower of the old Stadt Huys. At
last it was taken down. What became of it is
somewhat uncertain; it is believed that it now
hangs in one of the churches at Ballston, N. Y.
In this building was held the provincial courts
under the Dutch and English laws. Here the
Common Council held its first meetings after its
organization under the Dongan Charter, in July,
1686.
In front of this building, in July, 1776, the
Declaration of Independence was read for the first
time in Albany, to an immense crowd of people.
This building was, for a time, the Capitol of the
State, in which the Legislature under the first con-
stitution held several sessions.
A few years ago a memorial slab was placed in
the front walls of the commercial building on
Broadway, standing on the spot where this old
structure stood, with appropriate addresses and
other ceremonies.
ALBANY COUNTY JAILS.
THE lower story, or basement, of the old Stadt
Huys in Albany was used as the jail of the
county for many years. It was made of stone, and di-
vided into cells of sufficient strength and size for
the confinement of prisoners from the large territory
which, for many years, was embraced in the County
of Albany. Heavy iron bars or grates protected
the windows. The massive doors were made
double, of heavy three-inch oak plank, fastened
with strong iron bolts. A diamond-shape opening,
a foot in size, near the top, let in light and air.
These doors were secured by ponderous locks, to
turn whose keys required the whole strength of a
man.
Chains, with rings and clasps attached, for the
more secure confinement of desperate characters,
were fastened in the solid stone wall. On the
whole, it was a grim, but secure place of confine-
ment. It might have more properly been called a
dungeon. A(ter the lapse of years, although some
repairs had been made, the building began to
assume a dilapidated condition, and that part used
as a jail became so insecure that the escape of pris-
oners from it was a matter of such frequent occur-
rence, that the High Sheriff", Samuel Babbington,
appeared at the Bar at the Court of Sessions, in Oc-
tober, 1718, and formally protested against the jail
as follows :
"I urge upon your Worships that care may be
taken to have y' same Jail sufficiently repaired to
keep such bad prisoners as I may take for debt, &c.,
safely from escaping, as is now often y' case."
After hearing the Sheriff's complaint, the Court
made the following order:
" It is resolved by this Court, in consideration of
f insufficiency of y° said Jail, that a letter be forth-
with writ to }'• representative of y' General Assem-
bly of y' Province, to desire leave of that honor-
able body now sitting, that they may bring in a
bill to raise y" same, not exceeding one hundred
and forty pounds for repairing y'' Jail, and that y»
repairs be directed to y' management of y° Jus-
tices of f Peace of y' City and County of Albany,
or the major part of them."
There had been several attempts to erect a jail
or prison apart from the City Hall. An applica-
tion of this kind was made to the Common Council
in August, 1700. On the 14 th of October follow-
ing, an application having been made to the Super-
visors for a new and common jail, the matter came
up in February, 1701, and was disposed of as fol-
lows ;
" Relateing f Prepareing of y' Court-house and
Common Goall, which y' Justices of y' Citty and
County on y' 26th of Feb'y instant Recommended
to be laid before y° Supervisors, is referred to their
Consideration, who of the County Positively Re-
fused to Contribute anything unto y'same, alleadg-
ing that it must be Repaired out of f 2 per cent.
348
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
to Defray y" necessary charges of y' Citty and
County."
Accordingly, the General Assembly passed a gen-
eral bill for the making or repairing of the jails in
the Province of New York.
At a Court of Sessions, held in the City Hall
October 7, 1719, the following order concerning
the jail of the County of Albany was made and
entered in the records of the Court.
"Pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of
the Colony of New York, entitled an Act to Author-
ize y' Justices of the Peace to Build and Repair
Jails and Court-houses in the Several Counties of the
Province, whereby y' Justices in each County are
Impowered (upon their own view) on any Insuffi-
ciency or Inconveniency of their County Jail or
Prison, or y° Inconveniency of their Court House,
to Conclude and agree upon such sum or sums of
money, as, upon examination of sufficient and able
workmen, shall be thought necessary for building.
Finishing and Repairing a Public Jail, etc.
" It is therefore Resolved, that any five or more
of His Majestie's Justices shall make a computa-
tion with sufficient and able workmen, what a suffi-
cient Jail, etc., for y' Citty and County of Albany
may cost, and bring a report thereof at the next
meeting of this Court and the Justices thereof. "
This order caused much discussion in the county,
a portion of the people desiring to erect a new
court-house and jail, while others were equally de-
sirous that the city hall, and the jail in the base-
ment thereof, should be thoroughly repaired. At
length, at the Court of Sessions held in the City
Hall, it was decided to repair the State House and
Jail, according to the following resolution:
"It is Resolved thatthe City Hall shall be repaired
and an addition be made of fifteen foot in length to
the south'd, and in breadth to the Court Hall,
and jo)med in the roof of the same, made up with
boards without as the present old house, with a
sufficient stone seller under y' same, the north end
thereof partitioned off with oak boards. To have
one window with cross-iron bars therein, one cross
window to the south'ard, one to the eastward and
one to the westward in the first room. "
The resolution continues:
"The door which stands to the South in the
Court Hall, to be removed in the fore room, and
in the room above to the south'ard. The gable
end of the house to the westward be repaired; the
room above the new floor on the top of the old
floor with one and one-half inch boards. The
windows are to have strong cross iron bars, and the
glass windows and wall repaired, all good and
sufficient work. Also a convenient place for the
Jury to sit in, and the bench for the Justices' seats
made larger and more convenient
"The Justices have agreed with John Wemp to
make and repair the said building according to the
above dimensions, all well finished, for the sum of
£1/^0, which he promises shall all be done by or
before the first of January next "
These repairs were made; but those of the jail
were so negligently done that the escape of prison-
ers from it was still of common occurrence. Henry
Holland, Esq., then High Sheriff of the City and
County, appeared at the Court of Sessions, October
4, 1 72 1, and represented the insecure condition of
the jail. Whereupon the following order was
made:
"Henry Holland, Esq., High Sheriff of the
City and County of Albany, informs this Court that
though the City and County of Albany Jail has been
lately repaired, it is still very insufficient, and he
desires it may be made sufficient As it is, it can-
not secure any prisoner, as several have gained
their liberty by breaking Jail. It is therefore or-
dered that meet and proper repairs at said jail be
at once made under the direction of the said
Sheriff."
Substantial repairs soon followed. With occa-
sional and slight repairs, the city hall and jail con-
tinued as described until the building was demol-
ished somewhere about the year 1803.
That the lower story of the city hall was occu-
pied for a jail, is evidenced by the fact that there is
an account of " the prisoners in the old city hall,
which was the jail," celebrating^ the fifth of July,
1790 — the fourth being on Sunday. The fifth
toast drank on the occasion was : ' ' ]\Iay the time
soon come when no honest man shall be confined
for debt"
In 1 79 1, the Legislature passed a law authorizing
the city authorities to raise ^^2, 000 towards the com-
pletion of the court-house and jail.
It was some time before this appropriation was
agreed to by the city and county authorities; and
it was not until 1803 or 1804, perhaps as late as
1809, that the new jail was completed. The prem-
ises on which this jail stood occupied about 80
feet on State street ; 84 on Maiden lane ; and
116 on Eagle street It was sold at auction on
August II, 1832, in behalf of the trustees of the
Albany Academy.
On November i, 1831, the grand jurors visited
the jail, and found it so much out of repair that
they recommended to the Board of Supervisors the
building of a new jail without the compact part of
the city, "inasmuch as this building, which had
stood twenty-two years was fast decaying, very illy
constructed, and too small in order to health, com-
fort and convenience, and situated in too thickly
settled a locality." There were, at that time, fifty-six
persons in confinement If the jail, according to
the above statement, had stood twenty-two years,
ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.
349
then, of course, it must have been built in 1809.
We are inclined to the belief that there was some
mistake about its having " stood twenty-two years,"
but that it was built somewhere near 1804, and
succeeded the old jail in the Stadt Huys, on the
corner of Broadway and Hudson avenue. It was
sold at auction, August 11, 1882.
The next jail built, stood on the ground at the
comer of Eagle and Howard streets, and was com-
pleted in the latter part of the year 1834.
Early in April, 1834, the masons at work upon
it struck, but the difficulty was adjusted.
This building was occupied as the county jail
until the spring of 1854, when the jail on Maiden
lane was erected, and the old jail fitted up with
great taste and convenience for a hospital, and
opened for that purpose August 8, 1854.
In May, 1854, John Hendrickson was executed
in the jail on Maiden lane, for the murder of his
wife.
ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.
THE County of Albany, unlike most other coun-
ties in the Slate, has not made any material
distinction between the poor of the towns and the
poor of the county. It has no Board of Superin-
tendents of the Poor.
The poor laws are executed by the Superintend-
ent of the Alms-house, Overseers of the Poor, and
other charitable institutions.
The office of Overseer of the Poor is one of the
most ancient in the State. It existed long before
1703, and has always been very important in the
City and County of Albany. The powers of the
office were considerably increased by the act of
1703, which continued through the colonial pe-
riod, and was retained almost intact by the Legis-
lative Act of March 7, 1788. This act makes
provision for establishing an Alms-house in Albany.
This was the first of the kind known in the State
under the laws of the State. The churches had
what were known as church or parish alms-houses.
Thus, in the act incorporating the Reformed Prot-
estant Dutch Church in the City of Albany, passed
August 10, 1720, we find that a certain tenement
and lot of ground, commonly called poor-house or
alms-house, situated in the First Ward of the City,
is described as follows: " Bounded on the south by
the High street that leads to the burying-place, to
the north of the Rutten Kill, and to the east of
Harmon Rutgers', and to the west by the lot of
Garrit Bancker, containing in breadth towards the
street that leads to the Lutheran Church by the
said Rutten Kill, six rods one foot; and the like
breadth in the rear; and in length on the east side
eight rods and two inches, all Rhineland measure."
The act of 1788 gave the Overseers of the Poor,
with the consent of the towns, power to build, pur-
chase or hire houses for the accommodation of the
poor. It also gave the Overseers power to purchase
materials for setting the poor at work, and to ap-
point proper persons for keepers. It provided that
if any poor person refused to be kept in such
houses, he or she was denied relief from the town
or county. This act was made more favorable to
Albany than to other towns.
By an act passed April 2, 181 9, the act of 1788
was amended. The powers and duties of the Over-
seers of the Poor were extended to lunatics, habitual
drunkards and poor children. It gave Overseers
the right to bind out poor children; power over
illegitimate children chargeable to the public; to
sue for penalties incurred by bets or wagers, and
for penalties under the excise laws.
The Supervisors have the power, under certain
restrictions, to abolish the distinction between town
and county poor, making them all chargeable to
the county.
This law provides that, in those counties where
the poor are made a charge upon the counties,
there shall be a Superintendent of the Poor, with
the same powers and rights as the Overseers of the
Poor, in respect to compelling relatives to maintain
their paupers, and in respect to the seizure of prop-
erty. But there are no Superintendents of the
Poor in Albany.
The charter of April 23, 1883, and the city or-
dinances under it, passed May 5, 1884, provide
that the Overseer of the Poor of the City of Albany
shall have the charge of and shall apply and dis-
tribute the funds for the temporary relief and sup-
port of the poor of the city. It also provides that
the father, mother or children, when of sufficient
ability, of a poor person of the City of Albany un-
able to work by disease or decrepitude, are com-
pelled to maintain or relieve such poor person. The
350
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Overseers of the Poor of Albany shall exercise and
perform the same powers and duties, relative to
compelling such relatives to afford such relief, as
are in like cases vested in and exercised by Over-
seers of the Poor of the respective towns of the
County of Albany.
By the Act of the Legislature passed May 24,
1884, it is made the duty of the Overseers of the
Poor of the several towns of the County of Albany;
of the Village of West Troy; of the City of Cohoes;
and of the City of Albany, whenever any idiot,
lunatic person of unsound mind, deaf mute or
pauper within the jurisdiction of the said of-
ficers respectively, whenever any such person
shall become chargeable to the county, and shall
be lawfully liable to be committed to the alms-
house or asylum, or other place for the safe keep-
ing of such person or persons, to take and deliver
him or her to the alms-house in said city, under
certain conditions and restrictions provided b}'
statute. Superintendents to make quarterly re-
ports to County Treasurer, giving full details of all
circumstances and expenses of the asylum. When-
ever any child shall be in danger of becoming a
charge upon the County of Albany, the Overseers
of the Poor having jurisdiction of the place of resi-
dence to take the child before some magistrate,
who shall examine such child and its parents and
other persons, touching its age, condition, and the
condition of the poor parents, and all other cir-
cumstances connected with the child; and if the
circumstances warrant it, may be placed in the
alms-house under the restriction of the act.
The present Alms-house is situated on the road
south of Washington Park, and west of the Peni-
tentiary. There is a very finely cultivated and pro-
ductive farm of 1 1 6 acres belonging to this institu-
tion, known as the Alms-house Farm. The
productions of this farm, besides furnishing fine
vegetables and some fruit for the poor establish-
ment, are a source of some income.
Connected with the Alms-house are the poor-
house, lunatic asylum, hospital, pest-house, etc.
This is the poor establishment of the city and
county, the former paying sixty and the latter forty
per cent, of the cost of maintenance. Under the
State charitable laws, paupers who have not been
residents of any county for sixty days are called
State paupers, and are received here and boarded
at the rate of $2.50 per week, chargeable to the
State.
By the statutes, the Superintendents of the Alms-
house are required to make annual reports to the
Secretarj' of State on or before the loth day of
January of each year, covering the year ending
November 30th.
The lands granted the city under the Dongan
charter of 1686 have all been alienated by the city,
excepting the 116 acres known as the Alms-house
Farm, and what was known as the Washington
Parade Ground on Willett street, and the old bur)'-
ing-ground on State street, both included in Wash-
ington Park.
The Alms-house is under the management of an
officer called the Superintendent of the Alms-house.
The City Physician has the right to purchase any
stores, drugs, medicines, or articles required by the
institution, under the direction of the Superintend-
ent of the Alms-house.
The general regulations of this poor establish-
ment are admirable. Perfect care and scrutiny is
directed to the health, cleanliness, and comfort of
the paupers, who are carefully distributed in dif-
ferent rooms — persons of different sex in different
rooms.
When a child attains the age of two years, it is
placed in the children's department.
Profane or indecent conversation, quarreling,
drunkenness, disorderly conduct at meals, and
criminal or immoral conduct of any kind are strictly
forbidden in or about the Alms-house. Suitable
and wholesome punishment for the above offenses
is provided.
All paupers who are able are kept employed
without compensation.
Careful medical attendance and nurses are pro-
vided for the sick, both adults and children.
Children belonging to the Alms-house of suitable
age, attend the school established for their instruc-
tion, and are instructed in reading, writing, and
arithmetic. The girls are taught plain needle-work
and knitting, and when they arrive at the proper age
are bound out to suitable trades or occupations.
The paupers are suitably clothed and have a
change of linen at least twice every week during
the year. The linen of the paupers is numbered
and is distributed among them.
Careful attention is paid to cleanliness, to ven-
tilation and airing of the rooms, clothes, beds, etc.
All the fuel required is distributed throughout the
Alms-house. The meals are served at stated hours
in a clean and decent manner.
Spirituous liquors are not allowed in the Alms-
house except by order of the attending physician.
At nine in the evening the fires and lights
throughout the Alms-house are extinguished, ex-
cept in the hospital and asylum.
ALBANY COUNTY ALMS-HOUSE.
351
The inmates of the Alms-house assemble for
religious worship in the chapel every Sabbath at
the hours of ten A.M. and two p.m. Some person
or persons appointed by the Superintendent reads
suitable forms of prayer, approved sermons, and
portions of scripture at such meetings.
In the morning some clergyman of the city, of the
Protestant faith, and in the afternoon a clergyman
of the Catholic faith, conducts religious services in
the chapel each Sunday.
Some of the buildings are old and time-worn,
but are kept in as comfortable condition as the cir-
cumstances will admit. They were first erected in
1826, at a cost of $14,000. The number of per-
sons occupying it that year were as follows:
White females between the ages of 19 and 80,
44; of these 13 were sick and lame and 3 insane.
Thirty-eight children between four months and
eight years of age.
Three black males between the age of 45 and
80; 8 black females between the age of 35 and 80;
and 30 white males; in all, 123.
The architect of the Alms-house was Henry W.
Snyder.
In the Report of 1857, the Alms house, or Poor
Establishment, is described as follows: "It em-
braces four buildings constructed of brick, two
stories in height above the basement; one in size,
40 X 70 feet; and two others, 32 x 90 feet; con-
nected with a farm of 216 acres, yielding an annual
revenue estimated at $6,000. The basements of
one building are used for domestic purposes; the
others are unoccupied.
" In the Poor-house proper are ten rooms,
warmed by furnaces and stoves, but with but little
ventilation.
" This building was erected thirt)'-four years ago.
From 6 to 40 paupers were placed in a single
room. The whole number of inmates was 319:
120 males, 299 females. Of these three-fourths
were foreign born. "
In the asylum are fifty insane paupers. All in-
curables are sent to the asylum at Ovid. A pest-
house has been erected on the outer limits of the
farm, which will accommodate about fifty persons.
The unclaimed dead of the streets, the river, and
penitentiary are buried in these grounds, and the
cattle and geese are here impounded.
Visitors are admitted every day except Sunday.
Albany has been for some time burdened with
paupers who are not properly charges for the county.
The West Shore Railroad, when nearin g the com-
pletion of its road, discharged a number of its labor-
ers near the city, most of whom were suffering from
malaria or similar disease. The city being the ter-
minus of the canal, draws many known as alien
paupers to Albany, where they apply for aid. If
sent for any reason to the Penitentiary, after serving
for sixty days, they remain in Albany and apply to
the Overseer of the Poor for aid. If by physical
or mental defect they need care, Albany County
cares for them. In tracing their records, some are
found to have been paupers in other cities and in
other States.
The number of inmates in the Alms-house Depart-
ment April 30, 1884:
Remaining at the last report 254
Admitted during the quarter no
364
Discharged during quarter 103
Absconded 19
Died 9
Insane transferred to State Asylum 2
Sick transferred to City Hospital i
Sick transferred to St. Peter's Hospital. . . i
Alien transferred to Italian Consul i
Alien transferred to Commissioners of
Emigration i
Children adopted i
_i38
Inmates April 30, 1884 226
Of those admitted during the quarter there were
males, 72; females, 38.
Total number of weeks' board furnished duiing
the quarter, 3,274; increase over last quarter, 254.
The cash receipts for the quarter, $165.39; ex-
penditures for the quarter, $5,381.71; average cost
per day for each pauper was twenty-nine cents.
The employees of the Alms-house are: Overseer,
monthly salary, $50; baker, monthly salary, $25;
teamster, monthly salary, $30; night watchman,
monthly salary, $60; hostler, monthly salary, $15;
cook, monthly salary, $16; hospital cook, monthly
salary, $5; hospital nurse, monthly salary, $20;
hospital nurse, monthly salary, $5; two hospital
nurses, each, monthly salary, $3 ; keeper of asy-
lum, monthly salary, $50; matron, monthly salary,
$20; cook, monthly salary, $5; carpenter, monthly
salary, $50; farmer, monthly salary, $30; matron,
monthly salary, $20; children's nurse, monthly
salary, $5.
The report claims that the amount expended for
the support of alien paupers for the last twelve
months would have kept the institution in hospital
supplies for a year.
Superintendent, John McKenna.
352
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Inmates July 31, 1884, 184; inmates October
3r, 1884, 198. Of those admitted 92 were males;
52 females. Average cost of maintenance per
day, «ach, thirty cents.
Cash receipts for the quarter, $183.30.
The amount paid into the city treasury by the
Superintendent of the Alms-house, for the year
ending October i, 1884, was $19,649,81.
The amount paid towards the maintenance of
Alms-house from the treasury, $30, 104.49.
On December 5, 1884, a resolution was passed
by the Board of Supervisors to levy a tax, to be ap-
plied in several ways, among which was an appro-
priation of the sum of $26,000 for the Alms-house
for the ensuing year, and also $2,000 to meet the
deficiency of the past year.
ALBANY PENITENTIARY.
A BILL passed the Legislature incorporating
the Albany Penitentiary about April 9, 1844,
and on December 19th of that year the Supervisois
directed a proper site to be purchased for the erec-
tion of the buildings. In 1846, it was first opened,
the work on the building having been done princi-
pally by prisoners, who were taken to and from the
jail each day. It is situated in a park of about fif-
teen acres, located south of Washington Park.
Amos Pilsbury, of Conneciicut, was appointed
Superintendent in 1844, and continued in office
until his death, in 1872. No essential change has
been made in the working plans of the institution,
as put into practice by him with such wonderful
success as to gain a world-wide admiration. It
cannot be detailed in our space. The silent or
Auburn system was adopted at the beginning.
The prisoners are marched in lock-step to and from
their work, and are not permitted to converse with
each other. They are kept at work. Some are
employed in the manufacture of brushes and chairs,
but the chief employment is in the shoe shops.
A great source of financial success in this institu-
tion comes of receiving prisoners from other coun-
ties. Contracts are made with the Supervisors of
other counties for the board and care of their crim-
inals. Many have also been received from the
United States Courts. For these board has been
paid to this Penitentiary. These prisoners have
been put at work, and their labor is let to con-
tractors at remunerative wages.
Originally the prison had but 90 cells; now it has
625. The building has been enlarged to nearly
six times its original dimensions. New work-shops
have been erected, and the whole yard has been
inclosed by a high wall.
The greatest number of commitments is caused
by intemperance. In 1855, there were 801 com-
mitments. Of these 771 admitted themselves to be
intemperate.
The prisoners are confined in separate cells at
night, but work in the shops during the day. The
discipline seems almost perfect.
In 1872, General Pilsbury died, and was suc-
ceeded by his son, Louis D. Pilsbury, who, by con-
tinuing to improve in conducting the system begun
by his father, brought the institution to its present
prosperous condition. He has, since leaving this
Penitentiary, been in charge of the institution on
Ward's Island, and been Superintendent of all the
New York State Prisons. Mr. John McEwen, since
1879, has held the position of Superintendent.
Each year the Penitentiary pays into the treasury
a handsome surplus from the earnings of the insti-
tution, and thereby lessens taxation throughout the
county. Under the present Superintendent the
amount paid to the credit of the county in actual
money is about $75,000.
All short-term prisoners are cared for without
expense to the county. Without the Penitentiary,
it is estimated that the expense to the county would
be at least $50,000 per annum.
The following is a summary of statistics from the
Report of the Superintendent, filed with the Clerk
of the Board, February 3, 1885:
The number of prisoners received during the
year has been 2,270; added to those in confine-
ment October 31, 1883, 837; making a total of
3,107. Discharged by expiration of sentence,
2,012; pardoned by President, 4; discharged by
order of Secretary of War, 2 : pardoned by Gov-
ernor, 6; commuted by Governor, i; discharged by
remission of fines, 8; discharged by court or mag-
istrate, 25; discharged by appeal, certiorari, etc.,
22; discharged by payment of fine to justices, 1 13;
died, 15; total discharged during year, 2,208;
leaving in confinement October 31, 1884, 899.
Of these 785 were males, 114 females. Of the
above number received during the year there were:
Males, 1,962; females, 308; total, 2,270.
LEGIS-LATIVE OFFICERS.
353
Of these there were born in the United States,
1,480; Ireland, 409; Germany, 115; England,
90; Scotland, 25; Canada, 75; France, 10; Italy,
Poland, Wales and Norway, 17; Sweden and
Switzerland, 20; Denmark, Holland and New-
foundland, 4; Prussia, Australia and New Bruns-
wick, 8; Russia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's
Island, 17; total, 2,270.
Of these 1,644 could read and write; 216 could
read only; 410 could neither read nor write; 1,894
admitted themselves to be intemperate; 376 claimed
to be temperate; 822 were or had been married;
1,448 were single; 379 were sent from the City of
Albany; 179 from the town of Watervliet; i from
Bethlehem; 98 from the City of Cohoes.
Of these 1,398 were sentenced for a term less than
six months; 578 for six months each; 57 from seven
months to one year; 84 for one year; 20 for one
year, and -fine from $100 to $500; 46 for terms
over one year, not exceeding two years; 38 for
over two and not exceeding three years; 29 for
three and not exceeding four years; 16 for four
years, not exceeding five; 13 for terms from six to
ten years; i for life. 273 were under twenty years
of age; ■ 906 were between twenty and thirty years;
527 were between thirty and forty years; 318 were
between forty and fifty years; 246 were over fifty
years.
Early in the Legislature of 1885, a bill was intro-
duced to relieve the Board of Supervisors of Albany
County, and the Mayor and Recorder of the City
of Albany, from all responsibility in regard to the
maintenance and care of the Penitentiary. On
May II, 1885, the bill became law.
The Penitentiary Commission consists of D.
Cady Herrick, District Attorney; John Battersby,
County Treasurer; and John Reilly. The Peniten-
tiary has been under their control since May, 1885.
The Superintendent receives a salary of $3,000 per
annum. A deputy, two clerks, three matrons and
several subordinates are employed. The shops are
in immediate charge of faithful ovei^seers.
LEGISLATIVE OFFICERS FROM ALBANY COUNTY.
SENATORS.
UNDER the first Constitution of the State, the
Senate consisted of twenty-four members, ap-
portioned among four great districts. After the first
election they were divided by lots into four classes,
so that the terms of six should expire each year. An
additional Senator was to be added to each district
whenever, by a septennial census, it was shown that
the number of electors in the district had increased
one twenty-fourth. This increase was to be al-
lowed till the number reached one hundred. The
census of 1795 made the number forty-three. In
1801, the rule being found unequal in its opera-
tion, the Constitution was amended so as to fix the
number of Senators permanently at thirty-two,
which has ever smce been retained. By the Con-
stitution of 182 1, the State was divided into eight
great Senatorial districts, each of which was enti-
tled to four Senators, one being elected every year.
Their term of office was four years. Under the
present Constitution the State consists of thirty-two
Senatorial districts, in each of which a Senator is
elected each odd year. The Senate district must
consist of contiguous territory, and no county can
be divided unless entitled to two or more Senators.
Abraham Yates, Jr., 1777-90; Dirck W. Ten
Broeck, 1777-78; Anthony Van Schaick, 1777-78;
Rinier Mynderse, 1777—78.
The first session of the Legislature of this State
was in 1777, assembling at Kingston, September
9th. On October 7th following it was dispersed
by the British troops. The second meeting of this
session was held at Poughkeepsie, beginning Jan-
uary 15th and ending April 4, 1778.
Rinier Mynderse, 1778-81; Dirck W. Ten
Broeck, 1778-83; Philip Schuyler, 1781-84, 1786-
88, 1792-97; Henry Oothoudt, 1782-85; Volkert
P. Douw, 1786-93; Peter Schuyler, 1787-92;
Leonard Gansvoort, 1791-93, 1797-1802; Stephen
Van Rensselaer, 1791-95; Anthony Ten Eyck,
1797-1801; Anthony Van Schaick, 1797-1800;
Abraham Van Vechten, 1798-1805, 1816-19;
Francis Nicoll, 1797-98; John Sanders, 1799-
1802; Stephen Lush, 1801-2; Simon Veeder,
1804-7; John Veeder, 1806-9; Joseph C. Yates,
354
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1806-8; Charles E. Dudley, 182(^5; John Mc-
Carty, 1827-30; Peter Cans voort, 1833-6; Friend
Humphrey, 1 840-1; Ira Harris, 1847; Valentine
Tredwell, 1848-49; Azor Taber, 1852-53; Clark-
son F. Crosby, 1854-55; John W. Harcourt,
1856-57; George Y. Johnson, 1858-59; Andrew
J. Colvin, 1860-61; John V. L. Pruyn, 1862-63;
Lorenzo D. Collins, 1866-67; A. B. Banks, 1868-
69, 1870-71; Charles H. Adams, 1872-73; Jesse
C. Dayton, 1874-75; Hamilton Harris, 1876-79;
Waters W. Braman, 1880-81; Abraham Lansing,
1882-83; John B. Thacher, 1884-85.
MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY.
Gerrit Abeel, 1796; Mathew Adgate, 1780-85;
Flores Bancker, 1779-80; Thomas E. Barker, 1798
-99; Daniel D. Barnard, 1838; Frederick Bassler,
Jr., 1840; George Batterman, 1825; John Bay,
1779-80; Abraham Becker, 1784-85; John Beek-
man, Jr., 1804; John H. Beekman, 1782-83; John
James Beekman, 1780-83; Sidney Berry, 1791-92;
James Bill, 1796-1800; Harmanus Bleeker, 1814-
15; David Bogardus, 1807, 1812-13; Leonard
Bronck, 1786-93; Abraham Brooks, 1823; John
Brown, 1808-9; Jonathan Brown, 1791; Jesse
Buel, 1823; Daniel Burhans, 1804-6; John H.
Burhans, 1808-9, 1816-17; Benjamin F. Butler,
1828; Asa Colvard, 1806-7, 1811-12, 1820;
John Colvin, 1810; Philip Conine, Jr., 1796-97,
1800; Clarkson F. Crosby, 1845; Abraham Cuyler,
1784; Jacob Cuyler, 1777-78; John Cuyler, Jr.,
1777-78; John Davis, 1839; Adam Deitz, Jr.,
1804-6; Johan Jost Deitz, 1 798-1 804, 1807-9,
1811-14; Johannes Deitz, 1792-96; David Delong,
1811; Abijah B. Disbrow, 1832; John A. Dix,
1842; David Dorman, 1836; Prince Dot}-, 1798-
1802; James C. Duane, 1796-97; William A. Duer,
1818-19; John Duncan, 1788-89; Peter Flagler,
1840; JellisA. Fonda, 1792-94; Jacob Ford, 1781-
85; Sylvester Ford, 1814-15 ; Michael Freeligh,
1816; Abel French, 1810; Philip Frisbie, 1781-82;
John Frisby, 1803; John Fuller, 1847; John I. Gal-
lup, 1847; Leonard Gansvoort, 1778-79, 1788; Leon-
ard Gansvoort, Jr., 1795; Peter Gansvoort, 1830-
31; James D. Gardner, 1829; John Gibbons, 1812-
13; Henry Glen, 1786-87; James Gordon, 1777-
81, 1784, 1786-90; Theo. V. W. Graham, 1794;
Daniel Hale, 1807; Willis Hall, 1843; Isaac Ham-
ilton, 1827; Ira Harris, 1845-46; John Haswell,
1827; And. N. Heermance, 1798-99; John V.
Henry, 1800-2; Jacob Hotchstrasser, 1794-97;
Gerrit Hogan, 1820-21; Lawrence Hogeboom,
1786; James Holcomb, 1796-97; Aaron Hough-
taling, 1 841; W. D. Houghtaling, 1819; Cornelius
Humphrey, 1779-80; Thomas Hun, 1794-95;
Elishama Janes, 1812-13; Jonathan Jenkins, 1808-
9, 1820; Richard Kimmey, 1837; Francis Lan-
sing, 1841; John Lansing, Jr., 1780-84, 1786-89;
Jeremiah Lansingh, 1798-99; Philip Lennebacker,
1832; Leonard Litchfield, 1845; Aaron Livingston,
1834; Edward Livingston, 1833, 1835, 1837; John
Livingston, 1786-87; Peter R. Livingston, 1780-81;
Walter Livingston, 1777-79, 1784-85; James S.
Lowe, 1830; Samuel S. Lush, 1825-26, 1830;
Stephen Lush, 1792-93, 1803-6; David McCarty,
1792; James McKown, 1820-22; William Mc-
Kown, 1822; Hugh Mitchell, 1779-80; Nich. V.
Mynderse, 1804-5 \ Francis Nicoll, 1792-93;
1 796-1 800; William North, 1792, 1794-96; Na-
thaniel Ogden, 1796-98; Henry Oothoudt, 1779-
80; Volkert D. Oothout, 1822; John I. Ostran-
der, 1 8 16-17; Cornelius G. Palmer, 1842; George
Palmer, 1781-82; Stephen Piatt, 1794-95; Will-
iam Powers, 1787; John Price, 1814-15, 1820;
John Prince, 1796-98; Henry Quackenboss, 1779-
80; Edmund Raynsford, 1838; Abraham Rose-
crantz, 1823; James Sacket, 1818; J. W. Scher-
merhorn, 1791; Maus Schermerhorn, 1803-4;
John Schoolcraft, 1816; Jacob Schoonhoven, 1786;
John C. Schuyler. 1836; Peter Schuyler, 1784;
Peter S. Schuyler, 1802-4, 1820; Philip P. Schuy-
ler, 1796-99; Stephen J. Schuyler, 1777-79; David
G. Seger, 1835; Jacob Settle, 1833; Paul Settle,
1838; William Seymour, 1832, 1836; Thomas L.
Shafer, 1846; Levi Shaw, 1844; Israel Shear, 1833;
John P. Shear, 1822; Jonas Shear, 1842; Joseph
Shurtleff, 1798-99, 1800-2, 1804-7; Thomas
Sickles, 1787-88; Richard Sill, 1789-91; William
N. Sill, 1828; John I. Slingerland, 1843; Jesse
Smith, 1816; Moses Smith, 1804-5, i8i4, 1820-
21; Barent P. Staats, 1834; Chandler Starr, 1829;
Archibald Stephens, 1824; Samuel Stephens, 1844;
John Stillwell, 1824; Henry Stone, 1827; Dirck
Swart, 1780-85; Gideon Taber, 1816-18; John
Tayler, 1777-81, 1786-87; Jacobus Teller, 1778-
79; Dirck Ten Broeck, 1 796-1802; John Ten
Broeck, 1792-93; Samuel Ten Broeck, 1781-83;
Andrew Ten Eyck, 1826; Henry Ten Eyck, 1792;
Jacob Ten Eyck, 1800-3; J- De Peyster Ten
Eyck, 1788; Israel Thompson, 1781-82, 1784-85;
Joel Thompson, 1798; John Thompson, 1788-89;
Valentine Treadwell, 1847; Jesse Tyler, 1812,
1 8 14-15; Ab. J. Van Alstyne, 1786; Cornelius
Van Dyck, 1788-89; Dirck Van Ingen, 1788;
Peter Van Ness, 1782-84; Hezekiah Van Orden,
1788; Andrews Van Patten, 1795; H. K. Van
Rensselaer, 1788-90; J. Van Rensselaer, 1788-89;
COUNTY TREASURER.
355
J. Van Rensselaer, Jr., 1780-81; Killian Van Rens-
selaer, 1777-79; Robert Van Rensselaer, 1777-81;
Stephen Van Rensselaer, 1789-90, 1808-10, 1818;
Aaron Van Schaick, 1843; J. Van Schoonhoven,
1791; Corn. A. Van Slyck, 1791-93; Abraham
Van Vechten, i8co, 1808-13; Corn. Van Vechten,
1789-90; John G. Van Zandt, 18 12; Jacob Vee-
der, 1807-8; Simeon Veeder, 1844; Abraham
Verplanck, 1837; David I. D. Verplank, 1828;
Mathew Visscher, 1784-85, 1787; Isaac Vrooman,
1779-82; Peter Vrooman, 1777-79, 1786-87; Corn.
H. Waldron, 1819; Tobias T. E. Waldron, 1835;
Robert D.Watson, 1846-47; Rufus Watson, 1816-
17, 1839; Wheeler Watson, 1831; Edmund Wells,
1781-82; John H. Wendell, 1796-98; Peter West,
1798, 1800-2; Henry G. Wheaton, 1835-41;
Malachi Whipple, 1826; Phineas Whiteside, 1779-
80; William B. Whiting-, 1777-80; Stephen Willes,
1820-21, 1825; Erastus Williams, 1830; Prentice
Williams, Jr., 1834; Jacob Winne, 1 800-1; John
D. Winne, 1814-15; John L. ^^'inne, 1814; Peter
W. Winne, 1831; Jesse Wood, 1824; Christopher
Yates, 1782-85; J. Van Ness Yates, 1819; Peter
W. Yates, 1784-85; John Younglove, 1782-85,
1788-90.
Charles H. Adams, 1858; William Aley,
1866; Cornelius W. Armstrong, 1858; Daniel L.
Babcock, 1872; Robeit Babcock, 1851; Dwight
Batcheller, 1858; A. Bleecker Banks, 1862; Hiram
Barber, 1849; Lewis Benedict, Jr., 1861; Robert
C. Blackall, 1871; Martin J. Blessmg, 1855; James
Brady, 1856; Waters W. Braman, 1874-75, 1877,
1879; Henry A. Brigham, 1848; Israhiah Chese-
bro, 1854; John C. Chism, 1868; Clark B. Coch-
rane, 1866; Thomas D. Coleman, 1876; Lorenzo
D. Collins, 1859-60; Hugh Conger, 1867, 1869;
Almerin J. Cornell, 1862; Edward Coyle, 1871;
James F. Crawford, 1866; Henry Creble, 1859;
John Cutler, 1852; Edward Curran, 1877-78;
Alexander Davidson, 1855; Archibald A. Dunlop,
1854; John Evers, 1857; Morgan L. Filkins, 1859,
1864; Wm. W. Forsyth, 1853; John N. Foster,
1878; JayGibbons, 1861; Samuel W. Gibbs, i860;
Hiram Griggs, 1878-80; Robert Harper, 1852;
Hamilton Harris, 1851; Jonathan R. Herrick,
1877; Stephen M. Hollenbeck, 1854; Orville M.
Hungerford, 1865; Henry Jenkins, 1856; Thomas
Kearney, 1853; William J. Maher, 1876-77; Will-
iam D. Murphy, 1870-71; Michael A. Nolan,
1865; Joel B. Nott, 1850; WilHam L. Oswald,
1863-64; Harris Parr, 1864; Eli Perry, 1851;
Henry R. Pierson, 1873; Oscar F. Potter, 1867;
Robert H. Pruyn, 1848-50, 1854; Terence J.
Quinn, 1874; John Reid, 1853; Alexander Robert-
son, 1865, 1867; Edward D. Ronan, 1870; John
Sager, 1877; George M. Sayles, 1852; Fred. Schif-
ferdecker, 1874; Peter Schoonmaker, 1874; Wil-
lett Searls, 1862; William S. Shepard, 1850; Adam
L Shultes, 1851; John L Slingerland, i860; Peter
Slingerland, 1875-76; Adam W. Smith, 1869;
Henry Smith, 1867, 1872; William J. Snyder,
1863; Stephen Springsteed, 1872; James T. Story,
1878; Jackson A. Summer, 1868; William D.
Sunderlin, 1871; Hugh Swift, 1852; John Tighe,
1869-70; Franklin Townsend, 1857; Lyman Tre-
main, 1866; Adam Van Allen, 1857; David Van
Auken, 1849; Cornelius Vanderzee, 1850; Harmon
H. Vanderzee, 1865; John Vanderzee, 1862;
James B. Van Etten, 1855; J. W. Van Valken-
burgh, 1873; T. Van Vechten, Jr., 1852; Theo.
Van Volkenburgh, 1868; Francis W. Vosburgh,
1875; Henry L. Wait, 1863; WiUiam J. Wheeler,
1861"; Isaac Whitbeck, 1856; Edward S. Willett,
1848; JoelA. Wing, 1849; George Wolford, 1858;
Francis H. Woods, 1868; William A. Young,
1859; Alfred LeRoy, 1876; Leopold C. G. Kshinka,
1874-5; George B. Mosher, 1872-73; Charles
Knowles, 1879; Thomas H. Greer, 1879; William
H. Slingerland, Ignatius Wiley, Joseph Haynes,
Thomas Liddle, 1880; Miner Gallup, Andrew S.
Draper, Aaron B. Pratt, George Campbell, 1881;
Michael J. Gorman, Aaron Fuller, Amasa J. Par-
ker, John McDonough, 1882; Daniel P. Winne,
Warren S. Kelle}', Edward A. Maher, Joseph Dela-
hanty, 1883; John Zimmerman, Hiram Becker,
Edward A. Maher, James Forsyth, Jr., 1884;
Lansing Hotaling, 1885.
ALBANY COUNTY COUNTY TREASURER.
This ancient officer was known before the revo-
lution. He is the custodian of the funds of the
county, and also disburses them. He is re-
quired to give heavy bonds for the faithful
performance of his duties. He is required to
report to the Board of Supervisors annually.
They audit his accounts. His salary is fixed
at the annual sum of |5,ooo. Among his du-
ties is to direct the sale of property for unpaid
taxes — in fact he has large duties connected with
the taxes of the county. Under the direction of
the Board of Supervisors he often borrows money
in the credit of the county, cancels taxes, etc. On
the whole, it is one of the most important offices
in the county. The Treasurer was formerly ap-
pointed by the Board of Supervisors; but by the
statute provisions of 1846, he is now elected for a
term of 3 years by the people, in November, The
356
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
following is a list of the County Treasurers under
the Constitution of 1846: James Kidd, 1848;
Cornelius Ten Broeck, 1851; Richard J. Grant,
1854; Adam Van Allen, 1857; Thomas Kearney,
i860; Stephen V. Frederick, 1866; Alexander
Kennedy, 1869; Nathan D. Wendell, 1872;
Henry Kelly, 1878; Albert Gallup, 1881; John
Battersby, 1884.
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM IN ALBANY COUNTY.
ALBANY has always been conspicuous for the
ability of its editors, publishers and printers.
Its history is embellished with the career of illus-
trious journalists. Here the press has wielded an
influence that may truly be called national.
The history of the Albany press began in No-
vember, 1 77 1, when Alexander and James Rob-
ertson issued the first number of the Albany Gazette,
a journal which had its birth and death within the
space of one year. But it was the pioneer under-
taking.
Down to 181 1 there were but thirty-four news-
papers in the State. "The paper," says Mr.
Weed, "on which they were printed resembled
ordinary wrapping-paper in texture and hue, and
the type, in most cases, was worn well down to-
ward the first nick. The New York Columbian
was printed on a sheet as blue as indigo, while the
Hudson Bee rejoiced in colors as yellow as Mrs.
Skewton's bed-curtains. " Considering the material
and conveniences of that day, printing was done
with wonderful rapidity. In Albany, as early as
1816, Governor Tompkins' last message was print-
ed and republished in Canandaigua within five
days. Canandaigua, at that time, was as far from
Albany, in length of time, as San Francisco is now.
Alexander & James Robertson, the pioneer
printers of Albany, having established the Gazette
in 1 77 1, Albany was the second city in the State in
which a regular newspaper was published. It was
printed on a small sheet, about one-fourth the
size of the Evening Journal.
At the time it was started, and during its exist-
ence. New York was a province of Great Britain,
though the growing spirit of liberty was fast pro-
ducing the crisis which resulted in the revolution
and American freedom. It was, doubtless, the
turbulent state of the times that caused the Robert-
sons to suspend the Gazette. They were loyal to
Great Britain, and left, it is said, for Nova Scotia.
The editors of the Gazette, January ij, J 772, make
the following quaint apology;
' ' The printers of the Gazette, from motives of
gratitude and duty, are obliged to apologize to the
public for the omission of one week's publication;
and hope the irregularity of the mail from New
York since the first great fall of snow, and the se-
vere cold preceding Christmas, which froze the pa-
per prepared for the press so as to put a stop to its
operation, will sufficiently account for it."
The liberal manner in which merchants adver-
tised at that day, is indicated by the. advertisement
of Thomas Barry, a leading merchant of Albany,
whose store stood near the Dutch Church, at the
foot of State street. His advertisement occupies a
column of the Gazette, giving a description of his
goods quite as eloquently written as that of the
popular merchants of to-day. Among the articles
advertised, we find the following: "None-so-
pretty of various colors, and black breeches pat-
terns." Another firm, James Gourlay & Co.,
largely advertise, stating particularly that their
"store is to be found in Cheapside street, next
door to the King's Arms. "
Jesse Buel. — Among the most prominent names
among the great journalists of Albany, is that of
Jesse Buel.
He was born in Coventry, Conn., January 4,
1778, the youngest of a family of fourteen children!
His father, Elias Buel, was an officer in the
army of the revolutionary war. At the age of
fourteen, he entered the printing-office of a Mr.
Lyon, at Rutland, as apprentice. The first four
years of his term were spent in unremitted atten-
tion to his calling. Having purchased of Mr.
Lyon the unexpired three )ears of his time, he
began the life of a journeyman printer. After a brief
stay in the City of New York, he worked a short
time with Mr. McDonald of Albany; also at
Waterford and Lansingburgh. In connection with
Mr. Moffat, of Troy, he began in June, 1797, the
publication of the Troy Budget. In September,
1804, he left the Budget. About that time he
married Miss Susan Pierce, of Troy.
In October, i8or, he was in Poughkeepsie, pub-
lishing a weekly paper called the Guardian. This
was discontinued after about gne year, He began
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
357
the publication of the Political Banner, which was
also short-lived.
At the close of 1802, he established a paper in
Kingston, called the Plebian, which he conducted
with marked success until the close of the year
1 8 13. Six years after he came to Kingston, he
was appointed Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas of Ulster County.
While at Kingston, he gained the lasting friend-
ship of that illustrious jurist, Ambrose Spencer.
Through Judge Spencer's influence, he removed
to the City of Albany and commenced the Albany
Argus. The next year he was appointed State
printer. He occupied the editorial chair of the
Argus with distinguished ability till 1820, when
he decided to abandon the duties of journalist and
printer.
Judge Buel, during all his career as a journalist,
insisted upon spending a portion of his time in
setting type and working at the press.
Disposing of the Argus, which he had founded,
he purchased a farm near the City of Albany, and
assumed the life of a farmer. While residing on
his farm, he was a member of the Siate Assembly
during the session of 1823.
His attention to agriculture met with such suc-
cess, that he became one of the most distinguished
agriculturists in the State. In March, 1834, the
Cultivator was commenced, under the auspices of
the State Agricultural Society, and Judge Buel be-
came its editor. From a small monthly sheet,
issued at the price of twenty-five cents per year, it
rapidly increased in size and in subscriptions until,
in March, 1838, its subscription list amounted to
23,000. On commencing the fifth volume, it was
increased in size, and took its place among leading
agricultural journals.
In 1821, he was elected a member of the Mass-
achusetts Agricultural Society; in 1829, of the
Horticultural Society of that State; in 1830, of
the Monroe Horticultural Society of Rochester;
in 1831, of the Charleston Horticultural Society in
South Carolina; in 1832, of the Hampshire,
Franklin and Hampden Society in Massachusetts,
and of the Hamiltdn County Agricultural Society
at Cincinnati ; in 1833, of the Tennessee Agricul-
tural and Horticultural Societies; in 1834, of the
Horticultural Society of the District of Columbia;
in. 1838, of ihe Philadelphia Society of Agriculture;
and in 1839, of the Albemarle Agricultural Society.
In 1838, he was chosen President of the Honicul-
tural Society of the Valley of the Hudson, and was
several times chosen President of the State Agricul-
tural Society. Thus is seen the regard in which
he was held. Judge Buel's efforts were by no
means confined to agricultural pursuits. The
motto of his Cultivator \v2.s "To improve the soil
and the mind."
His system of education, like his system of agri-
culture, was practical. He would guide the efibrt
of muscle by the direction of the mind. While
cultivating the land he would enjoy the landscape.
The efforts of Judge Buel greatly tended to make
honorable, as well as profitable, the pursuits of
agriculture. He delivered addresses before agri-
cultural and horticultural societies in various parts
of the Union, and always drew large audiences to
listen to him.
On September 22, 1839, while at Danbury,
Conn., he had a severe attack of bilious colic, fol-
lowed by bilious fever, which terminated fatally
October 4th. His death produced a profound sen-
sation and general sorrow.
Judge Buel was a practical illustration of repub-
lican simplicity — always plain in dress and ap-
pearance, and unassuming in his manners. He
was hospitable without display, pious without pre-
tension, and learned without pedantry. As a writer
his style was well adapted to the nature of his com-
munications. With him words meant things, and
not simply their shadows. He came to the com-
mon mind like an old familiar acquaintance, though
he alwaj's brought new ideas.
His writings are principally found in the many
addresses he delivered; in the six volumes of his
Cultivator; in the small volume made up from ma-
terials taken from the Cultivator, published by the
Harpers; and in the " Farmer's Companion," the
last and most elaborate of his works. It was written
expressly for the Massachusetts Board of Education,
and was one of the most popular works of the kind.
MosES I. Cantine was born at Catskill, New
York, December 14, 1774. He received a prepar-
atory classical education and entered the office
of Chancellor John Lansing, at Albany, under
whose instruction he qualified himself for admis-
sion to the Bar. He was made an attorne3-at-
law at Albany, in October, 1798. Opening an
office at Catskill, he was not long in attaining a
highly respectable position in his profession. March
5, 1801, he was appointed by Gov. George Clin-
ton, Assistant Attorney-General for the Third Dis-
trict of the State, and was reappointed February
8, 1808, and February 15, 1811. On June 19,
1 818, he was appointed first Judge of the Greene
County Court of Common Pleas.
Judge Cantine, at an early period of his life
exhibited the qualities of an easy, ready and at-
tractive writer. His contributions to the Catskill
Recorder and Albany Argus attracted much admi-
ration.
In December, 1820, he retired from the Bench,
and, with I. Q. Leake, purchased the Albany Argus
and became editor-in-chief The next year the
Argus was made the State paper, and rapidly
increased in influence. Judge Cantine and Mr.
Leake continued to conduct the paper until Jan-
uary, 1823, when a change took place in its man-
agement by the sudden and greatly lamented
death of Mr. Cantine. Thus the editorial duties
of the Argus were committed to Mr. Leake, a
inan of learning and talents, distinguished for his
literary and scientific attainments and abilities as
a journalist; but, feeble in health, he was soon
compelled to relinquish the trust.
WirxiAM Cassidy. — The history of journalism is
best found in the lives of those who have been
joumsilists,
358
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Prominent among those who aided in making
the journalistic history of Albany, is William Cas-
sidy. With Webster, Barber, Southwick, Croswell,
Weed, Dawson, Manning, and others, he aided in
making that history foremost in the annals of the
nation. He was bom in Albany, August 12, 18 15.
The grandfather of William emigrated from
Ireland and settled in Albany in 1790. His father
was John Cassidy, who with his uncle, Patrick Cas-
sidy, were esteemed citizens.
At an early age, Cassidy began his classical edu-
cation at the Albany Academy, and at the age of
sixteen was admitted to Union College in the
Senior class, graduating in 1833, after remaining
in the college one year, He studied law in the
offices of Judge McKown and John Van Buren.
His articles on political subjects, written at his leis-
ure and published in Democratic journals, found
favor with the public. The taste thus cultivated
and encouraged, induced him to leave his legal
studies and adopt the profession of journalism.
At a time of life when other young men are
scarcely through with their collegiate education,
Mr. Cassidy 's brilliant gifts as a writer were win-
ning wide recognition, and he was acknowledged
by the leaders of the Democratic party as one of
their ablest and most effective political writers. At
the age of twenty-five he first entered the field of
journalism as a regular, \yriting for the Plainde.aler
and Rough Hewer, then published in Albany.
From 1841 to 1843 he was State Librarian.
In the spring of 1843 he became connected with
the Albany Atlas, a daily paper started in 1841 by
Vance & Wendell, and, with Henry H. Van Dyke,
edited that journal. The Atlas was founded as
the organ of the "Barn-burner" section of the
Democratic party, and recognized as such during
its existence.
The contest between the "Barn-burner'' and
" Hunker " factions of the Democratic party will
.long be remembered as more bitter than that which
the former party waged against the Whigs. The
Atlas entered the political arena as the opponent of
a majority of the. Democratic party led by the Argus,
a veteran in the politics of the State. At this
time Edwin Croswell, wielding a bold, gigantic
pen, was the editor of the Albany Argus. The
sharp and bitter antagonism between that journal
and the Atlas was what might have been expected.
Cassidy, as the friend of Silas Wright and the
" Free-soilers " and "Barn-burners," vigorously
maintained his position against his formidable
opponent. The contest continued with unabated
ardor until 1856, \yhen the advent of the Repub-
lican party, and the great power it developed,
with other causes, led the factions in the Demo-
cratic party to unite and the Atlas and Argur became
consolidated. This event was a triumph for Mr.
Casiidy. He had exhibited such brilliant talents
and such lofty character, such admirable manage-
ment in editing the Atlas, that he was selected, with
Mr. Croswell's approval, as the editor of the new
paper, which received the new name of the Atlas
and Argus. Under his editorship the Atlas and
Argus, rapidly attained a high and commanding
position in the State. ' In a short time Cassidy be-
came its principal proprietor.
In 1865, the Argus Company, a joint stock
association, was formed, and Cassidy became its
president He continued to edit the paper for the
remainder of his life. In x866 he made the tour
of Europe, enriching the literature of his native
county by many charming and elegantly written
letters, which first appeared in \!at Argus, and were
copied into various journals. Mr. Cassidy always
persistently refused official position, though in 1867
he was elected a member of the Constitutional
Convention, and in 1872 was appointed by Gov-
ernor Hoffman on the State Commission to Revise
the Constitution. He accepted both these posi-
tions with reluctance, and they were the only ones
he ever held.
As Governor Robinson said, in addressing the
Commission after Mr. Cassidy 's death: "No
temptation would lead him from those funda-
mental principles which he had imbibed from con-
scientious conviction, deep thought and study.
The welfare of the State was his sole concern, and
his advice to his associates was summed up in his
remark: 'See that yoiir constitution enunciates
principles, and those, principles of elevated states-
manship.' "
As has been said, his career was that of the
political editor. He helped to make and un-
make men. His own life was that of the sanctum,
the library and the social circle. His influence
was such as is wielded by a matchless pen ; his
achievements those of a master of thought, the
exponent of party, and the leader of political
councils. He combined in a superlative degree
the qualities which distinguish the wit, the scholar
and the politician. These, with his fine taste and
culture, made him one of the most brilliant and
accomplished men of his time. He had an emi-
nently social nature and loved the social circle.
John G. Saxe, the poet, paid a pleasing and deli-
cate compliment to Mr. Cassidy, when he dedi-
cated a volume of his poems to him, as a tribute
to his scholarship.
Mr. Cassidy's personal appearance and bearing
were striking and noble. His manner was uni-
formly courtly and dignified in its courtliness ; un-
studied, yet perfect. His love for his native city
was not the least of his characteristics. He be-
lieved in Albany, and never failed to enlarge upon
its advantages of position and the manifest evi-
dences of its marked progress. He lent every
energy towards its improvement, and as a member
of the Board of Commissioners of Washington
Park, he entered into every project looking to the
expansion of that beautiful spot, and urged every
wise scheme for kindred purposes.
But his active and useful life terminated sud-
denl)', with brief warning to his friends that he
was soon to leave them for ever. He died at his
home in Albany, January 23, 1873, after a very
short illness.
On the formal announcement of his death,
both branches of the Legislature adjourned, after
appropriate eulogistic remarks in both bodies by
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
359
distinguished Legislators. The Delta Phi Frater-
nity, the Park Commissioners of Albany, the Board
of Trade, the Young Men's Catholic Lyceum, the
Trustees of S. Agnes' Cemetery, the Typographical
Union, the Employees of the Argus Company, and
the Directors of the National Commercial Bank,
all passed resolutions of condolence and apprecia-
tion. Letters of regard were received by the
family from prominent men of the country.
Mr. Cassidy was a life-long member of the
Catholic Church, and died in that faith. In 1856
he was married to Miss Lucie Rochefort, who sur-
vives him. He left three sons.
Edwin Croswell, whose name ranks high
among the illustrious journalists of the past, was
born at Catskill in 1797. At the age of four-
teen he entered the office of the Calskill Recorder
as an apprentice. At this time Moses L Cantine
was , a distinguished lawyer and writer, with an
interest in the Recorder. Young Croswell was
favorably brought to his notice. Time passed,
and Judge Cantine became a resident of Albany,
and one of the editors and proprietors of the Argus.
Young Croswell, in the meantime, had worked his
way to assistant editor of the Recorder. When, in
1823, Judge Cantine died, Croswell attended his
funeral at Albany. The death of Judge Cantine
and the poor health of Mr. Leake, left the Argus
comparatively without an editor. Mr. Croswell,
as one of the editors of the Calskill Recorder, had
exhibited marked abilities as a political writer, and
rendered that paper a power in the State. As he
was about returning to Catskill, after the funeral,
Martin Van Buren, Benjamin F. Butler, and Judge
Duer, then leaders of the Democratic party in the
State, and deeply interested in the Albany Argus,
strongly urged him to become assistant editor with
Mr. Leake, and soon the name of Edwin Croswell
became identified with that paper.
In 1 83 1, Sherman Croswell became associated
with Edwin in the editorial management. July
26, 1834, Sherman Croswell became a proprietor
and editor, and so continued till January, 1855.
Edwin Croswell, having withdrawn from the Argus
August 18, 1854, was succeeded by Gideon J.
Tucker, who was made Secretary of State in 1857.
In 1855, Sherman Croswell and Mr. Tucker trans-
ferred their interest to James I. Johnson, who asso-
ciated with him Calvert Comstock as editor.
It was not long after Edwin Croswell had entered
on the editorial duties of the Argus, before he be-
came a power in the politics of the State and nation.
His vigorous mind and ready and powerful pen
were devoted to the interests of the Democratic
party and the discussions of the great questions
which then divided the public mind. As a political
writer it is not too much to say that, during the
period of his active life, he had no rival as a polit-
ical journalist, except Thurlow Weed. In the course
of the long political warfare conducted by these
eminent editors, he never allowed himself to be
thrown off his guard by friend or foe. Few Amer-
ican journalists ever exhibited more ability in con-
ducting controversy, or in quieting animosities
among his own friends, than Edwin Croswell. His
advantages for obtaining an education. were limited;
but he understood and practiced, the. art of self-cul-
ture with success. He became familiar with the
English classics. The sententious purity of Swift
was to him a delight and a model. From Swift he
learned how to express his ideas with vividness and
force. From the pages of Junius he learned the
art of binding ideas together ' ' in close compacted
masses." But it was in the printing-office, that
practical school of knowledge, that he made his
way to the highest rank of a political journalist.
A distinguished contemporary writer of Mr. Cros-
well's, speaks of him as follows : " As a party
political editor he has few, if any, superiors in the
United States. Always cool, collected, sagacious
and cautious, he seldom, if ever, allowed himself
to be guilty of any indiscretions. His style of
writing is more highly polished than that of most
American journalists; indeed, it is somewhat re-
markable that a man educated to practical business
pursuits should acquire so nice and cultivated lit-
erary taste, and a style of writing so pleasing and
perspicuous."
Sherman Croswell, another eminent journalist
of Albany, was born in New Haven, Conn., May 4,
1S03. His father. Rev. Harry Croswell, D. D. ,
was rector of Trinity Church in New Haven.
Young Croswell was graduated at Yale College in
1822. He studied law and was admitted to the
Connecticut Bar in 1826. In 1831, he came to
Albany, where he was associated with his cousin,
Edwin Croswell, in the editorial management of the
Albany Argus, from which he finally retired in 1885.
Mr. Croswell became reporter for the Argus in
the Assembly in 1833, and for twenty-five succes-
sive years, with the exception of the session of 1 854,
he regularly reported the proceedings for the Argus,
closing with the session of 1857, two years after
its consolidation with the Alias. At the time of
his retirement, probabl)', he had no superior as a
reportorial writer in this country.
Mr. Croswell became one of the proprietors and
editors of the Argus, July 26, 1834, and so remained
until January i, 1855.
A distinguished citizen of Albany who knew him
very intimately, paid the following tribute to his
memory at the time of his death: " For a man so
widely known, he was, indeed, known to few. He
did not make many friends, but the few he made
were life-long and true. Eminently courteous in
his manners to all, he was a man of reserve. His
confidence was given slowly, and even reluctantly,
but when given was never withdrawn without the
strongest cause for withdrawal."
His poetic, imaginative mind rendered the duties
of a political editor, at first, uncongenial to him.
But by determination he warped his mind to the
calling he selected until he loved it.
A service of nearly a quarter of a century, first as
an assistant, and subsequently as chief editor of one
of the most influential political papers in this coun-
try, had not been without its influence upon Mr.
Croswell's character.
360
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
No one familiar only with the always vigorous
and sometimes trenchant style of the Argus of that
day, would have suspected that many of its most
characteristic articles came from the pen of a writer
whose temperament was essentially a poetic one,
and whose feelings were much more in harmony
with whatever is beautiful in nature or art than in
the details of politics. He died March i6, 185*9.
GEORGE DAWSON.
The name of George Dawson ranks high among
American journalists. The influence which the
daily press has attained is largely due to his pen
and his vigorous mind. As has well been said: "He
was a journalist of the old school, wedded to the
tradition of days when party organs were the lead-
ing newspapers of the country. " And yet such was
the versatility of his talents, that he was at home in
any field where the newspaper existed. He pos-
sessed the sound judgment, the large circumspec-
tion, which enables men to weigh the relative value
of either reason or facts; he was cautious enough,
and drew sufficiently from his imagination in form-
ing his hypotheses to render his writings attractive;
and he was not deficient in the happy sagacity which
pierces through apparent dissimilarity and ranges
things seemingly unlike under the same class. In
a word, he was an excellent collector of facts and a
successful, active and bold reasoner upon them.
These qualities rendered him powerful in the po-
litical arena and made him among the first poli-
ticians of his times.
As a politician he was eminently distinguished
for the two great virtues of inflexible steadiness to
his principles, and invariable gentleness and ur-
banity in his manner of asserting them. Yet, if
occasion required, he could be rancorous, could
dip his pen in gall, or move it responsive to the
keenest satire, the liveliest wit, the most polished
humor. With his wit he could make any subject
repulsive, or render a repulsive subject agreeable.
In his writings, whether literary or political, all
his wit was argument, and each of his delightful
illustrations a material step in his reasonings.
Elegant and graceful as was his style of writing,
it was distinguished more for its practicability and
its strong sense than its beauty and elegance. But
the former often enabled him to slate a strong ar-
gument or a nice distinction in a more striking and
pleasing way, and actually with greater precision,
than could have been attained by the severer forms
of reasoning.
Mr. Dawson's pen was not confined to politics
alone; he relieved the tedium, the responsibility
and ihe aggressiveness of partisan journalism by
the cultivation of a beautiful and enlivening litera-
ture.
A lover of rural life, the forests, the stream and
the lake, his pen often painted scenes from these
in life-like beauty; indeed, we have sometimes
thought that there is nothing, even in the Bucolics
or the Georgics of Virgil, or the enlivening piges
of Thom_pson, more redolent with fragrance of the
forest and the field; or which brings home more
forcibly the attractions of the stream, touches more
exquisitely on pastoral life, and gives the viscissi-
tudes of the changing year, more truthfully and
graphically ihan the pen of Dawson.
He was born in Falkirk, Scotland, March 14,
1 8 13. His father, after whom he was named — a
book-binder by trade, and the son of a gardener,
residing near Edinburgh — was for many years in the
employ of the famous publishing house of the Con-
stables, at Edinburgh. In 18 10, he married Mary
Chapman, and soon after removed to Falkirk, the
birthplace of George.
From his parents George derived no patent of
peerage, but he inherited from them those sterling
qualities of Scottish character: industry, integrity
and reverence for God. He was a child of the
Covenanters. In 1816, the father, for the purpose
of bettering his fortunes, crossed the Atlantic and
found employment in the City of New York.
Thither, in i8r8, he brought his wife, with young
George and an elder brother, James, born in 18 11,
and a younger sister, Ellen, born in 18 15. The
father remained in New York till 1818, when he
removed to Toronto, then Little York, Canada,
where he followed his occupation six years, after
which he lived in Niagara County, and afterwards
in Rochester, in both places continuing his occu-
pation. In 1836, he removed to Royal Oak, Mich-
igan.
The advantages of young George for an educa-
tion were meager; but his intellect was active, and
he sought and attained knowledge almost intuitively.
He was one of those who obtain an education with-
out teachers — always in school and always learn-
ing.
When he was eleven years old, he was entered as
an apprentice to the printing business in the office
of the Niagara Gleaner, where he remained till
1826, vhen his parents removed to Rochester. At
this time Thurlow Weed was the editor of the Anli-
Masonic Inquirer. In the office of that journal
young Dawson found employment, and in this way
he was brought in contact with the powerful intel-
lect and rare journalistic qualities of its distin-
guished editor. The relations thus begun were
fortunate for both parties, and continued through
life; each evolved and radiated the talent of the
other.
During his apprenticeship, young Dawson's leis-
ure hours were devoted to his books; they were his
companions, the fountain of his pleasure. He might
almost have adopted the language of HorneTooke,
when he said to Erskine: "If you had obtained ten
years of life for me in a dungeon, with my books,
pen and ink, I should have thanked you." He
eagerly read the translations of Greek and Roman
history and literature.
He once said to a gentleman in Rochester, now
living: "You would, perhaps, be astonished at
the progress one can make by devoting to study
but one hour of each day. I used to average more
than that each day, taking time which was employed
by others in amusement. In this way I made my-
self a proficient in several branches, particularly in
belles-lettres, history and political economy."
Co. 4j^2My-^;^^^i>~^i>c--'
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
361
It is impossible to read either his political or lit-
erary productions without being convinced that
they are the offspring of a cultivated and polished
mind. There is a classic excellence about them,
showing that, in some way, he certainly attained
scholarly profundity and finely balanced powers.
Early in 1830, political anti-masonry attained a
strength which enabled it to contend, apparently
with success, for the supremacy of the political
power of the State, and the project of starting a
journal at Albany devoted lo political anti-masonry
was broached. It was advocated by such men as
Francis Granger, Abner Hazleton, Millard Fill-
more, William H. Ma)nard, Albert H. Tracy and
others, and with their influence the proposed meas-
ure took definite form. The nevf paper was called
the Albany Evening Journal, with Thurlow Weed as
its editor. Accordingly he removed from Roches-
ter to Albany, and assumed editorial duties which
have given his name to history.
George Dawson accompanied him and became
foreman in the office of the Journal, the first num-
ber of which appeared in March, 1830. It is said
by those who knew him in the printing-office, that
he was an accomplished, practical printer — at the
case, a rapid and correct compositor; as a fore-
man, perfect in order and discipline; courteous
and amiable in his intercourse with the employees
of the office. It was not long before he began con-
tributing to the columns of the Journal, and his
contributions bore the impress of a master hand,
adding largely to the ability and influence of the
paper.
Fifty years after the first edition of the Journal
appeared, it was said in an anniversary editorial,
that the first edition of the paper "did not vary
materially in appearance from the present one.
The main head-line was in plain, clean-cut capitals
bespeaking the well-defined and upright purpose of
the projectors."
In the Legislative session of 1831, George Dawson
was the reporter for the Evening Journal. His re-
ports were hardly equaled for their freshness, vigor
and ingenuity, and they brought him favorably be-
fore the public. He continued as reporter for the
JourtialxxnixX the spring of 1836, when he was called
to the editorship of the Rochester Daily Democrat,
and thus he entered upon his long, successful and
brilliant editorial career. In looking over some
of his editorials in the Democrat, one is struck
with their incisive strength, their keen and subtle
point.
As the editor of the Democrat, he made himself
a reputation so extended, that in August, 1839, he
was called to take editorial charge of the Detroit
Advertiser. Before leaving the Evening Jourtial th&
Anti-Masonic party had passed away — absorbed, as
some have said, in the Whig party — and George
Dawson was one of the founders of the Whig party,
advocating its interests with his pen and occasion-
ally in the rostrum. It was as a Whig that he as-
sumed the editorship of the Detroit Advertiser,
and it was largely through his instrumentality that
the State of Michigan was secured to the Whig
party.
Very soon after Mr. Dawson became editor of
the Advertiser, he was appointed State Printer,
which position he held until 1842, when the office
of the Daily Advertiser was destroyed by fire.
About that time he received a flattering invitation
to resume the editorial chair of the Rochester Daily
Democrat, which he accepted. His return to
Rochester was attended with many pleasing circum-
stances. Complimentary notices of his return
appeared in all the Rochester papers, and also in
very many of the leading journals in and out of the
State; while the journals of Detroit and in other
parts of Michigan contained sincere and pleasingly-
worded regrets at the loss of "a journalist so dis-
tinguished; one whose abilities and rare social
qualities had made him hosts of friends in the State
of Michigan. "
Early in the summer of 1846, Mr. Dawson was
urgently solicited by Mr. Weed to accept the posi-
tion of associate editor of \hQ Albany Evening Jour-
nal. But Mr. Dawson had become attached to
Rochester and Western New York by many strong
aflSnities, many pleasing associations. In the soci-
ety of Rochester he was a favorite. Besides, the
beautiful lakes and bright streams of Western New
York and Northern Pennsylvania afforded him fa-
cilities for enjoying the favorite pastime of an
angler. He would often leave the sanctum and
seek the waters of lake or stream, and,
" Under an oak, whose antique roots peeped out
Upon the brook that brawls along the wood,"
spend many hours in quiet happiness. He, there-
fore, reflected long and seriously before sundering
these pleasant associations. But at length, in
August, 1846, yielding to repeated solicitations, he
returned to Albany, and entered upon his duties as
associate editor of the Evening Journal.
During the whole of Mr. Weed's administration,
the Journal was omnipotent with its party. It gave
the word of command and the lesser organs made
haste to regard its behest. The orders which all
obeyed, came from the capital. The Journal
spoke with authority. It dictated party policies,
controlled appointments, and marshaled all the
forces of political campaigns. In the management
of the Evening Journal, Mr. Dawson shared with his
senior the enjoyment of the "power behind the
throne;" was thoroughly acquainted with his plans,
proved an able lieutenant in his political encoun-
ters, and fully indorsed his political and journalistic
views. In 1862, Mr. Weed retired from the editor-
ship of the Journal, and Mr. Dawson became the
senior editor and proprietor. He continued to fill
this position till 1877, with the exception of a short
time in 1871, when the late George W. Demers oc-
cupied the editorial chair. In 1877 he sold his
interest in the Journal to Mr. Charles E. Smith,
now editor of the Philadelphia Press. After that
time Mr. Dawson did only occasional work on the
paper until February, 1880, when Mr. Smith re-
tired from the editorship on account of his course
in indorsing Governor Cornell's nomination of
John F. Smyth as Superintendent of the Insurance
Department, which was disapproved by the con-
trolling partners. At the request of the proprie-
362
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
tors of the paper, Mr. Dawson temporarily re-
sumed the editorship, and did some of the best
work of his Hfe in the remarkably bitter fight waged
against Mr. Smyth's confirmation, and subse-
quently against "machine" dictation, unit rule
and the bosses. His pen was also especially pun-
gent and forceful in the senatorial contest which
resulted in the retirement of ex-Senator Roscoe
Conkling to private life.
Mr. Dawson retired finally from the editorial
work on \he. Journal, September 2, 1882, and was
succeeded by Mr. Harold Frederick. His valedic-
tory, published in ih^ Journal, was an ably written
production, exhibiting the elastic vigor of his in-
tellect and the strength of his ^memory. The
pathos with which he refers to old associations,
with its brief but touching reminiscences, gained
it universal admiration.
In 1861, Mr. Dawson, without solicitation on his
part, was appointed postmaster at Albany. He
held the office six years, when he resigned, being
unwilling to continue under President Johnson's
administration, which he opposed. This, we be-
lieve, is the only civil office he ever held. Though
abundantly able to have filled a prominent place
among the distinguished politicians of his day, he
had little fondness for official life, and could not
consent, for ihe sake of personal interest or official
advancement, to resort to the wearisome corre-
spondence with local great men, and to those plati-
tudes necessary, at the present day, to attain the
rewards of party labor. Adroit and keenly saga-
cious as a party manager, he never turned to his
own advantage topics which happened, for the mo-
ment, to attract pubhc attention. He never fished
" with ever freshly-baited hook in the turbid waters
of an ephemeral popularity."
In a word, George Dawson was in no sense a
demagogue. In his political career there was
no shade of selfishness. Had he been willing to
purchase advancement at the price often paid
for it, there was never a moment from the time
he first made himself felt and known, that he
could not have commanded almost anything which
his party could bestow. But, as we have said,
he desired none of the rewards or honors of party
success. Personally, he regarded office as a bur-
den, an obstacle to the enjoyment of his tastes.
It was said of Mr. Dawson that "his vigorous in-
tellect— shrewd, far-sighted and restless — impelled
by well-balanced instincts of policy and aggressive-
ness, furnished with all that general knowledge
which the newspaper man must necessarily acquire,
lacked that breadth of classic information, that
catholicity of tastes and sympathies, which are de-
manded to-day in the average leader writer." We
do not believe Mr. Dawson lacked breadth of clas-
sic information, or that catholicity of taste required
by an editor of the present time. We have already
seen how ardently in his youth he devoted himself
to solitary study, and how he familiarized himself
with the classics. The felicitous classical quota-
tions with which his writings abound, exhibit the
result of his studies. His fondness for books
through his whole life was a striking characteristic;
the heart of his home was his library. Hither he
retreated from the cares and labors of his business
to discourse with the great spirits pf other times,
yielding with unfailing delight to the lofty stimulus
of great minds, communing with them as with
familiar friends. We believe that most of his
leaders rank in ability, in argumentative and
analytic power with those of any contemporary
journal.
We close what we have to say in regard to Mr.
Dawson as a political writer, in the language of an-
other. " He was a man of magnificent pluck. He
loved thrust, parry and retort of newspaper battle.
In every encounter he was cool, confident, wary,
sometimes audacious. He spied the weak point in
his antagonist's defense and made his lunge instan-
taneous with the discovery. George Daw.-on's last
great feat in journalism was an assault on Roscoe
Conkling; indubitably the most severe, pointed,
and serious attack to which Mr. Conkling has ever
been exposed."
We have thus far reviewed the life and career of
Mr. Dawson as a political journalist and party
leader. Politics, though they make the intellect
active, sagacious and inventive, within a certain
sphere, generally extinguish its thirst for universal
truth, paralyze sentiment and imagination, corrupt
simplicity of mind, destroy confidence in human
virtue, and finally ends in cold and prudent selfish-
ness, if not in that insincerity which amounts to
turpitude. Dawson, however, passed through
all this with the ardor of moral feeling and the
purity and enthusiasm of his youth uncontaminated.
May we not say he was exalted by his trial f It
now remains to consider briefly another phase of
his life.
As a writer, Mr. Dawson devoted his pen con-
siderably to literature. His powers of description,
particularly those of stream, lake and forest, have
already been referred to, as also his love of an-
gling. His description of the manner in which he
indulged this love, portrayed in his admirable
work, entitled "The Pleasures of Angling," is in-
tensely interesting — an excellent model of angling
literature — the finished work of a mature man and
graceful writer, natural and unaff"ected in style, and
brimful of sentiments which are shared by all
genuine followers of the craft.
He loved angling for its refining influences and
for its associations; he indulged in it as a medi-
cine, as a better preventive than cure; he loved it
with unselfish devotion and courtesy. "I have,"
he says, in one of his essays on angling, "often
to assure my critical and incredulous friends that
it is by no means all of fishing to fish. The appre-
ciative angler, who has inherited or acquired the
true spirit of the art, is not alone happy while ply-
ing his vocation, but happy also in the recollection
of what has been and the anticipation of what is to
be. To him, memory and hope are equally satisfy-
ing, the one luminous with the sunshine of the re-
cent past, and the other all aglow with the assured
cheer of the near future. Nor is the pleasure de-
rived from a review of the last outing, wholly or
chiefly associated with its material results. 'Cast-
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
363
ing'and 'striking' and 'killing' belong to the mere
mechanism of the art Its real fascination lies in
what one sees and feels in mountain and valley;
in river and lake; in sunshine and shadow; in the
exhilarating atmosphere and delectable odors of
the virgin forests; in the music of singing birds
and in the soothing monotone of running waters;
in the quiet and repose best found in the solitary
places where anglers most do congregate. It
strikes me like the sound of a trumpet to remem-
ber my fights with three-pound trout, five-pound
bass, or thirty-pound salmon, but I find intenser
ecstasv when I recall the circumstances and sur-
roundings of these material experiences. The
transparent brook, whose ripples were rendered as
dazzling as molten silver by sunshine glints which
fell upon them through the ever-waving branches
of the pine, or birch, or hemlock which over-arched
it like a benediction; the pellucid waters of
river or lake, whose unruffled surface trembled as
the fly and leader touched its bosom; the deep
pool, cast into deeper thadow by the giant bould-
ers, near which the lordly salmon rests on his up-
ward journey; and a thousand other things of
beauty which fill the eye and ravish the senses
while watching and waiting and casting for a
' rise. '
"These are the pictures most distinctly photo-
graphed upon the memory of the appreciative
angler, and which come up most vividly before
him when he looks back on what has been."
What a vivid picture this ! Can the pencil's
mimic skill, in the hand of the most accomplished
artist, throw more exquisite coloring, more natural
light and shade blended in a more entrancing
scene.' Has not the mind that can thus describe
nature penetrated those secret recesses of the soul
where poetry is born and nourished .?
We do not know that Mr. Dawson ever wrote
poetry, but he had an imagination which might
have made him a poet had he indulged it He be-
lieved that the poetic fictions of great intellects are
often the vehicles of the sublimest verities ; that
even when the letter is false the spirit is the pro-
foundest wisdom ; and he enlivened his writings
with extracts from poets bearing the seal of genius,
inspiration, learning and taste.
In 1 876, he published his book already alluded to.
This work was first published in sketches in the
Evening Journal, at long intervals, during the three
years antedating its appearance. They were eagerly
read, and added largely to the circulation of the
paper. When the work appeared it was immensely
popular, not only with the lovers of angling, but
by all lovers of true literary merit, and still contin-
ues to be a favorite work with the reading public.
Said one of his friends, a delightful writer and
critic: "Mr. Dawson wielded a trenchant pen ; when
he turned from the conflict of parties to the praise
of his favorite pastime 'of simple wise men ;' his
essays, limpid as the crystal stream, are aglow wi(h
the soft summer sunlight, and melodious with the
song of birds. When angling was the theme, he
wrote from a full heart and closest sympathy. The
effect of his writings is, therefore, magical, like
that of the mimic players in Xenophon's Memo-
rabilia. He who reads, if he be an angler, must go
a fishing; and if he be not, straightway then he must
become one."
This is the feeling which the reading of his
" Pleasures of Angling" inspires. It is descriptive
of his fishing adventures in the waters ofiheCas-
capedia, the St. Lawrence, in Canadian streams,
and in the home of the finny tribes of our own
State and Pennsylvania. He introduces the reader
to his delightful Iriends and associates in these ex-
cursions, and, finally, ere he is aware, the reader
himself is one of the party engaged in the exciting
and pleasurable scenes.
The characteristics of Mr. Dawson which secured
respect and affection are not difficult to depict; for,
with the qualities which made him eminent, there
were blended simplicity and artlessness open to
every eye. He possessed excellences which, at
first, seemed to repel each other, as his political
aggressiveness, though in truth they were of one
genial family. In the political contest he was
aggressive, triumphant over fear, gathering strength
and animation as the conflict deepened, bound
closer to duty as its hardships and the difiiculiies
thatsurrounded it increased; yet, at the same lime, he
was a child in simplicity, innocence and benignity.
He was singularly alive to the domestic affec-
tions. In the bosom of his family he exhibited the
deep sympathies and affections of his nature. His
home was pervaded by his love as by the sunlight,
and very much of his life was centered there. But
the peculiar charm, over all, lay in the junction of
intellectual power with religious and moral worth;
his honor was superior to every temptation by
which the world could assail him.
No one who ever met Mr. Dawson in the so-
cial circle can easily forget the attraction of his
manner and conversation, for he possessed the
power of communicating with ease and interest
the riches of his mind. He carried into society a
cheerfulness and sunshine of soul which, without
effort, won the hearts of those in his presence to a
singular degree.
Mr. Dawson was one who may well be called a
Christian gentleman. As early as 1831, in the early
dawn of his manhood, he united with the Baptist
Church at Rochester, and his connection with that
denomination continued to the day of his death.
On coming to reside permanently at Albany, he
attended the North Pearl Street Baptist Church,
which then stood on the site of Perry Building.
The North Pearl Street Mission had been estab-
lished at this time, under the auspices of this
church, on North Pearl street, above Wilson, and
nearly in the rear of Mr. Dawson's residence on
Ten Broeck street. He devoted himself to the
care of this mission, became its superintendent, and
through his efforts it was finally incorporated under
the name of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, with
the Rev. J. D. Fulton, pastor, on October 29, 1859.
After that time ^Mr. Dawson's efforts to build up
and add to the new church were unswerving. The
new church thrived and increased in membership
to such an extent that a more pretentious edifice
364
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
became necessary. A fine site on the corner of
Clinton avenue and Ten Broeck street was pur-
chased. It cost |20,ooo; and with $54,000 addi-
tional the building was constructed. On February
14, 1877, it was formally dedicated and occupied.
During the work of building, Mr. Dawson spent
much of his time in superintending it. How much
of his means were contributed will doubtless never
be known, as he was as unostentatious as he was
liberal in his benefactions. It is known, however,
that his contributions were very large.
His zeal in the cause of the Church did not end
with the completion of the Tabernacle Baptist
Church. There was established, in North Albany,
a Mission School, under the auspices of the Taber-
nacle Church. To the promotion of this enterprise,
Mr. Dawson bent his efforts. Every Sunday he
was found attending to his duty there, discussing
doctrine to the youthful and old alike, and edu-
cating them in the knowledge of religion. As a
lay preacher he was without a peer. His vigorous
and timely discourses will long be remembered by
the attendants of this mission.
The various pastors of the Tabernacle Church
always found in him a zealous supporter; and the
congregation and Sunday-school a disinterested
fi'iend.
In June, 1834, Mr. Dawson was united by mar-
riage to Miss Nancy M. Terrell, a native of Tol-
land, Conn. His married life was fortunate and
happy ; his home, as before said, the center of
happiness, of refinement and comfort. Three sons
were born to the marriage : the first died in in-
fancy; the second, George S. Dawson, imbued'with
a patriotic spirit, entered the service of his country
in the darkest days of the rebellion, and gave his
life to the cause for which he left his home and all
its attractions. For him, in recognition of his
valor and patriotism, the well-known George S.
Dawson Post of the G. A. R., of Albany, was
named. The other son, Burritt S., with Mrs.
Dawson, still survives.
After retiring from .active life, Mr. Dawson gave
more of his time to his favorite pastime of angling,
to occasional contributions to the press, to works
of charity and benevolence, and to the society of
his cherished friends. And thus the afternoon
sun of what we may truly call his beautiful life,
gradually descended toward the night But that
night drew on much sooner than his robust and
apparently healthy condition indicated, closing
after an illness of less than a week. He died Feb-
ruary 17, 1883, at the age of seventy years.
The death of such a man, as might be expected,
produced a profound sensation. Seldom has the
death of any one in this State called forth more
general expressions of sorrow from the press than
the death of Mr. Dawson. The popular favor
which he enjoyed in such unmeasured profusion,
was indicated in many ways. Every degree of
talent, of eloquence, of learning, and of distinction
laid upon his fresh made tomb, green and fragrant
garlands.
The editorial fraternity of the city met, and a
committee of one from each newspaper represent-
ed, was appointed to prepare an expression of the
collected sense of the profession on the career and
character of Mr. Dawson. This committee was
composed of St. Clair McKelway, Argus ; T. C.
Callicot, Times ; J. C. Cuyler, Express ; Harold
Frederick, Journal; H. M. Rooker, Press and
Knickerbocker ; R. M. Griffin, Post ; Edward Mig-
gael, Frtee Blaeiter; Wm. Kisselburgh, Troy Times;
John A Place, Oswego Times; Wm. H. McElroy,
New York Tribune. At 1 2. 30 on the day of the
funeral, the representatives of the Albany press,
and those firom other parts of the State, met at the
City Hall, and from there moved in a body to the
Tabernacle Baptist Church, where the funeral took
place. During the services many of the prominent
places of business were closed and flags were at
half-mast.
Among the many tributes of respect paid to the
memory of Mr. Dawson, was one — the act of
private friendship — so touchingly appropriate and
beautiful, that we cannot refrain from describing it;
and with this we close our notice.
In the southwest corner of the Tabernacle Bap-
tist Church, Albany, there was erected on January
3, 1885, a handsomely proportioned, highly-pol-
ished granite tablet, bearing the following inscrip-
tion :
George Dawson.
Born March 14, 1813.
Died February 17, 1883.
His renown as a Journalist, Author and Party Leader;
His eminence as a citizen and statesman;
His life of probity and spiritual elevation.
Commanded the admiration of all who value
goodness and greatness.
His labor and munificence in its establishment
and maintenance endeared him to this church,
in which be illustrated the nobihty of an
exalted Christian manhood.
Private affection placed this tablet to commemorate
his virtues and worth.
This chaste, enduring and eloquent memorial of
Mr. Dawson was erected by Hon. Hamilton Har-
ris, a long cherished friend.
Hugh J. Hastings was born in the North of Ire-
land, August 20, 1820, and came to this country
when eight years of age, accompanied by his
mother, brothers and sisters, his father having -
preceded them. The family settled in Albany.
There were eight children, Hugh being next to
the eldest He began work at an early age, and
helped support his parents and the younger chil-
dren. His first labors were as an errand boy in
a dry goods store in Wilham street. New York.
This kind of work, however, was unsatisfactory to
the ambitious boy, who longed for a chance to
better his condition. He was a great reader, and
managed, by utilizing his spare time, to acquire
much general information.
His tastes led to writing for the newspapers, and,
being encouraged by the success of his first at-
tempts, he resolved to make newspaper writing his
business. He was first a reporter on the Albany
Evening Journal In 1840 he assumed the publi-
cation of a Whig campaign paper called the Union.
At the close of the canvass he became a reporter
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
365
on the Albany Atlas, and made quite a hit by the
crisp, lively manner in which he wrote up local
items. But the measure of his ambition was not
to be filled in this way. He longed to have a
newspaper of his own, and he resolved to have one.
With a capital of only $7.50, he founded the
Albany Knickerbocker in 1843, a daily paper, which
grew to be very valuable property and an able and
influential journal.
Mr. Hastings also took an active part in politics.
His natural talents lay in that direction, and he
entered into the field of political discussion with a
vigor that was the result of a lively inborn interest
in the subject. He was for "Tippecanoe and
Tyler too," before he was able to vote. He ad-
mired Clay, and was a great friend of General
Taylor, who, when he became President, made
Mr. Hastings Collector of the Port of Albany. He
resigned this position when President Fillmore
assumed oflSce.
In 1867, he determined to embark in metropoli-
tan journalism, and purchased a controlling inter-
est in the NewYork Commercial Advertiser, of which
he was editor and proprietor at the time of his
death. Mr. Hastings was passionately fond of his
newspaper work, but was preparing to leave the
active conduct of the paper to his nephew, John
Hastings, and the publication entirely to his son-
in-law, Mr. Ward. In 1843, he married Miss
Mary Keeler, daughter of Mr. Henry Keeler, of
Albany. The fruits of this marriage were four chil-
dren, three daughters and one son. One daughter
was married to Dr. Henry, and another to Mr.
Ward, the business manager of the Commercial Ad-
vertiser. Mr. Hastings died in the City of New
York, September, 1883, after a life that made a
mark
Hon. DANIEL MANNING.
Hon. Daniel Manning was born in Albany, Au-
gust 16, 1831. He was of sturdy parentage, which,
in its ancestral lines, ran into Irish, English, and
Dutch sources, combining the main stocks which
have settled Albany, and impressed upon its life
and growth its staid qualities with its progressive
movement. From earliest boyhood he felt the
desire and formed the purpose of self-help. While
at school, the disposition to be doing was dominant
in him. It was his conviction, before he could
shape it into statement, that he could unite the get-
ting of an education with the work of supporting
himself. He resisted the policy of confining him-
self to the routine of schooling for a set number of
years before he attacked industry itself. So, as soon
as he acquired the rudiments of learning, he ob-
tained, at eleven years of age, a situation as boy-of-
all-work in the office of the Albany Atlas, which
was subsequently merged into the Argus, with
which establishment he has ever since been con-
nected, rising through every stage of service to the
presidency of the company and the executive pro-
prietorship. In this adherence to one vocation in
one establishment, the qualities of attachment, per-
sistence and application, for which he is rightly
noted, are exemplified.
Many are the relations and responsibilities grow-
ing out of his connection with the Argus, but they
all radiate from it; and the journal and his own
personality have had a marked reciprocal influence
upon one another. The three-fold form of news-
paper work is apparent. It comprises printing,
literary work, and business management, to each
of which Mr. Manning served a long tutelage, and
in each of which he mastered the art. From one
to the other he graduated in due course. Over all
of them he qualified himself to exercise supervision.
By thorough knowledge of the details of each
branch, he became able to manage them simul-
taneously in their affiliated bearings, however large
or however minute. His life has been spent in the
city of his birth. His associates have been those
who were the companions of his youth. His
political opinions have been in harmony with the
journal which he has promoted. The position of
that journal in the politics of the State, and the
nation, has required him to scrutinize and weigh
the large responsibilities which, in time, he has had
to wield and temper in its name.
Journalism is becoming the educating force of
the people who have to do with it. Most of all, is
it an educating force to those who, from boyhood
to mature manhood, have had to do with it in all
its trinity of activity. Mr. Manning's career, passed
at the center of political competition of the Empire
State, has partaken of the administration of succes-
sive Governors and the course of successive Legisla-
tures. It has brought him into relations of con-
fidence and co-operation with many able minds.
It has tested the qualities by which influence is
wrought or wrecked. It has been a school of
faculty and character, conceivably second to none
other in American'affairs. It can be advisedly said
that Mr. Manning's discharge of every trust in this
relation has earned him promotion to one beyond
it, until he reached the summit of opportunity and
power in the field in which he worked. From the
time of his identification with the news and editorial
work of the Argus, his relation was a most con-
fidential one. He represented the paper in the
Legislature, in which it has always been recognized
as the monitor and exponent of one of the great
contending parties. Its duty was to organize, lead,
reflect, and restrain its party clientele, and to ex-
ample the press of its party in the State always; and
often in the nation. Prevision, steadiness, sagacity,
and honor were demanded. The vigilance and
power of great antagonists had to be challenged.
The irresponsible freedom of remote journalism
was impossible. In this work, Mr. Manning was
the assistant of Calvert Comstock, the partner of
William Cassidy; and he became the successor of
both. He never affected their ornament of method;
but his tempering thought, worldly wisdom, ever
sedate judgment, imperturbable repose, and far-
reaching sight, were helpful to their brilliant pow-
ers of statement; and his share in their successes
and reputation is no small one.
No public man of either party in State service at
Albany for years past, has failed to feel the govern-
ing strength of Mr. Manning's mind on the higher
366
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and larger interests of politics. He grew to his
influence by long and legitimate preparation. On
the death of Mr. Cassidy, in 1873, ^^- Manning
took full charge of the Argus and became president
of the company. Since then, his political life has
been one of unsought prominence and influence
within the party in the State, and, latterly, through-
out the Union. He was a member of the Demo-
cratic State Convention which met at Syracuse in
1874, and nominated Governor Tilden, and of
every Democratic State Convention during the
succeeding ten years. He has been a member of
the Democratic State Committee since 1876, and
was its Secretary in 1879 and 1880, and its Chair-
man in i88r, 1882, 1883, and 1884. In 1876, he
was one of the seventy-two delegates from New
York to the National Convention at St. Louis,
which nominated Governor Tilden for the presi-
dency. He was a member of the New York dele-
gation to the National Convention at Cincinnati,
which nominated General Hancock, in 1880, and
was unanimously chosen its chairman. His part
in the presidential contest of 1884 has passed into
history. Nothing that could be said in these pages
would add to its repute. Comment on his ability
as an organizer, his knowledge of men and meas-
ures, and his skill in reconciling conflicting in-
terests, would be forceless side by side with a state-
ment of the results of their influence upon the
political history of the period. Avoiding serious
collision with the opponents of Mr. Cleveland at
the Democratic State Convention at Saratoga, by his
tact and ingenuity, Mr. Manning was instrumental
in securing a two-thirds majority of the State dele-
gation for the nomination of his candidate.
At the Chicago Convention, he was unanimously
chosen Chairman of the New York Delegation.
From the first he was implicitly trusted by his own
delegation; and, from early in the deliberations of
the Convention, by the Cleveland delegates from
all parts of the Union. Exhibiting rare tact in
handling questions as they arose, he met emer-
gencies with admirable insight and promptitude,
and accomplished the nomination of Mr. Cleveland
in a manner which won the approval of the
country at large. But with that great task achiev-
ed, the work Mr. Manning had in hand, both as
Chairman of the State Committee and as Governor
Cleveland's chosen friend and adviser, was only
begun. There followed a campaign memorable
for its conflicting elements, and marred by fac-
tional animosities and bitter personalities hitherto
unknown. The herculean task was before the
managers of the Democratic party of healing, or
at least checking, its internal dissensions in New
York. Upon Mr. Manning, in great measure,
devolved this apparently impossible work. Har-
mony was measurably secured upon national issues,
thus assuring the success of the party in the State
and the casting of New York's decisive electoral
vote for Cleveland and Hendricks. The same
courageous and quiet dignity that marked Mr.
Manning's conduct during the campaign, and with
which he had met the fierce tactics of the forces
arrayed against Mr. Cleveland, characterized his
work during the trying period succeeding the elec-
tion, when desperate opponents were clamorously
charging fraud upon the Democratic management,
and claiming the election of Mr. Blaine with a
persistent plausibility that for a time deceived more
than half the country.
Much of the aggressive work the State Democ-
racy has accomplished within the last twelve years
has been shaped by Mr. Manning's influence upon
its organization and policy. To the duties before
exercised by Dean Richmond, and then by Samuel
J. Tilden, in the leadership of leaders, Mr. Man-
ning has succeeded, and has impressed on the posi-
tion his own methods and qualities. These com-
prise a confident reliance on principle, and on the
public capacity and disposition to respond to it; a
making of issues broad, sharp and commanding;
a policy of campaigning marked by candor, evi-
dence and aggression; a calculation of the people
as the decisive factor. His trust in the honesty and
intelligent self interest of the masses is marked.
His perceptions are intellectual, his tactics are
ethical; his consciousness that neither political
party is as good as it ought to be, leads him to
strive to make the one with which he acts better.
His relations with the statesmen of his party have
long been intimate, and the best of them are his
personal friends. Never relishing, and reluctantly
accepting, political responsibilities, Mr. Manning
would now retire from them altogether, and would
have done so long since had he been permitted to
act upon his own choice. Never consenting to
hold political place, though often urged to do so,
his political stewardship has been marked by prin-
ciple, by high honor, courage and unselfishness.
The placing of a great party in a position to de-
serve and to achieve success, is to him far more
important than any personal credit that he may
derive from it.
In the affairs of his native city, no man has at-
tained to greater influence than Mr. Manning, yet
no one has more sturdily refused to identify himself
with ofiicial position. He has recognized a sole
duty in administering unselfishly and unhamperediy
the great public journalistic and unofiicial political
trusts which have been his. His business gifts
have, however, not permitted him to devote them
exclusively to the work of publishing. He has
long been a Director for the City in the Albany and
Susquehanna Railway Company. From 1869 to
1882, when he resigned, he was a Director in the
National Savings Bank of Albany. In 1873 he
became a Director in the National Commercial
Bank of Albany; in 1881 he was chosen its Vice-
President; and upon the death of Robert H. Pruyn,
in 1882, he succeeded to the presidency. He be-
came a Park Commissioner of the City in 1873,
and resigned the charge in 1884; and is one of the
trustees of the Fort Orange Club.
Married to Miss Mary Little, a lady of English
parentage, he suffered her loss by death in 1882.
Two sons and two daughters are the crown of this
union. His sons are James Hilton and Frederick
Clinton Manning, the former being managing
editor of the Albany Argus. In November, 1884,
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
367
Mr. Manning married Miss Mary Margaretta
Fryer, daughter of William J. Fryer, of Albany.
His brother, John B. Manning, was elected Mayor
of Buffalo as the successor of Grover Cleveland,
now President of the United States. A life of be-
neficent activity, cultured by informing studies,
ballasted with many responsibilities, tempered by
intercourse and friendship with able and illustrious
men, and inspired by a high and practical sense of
honor and duty, has been that of Daniel Man-
ning, who, still in the prime of his faculties, has,
it is hoped, many years of honor and usefulness
before him, in which his past would be a proof of
his probity and power. And it is an excellent at-
testation of the possibilities and product of what
is best in American character, by self-help, under
American institutions.
Mr. Manning now fills the distinguished po-
sition of Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet
of President Grover Cleveland, the duties of which
he is believed to be discharging with characteristic
independence, industry and energy, and with due
fealty to party and country as he regards his obH-
gations to both. He entered upon the duties of
this appointment March 4, 1885.
JOEL MUNSELL.
Joel Munsell was born in Northfield, Mass.,
April 14, 1808. His parents were Hezekiah and
Cynthia (Payne) Munsell, who came from Hart-
ford, Ct., to Northfield. Here young Munsell
spent the first seventeen years of his life in boyish
sports, in the schools of the town, and in working
with his father at the trade of a wheelwright At the
age of 17, in 1825, he was a regular apprentice in
the printing-office of the Franklin Post and Chris-
tian Freeman, published in the near village of
Greenfield. December, 1826, found him still "at
the case, " but at another office in the same village.
John Denio, his next employer, took him to Al-
bany, the next May, as his clerk in a bookstore.
But he was a printer, and preferred this art. After
a month on the National Observer, published by
Solomon Southwick, he was, about the ist of Jan-
uary, 1828, a journeyman printer, two days in the
week, on the Masonic Record; helping Mr. Denio
in his bookstore at spare moments; and printing,
editing, publishing, and distributing from door to
door his own paper, the Albany Minerva. He
issued eight numbers. Much of his time was now
spent in reading, studying, and making collections
of papers and binding them. His employment for
a second time, for a few months, in Mr. Denio's
bookstore, and in job work and journeyman work
on various newspapers, as he was needed, occupied
him quite busily for nearly a year and a half, end-
ing June, 1829. From this date until his return
to Albany, January 4, 1830, he was visiting friends
in Northfield and seeking a journeyman's work in
Hartford and New Haven. Having no steady em-
ployment at his trade, he gave his spare hours in
New Haven to attending lectures and reading use-
ful works in science and literature. In Albany
again, he spent a few more years in irregular em-
ployment as a printer. But like many other
printers, whose lives have become eminently useful
and successful, his simple habits of economy and
constant devotion to gaining valuable knowledge
did not forsake him.
In 1834, he was associated with Henry D. Stone,
for two or three years, in the successful publication
of the Microscope. From his savings he purchased
material in October, 1836, and set up a job print-
ing-office for himself at 58 State street. Here his
skill and industry found appreciation. In these
respects he had no superior. "Joel Munsell, the
Albany printer," from this time forth made himself
more fully known as the master of his art, as the
enterprising publisher, the faithful annotater and
compiler, and the generous friend of students and
writers in genealogy, local history, and antiquities.
A list of books and pamphlets of this kind from his
press makes a volume. We can name but few here.
His volumes are seen and his imprint known
wherever books are read by intelligent students ot
American history and genealogy. The first work
compiled and published by him was called "Out-
lines of the History of Priming, " in 1839.
Albany owes him much for work done upon its
local history. His "Annals of Albany," in 10
volumes, i2mo, were begun in 1849 and finished
in 1859. "Collections on the History of Albany,"
in 4 volumes, ro3'al 8vo, were issued between 1865
and 1871. They embody a mass of matter relat-
ing to the earlier and later history of Albany, which,
with the help of indexes, is exceedingly valuable
for reference. Their preparation shows fondness for
work, patient industry, great courage, and consci-
entious fidelit}'. He was much aided in some
parts of the work by Professor Jonathan Pearson,
of Union College, and others. He must have
spent untold hours among old records, old news-
papers, and old tombstones, to have amassed such
an amount of unassorted material.
Another monument of his industry is found in
"The Every Day Book of History and Chronol-
ogy," compiled by him and published in two
volumes, i2mo, in 1843.
" Webster's Annual Almanac," started by Charles
R. Webster in 1 784, had been prepared and issued
by Mr. Munsell since 1843; and is now continued
by his youngest son, Frank. Some volumes of the
Albany Directory were prepared and published
by Mr. Munsell. "Joel Munsell's Sons," Charles
and Frank, are still carrying on his work as printer
at 82 State street.
In the field of local journalism, Mr. Munsell,
besides \i\% o^'s\ Albany Minerva, published in 1840,
a daily campaign paper, edited by Hon. Daniel D.
Barnard; in 1842, The Lady s Magazine, edited by
E. G. Squier; also, The Northern Star and Freeman's
Advocate, in \%\i,-;The Spectator, edited by Rev. Dr.
W. B. Sprague, in 1845; The Guard, an Odd Fel-
lows' paper, edited by C. C. Burr and John Fanner;
also, at various times. The New York State Me-
chanic, The Unionist, The State Register, The Typo-
graphical Miscellany, The New York Teacher, The
Morning Express, and The Daily Statesman. Some
of these were partly edited by him, and contribu-
368
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
tions from his pen, on matters of local importance,
were frequent. -
Ten volumes of valuable historical matter w^ere
issued by him, in limited editions, with excellent
paper, 4to size, and faultless typography. They
were called " Munsell's Historical Series," and
published, as were his "Historical Collections,"
and many other volumes, at a pecuniary loss. He
scarcely ever refused to put in print a valuable
manuscript, because " it wouldn't pay. " His un-
selfish zeal for the preservation of historic truth led
him to forget the question, "Is there money in
it?"
Mr. Munsell took great interest in that valuable
quarterly, now in the forty-first year of its publica-
tion, called the New England Historic-Genealogical
Register, of Boston, which he published for three
years.
He was one of the original founders and constant
members of the Albany Institute, and published its
Transactions and Proceedings. For forty years, up
to his death, he was its treasurer.
For forty-three years he was a faithful supporter
of the Lutheran Church in this city, and one of its
trustees for over twenty years. Many historical,
genealogical, and antiquarian societies showed
their appreciation of his great life work by electing
him an honorary member.
He died after a brief illness, January 15, 1880.
He had worn himself out. His funeral was
largely attended by the members of the press, the
Albany Institute, the Lutheran Church, and many
citizens, who sincerely mourned the loss of a most
useful man. All who knew him esteemed him
highly.
He was small in stature. In expression he was
usually cheerful; his features, in his later years, told
of thoughtful care and hard work. In conversation
he was often jocose and facetious. In manner he
was quiet and unobtrusive, but always easily ap-
proached. His portrait, appropriately inserted in
its early pages, illustrates this work.
One of the most distinguished characters in the
history of journalism of Albany County, is Solomon
SouTHWiCK. Not only was he conspicuous as a
journalist, but his influence as a politician was, at
one time, almost unbounded, approximating that
of more modem political leaders.
Mr. Southwick was born in Newport, R. I.,
December 25, 1773. His father was early identi-
fied with the struggle for American independence.
He was a printer, and editor of the Newport Mer-
cury, a journal heartily committed to the cause of
independence. His patriotism drew upon him the
hatred of the Tories, and cost him a hard-earned
fortune, compelling his son to begin life in a bit-
ter struggle with poverty.
After engaging in several humble employments,
young Southwick drifted to New York City, where
he apprenticed himself in a printing establishment.
The Albany Register was then conducted by his
brother-in-law, John Barber.
After remaining in New York a little over a year,
young Southwick went to Albany as an assistant in
the office of Mr. Barber. His ability and industry
very soon made him Mr. Barber's partner.
On the death of Mr. Barber in 1808, Mr. South-
wick succeeded to his interest in the paper. His
talents, energy and ambition soon placed him at
the head of the Democratic party, of which the
Register was the organ and champion.
He continued in charge of the Register for many
years, during which time he successively held the
position of Clerk of the Assembly, Clerk of the
Senate, Sheriff of the County, Manager of the State
Literature Lottery, State Printer, Regent of the Uni-
versity, and Postmaster of Albany. After the dis-
continuance of the Register, he established and con-
ducted an agricultural paper called the Ploughboy,
first, under the anonymous designation of Henry
Homespun, Jr., and subsequently in his own name.
At about the same period, he became editor of the
Christian Visitant, a periodical devoted to the inter-
ests of religion and morality, and to the refutation
of infidel principles. Subsequently he assumed
editorial charge of the National Democrat, during
which time he presented himself to the electors of
the State as a candidate for Governor, in opposition
to the regulariy nominated candidate of the Demo-
cratic party, Joseph C. Yates. During the preva-
lence of the anti-masonic excitement, he established,
and for several years conducted, the National Ob-
server, a prominent organ of anti-masonry, and
was soon after nominated as candidate of that party
for the chief magistracy, in opposition to Martin
Van Buren and Smith Thompson.
Failing of success, and disgusted with the mani-
fold vexations of political strife, he withdrew from
the turbulent arena of public Hfe, and sought in the
congenial atmosphere of the domestic and social
circle that happiness and peace of mind which he
had failed to experience in the restless career of
personal and political ambition.
The remainder of his life was devoted to study,
to his family fireside, and to the dissemination of
religious, moral, and intellectual truth.
From 1 83 1 to 1837, he delivered a course of
lectures on the Bible; another on Temperance; and
another on Self-Education, which were much ad-
mired. He published the "Letters of a Layman "
under the signature of Sherlock.
This publication was followed by "Five Letters
to Young Men, by An Old Man of Sixty."
For the last two years of his life he conducted
the editorial department of the Family Newspaper,
pubHshed by his son, Alfred Southwick.
On the 1 8th of November, 1839, while returning
with Mrs. Southwick from a social visit at the
house of a friend, he was attacked by an affection
of the heart, which terminated fatally. His age was
sixty-six.
Few men ever experienced more vicissitudes of
fortune than Mr. Southwick. He was a self-made
man, owing all his knowledge and mental culture,
his success and distinction in life, to his own ex-
ertions. He loved to encourage the laboring
classes, the young, the obscure and friendless; to
teach them the knowledge of their power and to
aid the advancement of their personal and pecuni-
- 3^-
^^-^^^l^^
^
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
369
ary interests. His address at the opening of the
Apprentices' Library in Albany was an earnest, im-
passioned and eloquent appeal in behalf of the
young mechanic.
A few months previous to his death, he projected
the establishment of a literary and scientific insti-
tute in this city, to be placed under his personal
control and supervision, for the purpose of afford-
ing the requisite facilities to young men desirous
of pursuing a course of self education.
In person, Mr. Southwick was somewhat under
the medium size, with a countenance full of be-
nignity, and expressive of an enthusiastic, ardent
and sanguine temperament. An insidious disease,
the result of sedentary and studious habits, had un-
dermined his health and deprived the evening of
his life of that full enjoyment which he might
otherwise have enjoyed.
LUTHER TUCKER.
Luther Tucker was born in Brandon, Ver-
mont, May 7, 1802. The death of his mother,
which followed almost immediately, broke up the
family — his father and the older children shortly
afterward joining the tide of migration to which
Vermont has always furnished so large an army of
recruits, while the subject of this notice was
adopted in the house where he had been cared for
in the hours of motherless infancy. At the age of
fourteen he was apprenticed to Timothy C. Strong,
a printer, of Middlebury, encountering, in connec-
tion with the instruction he received, the rough
fare and hard work that were natural enough at
the time, but very different from the customs of the
present Mr. Strong removed to Palmyra, N. Y.,
in 18 1 7, taking the young apprentice with him;
but the connection between them ended two
years later, before the expiration of the term of
apprenticeship. Mr. Tucker thus entered upon the
prosecution of his craft as a journeyman somewhat
prematurely, making his way, with intervals of
work at various intermediate points, toward his old
friends in Vermont, for whom and for his native
hills, then, as through all subsequent changes, he
entertained the warmest affection. A tour of work,
on which he soon set out, carried him, in the
course of the five succeeding years, to various
points in the north and east, and to Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Washington, and New York. In
the spring of 1825, he entered into partnership, at
Jamaica, Long Island, with Mr. Henry C. Sleight,
whose business was chiefly the publication of
standard works for New York houses. Some vol-
umes, now in possession of his sons, bearing the
imprint of Sleight & Tucker, chiefly English re-
prints of a moral or theological kind, are strikingly
characteristic of the condition of American publish-
ing at the time; but, in freedom from typographical
errors and excellence of press-work, they suffer
nothing in comparison with the larger and more
hurried editions of the present generation.
In his travels as a journeyman, Mr. Tucker had
passed through Rochester in 1823, and witnessed
the first crossing on the aqueduct over the Gene-
see, of the Erie Canal; and, though the place was
then little more than a village, he was struck with
its evident capacities for future growth and pros-
perity.
And when he began to look for a wider
field than that afforded at Jamaica, Rochester was
the point that occurred to him. Encouraged by
his partner, who aided him with capital as well as
with advice, at the age of twenty-four he turned
his steps thitherward, and, entirely unknown among
its people, began the publication of the Rochester
Daily Advertiser — the first daily newspaper to
spring into existence west of the City of Albany,
in the boundless and then undeveloped territory
that extends to the Pacific. Its initial number ap-
peared October 27, 1826, and, as we learn from con-
temporary notices, at once attracted attention as
showing the remarkable progress of the place.
In referring to its establishment, the New York
Evening Post of Ociohtx ^i, 1826, said: "Nothing
can show, in a more striking point of view, the
rapid increase of our population and internal com-
merce, than the fact that Rochester, which within
a few years was a wilderness, is now enabled, by
the number of its inhabitants and the activity of its
trade, to support a daily paper."
This enterprise, in proportion to the business
transactions of the day, and the simpler customs of
a young and still struggling Western town, was a
success. But we have been already too long in
tracing the steps by which Mr. Tucker reached
what became the all-absorbing work of his life, to
allude even briefly to his associates, or to the part
he took in the active and often heated political dis-
cussions of a peculiarly exciting period. Wher-
ever he had traveled he had been struck with the
backwardness of our agriculture; the lack of inter-
communication among our farmers; the tendencies
of all-prevailing practice towards the deterioration
of the soil; the almost universal absence of agri-
cultural reading. His taste was strongly for farm-
ing, and other business he regarded as simply the
resource from which he hoped to buy and cultivate
land of his own, without indebtedness to others,
and with reasonable provision in case of bad sea-
sons and slow returns.
From this ambition, and his very considerable op-
portunities of observation among farmers in widely
scattered localities, arose the establishment of the
Genesee Farmer, January i, 1831, while still pub-
lishing the Daily Advertiser. Mr. Tucker's aim in
a paper for the practical benefit of farmers, was to
provide them with a means of communication
touching the details of their experience and modes
of practice, and to bring their example, so to speak,
within the personal knowledge of his readers, look-
ing to what had been accomplished, or was actu-
ally going on among the most intelligent and
enterprising, for guidance as to what might or
should be done, rather than to scientific investiga-
tion or the theories of the closet. It may not be
too much to claim that the Genesee Farmer, though
preceded in date of issue by a few other agricultural
journals here or in Great Britain, was the first to be-
gin from this end. Its circulation rapidly increased.
370
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and this notwithstanding the establishment of the
Cullivator at Albany by Judge Buel, under the aus-
pices of the State Agricultural Society, in 1834,
when some falling off might have been expected
from the division of the field with a rival so able
and influential; and it was somewhat to Mr. Tuck-
er's surprise, on the union of the two journals,
some years later, to ascertain that the circulation of
his own was much the larger of the two.
Having at last attained what was to have been
his great object, the purchase of a farm near Roches-
ter, the daily paper was sold in 1839. It still exists
as one of the leading and most popular journals of
Western New York, under the name of the Roches-
ter Union and Advertiser. Farming and the
publication of the Farmer were to be the sole ob-
jects of the future. But before a single season had
passed. Judge Buel's death left the Cultivator with-
out -a head, and a proposition was made to Mr.
Tucker for the combination of the two papers, that
seemed in many respects so advantageous, that the
farm was sold, and the number for January, 1840,
was published from Albany and bore the title of the
Cultivator: a consolidation 0/ Buel's Cultivator and the
Genesee Farmer. A New Genesee Farvier subse-
quently led a brief and flickering existence, and
after the second part of the Cultivator's title had
been dropped as too cumbersome, other Genesee
Farmers came into fitful being — the last calling it-
self "the oldest paper," because of its borrowed
title — an attempt at appropriating a history as well
as a name of which there have been many other
specimens in our periodical literature, but about
which Mr. Tucker may, perhaps, have been excus-
able in feeling somewhat sensitive.
In respect to the details by which Mr. Tucker
was led into his life-work, we have spoken more
fully, because no notice would be fitting, as it
seems, without at least an outline of those prelim-
inar}' steps by which, and through which, it came
about that all the efforts he could put forth were
thereafter devoted to the cause of agriculture.
Without the genius for manipulation, which seems
to be essential in the political managers of the
present day, it is possible that with all his energy,
judgment and industry, he might not have attain-
ed, by continuing in the political field, the leading
rank among those who have the credit of making
or unmaking aspirants for public positions. With
the same qualities, coupled with an admirable appre-
ciation of the real wants of the community, agricul-
tural or educational — but without training in that
administrative capacity which consists so largely in
the selection and employment of deputies by whom
all details can be wrought out under general guid-
ance and supervision — for a long time he retained
in his own hands and under his own eye every de-
partment, business and editorial, and never felt
quite satisfied when anything that could possibly
be done by himself was left to another. The un-
tiring work he thus assumed was often far too
much for the individual energies of any one, but
with heart and soul fully engrossed in its accom-
plishment, he escaped from serious results until the
confinement to labor began to tell, and he felt
more and more, with the enfeebling heat of each
successive summer, that some measure of respite
was absolutely essential. For a number of years
prior to his death, he had been forced from con-
stant application, by absolute inability to continue
it, and a large part of his last summer he spent in
freedom from care at various resorts. But as soon
as he was at home, he was only contented with a
certain measure of the office work; and it may be
truly said of him, if the saying is anywhere strictly
correct, that " he died in the harness." In the
wandering of his mind, after fever had set in, he
urged that manuscripts should be sent him for
scrutiny before publication, specifying some that he
remembered as coming in before he left the office;
and, recollecting that the State Agricultural Soci-
ety was about to hold its annual meeting, he was
full of anxiety lest his illness might prevent his son's
attendance, and eager to be up and at his desk for
work. But his work was over. He died Sunday,
January 26, 1873. He had been at the office on
the 14th for several hours, although not very well
or strong, and on the morning of the 15th found
himself too ill to leave his bed. Inflammation of
the lungs followed, attended at the last by defective
and irregular action of the heart, and when the fever
left him his strength gradually failed, until he en-
tered into the rest of the unending Sabbath beyond
the grave. With his native predisposition for agri-
cultural pursuits, it had been his task for many
long years to weigh the merits of discussion after
discussion and question after question, endeavor-
ing to give due prominence to each in turn accord-
ing to its deserts. Without prejudice or partiality,
he admitted to pubhcation what was counter to his
own views, that it might stand upon its merits, and
provoke thought among his readers. Clear, point-
ed and accurate in the use of language, what he
wrote always came with weight. During his lat-
ter years, with manual difficulties of penmanship
rendering any prolonged exertion irksome, he
wrote but little; but the guidance of his judgment
and advice was ever present Whatever he wrote
was in all respects as he intended it to appear, and
if he had been content to leave for printers the task
of deciphering illegibilities and correcting sen-
tences— in other words, to abridge his own labor
at the expense of others — he would probably
have written more and at greater length. But to
the last he was equal to the work of editing and
correcting the manuscript of others, however much
it wore upon him; for the great aim of his labor
was to give voice to experience that might other-
wise be unknown, and he would rather take in hand
a few pages from some unlettered correspondent
embodying the actual results of his experience, than
deal with folios of correctly written and diffuse
ramblings from writers whose syntax and etymol-
ogy were above their actual knowledge of their
subjects. For over forty years at the head of the
Country Gentleman, and constantly in communica-
tion with those who acted under his supervision, as
with many correspondents at a distance personally
unknown, Mr. Tucker seemed to possess an un-
usual power of attracting friendship and affection.
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
371
of which evidences have often come from quite un-
expected sources.
The publication of the paper has been continued
successfully since Mr. Tucker's death by his sons,
Luther H. Tucker and Gilbert M. Tucker, under
the firm name of Luther Tucker & Son, and, as in
the past, it ranks among the leading agricultural
journals of the United States.
In his personal relations, Mr. Tucker was for
many years a man of sorrow. Fairly under way at
Rochester, with the promise of his new experiment
with a daily paper just budding into fruition, the
cholera season of 1832 that swept like a pestilence
over the country, visited that place with unusual
severity. His young wife and a boy of special
promise, in his fifth year, after but a few days' strug-
gle, were carried to the unending repose of the cem-
etery at Mt. Hope; but they lingered for forty years
longer in a recollection that, until the last, was never
revived without the deepest emotion. The surviv-
ing husband and father fell into a decline from which
it was long thought that he could scarcely recover.
Marrying the sister of his former wife, she suc-
cumbed, in 1844, to consumption, the scourge of
her native New England climate, preceded by one
daughter and soon after followed by another.
Smitten by repeated blows, though assuaged by all
that could tend, in social and business relations, to
mitigate their severity, he became constantly less
inclined to mingle in public occasions, and more
bound up in the welfare of those who were left to
him.
Since his third marriage, over a quarter of a
century had elapsed at the time of his death — a
period of exemption from afflictions, and gradually
closing over the scars of former wounds — but he
seldom, if ever, accepted invitations likely to bring
him into prominent notice. During the hot
months of summer, which were especially trying to
his constitution, he was often so greatly enfeebled as
to excite the serious apprehensions of his family.
Of unvar\'ing sweetness of disposition in the home
circle to which he was so much devoted, the char-
ity that speaketh no evil was equally prominent in
his judgment of other men and their motives. The
memory of an injury was far less permanent in
his mind than the recollection of favors received,
kindly words when the business horizon was
clouded, and warm sympathies at times of trial.
That the struggle of life had wearied him there can
be no doubt; but his faith and gratitude, and un-
selfish efforts for the happiness of others, never
wavered ; and when his task on earth was over, it
may be truly said that he fell asleep with a con-
science void of offense toward God and toward
man, and a heart unspotted from the world.
In May, 1782, Charles R. Webster made his
appearance in Albany. His long and conspicuous
career forms an interesting chapter in the history
of the Gity and County of Albany.
On his arrival he at once began with Solomon
Balentine the publication of the New York Gaz-
etteer or Northern Intelligencer. The only existing
copies of this paper are in the Albany Institute.
In 1783, Mr. Webster withdrew from the Gazette
and removed to New York. The paper was en-
larged, and continued by Mr. Balentine down to
May, 1784, when it was discontinued.
The first pocket almanac ever published in Al-
bany was printed by Mr. Balentine. It is a cu-
rious and antique specimen of that kind of pub-
lication.
In the latter part of May, 1784, Charles R.
Webster returned to Albany and began the pub-
lication of the Albany Gazette. A regular file of
this paper, from the sixteenth number down to the
time of its discontinuance in 1845, 'S preserved
in the State Library. At that time it was seventy-
two years old — the oldest newspaper in the State.
It was conducted with marked ability, and is
an excellent record of the proceedings of the
Legislature of the State, the Courts of Justice, of
the Common Council of Albany, and of the gen-
eral events of the time in which it existed.
On November 17, 1793, the Gazette printing-of-
fice was consumed by a terrible conflagration, which
broke out on Sunday evening in an out-house be-
longing to Leonard Gansevoort.
Mr. Webster is justly called the "Father of
printing " in Albany. He was born at Hartford,
Conn., September 30, 1762. His father was
Matthew Webster, and his mother's maiden name
was Mabel Pratt.
When Charles was seven years of age, his father,
by an unfortunate turn in his affairs, was reduced
to poverty, and young Webster was apprenticed to
Hudson & Goodwin, publishers of the Connecticut
Courant, to learn the printer's trade.
The opportunities afforded the boy for school-
ing were limited to two quarters in a select school.
His subsequent education was pursued in silent
study in hours which most other boys devoted to
play.
At the age of nineteen he was one of the com-
pany who marched to New Haven to repel the
threatened attack of the British upon that town.
In 1781 or 1782, when about twenty years of age,
he came to Albany and entered into partnership
with Solomon Balentine, the only printer in the
city at the time. About the first production be-
side their paper, was a work entitled " Plain Rea-
sons, " a dissuasive from the use of Watts' version of
the Psalms, executed with neatness and accuracy.
Balentine & Webster began the Gazette in 1782.
In 1783 the latter left partnership with Balentine
and went to New York. Immediately after the
evacuation of the city by the British, in company
with John Lang he commenced the publication
of the New Fork Gazette.
In 1784, he returned to Albany, and commenced
the Albany Gazette. Mr. Balentine had removed,
and Webster was the only printer in the city.
In 1787, he was married to Miss Rachel Steele,
of Hartford, who died March 31, 1794. Two
children survived her, a son and a daughter. The
former was the Rev. Charles Webster, long a
pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Monmouth
County, N. J, The daughter married Mr. Bj-own,
of Albion,
372
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
April 2, 1 796, Mr. Webster was married to Miss
Cynthia Steele, a sister of his first wife.
Though the columns of the Gazette were open to
both Federalists and Republicans, it was regarded
as a Federal organ. This led to the establishment
of a rival paper and printing-office. But the rapid
settlement of Western New York furnished abun-
dant patronage for both papers, and largely in-
creased the book-selling and printing business.
About this time Mr. Webster associated with him-
self his brother, George, and some time after, his
nephews, Elisha W., Hezekiah and Daniel Skinner,
became partners. He was active in the establish-
ment of the Mechanics' Academy, and when that
school was abandoned, he became interested in
the Lancasterian School and the Apprentices'
Library.
He never held any public office, except that of
Acting Deputy to the County Clerk of Albany
County for a brief period.
Amid all the exciting events that attended the
war of 181 2, he, though a warm Federalist, main-
tained a, dignity in the tone of his paper, a freedom
from ribaldry and personal invective, never com-
promising his character for fidelity and devotion to
the cause he served. No indictments for slander,
no suits for libel, were brought against him. He
abhorred defamation. Morgan Lewis, when a can-
didate for Governor, thanked him for his gener-
osity in repelling an unjust attack made on him as
soon as it met his eye, although he was busily en-
gaged in using all honorable means to defeat Mr.
Lewis' election.
On approaching sixty years, he made a settle-
ment of all his affairs. A division of the prop-
erty was amicably made, and the firm of Websters
& Skinners was dissolved by the withdrawal of
the three younger partners. The book-selling,
printing and binding was carried on at the old
stand by C. R. & G. Webster. This firm was
dissolved in 1 821, by the death of Mr. George
Webster. The surviving brother purchased his
half in the property at the Elm-tree corner, for
$13,000, and the firm, E. W. Skinner & Co., pur-
chased one-half the stock for $10,000. The new
firm of Webster & Skinners continued till his death,
July 18, 1834. His failing health induced him to
visit Saratoga Springs. He made his will and
left his home, never to return. His last letter was
written July 14, 1834, and, in view of the near ap-
proach of death, contained these words: "The
aim of my life has been to have my heart right
with God and my trust in the merits of the Re-
deemer." He expired almost instantly, without
the slightest appearance of pain, July r8, 1834,
and was buried from his residence in Albany, on
the 20th. He was about six feet in height, well
made in person, erect and easy in motion. His
manner was dignified, full of courtesy and sweet-
ness. His conversation was interesting, pure, in-
structive, entertaining and edifying. The great
aim of his life seemed to be the elevation of the
masses, especially of all classes of mechanics, in
mind and morals. Albany County never possessed
a nobler cla?s of toiling men than during his day.
Thxjrlow Weed had no superior as a political
journalist in his day. He was bom at the small
village of Acra, in the town of Cairo, Green County,
November 15, 1797. His parents were natives of
Connecticut. His father was Joel Weed. His
paternal grandfather was Nathan Weed, a soldier of
the revolution, who, with a large family, removed
from Connecticut at the close of the war, and settled
in the place of Thurlow's birth. Mr. Weed's
mother was Mary Ellis, a native of New Haven.
He was the eldest of three brothers and two sisters,
all of whom he survived, except his brother Osborn.
Mr. Weed's father was an honest, amiable man,
"doomed," as Mr. Weed says, "to earn his bread
by the sweat of his brow, in the most literal sense.
He was bred a farmer; but in 1799 removed to
Catskill to become a carman." He continued
poor, " sometimes very poor," through life. It is
easy to see that, under these circumstances, Thur-
low had no advantages for attaining an education.
His first occupation in life was blowing a black-
smith's bellows, for which he received six cents per
day, which he expended towards the support of his
father's family. When nine years old he obtained
a situation as cabin boy on board a North River
sloop. This brought him to the City of New York.
The occupation of cabin boy was very much to
his taste, and he indulged in the ambition of be-
coming a sailor. As he says, "but for an infirm-
ity, which incapacitated him for the most essential
part of a sailor's duty, his occupation would have
been that of a seaman instead of a printer."
After serving on different vessels on the Hudson,
he removed, in 1 808, with his father, to the town
of Cincinnatus, Cortland County, then almost a wil-
derness. His father attempted to bring a piece of
land, covered with woods, to the condition of a
farm; but, like all his other adventures, it proved a
failure. The boy did what he could to aid his
father in erecting a log-house, and to make a clear-
ing in which to plant corn, potatoes, etc. One of
his occupations was aiding in making "Black
Salts," by leaching ashes gathered from burned
log-heaps.
He relates that at this time his parents were
so poor, that in winter he was compelled to
tie pieces of rag-carpet around his feet instead of
shoes, and thus equipped he chopped wood and, in
spring, gathered sap. In this wilderness he evinced
a strong desire for information. But there were
few books, and the pleasure of reading was denied
him. Having heard that a family living several
miles distant owned a history of the French Revo-
lution, he set out bare-footed through the snow,
and obtained the book after considerable entreaty.
Candles in his father's house were unknown, and
he read the book evenings, after the day's work
was done, by the light of pine-knots. In 1809
his father removed from Cincinnatus to Onondaga
Hollow, where Thurlow obtained work in an ash-
ery, and in doing such odd jobs of labor as offered
themselves.
After abandoning the idea of becoming a sailor,
his ambition turned to the life of a printer, which,
at last, became irrepressible. After several attempts
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
373
to get a place, he became an apprentice in a print-
ing-office in Onondaga Hollow. The work pleased
him, and he soon became very useful in ihe office.
Every leisure moment he employed in reading the
office newspapers and such books as the village
affiDrded. Here he remained until the war of
1 812 broke out.
The printing-office in Onondaga was closed, and
he secured a place in the old town of Scipio, where
was published a paper called the Tocsi?!. Soon
after, he entered the printing-office of Messrs.
Seward & Williams, in Utica. The war was then
waging, and Mr. Williams, one of his employers,
enlisted in the army, and young Weed went with
him. After serving in the lines a part of the cam-
paign of 1813, he obtained his discharge, went to
Albany, and obtained employment in the office of
Webster & Skinner, publishers of the Albany Gazette.
After working a while at Albany, he went to Her-
kimer and obtained employment in the office of
ihe American, published by Wm. L. Stone, after-
wards distinguished as editor of the 7\^or//2er« Whig,
in Hudson; the Mirror, of Hartford; the Daily
Advertiser, in Albany; and the Commercial Adver-
tiser, in New York. Here he made the acquaint-
ance of Michael Hoffman, and Alvan Stewart, the
anti-slavery lawyer. At this early da)', Mr. Weed
made the acquaintance of very many men who
became distinguished actors with him in the polit-
ical arena.
After working in several places as a journeyman
printer, he again, in 181 5, became a resident of
Albany. During the Sessions of the Legislature
he listened to its debates, conducted by such men
as Martin Van Buren, Erastus Root, and Nathan
Sandford in the Senate, and Elisha Williams, Will-
iam A. Duer, and Samuel Young in the Assem-
bl)-. Here he took his first lessons in politics.
Earl}' in 1 816, he began work in the office of
the Albany Argus, of which Jesse Buel was editor.
In 18 1 7. Israel W. Clark, editor and proprietor of
the Albany Register, invited Mr. Weed to become
foreman of the office. It was while here that
he first tried his "'prentice hand" on editorials.
Of these first efforts, he says: "I first wrote brief
paragraphs upon common subjects, taking great
liberties with the King's English, for I was ignorant
of the first principles of grammar; but Mr. Clark,
the editor, would good-naturedly point to these
blunders and say encouragingly, 'I would improve
with time.'" He did; and he became one of the
most trenchant and powerful political writers in the
State. In the split which occurred in the Repub-
lican party in i8i8, one faction was headed by
Governor De Witt Clinton, the other by Martin
Van Buren, leading to a political and personal
warfare of great bitterness, in which the pen of Mr.
Weed became a somewhat powerful instrument.
In the fall of 1818, Mr. Weed purchased the print-
ing establishment of John F. Hubbard, of Nor-
wich, Chenango County, and established the Agri-
culturist, a paper favorable to Mr. Clinton. After
conducting this some fourteen months, he disposed
of the establishment, returned to Albany, and be-
came foreman in the office of the Albany Argus.
In April, 1818, Mr. Weed was married to Miss
Catherine Ostrander, of Cooperstown. In his auto-
biography, he says: "To this marriage I am in-
debted for as much happiness as usually falls to the
lot of man. She more than divided our labors,
cares and responsibilities. But for her industry,
frugality and good management, I must have been
shipwrecked during the first fifteen years of trial.
Economy and a well-regulated system in household
affairs were virtues I did not possess, and their
presence in her saved us from disaster." Mrs.
Weed died, deeply mourned, on the fortieth anni-
versary of their marriage.
Mr. Weed became foreman in the Argus office
in 1821. In 1822, after a brief residence in Man-
lius, he became a resident of Rochester, then a
new, straggling village, containing but a few hun-
dred inhabitants. Here he found occupation as a
journeyman printer in the office of the Telegraph, a
Clintonian paper published b}' Everard Peck. Mr.
Weed's residence at Rochester in a measure laid
the foundation of his future political life. Here he
made the acquaintance of Frederick Whitlesey,
Derrick Libley and Colonel Nathaniel Rochester.
Mr. Whitlesey, afterwards a Vice-Chancellor of the
State, with Wm. H. Seward, Bates Cook and Thur-
low Weed, became the founders of the Anti-Ma-
sonic party.
In 1823, the Rochester Telegraph placed the
name of John Q. Adams for President under its
editorial head. This was the first paper nominat-
ing Mr. Adams. As Mr. Weed was soon known
throughout the State as one of the chief supporters
of Mr. Adams, he was fairly launched on the sea
of politics.
In the singular campaign of 1824, in which
Jackson, John Q. Adams, William H. Crawford,
Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun were candidates,
Mr. Weed and the Telegraph were the energetic and
efficient friends of the successful candidate, Adams.
In September of that year, an accident to a stage-
coach in Rochester, containing William H. Seward
and Judge Miller, of Auburn, his father-in-law, led
to Mr. Weed's acquaintance with the former.
"This acquaintance grew rapidl)'," says Mr. Weed,
"on subsequent occasions, when Mr. Seward was
called to Rochester on professional business. Our
views on general politics were not dissimilar, and
in regard to anti-masonry he soon became imbued
with my opinions."
Political anti-masonry, which had lurked in pri-
vate dwellings, affecting town politics and creating
neighborhood feuds, was at this time gathering
strength from pamphlets and newspapers, under the
leadership of Messrs. Seward, Weed and John C.
Spencer, and soon began to exhibit the strength
and influence of a new and powerful party.
Though the Anti-Masonic party was short-lived, it
developed many distinguished men, who are now
ranked among the statesmen of the nation. Space
will not permit us to follow all the windings of the
partisan conflicts in which Mr. Weed was an ac-
knowledged leader.
His singular abilities for molding and control-
ling public opinion, was first and most admirably
374
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
exhibited in the manner in which he manipulated
the excitement growing out of the alleged murder
of William Morgan by, the Masons — molding it
into a powerful party.
Mr. Weed was elected Member of Assembly
from Monroe County to the session of 1825, and re-
elected to the session of 1 830.
After retiring from the Legislature, he left
Rochester, and again became a resident of Al-
bany. At this time Edwin Croswell was editor of
the Albany Argus.
While Mr. Weed was in the Assembly in 1830, a
project began to be discussed, which in time was
carried into effect, and exerted a powerful influence
in shaping the future events of his life. This
project had in view the establishment of a new jour-
nal in Albany, devoted to the interests of the Anti-
Masonic party. The first number appeared March
22, 1830, and was called the Evening Journal.
Political anti-masonry soon passed away. The
Whig party coming into existence; the Evening
Journal became a leading organ. Years passed,
and the Whig party also passed into history.
As it is our purpose to speak of Mr. Weed as a
journalist and not as a politician, this sketch will
be confined mostly to his journalistic career. It is
proper, however, to say that, as a journalist, he was
one of the founders and supporters of the Whig
part)', and, as such, he was equally influential
in forming and sustaining the Repubhcan party
through all its triumphs, down to the time when
he retired from the editorial duties of the Evening
Journal.
Next to the New York Tribune, through all the
history of the Whig and Republican parties, the
Evening Journal has been a leading organ of the
former, as it now is of the latter party. A contem-
porary, writing of Mr. Weed when in the zenith of
his influence, says : " Everything written by him
afibrds evidence of a powerful mind. His sar-
casms are keen, his wit pungent. He knows how
to touch the most sensitive part of his adversary.
Every blow he strikes is felt. Few editors in Amer-
ica possess more of party tact than Thurlow Weed.
He affords decisive evidence of being by nature
a great man. He has risen from an obscure situa-
tion in life to eminence, and in all the positions
which he has occupied he has discovered new re-
sources of mind fully adequate to those poweis
requisite to meet the exigency."
In contact with all classes of men, he gained
a wonderful knowledge of human nature — the abil-
ity to read men, to understand their motives, to
scan the true spirit of the times — which gave him
superiority and influence as a politician. A strong,
vigorous and graceful writer, his pen was a source
of strength and a defense to his party, to his friends
and to himself Allegiance and fidelity to his
friends was a cardinal principle of Thurlow Weed.
He was a politician in every sense of the word,
excepting in low devices and platitudes. Mag-
nanimous and generous toward rivals ; severe, de-
termined and untiring in his opposition to polit-
ical enemies; his contests were hongrable and high-
minded.
In 1840, he was appointed State printer, by the
removal of his great rival, Edwin Croswell. Mr.
Weed always took commendable pride in his call-
ing as a printer and in his connection with the
Typographical Society. In January, 1851, writing
to the New York Typographical Society, he said :
" It is now forty years since I was apprenticed to
the 'Art preservative of all arts.' * * * Accord-
ing to all accounts I was then a very verdant youth.
My master not unfrequently proposed to get ideas
into my head with the ' mallet, ' and on one occa-
sion I evaded a well-aimed experiment in the same
direction with the ' sheep's-foot' only by an ' artful
dodge.' * * * But now only one branch of
our trade is taught to apprentices. A printer is
no longer connected with the 'press-room.' The
printer of the present day is a stranger to its health-
ful toil, its rich humors, its merry laugh, its habit-
ual jests, and, I am constrained to remember, its
too frequent revelries. The customs of the press-
room, along with its labors, are all obsolete. * * *
Upon the years of my life which glided away as a
journeyman printer in New York, I look back with
exceeding gratification. It was a period of high,
healthy, buoyant spirits and fresh enjoyment. I
was never for a day out of work, and with a hardy
frame and willing hand was enabled from my
wages to gratify every rational wish. Few journey-
men made a larger figure in the 'bill-book ' of a
Saturday night than myself"
The last time that Mr. Weed ever set type was on
the 8th of November, 1854. On receiving the news
that Myron H. Clark was elected for Governor, he
rushed into the composing-room, "seized a 'stick,'
and, hiniself, threw into 'brevier' these expressive
sentences: 'Let the eagle scream! Myron H. Clark
is elected!!'" Such was Thurlow Weed as an appren-
tice, journeyman printer and editor. His career as
a politician and Statesman is written conspicuously
in the history of the State and nation.
In 1869, Mr. Weed retired from journalism, after
forty years of unwearied devotion to his duties as
an editor. From that, to the day of "his death,
his time was spent in the genial companionship of
his home friends ; in correspondence with absent
ones, among whom were ranked the most distin-
guished names in America and Europe ; and in
reading and in writing reminiscences of his times.
He often wrote for the press. Finally, surrounded
by everything conducive to happiness, the sun of
his life went down. He died in the City of New
York, on Wednesday, November 22, 1882, in the
eighty-sixth year of his age. His death was peace-
ful and painless. "A short time before it occurred,
while his mind was wandering, he seemed to be
carrying on a conversation with President Lincoln
and General Scott in regard to the late Avar. At
the conclusion he ordered a carriage, and then,
after a moment's pause, said: ' I want to go home ! '
These were his last words."
The facts of this notice are largely abridged from
Mr. Weed's autobiography.
The past has given to Albany many other edit-
ors and periodical writers whose gracefvil pens have
JOURNALISTS AND JOURNALISM.
375
delighted and instructed the public here and else-
where. Many of them became eminent in other
fields of literature. Some were here but a brief
time only; but they are worthy of mention.
Among them we record the names of William L.
Stone, Harry Croswell, Nathaniel H. Carter,
James R. Boyd, S. De Witt Bloodgood, John B.
Van Schaick, Henry James, Horace Greeley,
Francis Dwight, Ebenezer Emmons, S. H. Ham-
mond, Daniel D. Barnard, Jabez D. Hammond,
A. J. Downing, William B. Sprague, E. G.
Squire, E. C. Delavan, Jasper Hazen, John A. Dix,
A. George Johnson, Alfred B. Street, S. C.
Hutchins, and J. Wesley Smith. Not one survives;
but their writings remain.
It might seem invidious to speak of the living,
some of whom have recently been called to similar
duties in a larger sphere; others of whom have re-
tired with laurels; and still others of whom are dili-
gently toiling among us with prospects of
a bright fame. As exponents of public sentiment,
as teachers of the people, as dispensers of such
knowledge as every one seeks to gain, such men
ought to fill no second rank in personal character
and in general esteem.
THE ALBANY COUNTY PRESS.
Under this head we attempt to give a list of all pe-
riodical publications of any importance issuing from
the press of the county since the very first newspaper
printed in the city in 1771. Our sources of in-
formation have often been contradictory as to dates
of the minor papers, and we do not vouch for the
accuracy of all. But a list of them is very sug-
gestive and instructive.
1771.- — November. Albany Gazette, published
by James & Alexander Robertson. Discontinued
about 1776, the publishers having joined the British
and gone to New York City.
1782. — June 3. New York Gazette, or Northern
Intelligencer, weekly. Balentine & Webster, pub-
lishers. The name was changed and Balentine
left out.
1784. — May 28. The Albany Gazette, weekly.
Charles R. Webster, publisher. May 25, 1789,
semi weekly. United with the Albany Advertiser,
March, 18 17, and so continued until April 14,
1845.
1788. — January 26. The Albany Journal, or
Montgomery, Washington and Columbia Intelligencer.
Charles R. & George Webster, publishers. Semi-
weekly, winter and summer. In connection with
the Gazette. Discontinued May 25, 1789. Febru-
ary II. The Federal Herald. Removed from
Lansingburgh by Ciaxton & Babcock, and soon
after returned. The Albany Register, weekly;
John & Robert Barber until 1808; Solomon
Southwick until 181 7. Revived in 1818 by Israel
W. Clark.
1796. — November. The Chronicle, John Mc-
Donald. Joseph Fry, printer, whom Henry C.
Southwick succeeded. Discontinued in 1799.
1797. — The Albany Centinel. Loring C. Andrews;
afterwards Whiting, Backus & Whiting. Discon-
tinued, November 10, 1806.
1806. — November 11. The Centinel revived in
The Republican Crisis. Backus & Whiting, and
then Isaac Mitchell, publishers. 1808, Harry
Croswell & Co. ; William Tucker, printer. In
1809, name changed to The Balance and New
York State Journal. Croswell & Frary. Re-
moved to Hudson in 181 1.
1807. — The Guardian. Van Benthuysen& Wood,
Court street, three doors below Hudson street.
Continued about two years.
1 8 1 2. — April 1 1 . The Albany Republican. Sam-
uel R. Brown. Succeeded by Mr. Romain. Fi-
nally taken to Saratoga.
1813. — January 26. The Albany Argus, tri-
weekly, semi-weekly and weekly. Founded by
Jesse Buel. A daily in 1825. The Croswells, Com-
stock, Cassidy and Manning have been among i(s
publishers and editors. Now the Argus Co. publish
it.
1813-14. — The Stranger, 8vo, published by
John Cook.
1815. — ^June. The American Magazine, monthly.
Horatio Gates Spoff"ord. Discontinued May, 1816.
September25, A Ibany Daily A dvertiser. Theodore
Dwiglit, editor. John W. Walker, printer. In
March, 181 7, William L. Stone consolidated it
with the Albany Gazette. Published by the Websters
as Albany Gazette and Advertiser until April 14,
1845. June 3. Christian Visitant, 4to, by Solo-
mon Southwick. Continued two years. The Friend,
8vo, monthly, by D. & S. A. Abbey. Con-
tinued one year. The Statesman, published and
edited by Nathaniel H. Carter, a graduate of
Dartmouth College. Removed to New York in
1818.
18 1 9. — Junes. The Ploughboy. Solomon South-
wick, editor; John O. Cole, printer.
1820. — Albany Microscope, started by Charles
Galpin and continued a few years.
1822. — August 3. The Oriental Star, weekly.
Religious. Bezaleel Howe.
1823. — National Democrat. William McDougal.
Published at Albany and New York. Discontinued
April 7, 1824. Revived April 20, by Solomon
Southwick.
1824. — May. Religious Monitor, monthly.
Chauncey Webster. Removed to Philadelphia.
1825. — August 8. The Albany Patriot and
Daily Commercial Intelligencer. George Galpin.
1826. — July 25. National Observer, weekly and
semi-weekly, by George Galpin. Continued four
years. Edited by Solomon Southwick.
1826.— April 22. Albany Daily Chronicle. Chas.
Galpin & M. M. Cole; also, Albany Morning
Chronicle, John Denio & Seth Richards. Dis-
continued in 1827.
376
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1826. — Escritoire, or Masonic and Miscellaneous
Album, started by E. B. Child. February 3,
1827, changed to American Masonic Record and
Albany Saturday Magazine, ~£.. B. Child. Changed
to American Masonic Record and Albany Literary
/ournal, 4] a.nu2Liy ^o, 1830. May, tht Alb J7iy Chris-
tian Register, by L. G. Hoffman. J. R. Boyd,
editor. Christian Register and Telegraph united
with \S\<i Journal (of Utica) and published by Hos-
ford & Wait as the Journal and Telegraph, No-
vember 21, 1 83 1. About this time Lewis G.
Hoffman published the American Masonic Register,
five years.
1827. — Maj'. The Antidote, by Solomon South-
wick, editor ; Webster & Wood, publishers. The
Standard, weekly, by Matthew Cole. August 4. The
Comet, by Daniel McGlashan, editor. October 13.
The Albany Signs of the Times and Literary Writer,
Daniel McGlashan, publisher; J. B. Van Schaick
and S. D. W. Bloodgood, editors.
1828. — The Morning Chronicle, daily, by Beach,
Denio & Richards. Albany Chronicle, semi-weekly.
1828. — The Age, by Galpin & Sturtevant.
1828. — December 27. Albany Times and Lit-
erary Writer, James McGlashan, publisher; Blood-
good and Van Schaick, editors.
1828. — Albany Minerva, by Joel Munsell.
1 830. — ^January 30. The Albanian, semi-monthly,
Arthur N. Sherman. March 22. The Albany Even-
ing Jownal, Thurlow Weed, editor ; B. D. Pack-
ard & Co., publishers. April 3. Farmers', Me-
chanics', and Workingmen s Advocate, McPherson &
McKercher. April. Albany Bee, J. Duffy, W. S.
McCulIoch & C. Angus.
1831. — September 7. Albany Literary Gazette,
John P. Jermairi, editor ; James D. Nicholson,
publisher. November 21. Journal and Telegraph,
Hosford & Wait. Temperance Recorder, monthly.
1832. — January 5. D(iily Craftsman, Roberts
and James, editors. The Albany Quarterly, 8vo, by
Albany Historical Society; edited by J. R. & S.
M. Wilson. One volume issued.
1833. — February. American Quarterly Hemp
Magazine. Continued two years.
1834. — March. The Cultivator, conducted by
Jesse Buel, J. P. Beekman, and J. D. Wasson.
April 5. The Daily Neivs, Hunter & Hoffman.
Albayty Whig, by J. B. Van Schaick & Co.
1834. — January. American Temperance Intelli-
gencer, monthly.
1835. — October 12. The Albany Transcript, C.
F. Powell & Co. ; a penny paper.
1835. — Albany Bouquet and Literary Spectator,
by George Trumbull; monthly.
1835. — May. The Silk Worm, monthly; two
years; then changed to The SUA Worm and Sugar
Manual; discontinued in 1858.
1836.— r-^<? Zodiac, Monthly, by Gen. De Cou-
drey Holstein. The Common School Assistant, by
J. Orville Taylor.
1838. — January 6. The Family Newspaper,
weekly, by Solomon Southwick. July 4. Daily
Patriot, an anti-slavery paper, by J. G. Wallace.
1840. — The Jeffersonian, a campaign paper, by
Horace Greeley. September 19. The Unionist,
a daily campaign paper, by J. Munsell, C. Love-
ridge, and others. Tomahawk and Scalping Knife,
short time. Albany Patriot, by J. C. Jackson, four
years. The Rough Hewer, daily, campaign.
1841. — Albany Atlas, by Vance & Wendell. Will-
iam Cassidy and H. H. Van Dyke became editors in
1843.
1842. — The Irishman, by H. O'Kane, seven
weeks. The Sunday Tickler, by C. W. Taylor.
Albany Switch, by H. J. Hastings; afterwards by
E. Leslie. November 13. Youth's Temperance
Enterprise, J. Stanley Smith; three years.
1843. — September 4. Daily Knickerbocker, by
Hugh J. Hastings. Weekly Knickerbocker, June 8,
1857. The Subterranean, by James Duffy.
1844. — A Ibany Spectator.
1845. — April 9. The Albany Freeholder, a week-
ly anti-rent paper, by Thomas A. Devyr. The
Gavel, by Joel Munsell. The Scourge, by Wood-
ward & Packard. Vesper Bell, by Abbott & Crosby.
1846. — December 8. Albany He7-ald, by A. B.
Van Olinda. The Balance. December 17. Al-
bany Morning Telegraph.
1847. — District School Journal, by Francis
Dwight. The Castigator, by M. J. Smith. Sep-
tember 13. Albany Morning Express, a penny
paper, by Stone & Henley; discontinued March
22, 1856. Albany Weekly Express, issued Febru-
ary I, 1851.
1848. — Christian Palladitan, by Jasper Hazen;
removed to New Jersey in 1855; was called Chris-
tian Herald from 1849. The Busy Bee, by E.
Andrews, two years. The Castigator, by Mortimer
Smith, editor.
1849. — May 15. The Albany Daily Messenger,
a penny paper, by B. F. Romaine, editor. June
30. Sunday Dutchman.
1850. — February 16. Albany Daily Times, by
Heron, Furman & Thornton. Half-Dollar Month-
ly, B. F. Romaine. Journal of the New York State
Agricultural Society ; published many years. Al-
bany Evening Atlas.
1 85 1.— September i. Albany Daily Eagle, a
penny paper, by John Sharts; four months. Janu-
ary 4. American Mechanic, by J. M. Patterson.
Carson League, removed from Syracuse, by J. T.
Hazen & T. L. Carson. Albany Minor and Lit-
erary Cabinet, by J. H. Carroll & W. M. Colburn.
October 11. The Cithren, by Warner & Hooker.
Northern Light ; continued about three years; con-
ducted by Messrs. Dix, Beck, Dean, Delavan,
Hawley, Johnson, Olcott, and Street; a well edited
literary paper, as its editors' names indicate.
1852. — Temperance Recorder. September 11.
Family Intelligencer, by Rev. Jasper Hazen ; then
by J. T. Hazen. The New York Teacher, con-
ducted by James Cruikshank, T. W. Valentine,
fOt/RNALlSTS AND JOURNALISM.
377
Francis Dwight, and other teachers, as the organ of
the New York State Teachers' Association, for several
years. Albany Freie Blaetter, by August Miggael.
1853. — February i. Evening Transcript, first
Albany penny paper, by Cuyler & Henley. Pro-
hibitionist, organ of New York State Temperance
Society; edited by Prof. A. McCoy; in 1857, united
w'lXh Journal of American Temperance Union.
1854. — Family- Dental Journal, monthly, by D.
C. Estes.
1855.— July 21- State Police Tribune, by S. H.
Parsons & R. M. Griffin. Removed to New York.
1856. — March 23. Albany Daily Statesman.
April 21. Albany Morning Times, by Stone & Co.
September 8. Albany Evening Union, a penny
paper; James McFarlane. Albany Volksblatt, by
George Herb.
1857. — Albany Microscope, Charles Galpin. May
4. Albany Morning Express, J. C. Cuyler, editor;
Stone & Henly, publishers. Albany Evening Her-
ald, changed to Albany Evening Union, June 29,
1857.
1858. — American Citizen. Evening Courier. Aug-
ust. The Hour and the Man, daily and weekly,
by George W. Clarke & John J. Thomas. October.
Mercantile Horn, weekly, gratis. Voice of the
People, campaign paper. December. Evening
Standard, by R. M. Griffin & Co. Independent
Press ; only a few months. Astronomical Notes,
edited by Prof. Brunow. American Magazine,
monthly, by J. S. & B. Wood; about one and a
half years. The Gavel, two years, by John Tan-
ner. State Military Gazette, by C. G. Stone; re-
moved to New York.
1863. — ^January 17. Standard and Statesman.
1865. — October. Albany Evening Post, a penny
paper, by M. & E. Griffin.
1883. — Outing, by Outing Publishing and Print-
ing Company, 59 North Pearl street. Removed to
Boston.
1 88 1. — The Inquirer and Criterion, \veekly, by
Charles S. Carpenter; February 20, 1882, by Bur-
dick & Taylor. Discontinued January 5, 1884.
Republished as 7%e /«^2^2're/-, April 30, 1884. Now
discontinued.
There are, doubtless, a great many others of
ephemeral existence, inspired by personal am-
bition, or by matters of local and temporary inter-
est, such as campaign issues, society organs, school-
boy discussions. The cacoethes scribendi has had
a large development in this city. A collection of
all these newspapers in some of our institutions
would be interesting and valuable. Many of them
are to be found in the State Library and Albany
Institute. Some in old chests and garrets. Many
more have been consumed by the tooth of time,
the flames, or the grinding paper-mill.
NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN ALBANY AT
THE PRESENT TIME.
The Albany Argus made its first appearance on
Tuesday, January 26, 18 13. It was published
semi-weekly; Jesse Buel, editor and owner. On
August 18, 1825, it issued its first daily paper.
The Daily Argus and The Albany Evening Atlas
were united February 18, 1856, under the name of
Atlas and Argus, with Calvert Comstock and Will-
iam Cassidy, publishers and editors. On April 6,
1865, they were succeeded by William Cassidy.
It became The Argus again, Monday, May 15,
1865. On May 6, 1865, The Argus Company
was organized. William Cassidy, editor; Daniel
Manning and J. Wesley Smith, associates. S. C.
Hutchins and St. Clair McKelway have been re-
cent editors. James H. Manning is present editor.
Sunday paper issued since May 13, 1877. Argus
Building, southwest corner of Broadway and
Beaver street.
Albany Evening Journal. B. D. Packard & Co.
published the first number of The Journal, March
22, 1830. It was a strong Anti-Masonic paper.
Thurlow Weed was the editor for over thirty years,
and rendered it highly influential over the entire
State. George Dawson succeeded him as editor.
Weed & Dawson Co., and Dawson & Co. have
been publishers. The Albany Journal Company
published its first copy under the editorship of
John A. Sleicher, March 17, 1884, with W. J.
Arkell as President; J. W. Drexel, Secretary; James
Arkell, Treasurer. The printing-house and office
are at No. 61 State street.
Albany Evening Times, originally the Albany
Morning Times, was started Monday, April 21,
1856, by Barnes & Godfrey; then published by
Alfred Stone, David M. Barnes and Edward H.
Boyd; later by Samuel Wilbor. March i, 1861,
the Times was consolidated with the Evening
Courier, and was first issued as an evening paper
September 25, 1865. Albany Weekly Times first
appeared July 16, 1872. It was for a few years
published by the Times Company. Since May,
1881, Theophilus C. Callicot has been the editor
and proprietor, at No. 401 Broadway.
Albany Morning Express was started September
13, 1847. In 1854 it was published by Munsell
& Co. In 1856 its name was changed to the Daily
Statesman. The Express was revived by Stone &
Henley, its original proprietors, May 4, 1857, with
J. C. Cuyler, editor. In i860, the publishers were
Hunt & Co. Albany Weekly Express, issued Aug-
ust 4, 1881; Sunday edition, March 4, 1883.
Albany Express Company: Edward Henley, J.
C. Cuyler, Addison A. Keyes and Nathan D. Wen-
dell. Printing-house, southwest corner Green and
Beaver streets. A recent change has made Prof.
Lewis, editor, and W. F. Hurcombe, publisher.
Daily Press and Knickerbocker. First number of
Sunday Press, May 13, 1870; Daily Press, Febru-
ary 26, 1877; Daily Knickerbocker, September 4,
1843; Press and Knickerbocker united, August 10,
378
HISTORY OF TtiE COUNTF OF AZMNK
1877. TAe Weekly Press and Legislative Journal
was issued for the first time, January 8, 1873.
The Pre-s Company is composed of John H. Far-
rell, Myron H. Rooker and James Macfarlane.
Printing-house, 1 8 Beaver street.
Evening Post. First issued October, i860, by
R. M. & E. Griffin; editor, R. M. Griffin. Present
publishers, M. & E. Griffin, No. 7 Hudson avenue.
Albany Evening Union. The Union Print ng and
Publishing Company first published this paper
Mondjy, JVIay 29, 1882, at their office in Beaver
Block, youth Pearl street. On Monday, July 16,
1883, J ihn Parr became editor and proprietor,
and published the paper from No. 28 Beaver street.
Fred. W. White is now president and editor.
Freie Blaetler, started by Henry Bender & Aug-
ust Miggael in 1852; now and for many years con-
du t.d by August Miggiel at No. 26 Beaver street.
German daily paper. Der Sontagsgast, issued
since 1882 a-i a sujiplement to the baturday edition.
Office, No. 44 Beaver ^treet.
Taglicher Albany Herald. This German daily
wjs fir.it published by Jacob Heinmiller, Tuesday,
Octo er 10, 1871; \w2i5 \ssvi&d Z5 Der Albany Her-
ald on Feb uary 11, i.'-69. The present office is
at N.). 87 Westerlo street.
The Cultivator and Country Gentleman, a weekly
piper since January 4, 1866. As a monthly it
was fi st publish jd as the Cultivator, in March,
1834, and conducted by Jesse Buel, J. P. Beek-
man and J. D. Wasson. It was subsequently pub-
lished by VV. Gavlord & L. Tucker, and by L.
Tucker & Son, who united it with J'he Country
Gentleman, whi^h was st.irted by Luther Tucker
and John T. Thomas, January 6, 1853. It is
ably conducted by L. H. & G. M. Tucker, editors
and pioprietors.
The Catholic Telegraph, first issued in Albany,
January, 1880. Telegraph Publishing Company
was incorporated June, 1882. M. J. Ludden,
editor.
The Guide, I. O. O. F. D. H. Turner, editor.
First published, February 15, 1881. Issued every
two weeks. D. H. Turner & G. B. Powers,
publishers.
Albany Law Journal. Monthly. First number
published January 9, 1870. Isaac Grant Thomp-
son, editor; Weed, Parsons & Co., publishers,
Nos. 39 and 41 Columbia street. Present editor,
Irving Browne.
Our Work at Home. Monthly. Was first pub-
lished at the rooms of the City Tract and Mission-
ary Society, September, 1875. Charles Reynolds,
editor. The present editor is George Sanderson,
Jr. Office, No. 9 North Pearl street. It is the
organ of the City Mission and Tract Society.
The Voice was first published as a monthly,
January, 1879, at 401 Broadway. Edgar S. Wer-
ner, editor and proprietor, No. 59 Lancaster
street.
Forest, Forge and Farm. Published in Albany
since June, 1882. H. S. Quackenbush, editor
and publisher, Tweddle Building.
Poultry Monthly. First issued by the Ferris Pub-
lishing Company, November, 1879. Office, 481
Broadway.
The Medical Annals was first published in Jan-
uary', 1883, by a Committee of Albany County
Medical Society. Burdick & Taylor, 481 Broad-
way, are the present publishers. Dr. F. C Curtis
and others, editors.
NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN OTHER
PLACES IN THE COUNTY.
COEYMANS.
Coeymans Gazette; started in 1863 by Gilbert C.
Vincent; sold to Willard Pond in 1864; th n to
Henry Brook; afterwards to McKee & Spring-
stead. Professor Thomas McKee became sole
editor and proprietor in December, 1869, and
finally took it to Greenbush as the Rensselaer
Gazette.
Coeymans Herald, weekly. S. H. & E. J. Sher-
man, editors and proprietors.
COHOES.
The Cohoes Advertiser ; started in February, 1847,
by Ayres & Co.
The Cohoes Journal and Advertiser succeeded
the above in January, 1848; continued by same
firm until January, 1849.
The Cohoes Cataract succeeded the above; pub-
Tshed by Silliman & Miller from June, 1849, to
September, 1851; then sold to James H. Masten,
who published it until January, 1867; then sold it
to Anthony S. Baker, its publisher until January,
1S70, when it was bought again by J. H. Masten.
Cohoes Daily News. J. H. Masten, proprietor.
Cohoes Regulator. Alexis Wager, publisher;
weekly.
La Patrie Nouvelle. J. M. Authier, editor and
publisher; weekly.
Green Island.
Green Island Review. Henry L. Gilbert, editor
and proprietor; weekly.
Knowersville.
Knowersville Gazette; a local weekly, recently
published.
Rensselaerville.
The Rural Folio, started in January, 1828, by
C. G. & A. PoUiner, and continued two years.
West Troy.
West Troy Advocate; started October, 1837, by
William Hollands; continued by his widow and
son, after his decease.
Watervliet Daily Democrat; started by Allen
Carey, January 20, 1859.
Albany County Democrat; started in i860. Allen
Carey, editor; weekly.
Watervleit Journal. Treanor & Hardin, proprie-
tors; weekly.
Shakers (P. O.)
Shaker Manifesto. Edited and published as a 4to
monthly, by Rev. G. A. Lomas.
ENGLISH COLONIAL GOVERNORS OF NEW YORK.
379
ENGLISH COLONIAL GOVERNORS OF NEW YORK.
Names.
Nicnlls, Richard
Lovelace, Krancis
Evertse, Cornelis |
Bfncker, Jacob j
Calve, Anthony
Andros, Edmund
BrockhoUes, Anthony. . . .
Andros, Edmund
BrockhoUes, Anthony. . . .
Dongan, Thomas
Andros, Edmund
Nicholson, Francis
Leislf r, Jacob
Sloughter, Henry
Injjuldsby, Richard
Fletcher, Benjamin
Coote, Richard
Nanfan, John
Coote, Richard
Smiih, William
De Pey^ter, Abraham.
Schuyler, Peter
Nanfan, John
Hyde, Edward
Lovelace, John
Schuvler, Peter
Ingoldsby, Richard
Schuyler, Peter
Ingoldsby, Richard
Bceckman, Gerardus
Hunter, Robert
Schuyler, Peler
Burnet, William
Montgomerie, John
Van Dam, Rip
Cosby, William
Clarke, George
Clarke, George
Clinton, George
Osborne, Danvers
De Lancey, James. ......
Hardy, Charles
De Lancey, James
Colden, Cadwallader. . . .
Colden, Cadwallader. . . .
Monckton, Robert
Colden, Cadwallader....
Monckton, Robert
Colden, Cadwallader,...
Moore, Henry
Colden, Cadwallader....
Murray, John
Tryon, William
Colden, Cadwallader. ..
Tryon, William
Robertson, James
Elliott, Andrew
Service Began
Sept. 8, 1664
Aug. 17, 1668.
Aug. 12, 1673,
Sept ig, 1673,
Nov. 10, 1674,
Nov. 16, 1677
Aug. 7, 1678.
Jan. 13, 1681.
Aug. 27, 1683
Aug. II, 1688.
Oct. 9, 168
June 3, l68
March 19, 169
July 26, 169
Aug. 30, 1692
April 13, 1698,
May 17, 1699
July 24, 1700
March $, 1 70 1
May 19, 1 701
May 3, 1702.
Dec. 18, 1708
May 6, 1709
M.iy 9, 1709.
May 25. 1709
June I, 1709
April 10, 1710
[une 14, 1710
June 21, 1719
■Sept. 17, 1720.
April 15, 1728
July I, 1731.
Aui/. I, 1732.
March 10, 1736
Oct. 30, 1736
Sept. 2, 1743.
Oct, 10, 1753
Oct. 12, 1753.
•Sept. 3, 1755
June 3, 1757.
Aug. 4, 1760.
Aug. 8, 1 76 1.
Oct. 26, 1 76 1
Nov. 18, 1761
June 14, 1762
June 28, 1763
Nov. 13, 1765
Sept. 12, 1769
Oct. 19, 1770
July 9, 1 77 1.
April 7, 1774
lune 28, 1775
March 23, 1 780
April 17, 1783.
Time of
Sekvice.
Y. M. D.
3 "
4 II
I
9
25
I 21
O 6
8 21
6
14
14
28
24
16
7
4
13
4
7
II
2 14
II
7
4
10
2
o
14
15
18
3
16
6
9
4
7
26
28
16
o
9
20
2
2
10 21
9 o
I
4
18
22
22
14
'S
29
7
8 20
8 28
2 21
8 25
o 24
7 8
Rank.
Colonel
Sir, Colonel
Council of War
Director-General
Sir, Knight
Military Commander.
Sir, Knight
Captain
Colonel
Sir, Knight
Major
Merchant
Colonel
Major
Military Officer
Earl of Bellomont. . .
Earl of Bellomont, . .
( Councilor
.1 Councilor
( Councilor
Lieuienant-Governor.
Lord Cornbury
Lord Lovelace
Councilor
Major
Colonel
Major
Councilor
General
Councilor
Councilor
Colonel
Admiral
Sir, Baronet
Lawyer
Sir, Knight
Lawyer
General
Sir, Baronet
Earl of Dunmore. . . .
Military Governor, . .
Military Governor. . .
Character.
Mild and prudent.
Arbitrary and oppressive.
Prudent and energelic.
Arljiirary and odious.
A hated tyrant.
Liberal and politic.
Arrogant and selfish.
Brave, irascible, loose morals.
Bold, honest and earnest.
Inleiiiperate and licentious.
Haughty and insolent.
Bigoted, wi ak, covetous and corrupt.
Energetic and discreet.
A worthy officer.
Wise and tiue; friend's
ot the people of the
Colony.
Haughty, vicious, intolerant.
Weak and inactive.
A true patriot.
Ariogant and exacting.
Vigilant and trusty.
Liberal and just.
Judii-ious and equitable.
Vain and useless.
Upright and trustworthy.
Universally detested.
Unreliable and unpopular.
Committed suicide.
Decided and energetic.
Loyal and influential.
Scientific, unpopular.
Honest, impolitic.
Loyal, not popular.
Learned, not gracious.
Genial and incompetent.
Lacked popular sympathy.
Unscrupulous and infamous.
Loyal, but not popular.
Learned, esteemed, but hated.
Respected, but not loved.
Amiable.
We have, partly in order to save space, given
the above tabular history of the Colonial Governors.
Dates often conflicting have been written down
frotn sources considered most reliable. So far as
Albany County is concerned, there is little more to
be said about them. The official residence was in
New York City, and they seldom came to Albany
except for a recreation trip, or for making a show
of their importance, and tg receive demonstrative
recognition from the well-to-do and loyal people
of the second city in their government. Good
policy made, it best for them, sometimes, to meet
the Indians here in council, to make presents and
have a good talk with them. They came with
pomp, dressed in blue and gold-trimmed coats, with
gold-laced hats and showy ruffles. They expected
processions and feastings, and every demonstration
of joy and respect from the people. Policy granted
380
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
as much; but sensible men were glad when it was
over and expenses paid.
These men were usually of intemperate and
licentious habits; of weak or mediocre talents;
given to their appetite; ruled by their mistresses
and favorites. Dissolute in morals, they were
often broken down in strengih. They gave formal
attention to the religion of the Church which best
pleased the King.
They generally had no interest in the welfare of
the people. All were foreign born; most of them
incompetent pets or members of the English aris-
tocracy. Penniless, useless and dependent at
home, they were sent abroad to get rich by
robbing the people, and to serve the King — whose
sycophants they were — in any way to please him
and aggrandize themselves. They sought to asso-
ciate with themselves the wealthy and influential,
from whom they received adulation and flattery,
in order to secure favors in petty offices, sen-
sual pleasures and land grants. They kept aloof as
much as possible from the toiling people, and
asked of them only taxes to pay exorbitant salar-
ies and carry out selfish schemes.
The powers of these Governors were legislative
and executive. Outside their favorites they sought
no counsel. They had to do with forts, garrisons
and all military matters in peace and war; with
keeping the Indians on good terms; with church
affairs; with the excise; with regulating trade;
with grantmg lands; with appointing civil and
military officers; with weights and measures; and
even with licensing teachers and midwives and
regulating marriage and divorce. Most were in-
terested specially in making land grants, because
most productive of wealth. No industries were
encouraged. Rents were fluctuating; lands were
at low value; trade was paralyzed; taxes high and
oppressive during most of these years.
The official terms of most of these Governors
were short, and marked by few incidents of impor-
tance as proceeding from them. They were often
recalled on account of manifest incompetency or
glaring dishonesty and fraud. In vain the public,
as they gladly saw the departure of a ruling gov-
ernor, hoped that the next would be a wiser and
better man.
The constant call of the people for something
better did not reach the ear of royalty except to
irritate the selfish and heartless King or Governor.
Despising the clamors of their subjects, they
neither attempted to soothe them, nor understood
how to do it. These colonial years were years
of one long and grievous cry for relief from
burdens, for heaven-born rights, for representation
of their interests. It is easy to see what Albany
thought of these matters by the class of men put
forward to direct public affairs at home, or to rep-
resent them in the Assemblies when they were
allowed. Though generally loyal subjects of the
government, at the same time they were friends of
popular representation and the advancement of
the true interests of the colony. Aside from these
remarks, we shall have little to say of individual
Governor?; of some, nothing.
There is no doubt that the influence of the Eng-
lish, particularly those from New England, many
of whom resided in New York City, at that time
engaged in commerce, had much to do with over-
riding the will of Peter Stuyvesant, and forced him
to a reluctant and bloodless surrender of the Dutch
power in 1664. These people, tired of the stub-
born tyranny of the inflexible old Governor, were
longing for the liberties allowed in New England.
They expected them under Governor Nicolls, but
they were disappointed. His administration was
a mild one; he did not impair the city liberties of
Albany, nor interfere with its trade. After its
peaceable surrender, September 24, 1664, things
went on as usual. During his time the "Duke's
Laws " were framed, but no popular representa-
tive was allowed; no new franchises conceded. It
was decided that the Dutch patents must be re-
newed as invalid, bringing wealth to the Governor
by his enormous fees for granting new titles. The
Mohawks made a fearful raid into Canada in 1666,
which the French returned. But the colonists had
peace.
The odious Lovelace listened to nothing asked
by the people. He told them that their business
was to work and pay their taxes. He ordered
their remonstrance to be burned by the common
hangman. His term came to a sudden end.
New York was retaken by a Dutch fleet without
firing a gun. Lovelace was away enjoying his
ease ; while Captain John Manning, in charge of
Fort James, probably for a bribe, surrendered
August 9, 1673, ^'^ the first summons. The dis-
appointed Dutch were willing. No one cared ex-
cept the King and his loyal adherents.
Anthony Colve, who was made Director-General,
took possession. Old titles and officers were re-
stored. Albany surrendered to the new govern-
ment. Fort Albany was named Fort Nassau, and
the village of Beverswyck was called Willemstadt.
The Reformed Church was specially protected
while other religions were tolerated, Andries
Draeyer was made Commandant of the Fort.
Gerrit Van Slechtenhorst, Cornelis Van Dyck,
David Schuyler and Peter Bogardus were made
Schepens of the village, and Martin Gerritsen,
Pieter Vounen, and Hendrick Van Ness, Schepens
of Rensselaerwyck.
But the restored Dutch dynasty was brief. At
this time England and Holland were at war.
Peace was settled at Westminster, and Governor
Colve formally gave over the New Netherlands and
its dependencies to Governor Andros, representing
his Britannic Majesty, November 10, 1674, and
English rule was restored before the Dutch system
had fairly begun again. Duke James took out a
new patent to save all controversy in relation
to his title in America, and the old names of vil-
lages and forts were restored.
Andros held sway over a colony of unsubmissive
subjects. He filled his position as Governor about
five years and a half in all, and never secured con-
fidence and respect. He visited Albany in 1675
and instituted a court to hold sessions every year,
begiiining in June, to decide civil causes under
ENGLISH COLONIAL GOVERNORS OE NEW YORK.
381
500 guilders. Robert Livingston was clerk of this
court. He established the Board of Indian Com-
missioners. In his time the bloody King Philip's
War was raging in Massachusetts, which brought
great alarm to Albany and Rensselaerwyck. He
also made a new treaty with the Mohawks in
August, 1675, to foil the designing intrigues of
the French Jesuits with this tribe. At a second
visit, in February, 1676, it was found that the Mo-
hawks had just returned from a successful attack
on King Philip's Indians, and thus allayed the fears
of the people of Albany. They had no trouble
with Philip, and rendered no aid to their New
England neighbors in this direful war.
This year the old fort was so dilapidated that it
was deserted — a new stockaded one, by order of
Governor Andros, having been built near the pres-
ent site of St. Peter's Church, so as to defend
and command the whole town of Albany. It had
four bastions and room for twenty-four guns. It
was occupied in June, in command of Captain
Sylvester Salisbury. During his time he was fre-
quently called upon in settling church difficulties
at Albany, and settling Indian questions, which he
generally adjusted acceptably. Andros was loyal
to his King, but oppressive. In 1689, he was ar-
rested in Boston by the people, confined in the fort,
and his under officers shipped to England.
Dongan called the first representative Assembly,
which met at Fort James, October 17, 1683. The
names of the two members from Albany and two
from Rensselaerwyck are not known. This Assem-
bly adopted a charter of liberties, and divided the
province into counties, as stated in another part of
this volume. During his time, the claim of the
Patroon over the territory of Albany, neglected by
Andros, was adjusted amicably and wisely, and
Albany received its city charter July 22, 1686.
King Charles II died February 16, 1685, and
James II, Duke of York, Albany and Ulster, the
King's brother, and proprietor of New York and
dependencies, became King of England. His rule
was fickle and arbitrary. The wishes of the people
were not regarded by him. Dongan, though not
in sympathy in religious views with a majority of
the people, was a man of moderation and gentle
manners, and attended faithfully to the interests
of the colony in the matters of the French, who
were still endeavoring, by religious influence, to
seduce the Mohawks. He visited the new city
several times, and advanced its policy by good
counsel and good appointments. There was some
feeling against him, chiefly on account of his reli-
gion, at a time of less liberahty than now.
King James was forced to abdicate his throne,
and William III was proclaimed King, February
16, 1689. Mary, a Protestant sister of James, was
his wife, and Queen. This event led to great ex-
citement throughout the colony, particularly in
New York and Albany. The government and peo-
ple of this city hailed the news of a new King and
Queen with great demonstrations of joy. They met
on the I St of July, 1689, at the City Hall, and with
"y" greatest solemnity that could be used in so
short a time " marched to the Fort, where public
proclamation was made in English and Dutch,
guns fired, and loud acclamations of " God save
King William and Queen Mary," were made, con-
cluding with the "Ringing of y" Bell, Bonfyres,
fyreworks, and all o'" Demonstrations of joy."
The assumption of authority by Jacob Leisler, a
merchant and militia captain of New York City,
made much trouble in Albany. He held his posi-
tion with the approval of the people. The aristoc-
racy were opposed to him as a Commander-in-
Chief of the Province. He was acting governor
for the time. Lieutenant-Governor Nicholson had
gone to England, and the colony had no governor.
Leisler may have been ambitious, but he was honest
and patriotic. He was brave and popular. It was
his purpose to give up the trust committed him by
the people as soon as a Governor appointed by
William and Mary should reach New York.
Meanwhile he proffered aid to protect the frontiers
at Albany and Schenectady, now in danger of in-
vasion from the French and Indians, and claimed
possession of the fort at Albany and recognition of
his right to command. He sent his son-in-law,
Jacob Milborne, to persuade the people of Albany
to yield to Leisler's government. Some of the
people looked favorably upon the matter. But the
city government regarded the course of Leisler and
Milborne as without authority of William and Mary,
and therefore seditious. The Mayor, Peter Schuy-
ler, took charge of the fort, and successfully resisted
all attempts of Milborne and his troops, who had
been sent up from New York for that purpose, to
take possession of it. The citizens were divided
in their sympathies. They sent for aid to Con-
necticut, and aid came; to Massachusetts, and they
were advised to yield to Leisler and have peace.
This they did, because of their fear, especially after
the burning of Schenectady, of invasion and devas-
tation. Leisler at once prepared for defense, and
sent forces, made up of friendly Indians, soldiers
of Albany County and from Connecticut, against
Canada. The latter, to the disgust of Leisler, re-
turned August 20, 1690, having seen no enemy and
effected nothing. Leisler imprisoned the com-
mander of the expedition, General Winthrop, of
Connecticut, and some other officers; established a
local government for the City and County of Al-
bany, to control affairs, and returned to New York
City. The city was in great fear and disquiet
during the winter of 1690-91.
Governor Sloughter came with a commission from
the Crown, March 19, 1691. Leisler readily yield-
ed the authority, claimed as from the people. He
was no usurper. But the aristocratic haters of popu-
lar rule were not satisfied. They caused the im-
mediate arrestof Leisler and Milborne, and had
them cast in prison, tried and convicted on the
charge of treason. Sloughter, during a drunken
debauch, signed the sentence of execution, and
they were hanged May 16, 1691. History writes
the actors in this malicious murder as traitors
against freedom and humanity.
Governor Fletcher, one of the most arrogant and
covetous of the Governors, visited Albany as most
of the Governors did, to display his authority, and
383
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
to hold a meeting with the Sachems. He planned
in 1693, at this city, an unsuccessful expedition
against Canada. His dishonest conduct, especially
in the matter of giving grants of land to his favorites,
caused him to be recalled in disgrace. Boastful of
military skill, he was cowardly and imbecile in
action. A hater of all religion, he was a professed
Episcopalian, and made himself odious by an
endeavor to make it the only sect recognized by
the State and supported by general tax. The brief
terms of the Earl of Bellomont were those of judi-
cious management They embraced the period of
the famous piracy of William Kidd. Lord Corn-
bury left a record of unscrupulous villainy and
licentiousness that puts his name in lasting con-
tempt. Governor Hunter promoted the immigra-
tion of the Palatinates, kept peace with the Indians,
and encouraged improvements.
Governor Burnet was interested in regulating trade
with Canada; in cultivating friendly relations with
the Indians; and making forts and other defenses
more secure. Cosby was narrow in his prejudices
and a petty tyrant. The famous Zenger libel case
occurred in his time, in 1734. His triumph has
been called "the Morning Star of the Revolution."
It was, at least, one of the stars. Governor Clarke's
administration covers the disgraceful negro plot of
1 74 1, equal in folly to the Salem witchcraft. Gov-
ernor Clinton's long term was not successful in pleas-
ing the people. He was afraid to displease King
George, and all his attempts in public matters
displayed ignorance and timidity. Saratoga was de-
stroyed by the French and Indians in 1747.
Governor James De Lancey was a man of liberal
culture, an able lawyer, a French Protestant and
a Loyalist. He understood the people and did not
boldly oppose them. He was President of the no-
table Convention held at Albany in 1754. Cadwal-
lader Colden, who, as President of the Council and
Lieutenant-Governor, attended to the affairs of the
province several years, and most of the time indeed
between 1760 and 1774, was a friend of the in-
terests of the colony, as he regarded them. As sur-
veyor he did much in the settlement of land ques-
tions. But his inflexible adherence to the English
government, his decided want of sympathy with pop-
ular feeling of the time, made him odious and his sit-
uation unpleasant. Governor Colden had his Maj^
esty's service sincerely at heart, and looked upon all
as rebels who questioned its wisdom. He was con-
fident that all men of property and all pious people
who had not been poisoned against the King by
the Boston party would be true to him. He was,
no doubt, honest in his sentiments. He was often
at Albany, and was quite actively interested in
his efforts to force the Green Mountain Boys to
submit to the government of New York. He in-
sisted upon Connecticut River as the eastern bound-
ary of this colony. Sir Henry Moore spent much
of his time socially at Albany. The most marked
feature of his brief administration was his regrant-
ing of the townships in the New Hampshire Grants,
as a part of Vermont was then called, and the ex-
action of large fees for these unjust transactions.
William Tryon served his King well, and inflicted
all the injuries he could upon the patriots of the
revolutionary period, both before and after the
declaration of independence. He was the last of
the royal Governors, and went back to England in
1780.
THE COLONIAL MILITARY AFFAIRS AND WARS IN
ALBANY COUNTY.
THE storms of rude war were ever beating about
Albany during its colonial history. It was a
city always under arms. Here were stockaded forts
and garrisons. Soldiers were often billeted upon
the people; military parade was frequent; the vices
of the camp were seen in the street and carried
their influence into families. Here was constant
fear — fear of foreign foes, of treacherous savages,
and of the very soldiers who were sent here to pro-
tect life and liberty.
We propose to give enough of the history of
these wars to show the relations which the County
of Albany sustained to them; the state of the pub-
lic mind; the condition of the military service; and
in general, what was done or borne in Albany by
its inhabitants or the soldiers who centered here.
The French in Canada had much reason for
unfriendly feelings towards the Mohawks dwelling
along the Mohawk River, in fortified castles,
approaching Albany. They were jealous of the
Dutch and the English, because these Indians were
on terms of amity and commerce with them; and
there were suspicions that some of the hostile
deeds of these savages were prompted by their
rival traders at Albany. Hence, Albany was in
great fear of the French and their Adirondack
allies. We give the following account of the first
experiences which our city had of these French
invaders, in the language of the times.
In February, 1666, Monsieur Courcelles, Gover-
nor of Canada, made an unsuccessful expedition
against the Mohawks, coming unwittingly "within
two miles of a small village called Schenectade,
lying in the woods beyond Fort Albany in the
territoryes of his Royall Highness. He fell into
an ambush and lost some of his men. Seven who
were wounded were sent the next day to the village,,,
where they were carefully drest and sent to Albany.
The Dutch bores carryed to the camp such provis-
ions as they had, and were too well paid for it;
COLONIAL MILITARY AFFAIRS AND WARS.
383
especially peaz and bread, of wch. a good quantity
was bought. He inquired what garrison or fort
was at Albany. 'Twas told him a Captain and 60
English Soldyers with 9 pieces of ord, nance in a
small fort of foure Bastions, and .that the captain
thereof, Capt. Baker, had sent for 20 men from
annother garrison of the King's at Sopes."
During the dire war of King Philip, 1674-76,
when New England setdements were kept in con-
tinual alarm by the wanton cruelties of the Indians,
the setilers, had no help from New York except
what was rendered by Mohawk raid against
Philip. For two years, wherever were white set-
tlements in the valleys of New England, there were
confusion, desolation and death. They defended
their own homes; they fought their own battles.
Governor Andros offic.ally reports in 1678:
"The Militia is about 2,000, of wch. about 140
horse in three troops, the foot formed in Com-
panyes, most under 100 men each, all indiffer-
ently armed With fire-armes of all sizes, ordered and
exerc zed according to law, and are good firemen.
One standing company of ijouldiers with gunners
and other officers for the fforts New York and
Albany alwayes victualled in October and Novem-
ber for a year." He adds: "Albany is a small,
long stockaded fort with foure bastions in it, 12
gunns, sufficient ag' Indians."
Governor Dongan in 1687, reports to the Com-
mittee of Trade:
"At Albany there is a Fort made of pine trees,
fifteen foot high, and foot over, with Batterys and
conveniences made for men to walk about, where
are nine guns, small arms for forty men, four Barrils
of powder with great and small Shott in propor-
tion. The Timber and Boards being rotten were
renewed this year. In my opinion it were better
that fort were built up of Stone and Lime which
will not be double the charge of this years repair,
which yet will not last above 6 or 7 years before it
will require the like again, whereas on the con-
trary, were it built of Lime and Stone it may bee
far more easily maintained. And truly its very ne-
cessary to have a Fort there, it being a frontier
place both to the Indians and French."
On Friday, September 9, 1687, information being
received by Governor Dongan and Council, "That
y' ffrench at Canada are providing 1,500 pairs of
Snowshews;" it was ordered "that the Mayor and
Magistrates of Albany send orders to the five Na-
tions to bring Doun their Wives, children and old
men least y' ffrench come uppon them in the
Winter, and none stay in the Castles but y' young
men." On the next Sunday, September i ith, it is
stated that "letters from Albany giving account
that the people there are in great consternation
thro' apprehension that y' ffrench will come doun
uppon them this winter." Whereupon it was " re-
solved, that every tenth man of all y' Militia troups
and Companys within the Province, Except those
that were out y' last yeare a whaling, be drawn
out to go up hither."
In 1689, Chevalier de Callieres, Governor of
Montreal and Commander of the Troops and
Militia of Canada, planned an expedition of 2,000
men against Orange (Albany) and Manathe
(New York). He writes: "The plan is to go
straight to Orange, the most advanced toun of
New York, one hundred leagues from Montreal,
which I would undertake to carry, and to proceed
thence to seize Manathe, the capital of that colony,
situated on the Sea Side." He designed to take his
picked soldiers by canoes and flat baiteaux, by
Richelieu River and Lake Champlain ; thence to
march along the Hudson direct to Albany, pillag-
ing by the way. Of Albany, he says, "The town
is about as large as Montreal, surrounded by pic-
quets, at one end of which, is an Earthen Fort de-
fended by palisades & consisting of four small
bastions. There is a garrison of 150 men of three
companies in the fort, and some small pieces of
cannon. Said town of Orange may contain about
150 houses and 300 inhabitants, capable of bearing
arms, the majority of whom are Dutch, and some
French Refugees with some English.
"After having invested the town and summoned
it to surrender with promise not to pillage if it
capitulate, I propose, in case of resistance, to cut
or burn the palisades in order to aflford an opening,
and enter then, sword in hand, and seize the fort.
These being only 14 feet high can be easily es-
caladed by means of the conveniences we shall find
when masters of the town, or by blowing in the
gate with a few petards or two small field pieces,
which may be of use to me, and I shall find means
of conveying there.
"After I shall have become master of the town
and fort of Orange, which I expect to achieve be-
fore the English can afford it any succor, my inten-
tion is to leave a force of 200 men in the fort with
sufficient supplies, which I shall find in the city,
and to disarm all the inhabitants.
' ' I shall seize all the barks, batteaux, and canoes
that are at Orange, to embark my force on the river,
which is navigable down to Manathe, and I shall
embark with the troops the necessary provisions
and ammunition, and some pieces of cannon to be
taken from Fort Orange to serve in the attack on
Manathe. "
But his. plans failed. He never reached Albany.
The wars of the English colonial period were
not provoked by any indiscretions of the colonists.
They were not originated by them nor in their
interest. They were forced upon them by the
European government in the supposed interest of
the King, for the increase of his wealth and power;
or for some petty caprice; or for keeping the sol-
diers and the people occupied in other matters than
in meddling with the prerogatives of kings and
governors. The colonists preferred the peaceful
pursuits of industry. In war these were endan-
gered. In war their settlements were liable to
pillage ; their homes to murders and burnings;
their every interest to ruin. They were to do the
fighting, endure the suffering, and pay the expenses
of these wars. This chiefly, and gain nothing.
In all these wars the northern American colonies
suffered, some of them greatly. Of New England
this rernark is especially true. Its whole northern
frontier without defenses, was exposed to sudden
384
msTokr of rut: covntv op aisank
invasion from the savage. It had no well defended
forts, but it had many growing villages and many
farm-houses, filled with valuable booty for the
plundering Indian. The blood-curdling story of
their cruelties has been read in every family. They
were encouraged in their deeds of cruelty by the
Canadian French, a race with whose trade, poli-
tics, and religion the English had no common
sympathies and interests. Besides murder and out-
rage, many women and children were led to a
captivity worse than death. All small articles of
worth that could sell for what the Indian valued
more, were carried away and sold. Silver spoons
and plates taken as plunder from New England
homes, were offered for sale by these savages, not
only in Montreal and Quebec, but in Albany and
Schenectady. Although the Indians disliked all
Europeans, they hated the English colonists of
New England most Their farms spoiled their
hunting grounds, and their increase crowded out
the Indians. Then the Indian had not forgotten
the Pequod, King Philip, and other early destruc-
tive wars. The less aggressive and more seductive
French pleased them better. The Iroquois were
less friendly to the French. Champlain had taken
sides with their Algonquin foe ; and they had made
terms of amity and trade with the early Dutch and
later English. They had fallen upon La Chine in
Canada, and committed terrible massacre, and done
them all the mischief they could, in sundry places
and at sundry times. Later, some of the Mohawks
were seduced by French Jesuits, settled in Canada,
and took sides against their old friends. But most
of these people were true to the Dutch and the
English during the whole colonial period, and took
sides with the Tories during the Revolution, except-
ing a part of the Oneidas who had been brought
under the influence of Rev. Samuel Kirkland, a
New England missionary.
During the French and Indian wars in the eight-
eenth century. New York was the only northern col-
ony which was virtually uninjured. Its territory was
not invaded ; few of its men went into the service.
F'arms continued to be taken up ; trade prospered
about as usual.
Albany County was subject to alarms, but it had
no invasions. It had forts and garrisons, and many
wise and prudent citizens to see that the city suf-
fered no detriment
There was contention among themselves as to
matters of policy in government ; there were social
distinctions ; there were cliques and parties. The
Conservatives, the Loyalists, and the claimants for
the rights of the people for popular representative
government, were all busy. There were brains
and mediocrity; wealth and poverty. But all
agreed that wars were a luxury not to be desired.
Albany was the great center of trade to these
Iroquois. Here they often met in business and in
council. Here they had many friends. They had
here bought many valued trinkets, received many
politic courtesies and presents, and had many a
drunken carousal. They had seen Albany's fort
and stockades.
This statement is given to explain why this city,
during all the wars, suffered no ravages from the
Indians, who long remember favors and never
rush into seen dangers.
The story of the burning of Schenectady has
been told again and again. It is given in detail
in the history of that county. We need not repeat
it It shows the character of the French and In-
dian mode of warfare at that time.
KING WILLIAM'S WAR.
James II, once Duke of York and Albany, and
proprietor of the Colony of New York, was a Ro-
man Catholic. While he was not generous to
the territory named after him, he was especially
cruel to New England. He became so odious at
home that he was driven from his throne, and
succeeded by William, Stadtholder of Holland and
Prince of Orange, who had married Mary, eldest
child and Protestant daughter of James. In No-
vember, 1688, William and Mary landed in Eng-
land and were proclaimed joint sovereigns in
February, 1689. This was an era in English
liberty. Poor James fled to Louis XIV, Catholic
King of France, who espoused his cause. This
brought on open hostilities between England and
France, which extended to the American colonies,
and led to those seven years of dire conflict known
as "King William's War," extending from 1689
to the treaty of Ryswick, in Holland, 1697.
There were constant fears in Albany. The
Indians were known to be treacherous and re-
vengeful. They were on every side, and often in
the city, or very near it, in considerable force. The
jealous French were using their influence against
the Dutch and English, especially those of Albany,
because of their advantage in trade. They feared
the Iroquois, and wished, by cunning art, to gain
them to their interests ; they hated them, and
wished to punish them for some remembered cruel-
ties ; and the English and French in Europe never
loved each other.
To keep the Indians on good terms with the
English, and in fighting trim against the French,
it seemed necessary for every Governor to meet their
Sachems at Albany, have a talk, and make presents.
This was especially important when wars were
impending.
The importance of Albany to the English crown
is strikingly set forth by Governor Sloughter, on
the eve of King William's war.
The preservation of Albany was regarded as of
great importance as being the only bulwark and
safeguard of the King's government on the fron-
tiers of the colony. Says Governor Sloughter:
"If the French should assault and gain Albany, all
the English colonies on both sides of us would be
endangered. For we have nothing but that place
that keeps our Indians steady to us, and the loss
of that must be the loss of all the King's interest on
this continent "
But war had begun ; something must be done.
A meeting was held at Albany, November 24,
1689, at which were present: " Y' Commissioners
dOLONIAL MILITARY AFFAIRS AND WARS.
386
for y' Citty and County of Alb advysing with
Sundrey officers of y' Militia There, where upon It
is Resolved That y' following Persones be comnnis-
sionated, vizt. : Captain Jochim Staets Comdr. of
Fort Orange always to keep under command in s''
fort sixty men; Lieut. Jonathan wrigt; Ens: John
Hater. For the city of albany, Pieter minne, Toune
Major, Capt. Johannis wendel, Melgert W3'nants,
Ens : Regnier Barentse, Capt. Pieter van waggden,
Leift. Robt. Sanders, Ens: Joh: Bleeker, Jun'
Capt. Barnet Liewis, Leift. Marte Klock, Ens. For
the County of Albany, Capt. Martin gerritse, Lieut.
Evert d'Ridder, Ens : Zymon van ness, Capt. Alex-
ander glen, Leift Johannis glen. Ens: douwe Au-
kus, Capt Johannis Bensing, Leift. Andries Bar-
rentse. Ens. Johannis Janse.
"Ordered That y° aforesaid Commissionated offi-
cers now are Established, and shall from this time
forth Remaine and be in full Power & y' Authority,
& y* Authority for y' Militia of this & County,
To act & to doe in all matters and things relating
Militarie affaires, according to y" Rules & deci-
pline of war, until, further order from his Majestie
King William of England, Scotland, French &
Ireland, &c."
"In 1689," says Broadhead, in his history of
the State, " the City of Albany was not much more
than a large stockaded village, of which the two
chief streets crossed each other at right angles.
The one, ' Handelaer's Straat,' or Market street,
ran nearly north and south, skirting the river, pro-
verbially apt to overflow its banks in times of great
floods.
•'The other, running about east and west, a little
way up a steep hill, was called ' Yonkheer's Straat,'
now known as State street
"About halfway up the hill stood the fort, just
outside one of the city gates."
At this time Albany was the center of the great in-
ternal traffic of the province with the Indians. Her
importance was second only to that of the metrop-
olis, and her city officers always maintained their
official dignity and their loyalty to the Government
In a Report on the State of the Militia in their
Majesties Province of New York, made in April,
1693, by Governor Fletcher:
"The Militia of the County of Albany, com-
manded by Major Peter Schuyler, being five com-
panies of Foot and one Troop of Horse, now
forihed into Dragoons by the Governor, consisting
of 359." The aggregate in the Province was 2,932.
" In the List of the Officers of the Militia in the
Province of New York, " made in November, 1 700,
in the time of Governor Bellomont, the officers of
the Regiment of Militia in the City and County of
Albany, is given as follows: Field Officers — Peter
Schuyler, Colonel; , Lieutenant-Colonel;
Dyrck Wessels, Major.
Of a Foot Company in the City of Albany: Com-
missioned Officers— Johannes Bleeker, Captain;
Johannes Rosebaum, Lieutenant; Abra. Cuyler,
Ensign.
Of another Foot Company in the said City: Al-
bert Rykman, Captain; Wessel Ten Brock, Lieu-
tenant; Johannes Thomasse, Ensign.
Of another Foot Company in the said County:
Martin Comelisse, Captain; Andries Douw, Lieu-
tenant; Andris Koyman, Ensign.
Of another Foot Company in said County:
Gerrit Teunisse, Captain; Jonas Douw, Jochem
Lamerse, Lieutenants; Volckhart V. Hoesem,
Abra. Hause, Ensigns.
Of the Troop of Horse in y' said Regiment:
Kilian Van Renslaer, Captain; Johannes Schuyler,
Lieutenant; Bennone V. Corlaer, Cornet; Anthony
Bries, Quartermaster. This Regiment consists of
Three hundred and Seaventy-one men.
"The Governo' hath established a Court Martiall
att Albany, whereof Major Rich'd Ingoldsby is
President & Robert Livingston, Judge Advocate,
who, with other commissionated Captains at Albany,
have power to exercise Martiall Law, being a fron-
tear Garrison and in actuall Warr." M. Clarkson,
Secry.
The people of Albany were in great alarm when
they learned of the fearful fire and massacre that
came upon the near City of Schnectady in 1690.
The expedition was sent by Count Frontenac, Gov-
ernor of Canada, and came so suddenly upon the
doomed village on that gloomy winter night in
February, and without provocation, that no peo-
ple felt safe from savage invasion and cruelt)'.
An expedition was sent from New England and
New York against Canada, under command of
General Winthrop, of Connecticut, its purpose be-
ing punishment for wrongs inflicted on the borders,
and for conquest of the troublesome French.
Some troops, from New York and Connecticut,
with Indians of the Five Nations, placed under the
command of Colonel Peter Schuyler, left Albany
early in July, 1690, and pushed toward the St
Lawrence, where they met Frontenac in August,
and were repulsed. Milborne, by direction of
Leisler, furnished subsistence for this army. Feuds
betweeen these motley and undisciplined troops
caused the failure of the expedition. A part of
the force under Winthrop went no farther than
Wood Creek, at the head Lake Champlain. All
returned to Albany where they met the amazed and
indignant Leisler, who caused the arrest of Win-
throp and some of his leading officers and put
them in confinement
In July, 1 69 1, Governor Sloughter, after a visit
to Albany, writes: "I returned from Albany on the
27th past, where I left all things in good posture,
and with much difficulty have secured the Indians.
1 found that place in great disorder, our plantations
and Schenectady almost ruined and destroyed by
the enemys dureing the time of the late confusion
there. I have garrisoned Schenectady and the
Halfe Moon with some of the hundred fusileers
raised by our Assembly; the remainder, with one of
the King's Companys, are posted at Albany."
Major Peter Schuyler, then Mayor of the City,
marched from Albany June 21, 1691, with a few
soldiers and Indians. On the ist of August he
came upon a French Settlement near Montreal, and
killed about 200 of the French and Indian inhab-
itants, with a loss of only 43, of whom 22 were
Indians.
386
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
After this, Major Ingoldsby commanded at
Fort Orange, while the county militia were placed
by Governor Fletcher under command of Major
Peter Schuyler, in all 359 men.
In June, 1693, the Governor held another Con-
ference with the Five Nations at Albany, to coun-
teract, if possible, the artful efforts of the French
to excite them against the colony. By bountiful
gifts and flattering words, the conference greatly
delighted the Indians and secured their friend-
ship.
The sum of j^i, 500 had been appropriated for
the repair of Fort Orange. In September, 1693,
560 new palisades were collected and "sett up
against the old Stockadoes." No effort was omitted
that the defenses of the city might be kept in good
condition and the soldiers on a war footing.
Bands of Canadian Indians often came near the
city in 1696-97, causing great alarm to the inhab-
itants. Houses and barns were burned and cattle
killed on the farms in the county, and many left
their homes, so great was the fear of savage mur-
der.
After the peace of Ryswick, ending this war, a
census was taken, as given in the article on popu-
lation, in which it was made to appear that the popu-
lation of the county, as it then was, had been
reduced from 662 men, 340 women, and 1,014
children in 1689, to 382 men, 262 women, and
805 children in 1698. There had left the city and
county during the war, 142 men, 68 women,
and 209 children; and 84 men had been killed,
38 had died, and 16 had been taken prisoners.
Early in July, 1698, a general peace was con-
cluded at Ryswick. The Earl of Bellomont was
then Governor-General of the Province of New
York. The following paper was drawn up and
presented at a meeting of the Common Council
held in the City of Albany, the 2d day of August,
1698. It shows the public feeling at that time.
The Common Council are unanimously of the opinion
to address his Excell. the Earl of Bellomont on the following
heads:
1. To thank his Lordship for bringing y= joyfull news of
y« Peace.
2. To acquaint his Lordship y« great hardships this
poor Citty has labored under for these 9 years dreadful and
bloody warr; diu-ing which time they have not only been
at an Excessive Charge and Expense in quartering y= officers
and souldiers sent hither from time to time, but have been
obliged, for their own security, to fortify y« towne twice
with Palesadoes, and build 5 block houses, all at their
own charge, which hath so much impoverished y Inhabi-
tants y' most have deserted.
3. That this Citty doth wholly rely and depend upon
y« Indian Trade, upon which account it was first settled,
and have obtained a Charter whereby y« Sole trade with y» In -
dians is confined within y walls of s'' Citty, doth there-
fore humbly addresse his L^ip to protect and defend them
in there Rights and Priviledges, and doe thank his L'^p for
his great trouble and care in treating with y 5 na-
tions for y- Public good and advantage to this Citty, and
doe further return there best thanks for y« good
Instructions his L''p has been pleased to give them, as-
suring his L'^p that they will not be wanting in useing there
utmost endeavors to unite all parties, and restore this
Citty to its Priviledges and Rights; that they will also ob-
serve all y oy" articles Mentioned in his L''p's instruc-
tions.
QUEEN ANNE'S WAR.
When James II died, an exile in France, in
1 701, his friend, the French King, proclaimed
James Francis, his son. King of England. Anne,
the second daughter of James, had been crowned
the English Queen. She was a Protestant. War
was declared against France in 1702, because of
this affront to the sovereign of England. It was
known as the War of the Spanish Succession in
Europe, but as "Queen Anne's War" in America.
It lasted until April 11, 1713, when a treaty of
peace was concluded at Utrecht.
During this war, blood flowed in nearly every
village and valley in New England. The atroc-
ities of the French and Indians were so mon-
strous in New England, that the conquest of
Canada at any cost, seemed to be looked upon as
a necessity. And all that blood and treasure
could do was offered by the northern colonies to
accomplish this purpose. But help from Eng-
land was an abortion, the causes of which we
proceed to show.
During the time of peace that preceded Queen
Anne's War, the soldiers who composed the garri-
son at Fort Orange were much neglected. In
1700, Governor Bellomont writes: "Some of the
inhabitants of Albany who are now here [New
York City] tell me the Soldiers there in Garrison
are in that shameful and miserable condition for
the want of Cloaths, that the like was never seetL"
Even the Indians were disgusted as they observed
their situation. The Governor continues: "Per-
sons assure me that some of the old crafty sachems
of the Five Nations have asked 'em whether they
thought 'em such fooles as to believe our King
could protect 'em from the French when he was
not able to Keep his Soldiers in a Condition as
those in Canada are Kept."
In October of this year the Governor visited
Albany to look after the Indians. While there he
reviewed the two companies in the garrison under
Major Ingoldsby and Captain Weems. Of them he
writes: "I never in my life saw so moving a
sight as that of the Companies at Albany; half the
men were without breeches, shoes and stockings
when they mustered. I thought it shameful to the
last degree to see English soldiers so abused. They
had like to have mutinied." He found the forts
"scandalously weak;" and adds: "The inhabi-
tants came all about me at my leaving Albany, and
told me in plain terms that if the King would not
build a fort there to protect 'em, they would, on
the first news of war between England and France
desert the place and fly to New York rather than
they would stay there to have their throats cut."
"There are half a dozen at Albany who have com-
petent estates, but all the rest are miserable poor."
At this time the City and County of Albany fur-
nished 371 militia men, under command of Colonel
Pieter Schuyler, with Dirck Wessells as Major. In
the colony there were 3,182 enrolled militia.
In 1702, Colonel Schuyler's regiment of the
Militia of the County of Albany was pronounced in
pretty good condition, owing to his care.
COLONIAL MILITARY AFFAIRS AND WARS.
387
In July, 1702, when Cornbury visited Albany,
just on the eve of another war, he found the fort
"in a miserable condition, "the stockadoes
about all roten to such a degree that I can with
ease push them down." The garrison, still com-
manded by Major Ingoldsby, composed of 176
soldiers besides officers, was still in sad want of
clothing and provisions.
It was heard at Albany that the French and In-
dians were making great preparations at Montreal,
supposed to be against Schenectady and Albany.
Something was done to repair the old fort in 1704,
by putting up new palisades. The new fort was
begun, but, for want of money, left incomplete.
It was not finished until 1735.
A large number of soldiers and Indians were
brought together at Albany in the summer of 1 709,
prepared to invade Canada. The command of
these provincials was given to Colonel Francis Nich-
olson. Albany entered warmly into this scheme of
conquest. The quota was furnished, and volun-
teer Companies were organized. Under the influ-
ence of Peter Schuyler, the Five Nations took up
the hatchet and sent 500 warriors to join the expe-
dition. The outrages upon Deerfield and other
New England villages had aroused the northern
colonies, and led the British Ministry to fall in
with this plan for seizing the French possessions in
America. It contemplated an attack upon Quebec
by water, while the troops of New York and New
England were to make an attempt on Montreal by
way of Lake Champlain. New York had, at her
own expense, opened a military road for the more
easy movement of troops and supplies from Albany
to the Lake, beginning at the present village of
Schuylerville and running through dense forests by
wa}' of Fort Edward and Wood Creek. They had
erected on the way, three wood forts, and built bat-
teaux and canoes. All being ready, the army left
Albany and encamped at the middle fort, named
Fort Ann, waiting to hear from the naval expedi-
tion against Quebec. When it was learned that it
was sent against Spain instead, the troops were dis-
couraged ; many were sick, and died with a malig-
nant disease. They broke camp and returned to
Albany.
Colonel Schuyler and other leading men of Al-
bany, who saw that there could be no lasting peace
until the French were driven out of Canada, were
greatly chagrined at the failure of this expedition.
In 1710 he took with him five Indian Sachems and
siiled for England, hoping to interest the Crown in
this matter.
Through his influence, a fleet with 5,000 troops
was sent from England to help the provinces in
another attempt to subject Canada. This was in
1 71 1. On the. last day of July, a fleet of twelve
men-of-war and forty-six smaller vessels left Boston
for the St Lawrence, having Montreal as its ob-
jective point. Here was to be a junction with a
strong force mustered at Albany, under the com-
mand of General Nicholson. In the latter part of
August, Nicholson, with an army of 2,000 English,
1,000 Germans, and 800 Indians, moved from Al-
bany toward Lake Champlain. They took the
Lake George route. Meanwhile the English fleet
had, in a thick fog, struck upon rocks ; lost eight
transports and 800 men, and returned to England.
Hearing of this disaster. General Nicholson or-
dered an immediate return to Albany, and Canada
was safe for many years longer. Colonels Schuyler,
Whitney, and Ingoldsby were in this expedition.
The peace of Utrecht ended this expensive and
foolish war, the French acknowledging the Five
Nations as British subjects, and promising to let
them alone. These two abortive attempts cost
New York alone ;^30,ooo sterling. The Colonists
were disgusted and disheartened, and the Five Na-
tions began to show signs of alienation from the
English, whose failures they regarded as weak and
cowardly.
The following record shows the military con-
dition of Albany just on the eve of the preparation
for this last expedition.
May 20, 171 1, Robert Hunter, Captain-General
and Governor-in-Chief of the Province of New
York, called the troops from Albany to the Manor
of Livingston, and directed that the Militia of Al-
bany be called to arms to protect that city in the
absence of the garrison. Accordingly, the Mayor
and Aldermen met May 21, 1711, and sent the fol-
lowing letter to his Excellency.
"Albany, y' 21st of May, 171 1.
"May it please your Ex'cy.
"Your Ex'cys Letter dated yesterday we rec" ys.
day, and in Obedience thereof, we have forthwith
procured a Sloop for y" transportation of y' Troops
here, and desired Peter Schuyler, Esqr., Collo of
the militia Regiment of y' Citty & County, that he
will emmediately order y militia of this Citty to
Come in Arms to take care of y* fort and this place
during y* absence of y" s'' troops ; who returned
answer that he would comply therewith. So re-
main in all sincerity,
"May it please your Ex'cy,
Your Ex'cys most obedient and humble servants."
This was signed by the Mayor, Recorder, and
Aldermen.
KING GEORGE'S WAR.
For over thirty years there had been peace in the
colonies. A quarrel arose between George II,
King of England, and the King of France, re-
specting the claims of Maria Theresa to the throne
of Austria. The question at issue did not interest
the American colonists. But these Kings were
ready for a fight, and as things then were, their
caprices involved the English and French colonies in
America. War was declared March 15, 1744, by
France against England, which is called in Europe
the War of the Austrian Succession ; in America,
King George's War.
The news of another war, when received at Al-
bany in June, three months after its declaration,
naturally excited great apprehensions of the repeti-
tion of acts of cruelty and blood. Governor
Clinton came to the city and held another success-
388
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ful conference with the Sachems of the Six Nations,
cautioning them against the treacherous French, and
reminding them of the wrongs which their people
in the past had suffered from that nation. The
Governor sent to Albany six 1 8-pound cannons, with
powder, balls, and other military supplies. He put
on foot a scheme to reduce the strong fort at Crown
Point. Meanwhile the alarm was increased by the
attack of the French and Indians upon old Saratoga,
now Schuylerville, burning its fort and about 20
houses, killing some 30 persons, and taking nearly
60 prisoners. Refugees came to Albany to spend
the winter; soldiers were quartered there. There
was general commotion in the county. Two com-
panies of His Majesty's Fusileers were sent up to
Albany, and the Indians were ordered to have their
hatchets ready.
In August, 1746, the famous Colonel William
Johnson, at the head of a company of Mohawks,
all in war paint, came into the city. The Mohawks
agreed, after some politic maneuvering, to take
sides against the French. The truth is, the French
best pleased them, but they secured more protec-
tion and other favors from the Dutch and English.
Their fidelity was not to be trusted when war came,
except by renewed gifts, promises, and appeals.
A militia sergeant had been killed by some Can-
adian scouts. Colonel Johnson was ordered to
send out scouting parties to harass the French of
Canada. But, while they brought back some
scalps and prisoners, they demanded a good many
extra favors to keep them in good temper, even
under the skillful tactics of Johnson.
Later in the autumn of 1746, Governor CHnton
sent five companies of soldiers to Albany. Massa-
chusetts and New York resumed their preparations
against Canada, and began, although winter was
near, to collect men and munitions of war at
Albany. But, by the wiser counsel of Connecticut,
the expedition was given over, and nothing was
done. Troops from Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and other provinces were posted near by, with
Albany as a center, in 1747, to guard the fron-
tiers. Colonel Schuyler had command of the New
Jersey troops. During this time a mutinous spirit
manifested itself among all the troops but those of
Colonel Schuyler, on the ground that they were
poorly paid. The trading people of the city, who
had but little to do (protected as they were) but to
make gain out of these soldiers, are said to have
incited this mutinous spirit against Governor Clin-
ton, intimating that he withheld their pay for his
own uses.
The war was ended by the treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle, made October 18, 1748, in which all
losses by either nation were restored. But the
ancient hate and the memory of recent damaging
contests had not died out. It was only a forced
and temporary suspension of hostilities after a fool-
ish war, with nothing gained. Some of the people
of Albany County had suffered annoyance, but
some, also, had made profit from the military
placed here to keep off danger. They had not,
however, left their own castles, and were non? the
worse off for King George's war.
THE OLD FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR,
1754 TO 1763.
The last of the four intercolonial wars in which
the colonies were involved, and which ended the
French rule in America, was declared against
France by England, May 17, 1756, and recipro-
cated by the declaration of war against England by
France on the 9th of June succeeding. It was a
war made with the earnest determination on the
part of England to put an end to the aggressions of
the French in this country. It was a war to deter-
mine whether America should be New England or
New France. The French had been encompassing
the English colonies with forts from Lake Champ-
lain to the mouth of the Mississippi, including the
Great Lakes, the Ohio River, the streams that run
into them, and the land that bordered them. Their
aim was to shut in the colonists between the Atlan-
tic and the Appalachian Hills, and then force them
into submission.
The colonists were deeply interested in this war;
those of the North, including New England and
New York, especially. To it they gave their hard-
earned possessions and their lives, and England
was willing that her hardy, grown-up children here
should do the fighting and pay the expenses.
But this war did for both the Old and New Eng-
land far more than they then knew. It taught the
hardy soldier how to use arms and plan battles; it
taught the colonies that they were old enough and
able to govern themselves. Its close was the morn-
ing of the Revolution of 1776.
This war was really a sequel to King George's
War. The hate between England and France was
not ended by treaty. Vexatious irruptions from
Canadian Indians continued.
On the 28th of August, 1754, a party of French
Indians invaded the Province of New York,
and burned the houses and barns of some of the
settlers at Hoosic, and took back with them to
Canada the Schaghticoke Indians, about sixty in
number.
Lieutenant-Governor DeLancey immediately or-
dered the fort at Albany to be repaired and put in
order. He sent a company of soldiers from New
York to Albany, and directed that 200 men from
each regiment of militia near Albany, be ready to
march to the city when needed.
Although kept in constant alarm, and seeing
much of the "pomp and circumstance of war,"
Albany really suffered nothing from invasion, and
but little from loss of money or men during its
existence.
We find but little in the city records touching
the conduct of this war, only a few doings of the
Common Council which make complaint and ask
for better defenses.
A meeting of the Common Council was held at
the City Hall on the 29th day of May, 1753.
At this time James DeLancey was acting Gov-
ernor of the Province. Albany was a frontier town.
At this meeting, a petition was directed to Gov-
ernor DeLancey, signed by the Mayor and Ald^r^
wen, setting forth;
THE OLD FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
389
That the City of Albany is a frontier town, and the de-
fense thereof is of great consequence to the safety of the
whole province incase of War with the French; that the city
is altogether undefensable, exposed to the incursions of any
enemy, and the corporation, by reason of the heavy debt
they are under, occasioned by the great expense we were at
during the late war, and m wise able to forlify the city un-
less assisted by a provincial Tax; and whereas, your Excellen-
cies have prepared a petition to be laid before the General
Assembly, praying they would be pleased to lay a tax of
;^6,ooo on estates throughout this province to defray the ex-
pense of building a wall with bastions or batteries at con-
venient distances, for the defence of said city and security of
the province.
The document closes with a prayer-that
His Excellency will recommend to the General Assem-
bly, in the most pressing terms that you think proper, to
raise the sum of ^6,000 for defraying the epxense of said
This petition was presented to the Legislature
by Robert Livingston. At this time there was
a wall around part of the city; and stockades,
with block-houses at convenient distances, inclosed
the city; and there was a fort bristling with can-
non. But its exposure to the incursions of the
French and Indians was so great, that its municipal
government was urging the provincial authorities to
afford greater security by building "a stone wall
with bastions and batteries," around the city.
This petition for a stone wall and bastions
around the city seems to have been disregarded by
the General Assembly.
At a meeting of the Common Council held on
the 22d of May, 1756, the matter was again taken
up in a petition directed to Governor Charles
Hardy, the preamble of which sets forth the de-
fenceless condition of the city, praying for the
erection of a wall, or at least for new stockades,
and more cannon for the fort.
At this time there was encamped on the hill,
about where the Old Capitol afterwards stood, a
regiment of soldiers. An ordinance was passed by
the Common Council forbidding all tavern keepers
and all other persons selling any strong liquor to
any of his Majesty's troops, or harboring or enter-
taining any of them after 9 o'clock p. m.
During this war many troops were encamped in
and around Albany. Some were at Port Schuyler,
as it is now called. Some were on the flat lands in
Albany and Bethlehem, as well as at Watervliet, and
on the opposite side of the Hudson. The Hudson
itself bore many vessels laden with munitions of war
and troops for its service. The music of the drum
and fife, and the training of the provincial militia
and the English soldiery, were daily events. When
General James Abercrombie was here in 1756, it is
estimated that about 10,000 troops were encamped
on both sides of the river. Lords Loudon and
Amherst also tented here, and disciplined their
armies for war. The people of the city and vicinity
were greatly interested in furnishing supplies and
service. Indian warriors, with their squaws and
papooses, added to the liveliness of the scene.
The expeditions of 1755 and 1756, from Albany
to Oswego, to attack Forts Frontenac and Niagara,
under Governor Shirley, included Albany soldiers,
of whom we have the name of General (then Cap-
tain) Philip Schuyler, who assisted in forwarding
large supplies to Oswego. The march was peril-
ous and fatiguing. Two forts were built to
strengthen the Old Fort Oswego, called New Fort
and Fort Ontario; vessels were built and other prep-
arations on a large scale were made against Fort
Niagara. But the approach of winter and heavy
rains suspended the attack, and, after garrisoning
the forts, he returned to Albany and disbanded the
rest of his troops. During the winter, further
preparations were made at Albany to proceed
against Niagara in the spring. Early that season
General Winslow was at Albany with 7,000 men,
waiting for the arrival of the ever-dilatory Lord
Loudon, Commander-in-Chief. His delay until
late in the summer proved a fatal one. Mont-
calm had the English forts at Oswego in his posses-
sion, and held them until 1757, when, once more.
Fort Ontario again came into possession of the
English, and so remained until the Revolution.
Plans were made in 1755 to attack the French
fort at Crown Point. The command of the e.xpe-
dition was given lo Sir William Johnson. Troops
were gathered at Albany and Greenbush from dif-
ferent colonies. Among these was a regiment
under Colonel Ephraim Williams, of Massachu-
setts, whose will, made here at that time, on the
22d July, 1755, laid the foundation of Williams
College. On the 8th day of September following,
while within four miles of the English army, to
join which he was on the march, he was attacked
by the bold French commander, Dieskau, valiantly
opposing this assault. Colonel Williams was killed.
Soon after, Dieskau, fighting against the main army,
under Johnson, was fatally wounded and taken
prisoner to Albany. He lived to reach England
and there died.
General Johnson was greatly delayed in his
movement on Crown Point. At this time he com-
plained much of the people of Albany County,
saying, among other severe things, that he had
"great opposition from those Dutch traders at
Albany;" and, again, "these people are so much
devoted to their own private profit, that every other
public principle has ever been sacrificed to it; "
and, again he writes, under date of September i6th:
"Our expedition is likely to be extremely dis-
tressed and, I fear, fatally retarded for the want of
wagons. The people of Albany County and the
adjacent counties hide their wagons and drive away
their horses. Most of the wagoners taken into the
service have deserted; some horses are quite jaded,
and some few killed by the enemy, and several run
away. Most of our provisions are at Albany."
All these delays discouraged the enterprise, and
led Johnson, at the approach of winter, after hav-
ing built Fort William Henry and lelt there a gar-
rison of 600 men, to return to Albany and disband
his troops. At the close of this fruitless expedi-
tion, King George II made him a gift of /"see
and granted him a baronetcy, an honor which he
had not fairly earned. The best service of the ex-
pedition was rendered by New England officers
and men.
In 1757, the citizens of Albany were in great
alarm at the advance of Montcalm. His attack
390
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
upon Fort William Henry in August of this year
caused the greatest consternation, especially when
the savage slaughter of the garrison by the Indians,
as it left the fort, became known. An increasing
army centered in the city; a large number quar-
tered here during the fall and winter, and the place
became a house of refuge to the frontier settlers.
It was during this winter that the sober people
of Albany were scandalized by the social man-
ners of the English officers and soldiery, many of
whom gave themselves to theatrical plays and all
the blandishments of dress, fashion, social flirtation
and debauchery. The Anglomania of this season
is graphically described by Mrs. Grant, in '-The
American Lady."
In the early summer of 1758, General Aber-
crombie and his several regiments of troops were
encamped upon the "Pasture." or great flat lands
on the south side of the city. Among his officers
was the long-remembered and amiable Lord Howe.
Great hopes were rested in this army, which, in
July, was most crushingly defeated in its move-
ment upon Ticonderoga, then called Fort Carillon.
Albany soldiers accompanied the inefficient Aber-
crombie. The disheartened army retreated to
Fort William Henry, and many of the wounded
were conveyed to Albany. The brave Lord Howe
was slain in this battle, and his body, in charge of
Philip Schuyler, was entombed in this city, first in
Schuyler's family tomb and finally under St. Peter's
Church. His death was mourned in America and
England, while the presumption gind cowardice of
Abercrombie made his name contemptible.
As a contribution to the local history of this per-
iod, indicative of the character of the people and
the army, we give the following extract from the
doings of the Common Council.
Whereas, Sundry complaints have been made, and in par-
ticular by the Right Honorable Lord Viscount Howe, of
the great abuse in .•■elling Rum and other strong Liquors to
Soldier?, which, by means of their continual drinking, im-
pairs and weakens their constitutions and renders them unfit
lor duty; and we being conscious of the justness of the com-
plaint, as well as the mischiefs that may arise from the said
abuse, and being willing to remedy it as much as in us lays.
Be it therefore ordained by the Mayor, Aldermen and Com-
monalty of the City of Albany, and it is hereby ordained
by the authority of the same, that no person whatsoever
alter publication hereof presume to sell any Rum or other
strong liquors to any Soldier or Soldiers whatsoever, or to
any other person for their use ; and in case any person or
persons shall be convicted before the Mayor, Recorder, or
any ol the Aldermen of selling any Rum or other distilled
Liquor, as aforesaid, to any Soldier or Soldiers, she or they so
oHending shall, for the first offence, forfeit the sum of twenty
shillings current money of New York, and for every like
offense after, the sum of forty shillings, to be levyed by dis-
tress and sale of the offender's goods, one-half for the benefit
of the informer, and the other half for the use of the City.
Dated Albany, this Seventh day of December, 1756.
Among the expeditions in which soldiers of
Albany were engaged, was the one against old Fort
Frontenac, under Colonel John Bradstreet. This
was a French fort and a fur-trading and missionary
station, near where Kingston, Canada, now is.
The fort was erected in 1673 ^y Governor Louis
Frontenac, and was for many years regarded as
one of the strongest and most important in Amer-
ica. After the defeat of Abercrombie at Ticonder-
oga, in 1758, Colonel Bradstreet, at his own re-
quest, went across the wilderness to Oswego, and
advanced to the fort in three vessels. 'I'he approach
was sudden and the fort was weak. It surrendered
without a contest. His force consisted of New
York and New England troops. Among the
officers were Captains Peter Yates and Goosen Van
Schaick, of Albany, the latter of whom became a
Colonel in the New York revolutionary line.
Colonel Bradstreet was Commissary-General in
1756, keeping up supplies between Albany and
Oswego, with much annoyance from the French
Indians, with whom he had several successful and
bloody skirmishes.
On their return from Fort Frontenac, his small
army aided in building Fort Stanwix, near where
Rome is now situated. This fortunate expedition
resulted in the exchange of the Commander of the
fort for Colonel Peter Schuyler, then a prisoner in
Canada, and turning over 9 armed vessels, 40
pieces of cannon, a great quantity of stores, the
fort itself, and no men as prisoners of war. The
name of Bradstreet is deserving of honor, as a
brave soldier and an excellent man. He was an
intimate friend of Philip Schuyler, whose counsel
and aid he sought, not only at this time, but in
subsequent service.
In May and June, 1759, Lord Jeffrey Amherst,
an English officer of great merit, encamped about
the City of Albany. In July, his army of New
York and New England soldiers moved toward
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The French
forces withdrew on their approach and both these
strongholds came into the hands of the English.
The fall of Quebec, September 12 th, and of
Montreal soon after, gave Canada to the British
and ended the French dominion in America. A
definitive treaty was concluded at Paris, Febru-
ary 10, 1763.
Albany County had no more alarms from the
French and Indians of Canada. The usual in-
dustrial pursuits of peace were resumed.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
391
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
By Prof. J". TENNBY.
THE representative principle must be sought
away back in the ages — in the first communities
of men. Its growth, traced through all the forms
of industrial, ecclesiastical and civil institutions,
has never yet been carefully written out. It would
be the work of a lifetime. It took deeper root and
expanded more rapidly and vigorously in Anglo-
Saxon Britain than among any other people. lis
democratic element gradually acquired great dis-
tinctness and purity, and in this form was first
brought over to the stormy coasts of primitive New
England in 1620. Here it found congenial soil
and skillful culture, and branched forth westward
over a large territory, producing a growth of as-
tonishing vigor on the 4th of July, 1776.
What Albany City and County had to do in the
struggle that led to its establishment, we propose to
set forth as fully as the scattered facts, dug out of
the debris of one hundred years, and our limited
time and space, will admit.
We regret that we have no record of the services
rendered on the field of battle by individuals who
were always ready "to do or die" for sweet liberty
— men who occupied subordinate military offices
or worked in the ranks — untitled men of strong
convictions and brave hearts, who fought, not for
fame, but for home and country, and now fill
unlettered graves. Our questions in regard to their
names and deeds have found no answer.
Much that transpired in the great struggle with
England for American nationality is already lost
in the graves of the actors in that drama.
We do not find that much field service was done
by Albany County in that war. At first there was
much apathy among the citizens generally. They
were not men of war; they loved peace and pro-
ductive industry. King George was far away and
had done them no harm that they could see. The
wrongs complained of in Boston, New York, and
elsewhere, by men of trade and public men, they
might have heard of, but they had not seen nor
felt them. Who can wonder that such men were
slow to leave their farms, and shops, and stores
for strife and carnage; that some were not apathetic
only, but decidedly opposed to a war that meant
revolution .? They preferred to endure the ills they
knew than to fiy to those they knew not of.
Hence there were many Tories in Albany County.
And, while the most brave and intelligent watched
events, and pondered and feared, most put off the
evil day, hoping that the unpleasantness with Old
Mother England would be settled without blood.
Yes, Albany was slow to respond to the feelings
so strongly manifested in the cities of the Atlantic
coasts, in Philadelphia, and in Virginia.
But most of the men of mind and property in
the city — the Schuylers, the Van Rensselaers,
Gansevoort, Van Schaick, Nicolls, Douw, Ten
Broeck, and others — were fully alive to the situa-
tion, full of the spirit of patriotism, ready for any
sacrifice for the rights of the people. They were
always on the side of wise counsel, and when the
hour of action came, they were prepared.
There was no newspaper in Albany until 1771,
and the publisher of that was a Tory. No tele-
graph then; no stage; no medium of rapid com-
munication. News moved slowly; the common
mind moved slowl)'. But, when the news of blood-
shed on the plains of Lexington, April 19, 1775,
was heard, all saw that war was inevitable. Patriot
blood was stirred, and city and county began to
get ready. Military companies were formed, and
the bustle and confusion of getting ready for the
worst was heard all around.
Albany, as important as it was, was a small vil-
lage then. But it had long been a town of grim
forts and warlike movements. It was used to sol-
diers and officers; to camps and marches. Its sit-
uation and its accidents had made it always a
military center to which men came and from which
men went with all the pomp and circumstance of
dire war.
So it continued to be during the War of the
Revolution. Here was Fort Frederick, with its
garrisons and guns; here were oflScers' quarters,
barracks, hospitals, and commissaries stores. Sol-
diers were billeted here. Here were fears and
watchings. There were enemies at home and
abroad. Here were prisons for bold traitors
and gallows to hang them on. Of course there
was much to be done to duly provide, keep, and
distribute " the sinews of war." Here was much
to be done by a strong "home guard," protecting
the city and holding it as a place of safety and
supply; a place not for the protection alone of
citizens and their wives and children, but for the
restraint of the rebellious Tory; for the hungry
and ragged soldier in tent and field; for the sick
and wounded in the hospital.
Such duties as these all important ones, neces-
sarily occupied the patriotic inhabitants of Albany
City and County, and made them less f.-equent in
the march and bloody contest. They were not
found, so far as we can learn, at Bennington,
White Plains, Monmouth, Trenton, nor in any of
the batt'es of the South. Nor was much fighting
done by them after the surrender of Burgoyne.
They went, probably, where Schuyler, Ganse-
voort and Van Schaick, and Ten Broeck and the
Van Rensselaers went, or directed to go, to St.
392
HISTORY OF TttF COUNTY OP ALJ^ANY.
Johns, Chambly, Montreal, and Quebec; to Crown
Point and Ticonderoga; to Fort Ann and Fort
Stanwix; to Stone Arabia and Saratoga.
Who some of them were who were enrolled
ready for any duty, is told in the military rosters as
we find them in the archives of the State, in the
records of the Committee of Safety, and in cer-
tain local histories.
The City Records, and the Records of the Com-
mittee of Safety, from which we have made liberal
extracts, show better than anything else the state of
matters in this County and City.
Albany was always fortified, and fortified and
garrisoned according to the needs of the place and
the times. Its government was usually adminis-
tered by prudent officers, supported by a discreet,
peace-loving class of citizens. It kept friendship
with the Indians. No battle was ever fought in
the present Albany County ; no invasion ever
reached the city ; no besiegers ever attacked its de-
fenses. It had rumors of war, but no war. It al-
ways had fears of the savage, but fear was all. Its
people were always forewarned and forearmed.
The French of Canada, full of jealousy, often
planned invasion of Albany, but never carried out
their plans.
OLD ENGLISH CHURCH AND FORT FREDERICK.
An important convention of colonial delegates
met at Albany June 19, 1754. It has often been
referred to as having connection with the opening
movements of the American Revolution. If this
be so, it was quite remote. It was invited by Lord
Holderness, English Secretary of State. Seven of
the thirteen colonies were represented by twenty-
six members. The New York Delegates were
James Delancy, Joseph Murray, William Johnson,
John Chambers, William Smith. Most of these
were adherents of the English Crown, and remained
so all their lives. The delegates were chosen by
the colonial assemblies, and had for their leading
object the formation of a closer political union for
the purpose of better security against the encroach-
ments of the French on the north, and for keeping
the friendship of the Indians, the Six Nations es-
pecially, who seemed getting too much under the
influence of the Jesuits and other French emissa-
ries. The sachems of the Indians were particularly
invited to meet this convention, and they were
present in full numbers. Speeches were made on
both sides, and much diplomacy was used. The
sessions were held for twelve days. The meetings
were in the old City Hall.
Benjamin Franklin was present from Pennsylva-
nia, having a plan which he introduced for discus-
sion, that looked to a permanent union for mutual
counsel and defense in all matters of common inter-
est " Debate upon this and other plans proposed
was taken up, hand in hand with the Indian business,
daily." Apian, very much like that of Franklin,
proposed a grand council of forty-eight members.
to have, under limitations, the appointment of all
civil and military officers, the general management
of civil and military matters, and the entire con-
trol of Indian affairs. When the plan was sub-
mitted, as Franklin himself tells us, "the assem-
blies did not adopt it, as they all thought there was
too much prerogative in it; and in Eng'and it was
judged to have too much of the democratic." But the
convention, no doubt, succeeded in its main pur-
pose— that of keeping the Iroquois on friendly
terms — after the usual presents, promises and flat-
tery ; and "the plan," which was not the main
purpose, led the colonists to a better understand-
ing of each other, and helped prepare them for
more united action when the time came. This
was largely due to the far-seeing sagacity and vigi-
lant patriotism of Franklin.
Lieutenant-Governor Colden writes to the Earl
of Hillsborough, under date of New York, February
21, 1770 — "My Lord: It is my duty to inform
you that a violent party continue their assiduous
endeavors to disturb the Government, by working
hard on the passions of the populace, and ex-
citing riots, who in every attempt have hitherto
been unsuccessful. * * * The persons who
appear on these occasions are of inferior rank, but
it is not doubted they are directed by some persons
of distinction. They consist chiefly of Dissenters,
who are very numerous, especially in the country.
* * * The most active among them are Inde-
pendents from New England, or educated there,
and of Republican principles. The friends of the
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
393
administration are the Church of England, the
Lutherans, and the old Dutch, with several Pres-
byterians." After this, he speaks of the confine-
ment of Alexander McDougal in jail for writing
a seditious political article, expressing the opinion
that " he highly deserves punishment." McDougal
was one of the "Sons of Liberty," and afterwards
Colonel of the ist New York Regiment in the
Revolution and a Major-General in the service. He
was a member of the Provincial Congress, and
afterwards of the State Senate. He was a brave
and trusted soldier and a valuable citizen. We
note this to show what kind of men belonged to
the early patriot party and the estimation in which
they were held.
Albany was the center of supplies for the Northern
Army. It would not do to leave the Northern De-
partment uncared for by troops. The savages and
the Tories were plenty about the upper Hudson and
the Mohawk. They only wanted an opportunity
to invade the City of Albany; to burn and plunder
its homes; carry away its military stores and mur-
der its inhabitants. Its soldiery was needed at
home to protect what remained.
Did the women apply their hands to the distaff,
the spinning-wheel and the loom, so that the
soldiers might be sure of comfortable clothing in
the camp and field ? Did the "click of the loom
and the hum of the wheel " make music harmon-
ious with that of the drum and fife 1 Were there
spinning matches and quilting bees among the
mothers and daughters of Albany County from
1774 to 1 78 1.? There were no factories then to
clothe the army by contract We believe that
much of it was done by noble women — the wives
and daughters of that time.
Were the clergy eloquent in the pulpit against
British aggression, and earnest in appeal to the spirit
of patriotic doctrine .? Did they urge the people,
by zealous activity, to resist the wrongs done to the
rights of property and personal freedom, and, like
Rev. Mr. Allen, of Pittsfield, take the musket and
go forth to pray and fight for heaven and our rights ?
This Rev. Thomas Allen left his home and visited
Kinderhook, Canaan, Claverack, and other towns
in Eastern New York, speaking to the people and
advising the strongest measures against those who
favored the King. He writes home to the leading
Whigs of his town, "As yet there are plenty of
arms to be sold at Albany; but no powder is to be
sold there for the present." Again, "The spirit of
liberty runs high at Albany, as you have doubtless
heard by their own post at our headquarters."
"The New York Government begins to be alive in
the glorious cause, and to act with great vigor."
From these statements we infer that he visited Al-
bany to quicken and stimulate its citizens to some
activity. It is also said that the sainted Westerlo,
of the Dutch Church, the most influential pastor in
the city at that time, was bold and zealous for the
patriot cause in the pulpit and among the people.
Tories were arrested and committed to gaol in
Albany, until they "humbly confessed theirfaults,
asked forgiveness and promised reformation."
Sometimes, after doing what harm they could to
their Whig neighbors — hiding, meeting in secret
conclaves, until discovered and threatened punish-
ment— they ran away to Canada, Nova Scotia, or
other safe place to await the end; which, to their
mind, would be the discomfiture of the rebellious
Whigs and the triumph of the loyal friends of King
George III. A few of these returned and became
good citizens. Others, self-banished, suffered con-
fiscation of their estates. Some were banished;
some were hanged. Everywhere the ban of society
was upon them; and they were handled roughly
when arrested.
Tories were plenty in New York, not excepting
Albany County. North Carolina and New York
were, for a long time, regarded by the British min-
istry as loyal to the interests of the Crown, and dis-
trusted by the patriots of New England and Vir-
ginia.
There were many Tories who were so from prin-
ciple, and refused to take sides against the parent
country from honest convictions of the wrongful-
ness of such a course. They looked upon the
Whigs as rebels against their sovereign; condemned
the war as unnatural; and regarded the final result
as surely disastrous to those who had lifted up the
arm of opposition. Their opinions were courte-
ously, but firmly expressed; they took every op-
portunity to dissuade their friends and neighbors
from participating in the rebellion; and by all their
words and acts discouraged the insurgent move-
ment. But they shouldered no musket,girded on no
sword, piloted no secret expedition against the Re-
publicans. They were passive, noble-minded men;
and deserve our respect for their consistency, and
our commiseration for their sufferings at the hands
of those who made no distinction between the man
of honest opinions and the marauder with no
opinions.
There was another class of Tories governed by
the footpad's axiom that "might makes right."
They were Whigs when royal power was weak,
and Tories when royal power was strong. Their
god was mammon, and they offered up human
sacrifices in abundance upon its altars. They be-
came as relentless robbers and murderers of neigh-
bors and friends as the savages of the wilderness.
For some time the Tories in the neighborhood
of Albany were employed in capturing prominent
citizens and carrying them off to Canada for the
purpose of exchange. Such an attempt was made
on General Gansevoort, and another on General
Schuyler, under direction of the notorious John
Waltmeyer, colleague of Joe Bettys. Among the
men of this class was the notorious Thomas Love-
lace, who, after he had run away to Canada, formed
a company with five other persons and returned tQ
abduct, plunder and betray his former neighbors iiT
Saratoga, Schenectady and Albany Counti^gJ^J Kis
crimes were many. He robbed QeWral Schuy-
ler's house and attempted to ca^ry off Colonel Van
Vechten. He was captuJed, tried and hung by
General John Sjar)t,-^tfien in command of barracks
near Fish' Creek.
394
HiSTOkY Of TtiE COVNTT OF AIBANV.
The story of taking old Fort Ticonderoga, the
key to the gateway between the Colonies and the
Canadas, May 8, 1775, is familiar to all. It was
done under Colonel Ethan Allen, of Vermont,
guided by the boy Nathan Beman, and aided by
Ground Plan of Old Fort.
Colonels Warner, of Vermont, Brown and Easton,
of Berkshire. We have no evidence that Albany
County had any men among the 1 50 who were en-
gaged in this bold movement. The County had
not then fully organized its military forces. Its
mayor and many of the citizens were not then de-
cided in their patriotism. The city had been called
on for supplies, but not for men at this time.
Connecticut had lately sent a delegation of two to
Albany "to discover the temper of the people at
that place.'' It was then in doubt
On the 19th of June, 1775, George Washington
received his commission as Commander-in-Chief
of the Continental Army. Four Major-Generals:
Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler and
Israel Putnam, were chosen ; and eight Brigadier-
Generals: Seth Pomeroy, Richard Montgomery,
David Wooster, William Heath, Joshua Spencer,
John Thomas, John Sullivan and Nathaniel Greene.
To these was added Horatio Gates as Adjutant-
General with rank of Brigadier.
In June, 1775, Philip Schuyler, on recommen-
dation of the patriots of this district, having been
appointed as one of the four Major-Generals of the
Continental Army, was assigned to the command of
the Northern Department
His first movement was towards Ticonderoga,
which he reached July i8th, where he found a gar-
rison of 1,000 Connecticut troops under Colonel
Hinman, and a few Berkshire troops under Colonel
Easton. These troops were composed chiefly of
militia, raw and undisciplined, but full of patriot-
ism, courage and intelligence. The invasion of
Canada was under favorable consideration by all
officers and men. It was urged that it was neces-
sary to cut off the approaches of British troops by
St Lawrence and the Lakes, and prevent the sud-
den attacks of savages and Tories on the borders,
from Canada. It was understood, also, that man}'
Canadians were favorably disposed toward the
cause of the American patriots.
It was further understood that General Carleton,
commander of the British forces in Canada, was
planning an attempt to get possession of the forts
upon the lakes, with the ultimate purpose of invad-
ing the valleys of the Mohawk and Hudson, and
dividing New England from New York and the
States south and west.
Immediate movements were demanded to antici-
pate Carleton. Major Brown, who had been sent
to learn the situation at St John's, Chambly,
Montreal and Quebec, and to try the minds of the
people of Canada, leaving July 24ih, returned
August loth, feeling sure that "'Now is the time to
carry Canada. "
But serious delays occurred in securing troops
and supplies. New York was filled with Tories
who needed watching; Boston was besieged; Con-
necticut was threatened with invasion of its coasts;
self-protection must be secured before undertaking
expeditions to Canada. But General Schuyler was
hopeful of success, and eager to advance. Major
Brown was placed in command of the flotilla on
Lake Champlain. General Montgomery was at
Crown Point as Schuyler's lieutenant On Septem-
ber 6th, General Schuyler, with his little army, was
besieging St John's. It was a long and tedious
siege.
Here General Schuyler began to manifest that
irresolution and timidity in meeting the difficulties
of the military situation which, in spite of his un-
doubted personal bravery, so often fatally marred
his Northern campaigns, and led many patriots
to distrust, not only his capacity, but his fidel-
ity. Deceived into a belief of the strength of the
fort and of the dangers around him, General Schuy-
ler fell back to Isle Aux-Noix, and awaited rein-
forcements. As soon as September i6th, he was
compelled by ill health to return to Ticonderoga,
and commit the movements of the army to Mont-
gomery. The attempt upon St. John's was re-
tarded, and success was hindered in many ways.
Among them were the lack of ammunition and the
almost mutinous discontent of the army. But suc-
cessful movements upon Fort Chambly by Major
Brown, to whom it was surrendered October 19th,
imparted new vigor, and led to the surrender of St
John's, November 2d. After this Montreal capitula-
ted to Montgomery, November 1 7th. Montgomery,
with the beggarly remnant of his army of St John's,
was at Quebec December ist Here he was joined
by Arnold with his New England troops, sent on
from Cambridge by Washington. Here were
Easton and Brown, from Berkshire; Wooster, from
Massachusetts; Van Rensselaer, Livingston, and
Lamb, from New York.
The disastrous assault on Quebec, made Decem-
ber 31, 1775, which resulted in the lamented death
of Richard Montgomery and the end of the Canada
invasion, needs no further detail here. Every bright
schoolboy has read the sad story. Let Montgom-
ery's name ever be revered. He was a pure pa-
triot, ready to do or suffer anything for country.
His courage was impetuous and forgetful of self ;
while that of Schuyler, just as true, had more of
caution in it. In this expedition everything was
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
395
unfavorable to Montgomery except his own brave
and generous soul.
It is true that Arnold kept up a useless siege
during the winter of 1 775-76, and that recruits were
sent on to reinforce the American army, which still
remained in Canada, in the hope of accomplishing
the conquest of that territory in the coming spring
and summer. But a leader was wanting; discipline
was imperfect; and sickness was weakening the
strength of men who suffered from lack of clothing,
food, and other supplies.
Burgoyne came early in May with succor for
Quebec, and succeeded Carleton in the command.
The Americans were compelled to entirely evacu-
ate Canada. The remnant arrived at Crown Point
in June, " disgraced, defeated, discontented, dispir-
ited, diseased, naked, undisciplined; eaten up with
vermin; no clothes, beds, blankets; no medicine;
no victuals but salt pork and flour." Thus writes
John Adams, under date of July 7, 1776, concern-
ing our Northern Army at Crown Point.
Thus resulted the first movement of the Army of
the Northern Department under General Schuyler.
His policy as commander had given great dissatis-
faction to most of the officers and men in his com-
mand.
Horatio Gates, a new and less manly com-
mander, supplanted Philip Schuyler in the North-
em command for a brief time in 1776.
During the winter of 1776-77, many of the offi-
cers of the Continental Army, including General
Gates, Colonel Morgan Lewis, Colonel Benedict
Arnold, Colonel John Brown, had their winter
quarters in Albany. It was during this winter that
Colonel Brown wrote of Arnold: "Money is this
man's God; and, to get enough of it, he would
sacrifice his country." Three years after, John
Brown fell, fighting for his country; while Arnold
was a branded traitor and a fugitive in the British
army.
The year 1777 was marked by events that de-
manded unusual exertions and sacrifices from the
people of Albany County. The summer was one
of intense anxiety. An army of disciplined and
veteran British troops was on the march to Albany
with hostile intent. To the peace-loving popula-
tion of the city, their progress spread the wildest
terror; to the loyal Tories ecstasies of hope and bold
impudence; lo the patriotic friends of liberty, anx-
iety and dread. From mid-spring to late autumn
all was excitement, alarm, and activity. The city
was threatened with all the horrors of savage
butchery and the invasion of an unscrupulous
soldier)'. John Burgoyne, with loud-mouthed
threats to the enemies of Great Britain, and prom-
ises of protection and favor to the weak and
doubting, was on his way from Canada with his
12,000 men, made up of bloody Indians, merce-
nary Hessians, and war-trained Scotchmen and
Englishmen. He considered his march sure to
end in triumph. His aim was to cut off New
England with all its supplies of men and means,
from the south, and thus make the divided and
weakened armies a sure prey to the British Crown,
In Albany he expected to meet Clinton moving up
the Hudson from New York, and St. Leger with
his victorious forces from Oswego and Fort Stan-
wix, coming down the Mohawk. With ambitious
and able commanders and splendid soldiership and
appointments, with well laid plans, the result
seemed certain.
Early in Jul)', old Fort Ticonderoga, garrisoned
by St. Clair and his scarcely 3,000 men, most
of them poorly provided for defense, was found
to be untenable. It was found that Burgoyne's
skilled engineers had it entirely at their mercy,
and it was consequently hastily evacuated.
Although Colonel John Trumbull had, in 1776,
with characteristic sagacity, explained to Generals
Gates and Schuyler the weak points in the defense
of that fort, nothing was done. Schuyler and St.
Clair had expressed themselves confident that the
post was secure from any attack which Burgoyne
could bring to bear upon it. They had accumulated
stores, and rested in apparent security. But the
commanding battery upon Mount Defiance made
retreat the only alternative. Scarcity of ammuni-
tion and danger of reinforcement did not chiefly
decide the question of retreat. Nor did want of
courage. It was forced discretion. One division
of the retreating army, under Colonel Long, was
overtaken at the head of Lake George, now White-
hall, and after suffering loss of artillery and stores,
pushed on to Fort Ann, where, turning upon its
pursuers, a gallant stand was made near that fort.
The importance of the battle fought here under
General Schuyler, with 500 men from Rensselaer
Manor, has never been duly estimated in history.
Many Albany men were killed and wounded here,
and a decided check was put upon the advance
of the British army, much to the advancement
of the patriot cause.
St. Clair's division, after severe fighting and
heavy losses, made its way through woods and
swamps, and over streams to Fort Edward, where
Schuyler had fixed his headquarters. Here he was
met by Colonel Long and his division.
The loss of Ticonderoga, the traditional strong-
hold to which they and their fathers had looked
for protection, naturally filled the patriots of New
York and Massachusetts with the most serious ap-
prehension. There was consternation everywhere.
The way was considered open to Burgoyne for easy
attainment of all his aims. Nothing but desolation
and death stared the people in the towns and vil-
1-iges along the Hudson in the face. Unjust
charges of cowardice were laid at the door of St.
Clair ; and treachery, incompetence, or inefficiency
in Schuyler were outspoken by many, especially by
the New England troops.
The evacuation of Fort Ticonderoga filled Gen-
eral Schuyler with d scouragement. On the 26th of
July he dismissed half the Militia of New England
and of Albany County. A month later he sent
away the greater part of the remainder. This he
did while the enemy were marching toward Albany,
and he never had greater need, not only of keeping
the men he had, but of increasing their number.
His excuse for this singular course was, first, that
396
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
he dismissed a part lest he might lose the whole ;
and, then, having sent away about one half, he
might as well send home the other half. He
alleged that his militia, men of Berkshire and Al-
bany Counties, were very impatient to get home to
their farms. Bancroft tells us that Schuyler was
importuning Washington to send him Southern
soldiers, alleging that one of them was worth two
from the Eastern States. It is well known that the
Militia of Albany and Berkshire held the Com-
mander of the Northern Department at this time in
great distrust; and they well knew the slight regard
in which they were held by him. The state of feel-
ing between General Schuyler and his troops was
very unfortunate at this time. Rude and unculti-
vated as many of these men were, they had brave
and honest hearts, which they proved soon on the
fields of Bennington and Saratoga under leaders
that knew them.
No battle of the Revolution took a more powerful
and permanent hold upon the hearts of the people
of that day than that of Bennington on the i6th of
August, 1777. Its results were disappointing to
Burgoyne. Almost unopposed had been his march
upon Albany until that day. His army was one of
terror to the friends of liberty. They could see
nothing but the union of Clinton, coming up the
Hudson, with Burgoyne coming down to Albany,
thus making a complete armed barrier, dividing the
East from the South and West. The course of the
proud army was stayed by the arras of a militia,
gathered from the hills of New England for the oc-
casion. Their boasting was changed to doubt and
fear by the event There were no soldiers from
New York in this fight. Many were men who had
once been led by Ethan Allen, of the Green Moun-
tains. They were led by John Stark, a bom sol-
dier, of determined independence and energy, who
refused to be trammeled by Schuyler or the Conti-
nental Congress.
This should be said in regard to the attitude of
the New York and New England Indians during
the Revolution :
The Mohawks were always at war with the Mo-
hegans, on the east bank of the Hudson, who bore
their yoke with uneasiness and frequent outbreaks.
These New England Indians had no friendly feel-
ings toward the Dutch, whom they looked upon as
allies of their Iroquois enemies.
Forced, as these Eastern red men were, by the
trading Dutch and the jealous Mohawks, back over
the western slopes of the Hudson into the valleys of
the Housatonic and the Connecticut, they seldom
met during the colonial period after the first years.
When they did, there was only a renewal of con-
tention and bloodshed, the result of which al-
ways asserted the superior power of the Western
savages.
All efforts to bring together the Iroquois under
the influence of the Christian religion or civilization
were only partially successful, except with the Onei-
das and Tuscaroras, of whom the Stockbridge In-
dians came to speak of as brothers. Both had been
taught Christianity and freedom by New England
Puritan missionaries.
They united in the War of the Revolution in the
cause of the colonists against the Crown, and thus
again met in battle their ancient foes, the Mohawks,
who, under the influence and lead of the Johnsons
and Butlers, did deeds of indescribable cruelty in
every northern battle where they had opportunity;
and, in conjunction with the Tories, carried the
firebrand, the tomahawk, and the scalping-knife to
many a peaceful home and village along the Mo-
hawk, the Schoharie, and the Susquehanna.
All the efforts of General Schuyler and other del-
egates from Albany, in conferences with the Six
Nations in 1774, when they pledged neutrality, and
at Guy Park in May, 1775, were overborne by the
money and promises of the British crown and the
artful intrigues of Guy and John Johnson, with the
alliance of Joseph Brant and the Tory Butlers.
The worst cruelties inflicted by these savage In-
dians, and worse than savage whites, fell upon the
peaceful homes of Old Tryon County. Albany
County was so well defended that it was left alone
by them. The only exception happened in the
town of Berne, of which a good account is given
in the history of that place.
Peter Gansevoort was born in Albany, July 1 7,
1749. He was among the troops which accom-
panied Schuyler, in 1775, in his movement toward
Canada, and accompanied Montgomery, with the
rank of Major, in his unfortunate assault upon
Quebec in December of that year. The next year
he was appointed a Colonel in the New York line,
and took command of Fort Schuyler, previously
called Fort Stanwix, situated where is now the City
of Rome, in the spring of 1777. For his gallant
defense of this post against St. Leger, in his at-
tempted march from Oswego down the Mohawk,
to meet Burgoyne at Albany, he received the thanks
of Congress.
In 1 78 1 he was promoted to the rank of Briga-
dier-General by the State of New York. He was,
for many years after the war, military agent, and
held other offices of trust. He was held in high
esteem as a soldier for bravery and good judgment,
and as a citizen, for intelligence and uprightness.
He died at the age of 62 years, July 2, 1812.
When Colonel Gansevoort took command of
Fort Schuyler, in early summer of 1777, the fort
was unfinished and feebly garrisoned. The patri-
otic citizens of Mohawk valley were paralyzed with
fear. They saw nothing but defeat and ruin should
the disciplined army of St. Leger fall upon Fort
Schuyler. They knew no way of successful resist-
ance should he attempt to march down the valley
to Albany. Many timid and wavering ones became
Loyalists, or, at best, weak and passive patriots.
But Colonel Gansevoort was vigilant and hopeful,
appealing for aid to General Schuyler and the Pro-
vincial Congress, and putting forth every possible
effort to be ready for the enemy. On the ist of Au-
gust, St. Leger, with his Tory rangers and his blood-
thirsty Indians under Brant, wore ready to invest
the fort with a force 1,700 strong. Gansevoort had
only 750 men, among whom were the brave and sa-
gaciqus Colonel Marinus. Willett and his regiment.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
397
A few other recruits, and ammunition and provis-
ion for a siege of six weeks soon came. The siege
began August 4th. The British commander sent a
pompous manifesto into the fort, and a dispatch to
Burgoyne assuring him that he expected they would
soon meet at Albany as victors.
We are not called upon to detail the carnage of
Oriskany, August 6th, where the brave Nicholas
Herkimer and his 800 Mohawk Valley men fell into
an ambuscade of Tories and savages, while on their
march to relieve General Gansevoort. Herkimer,
badly wounded, did his duty with wonderful endur-
ance and coolness until the battle was over, and
then was borne to his home to die with the unskilled
surgeon's knife, as many a noble soldier has done
before and since; nor need we dwell upon the
sortie of Colonel Willett, in which this man of
daring courage suddenly and furiously attacked the
enemy, put them to rout, made an end to this
bloody struggle at Oriskany, and brought his force
back to the fort without loss of a man; nor need
we repeat the particulars of the reinforcement sent
by Schuyler from Stillwater, under Arnold, and
the stratagem that frightened St. Leger's Indians,
leading him to raise the siege before Fort Schuyler
on the 23d of August, and make a hasty flight
toward Wood Creek to join Burgoyne.
The courage of Gansevoort held out during this
siege of twenty days, although it looked like ulti-
mate surrender because ammunition and food had
nearly given out, and many of his men advised
surrender. Herkimer, Willett, and Arnold deserve
all praise for the part they acted in preventing St.
Leger from carrying out the plan of meeting Bur-
goyne at Albany. We have reason to believe that
there were Albany County men with Gansevoort and
with Arnold; but we have not found their names.
After the departure of St. Leger, General Ganse-
voort and his regiment had charge of repairing
Fort Plain and erecting the block house near it,
where they were stationed for some time to take
charge of the large quantity of stores destined for
Fort Stanwix; to watch the movements of the In-
dian and Tories; and to be ready to render services
in case of any attacks made by them in the vicinit}'.
The report of the designs of Burgoyne and St.
Leger, seemed at first to paralyze, not arouse, the
Whigs of Mohawk Valley. They began to regard
the patriot cause as almost hopeless. They hesi-
tated whether to prepare for defense against disci-
plined British soldiers or to supinely await the
course of events. The event awakened new con-
fidence and effort.
The story of Saratoga and the taking of Bur-
goyne is too familiar to require repetition here.
Indeed, our space is too limited to give it in satis-
factory detail. It is well known that the patriotic
Philip Schuyler was superseded a few days before
the battle by Horatio Gates, an experienced, trained
military officer of English birth; good at making
plans; inferior to Schuyler as a man; selfish, and
ambitious; not remarkable for any deeds of patri-
otism or of daring bravery, either at this time or
any other,
Schuyler was cautious, and in such an emergency
as that in which he was placed by the advance of
Burgoyne and his proud army, and his own ill-
appointed and uneasy troops, he might well be so.
But Schuyler was not the man for the occasion.
He was not a man for his soldiers. He was too
dilatory; he did not understand his men, nor did
they understand him. His conduct, after he was
superseded, was worthy of all praise. No doubt
he felt the seeming degradation, but at no point
could he be accused of neglecting his duty as a
patriotic citizen. His wise counsels and his means
were at the command of his country. No doubt
some of his movements in falling back before Bur-
goyne's march seemed then cowardly. It is doubt-
ful if his final stand, taken near the forks of the
Mohawk, where he entrenched himself and his
small army as well as he could, on Van Schaick
and Haver Islands, was well taken. The people
of his own county began to fear that he was
not equal to the emergency, and the feelings
of the New England troops was very bitter against
him. It was difficult to enlist men to fight under
him. These facts, not forgetting his really worthy
character as a man and as a patriot, seemed to
justify the course pursued by Congress in super-
seding him. After this was done, a new spirit
seemed to pervade the Northern Department, and
all possible efforts were cheerfully made to prevent
the advance of Burgoyne.
The magnanimity of Schuyler was shown after
the battle, by his treatment of Burgoyne and his
suite at his own house in Albany; his gallant
treatment of the amiable Madame Riedesel; and
his humane aid in behalf of the sick and wounded
soldiers. More than a thousand of them were
taken to the hospital and even into the houses of
Albany, including friends and foes, and there had
the best of care.
We feel justified in this connection, in making
an extract from Smith's "History of Pittsfield," as
giving a fair estimate of the character of General
Schuyler in connection with the cause that led to
his being superseded by Gates. It also aids much
in understanding the state of feeling at that pe-
riod:
"The calamitous termination of the invasion
of Canada brought to its culmination the opposi-
tion to Schuyler, which, in King's District, the
County of Berkshire, and in the New Hampshire
Grants, had been growing ever since his appoint-
ment to the Northern command.
"An unblemished patriot, a gallant soldier, and
no mean statesman, Schuyler was yet distinguished
by qualities, both positive and negative, which
rendered him, if qualified for any departmental
command, remarkably ill-adapted to that which
was assigned him, between a majority of whose
people and himself there existed an incompatibility
which resulted in an antagonism fatal to the public
interest. An aristocrat of aristocrats, he hated
the robustious democracy of Massachusetts, and
the still ruder independence of the settlers upon
the Grants. A New Yorker of New Yorkers, jea-
lous of the rights of his Province, he participated
398
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
to the full in the feeling excited by the alleged en-
croachments of the New Englanders upon her
eastern borders, and was prepared to resist, at any
cost, the new invasion of her territory, under pre-
tense of patents from New Hampshire. Intimate,
socially and personally, with many of the higher
class of Loyalists in King's District, he could not
be made to believe them guilty of the secret plots
against their country and the violation of their
solemn pledges, of which they were popularly ac-
cused. Annoyed by the evil deeds of the Tories,
he was opposed to them; but he was indignant at
the harsh treatment with which the Sons of Liberty
treated his friends, the Van Schaicks, and others of
suspected Toryism, and was not in iavor of a cer-
tain class of Whigs. This led to ill-blood and bitter
opposition to his promotion.
"Coming to his command with a nervous hor-
ror of partisan warfare, he attributed that character
to the proud-spirited and ambitious militia of the
hills, who, used to hardy and independent enter-
prise, were not easily controlled, but kept him in
perpetual terror of some rash adventure, while they
failed him in executing his best-laid schemes of
falling back for an indefinitely postponed advance.
And he refused to renounce his prejudices against
them, even when he found that they alone won
victories in his department, and, having won them,
showed a regard for the amenities of honorable
warfare, and observed its laws with a scrupulous
nicety which put to shame the regulars whom they
encountered. He failed to perceive a courtesy
which was not expressed in courtly phrase, or to
recognize chivalry except in those of gentle blood
— as gentility went in provincial America. As a
soldier, his courage was proved; as a general,
few in the American armies could better set a
squadron in the field, or were more familiar with
the rules of their art. As a commander of a de-
partment, none labored more arduously, or gave
themselves with more untiring zeal and industry to
the unthankful task of providing material of war;
none did so more unselfishly, as was grandly shown
in his ceaseless exertions to supply the northern
army when forbiden to hope for any large share in
the glory of its anticipated achievements. But he
was destitute of that great element in generalship
which, given a certain soldiery with which to ac-
complish a specific end, takes them as it finds
them, with all their faults and with all their excel-
lences, wins their confidence, and makes the most
of what is in them. Schuyler, on the contrary,
fretfully magnified the imperfections of the men
committed to him, and was perversely blind to
their good qualities as soldiers. Assigned to a
position surrounded by innumerable difficulties,
he possessed nothing of the spirit which delights to
encounter obstacles; the energy which turns them
to its own account; and, least of all, that calm
strength which endures without complaint what
cannot be avoided or changed."
Much of that which was to be regretted in him
was the result of the depressing influence of ill-
health; and, reviewing his career, we cannot fail to
recognize the true patriot and statesman, and the
general, whose abilities would have given him per-
haps, brilliant success in almost any other field
than that in which he was placed.
The radical Whigs, who controlled the politics
of his department, were hardly to be expected .so
clearly to perceive his merits. Between the revo-
lutionary committees of that region and such a
man as we have described, conflict was inevitable.
Of political and social sentiments, the very reverse
of those which characterized Schuyler, the com-
mittees were also extremely unlike him in temper-
ament and habits of thought. Impetuous, some-
times even to rashness, in their zeal, they and their
followers were ever ready to rally in sudden emer-
gency, or for the execution of dashing enterprises;
but, if the opportunity to meet the enemy was not
speedily accorded them, they grew impatient of the
necessary restraint of military discipline. In their
theory of the art of war, retreat was omitted from
the list of contingencies. As a general, Fabius
was by no means a model in their esteem. Judg-
ing the readiness of all men to make sacrifices for
their country by their own, they underrated the im-
pediments which Schuyler found in raising armies
and accumulating stores. Intolerant of the luke-
warmness of moderate Whigs, as well as of the mis-
deeds of the Loyalists, they denounced the former
in no measured terms, while they advocated and
practiced the most rigid discipline of the latter.
Many of them, of narrow experience in affairs, and
wanting that liberality towards opponents which
contact with the great world brings, they could
not explain the perhaps over-generous sentiments
of Schuyler towards some ot those whom they
classed indiscriminately as the enemies of American
liberty, except upon the hypothesis of his sympathy
with their Toryism.
When, therefore, information came to Berkshire
and King's district of the sad aspect which affairs
wore in Canada and finally, that all which had
been gained there at such great cost was wrested
from the Americans — smarting under the disap-
pointment of hopes which with them had been
inore sanguine than elsewhere, the people of those
districts were ready to charge the commander who,
although not long personally in the field, had from
the first been nominally at the head of operations,
with the responsibility for their miserable failure.
Among its prime causes, they ranked the brief
delay before St. John's, to which he had been per-
suaded by the report of a treacherous informer to
the neglect of the truthful representations of John
Brown and James Livingston. Other missteps of
the expedition were attributed to him, oftenest un-
justly, through the malignancy of his enemies, who
played upon the popular feeling through unscrupu-
lous emissaries, who found powerful auxiliaries in
Schuyler's unfortunate peculiarities.
The disaster to St. Leger, and the unexpected
check made by the brave Stark at Bennington, fell
like an incubus on Burgoyne's army Indians
deserted and Loyalists were less confident.
We need not tell what was done by Gates.
What he did was well done, as events proved. But
it has well been said that the blunders of Burgoyne
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
399
were quite as helpful to the patriot cause as was
the skill of Gates. Around him came Lincoln,
Poor, Scammell, Woolcott, Cilley, Putnam, Dear-
born, Brooks, Glenn, Nixon, Whipple, Warner,
Hull, Fellows, Hale, Bailey, and other brave com-
manders, with their full brigades from New Eng-
land, full of the patriotic fire long kept alive
among those sons of the Puritans. They were men
who "trusted in God and kept their powder dry."
Indeed Gates himself says: "My New England
troops did the fighting at Saratoga." But we must
not fail to do justice to the daring Arnold, who
was one of the bravest men, and did some of the
most effective fighting in the battle. Nor do we
forget the brave Morgan, of Virginia, with his un-
erring marksmen. The bravest men of Albany
County, too, were there under Abraham Ten
Broeck. Soldiers from the lower Hudson were
there under Henry and James Livingston, mem-
bers of a family that was always on the side of
freedom, learning and public progress. Van Court-
land was there too, with his brigade, and Morgan
Lewis was also there. It would take a volume to
tell all that was done, and give appropriate praise to
all who did it.
When all was over, and the army of Burgoyne
had left the country, Albany County was safe. Its
soldiers were in no more important battles. The
war was carried to the south. Albany was kept
on the home guard.
After the surrender of Burgoyne, so far as we
have learned, the troops from Albany County gen-
erally retired to their homes.
The fighting was done in the more southerly
departments — in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
States further south. The painful marches and
the pestilential encampments were made there
mostly. The troops in the service were from New
England and the Atlantic States south of New
York.
This, well called one of the decisive battles of
history, was fought in our territory, almost at the
gates of our city, and aided by the services and
resources of the brave men that once made their
homes in our own county.
Following this there was much fear from the
lurking Indians and Tories; there was much watch-
ing and guarding, and not a little skirmishing.
The council held at Johnstown on the 9th of
March, 1778, to try once more to secure the neu-
trality, if not the co operation of all the Six Nations,
was represented on behalf of Congress by Volkert
P. Douw, and, perhaps. General Philip Schuyler.
But it resulted in no change of policy. Only the
Oneidas and Tuscaroras pledged abiding friend-
ship.
Early in the spring of 1779, jipon the urgent
entreaty of General Schuyler made to Congress,
and under the direction of General James Clinton,
an expedition was undertaken against the Onon-
daga Indians, under command of Colonel Van
Schaick, with 558 strong men selected from his
own regiment and that of General Gansevoort.
Its object was to punish that bloodthirsty tribe,
and deter its warriors from future cruelties. The
expedition lasted six days, and returned to Fort
Stawnix without the loss of a man. The little
army had scattered the tribe, destroyed three of its
villages, horses and cattle, a large quantity of pro-
visions, killed twelve Indians and taken thirty-three
prisoners. This punishment was deserved, but of
doubtful policy. It led to the destruction of Co-
bleskill, attacks upon Canajoharie, Stone Arabia,
and other places soon after; and finally compelled
the fearful and effective chastisement under Gen-
eral John Sullivan, of all the savage tribes in
Western New York.
In the spring of 1780, Colonel Van Schaick, in
command of 800 militia, was sent from Albany by
Governor Clinton to pursue Sir John Johnson, who
was making destructive inroads upon the small
settlements along the Mohawk Valley. Sir John
left his pursuers behind and escaped to Canada.
Colonel Van Schaick was a valiant officer, and did
good service in a military and civil capacity. A
portrait and memorial of his life, prepared by Miss
Jane Van Schaick, of Albany, appears in this
history.
In the latter part of 1784, while our troops had
little to do but to watch and wait, certain regiments
of General Gansevoort's brigade were stationed be-
tween the Battenkill and the Hoosick, waiting fur-
ther orders. This was near the New Hampshire
Grants, in' which dwelt some of the boldest men in
the States, and particularly ready to resist any ag-
gressions from the State of New York, which
claimed jurisdiction over these Grants. Since there
were no British troops to fight, the old animosities
broke out, and the Green Mountain Boys who had
fought at Bennington and Saratoga, were declared
in a state of insurrection. This broke out in the
regiments of Colonels John and Henry K. Van
Rensselaer and Peter Yates. Indeed, the militia
in this vicinity seemed generally to take sides with
the people of the Grants, with whom they became
in sympathy in the alliance of the battle-field and
the camp. General Gansevoort, on the 5th of De-
cember, ordered Colonels Yates, Van Vechten and
Van Rensselaer to march to St. Coych and quell
the insurrection. Governor Clinton directed Gen-
eral Robert Van Rensselaer's brigade to assist Gen-
eral Gansevoort with all necessary troops. General
Stark, stationed at Saratoga, being solicited, refused
to interfere unless ordered by General Heath, his
superior officer. The sympathies of the New Eng-
landers were with the biave Vermonters. Ganse-
voort, with what volunteers he could raise, advanced
to St. Coych, where he found a force of 500 men
ready to support the insurgent militia. Having
only 80 men. General Gansevoort retired five miles,
and attempted) by writing to the leaders, to induce
them to lay down their arms, but in vain. The
so-called rebels were left undisturbed. After this,
a conciliatory letter from General Washington to
Governor Chittenden, had the effect to put an end
to disturbances that were made in defense of what
were considered honest rights. Ten years alter
this Vermont became all its citizens asked — an in-
dependent State. The controversy was an old
400
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and bitter one; and, from its vicinity to the New
Hampshire Grants, Albany County had much to
do with it.
THE VAN SCHAICK FAMILY.
The family of Van Schaick is one of the earliest
of the many prominent early families of Albany.
Colonel Gozen Van Schaick was born in January,
1737, and died July 4, 1789. His wife was Mary
Ten Broeck, of the celebrated New York family of
that name. He served with great distinction in
the colonial army during the revolutionary strug-
gle, having previously had military experience in the
service of the Crown under General Amherst. He
was in command of the American forces in Albany,
then a military point of great importance, and was
the leader of the memorable expedition against
the Onondagas in 1779, for the successful conduct
of which he received the thanks of Congress. In
this connection, Washington, writing to Clinton,
expressed himself as follows:
"The enterprise commanded by Colo. Van
Schaick merits my approbation and thanks, and
does great honor to him and all the Officers & men
engaged in it. The issue is very interesting. — I
have written him a line upon the occasion."
The following flattering testimonial to Colonel
Van Schaick from General Schuyler, sums up the
Colonel's soldierly character most completely:
"Albany, June 15th, 1782.
"Sir, — I lament the occasion which renders it in-
cumbent on me to afford }ou a testimonial of the
sense I entertain of your conduct. I sincerely
wish I could communicate it in words equal to my
feelings, and to my experience of the i)ropriety of
it during a series of years.
"The early decisive and active part which you
took in the favor of your country in the present
contest, justly entitles you to the attention of its
Friends. We are not less indebted to j'our exer-
tions as an Officer. Your service, whilst I had the
honor of commanding the miUtary in this Depart-
ment, were such as attracted my notice; your
close attention to the discipline of your Regiment
afforded a beneficial example to officers less expe-
rienced in the duties of their offices. The alacrity
with which you executed every order; The propri-
ety of your conduct when left to act Independently,
and judge for your self; The prudence which you
exhibited on occasions when the line of conduct to
be held was delicate and important, evinsed a
clearness of judgment, and a mind capable of re-
source, and created a confidence of which I never
had occasion to Repent. Upon the whole. Sir, I
esteem you a valuable Officer and a faithfuU ser-
vent of the Public, and should have been rejoiced
to have learnt your merit rewarded in a promotion
to that military Rank which you claim as your
due.
" Delicacy would have prevented my saying
thus much in a Letter to you, but to have said less,
when I intend you should exhibit this to any per-
son or persons whom you conceive may wish to be
advised of the opinion I entertain of you as an
Officer and a citizen, would have been injurious
to truth.
"Wishing you a speedy and an Honorable extri-
cation from the embarrassments which distress you,
" I am, Sir,
' ' Very sincerely,
" Your obedient
" Humble servant,
' ' P. Schuyler. "
Colonel Van Schaick was afterwards a general in
the regular service, and held that rank at the time
of his death. He left a quantit)' of papers and
letters, private and oflScial, a large portion of which
were lost or destroyed after his death by accident,
as is supposed. Those that were fortunately pre-
served, consisted of letters from the Clintons, a
large number of autographs from General Wash-
ington, of the most confidential and flattering char-
acter, showing that he held him in high estimation
as a man of sound judgment as well as a gallant
soldier, and others from officers under whom he
served when in the provincial service, such as Sir
Jeffrey Amherst, which are a beautiful specimen of
chirography, and to whom he owed his first com-
mission in the British army. Among them is a
characteristic letter from General Montgomery con-
taining the most humane and generous sentiments,
and quite a number of commissions with ponder-
ous seals, with the autograph of George III, and
communications from Generals Gates, Schuyler,
Clinton and others. What remain of this once
valuable collection are carefully preserved by his
grandson, Henry Van Schaick, and other descend-
ants.
General Van Schaick had five sons and a daugh-
ter. Some of the former were well known in bus-
iness circles in Albany and New York, and all-
until their death, moved in the most distinguished
society of the Empire State. One of these, Tobias
Van Schaick, was born in Albany, December 9,
1 779, and married Jane Staats, daughter of the old
Albany merchant, Henry Staats, November 2, 181 1.
This lady was born May 16, 1783, and died April
23, 1823. She bore Mr. Van Schaick several
children, all of whom died in infancy except the
Misses Ann and Jane Van Schaick, the former of
whom died June 22, 1861. Early in life Mr. Van
Schaick was a merchant, and carried on an exten-
sive trade at 447 and 449 Broadway, fiom which
he retired while yet a comparatively young man to
assume the care of the Van Schaick estate in Al-
bany, which had been under the management ol
his mother for some time preceding her death.
Following this retirement, he never afterward
engaged in active business; but he took a deep
interest in the growth and prosperity of Albany,
and in the conduct of public affairs. Politically he
was a Whig, but his tastes were such that he never
permitted himself to become actively involved in
politics. He attended and was a most liberal sup-
porter of the North Reformed Dutch Church. He
was a quiet, unostentatious man, going little
abroad, and enjoying the comforts of his home.
m '^.
V
THE AMERICAN kEVOLVTIONARV PERIOD.
401
Disliking all vain-glorious pomp and show, he lived
simply for one of his means and position, always
finding most pleasure at his own hearthstone and
in the society of those he loved, though mingling
socially with the most prominent families of Al-
bany, andwas always a welcome guest wherever he
went.
He was a man who talked little, especially
about himself, and because of that reserve much
that might interest the readers of this work has
been lost, for reminiscences of such a man, could
they be procured, would be a valuable contribution
to any history of Albany. He died April 21, 1868,
aged 88 years 4 months and 1 1 da3'S;
THE MHJTIA OF 1775-76.
Albany County, as it existed at the time of the
Revolution, first organized Seventeen Regiments
of Militia, under the law of 1775. We give the
officers of such as belonged wholly, or in part, to
the present Albany Count}'. They were numbered
and officered, as found in the Historical Records
of the State, as follows :
First Regiment, Ciiy of Albany.
Jacob Lansing, Jr., Colonel; Dirck Ten Broeck,
Lieutenant-Colonel; Henry Wendell, First Major;
Abraham Cuyler, Second Major; Volckert A.
Douw, Adjutant; Ephraiin Van Veghten, Quarter-
master.
Firgl Company. — John Barclay, Captain ; John
Price, First Lieutenant; Abraham L Yates, Second
Lieutenant; John Scott, Ensign.
Second Company. — Thomas Barrett, Captain ;
Matthew Vischer, First Lieutenant; Abraham
Eights, Second Lieutenant; John Hoagkirk, En-
sign.
Third Company. —John Williams, Captain; Henry
Staats, First Lieutenant; Barent Van Allen, Second
Lieutenant; Henry Hogan, Ensign.
Fourth Company. — John M. Beeckman, Captain;
Isaac De Freest, Inrst Lieutenant; Abraham Ten
Eyck, Second Lieutenant; TeunisT. Van Veghten,
linsign.
Fifth Company. — Harmanus ^^'endell, Captain;
William Hun, P'irst Lieutenant; Jacob G. Lansing,
Second Lieutenant; Cornelius Wendell, Ensign.
Sixth Company. — John N. Bleecker, Captain;
John James Beeckman, First Lieutenant; Casparus
Pru3'n, Second Lieutenant; Nicholas Marselis, En-
sign.
Third Reg't, First Rensselaerwyck B.attalion.
Abraham Ten Broeck, Colonel; Francis Nicoll,
Lieutenant-Colonel; Henry Quackenbush, First
Major; Barent Staats, Second Major; John P.
Quackenbush, Adjutant: Christopher Lansing,
Quartermaster.
First Company. — Henry Quackenbush, Captain;
Jacob J. Lansing, First Lieutenant; Levinus Winne,
Second Lieutenant; John Van Woert, Ensign.
Second Company. — Abraham D. Fonda, Captain;
Henry Oothoudt, Jr., First Lieutenant; Levinus T.
Lansing, Second Lieutenant; Jacob J. Lansing,
Ensign.
Third Company. — Peter Schuyler, Captain; Ab-
raham Witbeck, First Lieutenant; Henry Ostrom,
Second Lieutenant; Peter S. Schuyler, Ensign.
Fourth Company. — Barent Staats, Captain; Dirck
Becker, First Lieutenant; John Van Wie, Second
Lieutenant; George Hogan, Ensign.
Fifth Company. — Gerrit G. Van der Bergh, Cap-
tain; Peter Van Wie, First Lieutenant; Wouter
Becker, Second Lieutenant; Abraham Slingerland,
Ensign.
Third Regiment — New Organization.
First Company. — (See Third Companj', First Or-
ganization.)
Second Company. — Abraham D. Fonda, Captain;
Henry Oothoudt, Jr., First Lieutenant; Levinus T.
Lansing, .Second Lieutenant; Jacob J. Lansing,
Ensign.
Third Covpany (at first 5th Company, 4th Regi-
ment).—Jacob Ball, Captain; John Warner, First
Lieutenant; Peter Dietz, Second Lieutenant; Joshua
.Shaw, Ensign.
Fom-th Company. — Jacob J. Lansing, Captain;
Levinus Winne, First Lieutenant; John Van Woert,
Second Lieutenant; Peter Dox, Ensign.
Fifth Company (at first organized as 4th Com-
pany, 4th Regiment). — Jacob Van Aernam, Cap-
tain; John Groot, First Lieutenant; George
Wagoner, Second Lieutenant; Frederick Crantz
(Crounse .'), Ensign.
Sixth Company. — Abraham Veeder, Captain;
James Burnside, First Lieutenant; John Voorhuyse
(Voorhees .?), Second Lieutenant; Andries Ten
Eyck, Ensign.
Fourth Regiment.
Second Renssetaenvycl; Battalion. — Killian Van
Rensselaei- Colonel; John H. Beeckman, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel; Cornelius Van Buren, First Major;
Jacob C. Schermerhorn, Second Major; Jacobus
Van der Poel, Adjutant; John A. Lansing, Quarter-
master.
First Company (ist Company, 5th Regiment,
New Organization).— Conrad Ten Eyck, Captain;
Peter Witbeck, First Lieutenant; Albert H. Van
der Zee, Second Lieutenant; John L. Wilbeck,
Ensign.
Second Company (2d Companv, 5th Regiment,
New Organization).— William P. 'Winne, Captain-
John De Voe, First Lieutenant; Philip C. Look
(Luke.?), Second Lieutenant; Cornelius Van der
Zee, Ensign.
Third Company. —VoXcY^xi Veeder, Captain;
Abraham Veeder, First Lieutenant; Jacob La
Grange, Second Lieutenant; Andrew Truax, Ensign.
Fourth Company. (See 5th Company, 3d Regi-
ment, New Organization.)— Jacob Van Aernam,
Captain; John Groot, First Lieutenant; George
402
mSTOkV of TUB COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Wagoner, Second Lieutenant; Frederick Crantz
(Crounse ?), Ensign.
Fifth Company. — (See 3d Company, 3d Regi-
ment. )
Fourth Regiment.
(As Newly Organized, February, 1776.)
First Company. — Isaac Miller, Captain; Hen-
drick Schaus, First Lieutenant; Johannes Lode-
wick, Second Lieutenant; Johannes Miller, En-
sign.
Second Company. — Ichabod Turner, Captain;
Joel Pease, First Lieutenant; Jonathan Niles, Sec-
ond Lieutenant; Joel Curtis, Ensign.
Third Company. — Luke Schermerhorn, Captain;
James Magee, First Lieutenant; Reuben Knap,
Second Lieutenant; Aaron Hammond, Ensign.
Fourth Company. — James Dennison, Captain;
Stephen Niles, First Lieutenant; Obadiah Vaughan,
Second Lieutenant; Oliver Bentley, Ensign.
Fifth Company. — Nicholas Staats, Captain; Oba-
diah Lansing, First Lieutenant; Philip Staats,
Second Lieutenant; Leonard Wilcox, Ensign.
Sixth Company. — Jacobus Cole (Koole .?) Captain ;
Anthony Bries (Brice ?) First Lieutenant; Harpent
Witbeck, Second Lieutenant; John Van Hagen,
Jr., Ensign.
Seventh Company. — Abraham J. Van Valken-
burgh. Captain; Daniel Schermerhorn, First Lieu-
tenant; John J. Van Valkenburgh, Second Lieu-
tenant; Martin Van Buren, Ensign,
Fifth Regiment.
Third RensselaenvYck Battalion. — Stephen Schuy-
ler, Colonel; Gerrit G. Van der Bergh, Lieu-
tenant; Peter P. Schuyler, First Major; Volckert
Veeder, Second Major; Maas ^^an Vranken, Adju-
tant; Francis Marshall, Quartermaster.
First Company. — Cornelius Van Buren, Captain;
Nicholas Staats, First Lieutenant; Obadiah Lans-
ing, Second Lieutenant; Philip Staats, Ensign.
Second Company. — ^John H. Beeckman, Cap-
tain; Jacob C. Schermerhorn, First* Lieutenant;
Abraham L Van Valkenburgh, Second Lieuten-
ant; Jacobus Vanderpoel, Ensign.
Third Company. — Valckert Van \''eghten. Cap-
tain; Gerrit T. Van den Bergh, First Lieutenant;
John Amory, Second Lieutenant; Jacob Yzx\
Schaick, Ensign.
Fourth Company. — (See ist Company, 4th
Regiment. )
Fifth Company. — Philip De Freest, Captain; Ry-
neer Van Alstyne, First Lieutenant; Peter Sharp,
Second Lieutenant; David De Forest, Ensign.
Sixth Company ('ist Company of 6th Regiment,
new organization). — John j. Fonda, Captain;
John P. Fonda, First Lieutenant; George Berger,
Second Lieutenant; George Sharp, Ensign.
Sixth Regiment.
Fourth Rensselaerwyck Battalion. — Stephen J.
Schuyler, Colonel; Henry K. Van Rensselaer,
Lieutenant-Colonel; Philip De Freest, First Major;
John Fonda, Second Major; Volckert Oothoudt,
Adjutant; Jacob Van Alstyne, Quartermaster.
First Company. — Henry PI. Gardinier, Captain;
Jacob Van der Pleyden, First Lieutenant; Adam
Beam, Second Lieutenant; Henry Tinker, Ensign.
Second Company. — Cornelius Lansing, Captain;
Lodewyck Snider, First Lieutenant; Andries Stool,
Second Lieutenant; Jacob Weiger, Ensign.
Third Company. — (See 3d Compan)', 4th Regi-
ment.)
Foitrth Company. — (See 2d Company this Regi-
ment and 4th Regiment. )
Fifth Company. — Caleb Bentley, Captain; Samuel
Shaw, First Lieutenant; David Hustes, Second
Lieutenant; Thomas Crandall, Ensign.
Sixth Company. — (See 4th Company, 4th Regi-
ment.)
Skth Regiment. — (New organization.)
First Company. — (See 6th Company, 5th Regi-
ment. )
Second Company. — (See ist Company, 6th Regi-
ment; first organization )
Third Company. — John Lautman, Captain; Peter
Vosburgh, First Lieutenant; John Schurtz, Second
Lieutenant; Conradt Best, Ensign.
Fourth Company. — (See 2d Compan}', first or-
ganization, 5th Regiment, and ist Company in 6th
Regiment, first organization.)
Fifth Company. — (See first organization in 6th
Regiment. )
Sixth Company. — Jacob De Freest, Captain;
Martinus Sharp, First Lieutenant; Andries Miller,
Second Lieutenant; John Crannell, Ensign.
Seventh Company. — Florus Banker, Captain;
Christopher Tillman, First Lieutenant; Abraham
Ten p:yck. Second Lieutenant; Jonathan Sever,
Ensign.
Among these officers were men who did valiant
service in the War of the Revolution, and acquired
promotion. A few left the patriot cause and pre-
ferred to remain subjects of Great Britain. We
are sorry not to be able to give the names of many
who did, no doubt, faithful service in the ranks.
Concerning many such even tradition is dumb,
though doubtless their services were appreciated
and probably rewarded.
The distribution of the regiments as first formed,
in 1775 and 1776, was as follows :
First, City of Albany; Second, Schenectady Dis-
trict; Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Rensselaerwyck;
Second, Schenectady District; Seventh, Kinder-
hook District; Eighth and Ninth, Claverack; Tenth
Livingston Manor; Eleventh, Coxsackie and Groot
Imtrocht; Twelfth, Half Moon and Ballston Dis-
trict;. Thirteenth, Saratoga District; Fourteenth,
Hoosic and Schaghticoke; Fifteenth and Sixteenth,
Schoharie and Duanesburgh; Seventeeth, Kings
District (now Columbia County).
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
403
THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL.
At the beginning of the disturbances that led to
the separation of the American colonies from Great
Britain, the County and City of Albany were far
from being in sympathy with the patriotic cause.
The Mayor and a majority of the Common Council
were loyal friends of the English crown.
The skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the
menaces against Massachusetts — particularly against
Boston^and the arrival of British troops for the
avowed purpose of crushing out the incipient re-
bellion, awakened and intensified the spirit of re-
sistance even in colonies comparatively passive
before. Most of the leading citizens of Albany
soon took a decided stand with the patriots in the
Atlantic cities. The course pursued will best be
made to appear by extracts from their proceedings.
We first give what was said and done by the City
Government of Albany.
The position of the !Mayor and Common Coun-
cil in regard to the approaching struggle of the
colonies with England, is seen in the following
resolution, adopted July i8, 1772.
" RusokcJ by /his Board, That his Excellency,
W^illiam Tryon, Governor General of the Province
of New York, be presented with the freedom of
this City in a golden box; also
"Resolved, That this Board do address his Excel-
lency on his arrival to this City."
Governor Tr3'on was one of the most aggressive
enemies to the rights of the colonists, and had many
friends in Albany at this time. It does not appear
that his Excellency made the intended visit. Mat-
ters in the City of New York, at that time, between
the patriotic colonists and his Excellency, were
getting too warm to allow him to make this visit.
The election for Members of the Common Coun-
cil, held in the city in September, 1773, was one
of the most exciting that had ever taken place.
The difficulties with the mother country entered
largely into it, the patriots supporting one set of
candidates, and the loyal subjects of Great Britain
another.
Thomas Hun and John Ten Broeck, loyal can-
didates for Aldermen in the Third Ward, were
elected ; but their election was contested, on the
ground that it was gained by illegal votes. After
a long and bitter contest before the board, it was
decided that they were legally elected, and they
took their seats.
The rupture between England and her colonies
was, at the opening of 1775, rapidly approaching a
crisis. The last charter-election for the choice of
Aldermen and Assistant Aldermen under colonial
laws, took place September 29, 1775. The Alder-
men chosen were as follows:
First Ward. — Aldermen: Peter W. Yates, Gerrit
A'an Sante. Assistants: Jacob Roseboom, Aries La
Grange.
Second Ward. — Aldermen: Gu3'sbert G. Marsel-
is, John J. Beeckman. Assistants: Cornelius Van
Schelluyne, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer.
Third Ward. — Aldermen: Thomas Hun, John
Ten Broeck. Assistants; Abraham Schuyler, Abra-
ham Ten Eyck.
Abraham C. Cuyler was still Mayor.
Tiie last meeting of ihis board under the provin-
cial government, the Mayor and all the members
being present, took place at the City Hall in Albany
on March 25, 1776.
After this meeting, the provincial government
and the British laws were superseded for a time by
the Continental Congress and the various State
governments.
There was no meeting of the Common Council
in the C;ity of Albany from March 25, 1776, until
April 17, 1778.
John Barclay was appointed Mayor b)' Governor
George Clinton, September 27, 1777.
The Aldermen were John Roorbach, John Price,
Jacob Lansing, Jr., Abraham Cuyler, John !M.
IBeeckman, Harmanus Wendell. Assistant Alder-
men: Abraham I. Yates, Matthew Visscher, Isaac
D. Fonda, Jacob Bleecker, Cornelius Swits, Abra-
ham Schuyler.
Matthew Visscher, Esq., was appointed Town
Clerk, Clerk of the Mayor's Court of the Cit)', and
Clerk of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for
the City and County, and Clerk of the Peace and of
the Court of Sessions of the Peace of the said City
and County. Thomas Seger was appointed Mar-
shal, and Henry Bleecker, Chamberlain.
The change from the Provincial to the State laws
did not take place, however, without much diffi-
culty; and much doubt concerning the Corporation
of the City, to remove which, the State Legislature
passed several acts.
On the 17th of February, 1778, the Legislature passed an
Act to remove doubts concerning the Corporation of the
City of Albany, as follows:
WJiereas, The inhabitants did not at the proper period,
owing to the confusion the times occasioned by the Calami-
ties of War, elect tlieir aldermen in strict conformity with (he
charter, nor appoint their officers; and on account of llie
establishment of Independency, and the change of govern-
ment in this State in consequence thereof, the members of
the said corporation could not take the usual oaths, by rea-
son whereof doubts might arise, as well to the prejudice of
the estates, rights, etc., of the inhabitants, as concerning the
validity of the election and the authority of the magistrates;
for the removal whereof, and to the end that all and singu-
lar the said estates, etc., may remain as good, valid and
unimpeached in the law as the same were, at, and immedi-
ately before the 19th day of April, 1775; and that the said
magistrates and other members may exercise their several
offices and functions without any legal or other let, hin-
drance or impediment whatsoever; the Charter and all
the rights of the Corporation, which they held on the igth
day of April, 1775, were confirmed, notwithstanding non-
user or misuser between the 19th of April, 1775, and the
first of March, 1778; and all the magistrates and members
of the Corporation were declared able to exercise their sev-
eral offices, and to appoint such officers as ought to have
been appointed on the anniversary day prescribed in the
Charter, notwithstanding the want of conformity in the elec-
tions or appointments.
By the Act of the Legislature of 1778, the Mayor
and other officers were required to meet at the City
Hall, or some other convenient place in the city, to
qualify, by taking the oath of allegiance prescribed
b}' the laws of this State, and their respective oaths
404
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of office prescribed by the City Charter. Accord-
ingly, the Mayor and Aldermen, and other city of-
ficers, did meet at the City Hall on the 17 th of
April, 1778, and took the oaths required, and pro-
ceeded to business.
During the two years from March, 1776, to
April, 1778, the Committee of Safety appointed by
the first Legislature of the State, discharged the
duties of Mayor and Common Council.
By the Acts of Legislature, the original Colonial
Charter of the City, granted in 1686, with a few
amendments made by the Provincial Government,
was adopted, except in so far as it conflicted with
the new State Government.
In April, 1778, the seat of government of the
State was temporarily at Poughkeepsie, no perma-
nent place having yet been assigned. The War of
the Revolution was then raging, and Albany was
constantly threatened from the incursions of the
enemy. The city was filled with continental troops,
who were at times riotous and disorderly. The
duties of the city government were difficult and
responsible; but managed under Major Barclay
with wisdom and firmness.
On the evening of May 5, 1778, the troops sta-
tioned in the city created great terror and confusion
among the citizens, compelling them to put candles
before their windows. The next day the Mayor
and Common Council took the matter in hand,
and reported it to General Conway, then in com-
mand, who published a military order preventing
a recurrence of such disorder.
In this same month the citizens of Albany were
greatly excited and alarmed by an order removing
a large part of the troops, leaving the city nearly un-
protected from rioters and law-breakers. There
were ten prisoners under sentence of death in the
city, and threatened rescues of them were made;
whereupon Mayor Barclay and the Common
Council wrote General Stark, to whose command
the troops were to be removed, remonstrating
against their removal.
This letter shows the situation in which Albany
was placed by reason of the war. It says:
The Common Council would beg leave to observe, that
the many robberies, murders and other dreadful crimes com-
mitted on the inhabitants of this City and County by de-
serters and prisoners from Burgoyne's Army, and by the
disaffected of our own Country, who are drove to despera-
tion, and some of them almost to starvation, renders it in-
dispensably necessary to have a large body of regular troops
to keep the villains in subjection, or go in quest of them;
for, unless the militia can remain at home this year, and
properly manage their summer crops, little or no support of
flour and other things can the Continent derive from these
parts. Last year, more than one-half of the crops were de-
stroyed by the Army-marauders, and not more than half the
usual quantity sold. If the British prisoners could be moved
to another place, it would break up the alarming connection
kept up between them and the Tories and the negroes.
About this time the British prisoners, the Tories
and negroes, formed a plot by which they were
to rise, murder the guards, rob and burn the city.
It was fortunately discovered in time to prevent it. I
Seven of the leaders were seized and executed i
on Gallows Hill. 1
On May 30, 1778, a regiment of militia and |
a body of continental troops stationed at Coble-
skill were attacked by the Tories and savages.
They were cut to pieces and Cobleskill burned.
The enemy threatened to attack and burn Albany;
but the British prisoners were removed to Pough-
keepsie and reinforcements arrived by which order
was maintained.
In the autumn of 1778, the Common Council
and the citizens of Albany were greatly agitated by
a report that the Commander of the American
Forces for the Northern Department had made an
order directing that over 2,000 continental troops
were to be billeted on the inhabitants for the en-
suing winter.
On the 1 2th of September, the Mayor and Com-
mon Council united in a letter to Governor Clinton,
praying him to unite with them in a protest against
this oppression, in which they set forth the hard-
ships, sufferings and privations, the cruelties and
insults which the inhabitants of the city had en-
dured during the war; stating that they had, for
nearly three years past, undergone innumerable
inconveniences attending the operations of the war.
That they were among the first who stepped forth
in the cause of their country, and had submitted to
every privation possible; that in their contest with
the Tories, more bitter than those with the savages,
and their other public services to their country, they
had so wasted their substance that many of them
are now reduced to the most necessitous circum-
stances. That the fences surrounding their grounds
had been used for fuel by the continental troops,
throwing their lands into commons, thus exposing
their crops to destruction, while the great drought
of that summer greatly diminished the necessaries
of life among the citizens. That there is also a
greater scarcity of fire-wood than was ever known
in the city, owing to the consumption there by the
troops that were last winter billeted on the inhab-
itants. To those who supplied them therewith, no
recompense has been made. They further say,
" that however willing we have been, and still are, to
risk our all in supporting the freedom and inde-
pendence of our blessed country, we feel compelled
to ask that in the distribution of the troops for
winter quartern, due respect may be had for the
former distresses and present sufferings of the in-
habitants of Albany and its suburbs; and that, at
any rate, no more troops may be allotted to us
than the barracks and hospital may contain; that
the strictest orders may be issued regarding steal-
ing, pilfering, and insulting the inhabitants; and
that the officers be enjoined in punishing the
refractory and disobedient."
This letter, signed by the Mayor, John Barclay,
the Common Council and other city ofliicers, is of
Itself a touching history of the sufferings of Albany
in the cause of freedom. It was listened to with
consideration and respect by the commander of
the troops, and had the desired effect.
The troops stationed at Albany, and the war,
continued to distress the citizens, increasing the
difficulties and responsibilities of the Common
Council. In September, 1781, the alarming news
reaching the city that the British were about to
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
405
march on it and destroy it by fire. The prompt
measures adopted by the Common Council to pro-
tect the city, exhibit their patriotism, ability, and
bravery. But the enemy were not permitted to
reach the cit)-.
It was during General John Stark's command of
the Northern Department, about 1781, having his
headquarters at Albany, that he wrote to Governor
Clinton: " I am fully confident that George III, of
Great Britain, has many subjects in this city who
would willingly lay down half, even the whole, of
their estates in his service, and trust in his royal
clemency for the repayment of the money so prof-
itably laid out." Again he says, "Albany is a very
dangerous place to put men into." And again,
"I have no hopes of any assistance from Albany;
it is not their inclination to fight away from their
own castle."
On June 28, 1782, General Washington visited
Albany, and was received by an address of con-
gratulation by the Mayor and Common Council,
and with every possible demonstration of respect
from the citizens. He was presented with the
freedom of the city in a gold box, and was invited
to dine with the board.
His arrival was announced by the ringing of
bells and the roar of artillery. In the evening the
city was brilliantly illuminated.
The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown con-
vinced the English Government of the impossibility
of conquering the United States.
November 3, 1782, Articles of peace between
the two countries were signed at Paris. On April
19, 1783, a formal proclamation of the cessation of
hostilities was made throughout the array. This
treaty, acknowledging the independence of the
United States, was formally signed on the 30th of
September following. Nowhere were these events
received with more jo}- than at Alban)'. On the
1 8th of July, 1783, information was received that
General Washington and Governor Clinton would
visit the cit}' the ne.xt da)'. Every preparation to
receive them in an appropriate manner was made
by the citizens and Common Council. Their
Excellencies were invited to a public dinner. Al-
derman Yates and i\Ir. Visscher were appointed
to prepare addresses of welcome, and every possible
demonstration of respect was made.
Washington closed his reply as follows:
While I contemplate with inexpressible pleasure the
future tranquillity and glory of our common country, I can-
not but take a particular interest in the anticipation of the
increase in prosperity and greatness of this ancient and
respectable City of Albany, from whose citizens I have
received such distinguished tokens of their approbation and
aflTection.
Governor Clinton's reply was as follows;
To the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City
of Albany: I receive with the highest satisfaction your con-
gratulations on the return of the blessings of peace, and the
final establishment of our independence. It gives me the
most sensible pleasure that my general conduct in the sta-
tion in which my country has been pleased to continue me,
meets with your approbation. The generous sentiments
which you express in my favor demand my warmest
acknowledgments, and it shall be my first wish and en-
deavor to answer the expectation of my constituents in my
future administration.
COMMITTEE OF SAFETY AND CORRE-
SPONDENCE.
First Ward. — Jacob C. Ten Eyck, Henry I.
Bogart, Peter Silvester, Henry Wendell, Volkert
P. Douw, John Bay, Gysbert Marselis.
Second Ward. — John R. Bleecker, Jacob Lans-
ing, Jr., Jacob Cuyler, Henry Bleecker, Robert
Yates, Stephen De Lancy, Abraham Cu^'ler.
Third Ward. — John H. Ten Eyck, Abraham
Ten Broeck, Gerrit Lansingh, Jr., Anthony E.
Bradt, Samuel Stringer, Abraham Yates, Jr.,
Cornells Van Santvoordt.
The records of the Committee are well preserved
in the State Library, and we think nothing can
better exhibit the state of public feeling than e.x-
tracts from them. We here see the trials,
the needs, the vigilance, the firmness, activ-
ity, energy and sacrifices of the patriots of that day,
expressed in their own words and acts as no his-
torian, after more than a centui')- has passed, can
express them.
The Committee was appointed under the gen-
eral advice of the Continental Congress of Septem-
ber, 1774, held in Philadelphia. We give names
of the first Albany City Committee appointed soon
after hearing of the bloodshed at Lexington, April
'9> 1775- The whole county was soon divided
into districts, and the Committee enlarged by rep-
resentation from each district. We confine our
extracts, on account of limited space, chiefly to
transactions of general interest, or relating to
Albany County as it now is.
Changes were made in the Committee by new
elections, as will appear, and continued by filling
vacancies, because some of its members preferred to
be neutral, while others went over to the enemy.
All these last do not appear. Those who re-
mained, and worked so bi'avely and constantl}', de-
serve a place beside the signers of the Declaration
of Independence. To those who are inlclligenlly
familiar with the history of those days no further
explanations are necessary.
The meetings of this Committee were usually
held in the Old Stadt Huys, used as City Hall,
County House and Gaol, and afterward as State
House and place for all indoor public assemblies
of great importance. The city government having
been suspended from March 25, 1776, to April 17,
1778, all affairs of the city and county were trans-
acted by this Committee, with the advice and ap-
proval of the State Assembly.
1775. — First meeting of the Committee of Cor-
respondence was held at the house of Richard
Cartwright, January 24, 1775.
Officers elected were: Abraham Yates, Jr., Chair-
man; John N. Bleecker, Clerk. Committees were
appointed to draft and send circular-letters to the
Supervisors of the several districts, urging them to
call meetings, appoint committees, and select dele-
gates to co-operate with the central committee.
March 21. — Committee met and adopted the fol-
lowing, among other resolutions:
406
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Resolved, unanimously, that Abraham Yates, Jr.,
Walter Livingston, Esq. , Colonel Schuyler, Colonel
Ten Broeck and Colonel Peter Livingston, are ap-
pointed deputies to represent the City and County
of Albany, at the intended Provincial Congress,
to be held at the City of New York the 20th
day of April next, for the purpose of appointing
delegates to represent this colony at the next Con-
gress, to be held at Philadelphia the loth day of
May next.
Resolved, That the donations for the poor at the
Town of Boston be delivered into the hands of
Jacob C. Ten Eyck, Jacob Lansing and Henry
Quackenbush, and that they bu}' wheat for the
money and send the same in proper time.
Meetings of the Committee were held on the
1 2th, 26th and 29th days of April, at which letters
from Massachusetts Committees were answered, and
more letters were sent to the different districts of
Albany County, earnestly requesting prompt ex-
pressions of the sense of the people.
The date of the following appears to be just
after the battle of Lexington and before Bunker
Hill— and is entered in the book of records of the
Committee of Correspondence and Safety.
"A General Association agreed to and subscribed
by the Members of the several Committees of
the City and County of Albany.
"Persuaded that the salvation of the Rights and
liberties of America depends, under God, on the
firm Union of its Inhabitants in a Vigorous prose-
cution of the Measures necessary for its Safety; and
convinced of the necessity of preventing the An-
archy and Confusion which attends a Dissolution
of the Powers of Government, We, the Freemen,
Freeholders and Inhabitants of the City and County
of Albany, being greatly alarmed at the avowed De-
sign of the Ministry to raise a Revenue in America,
and shocked by the bloody scene now acting in the
Massachusetts Bay, Do in the most Solemn Man-
ner resolve never to become Slaves; and do associi
ate under all the Ties of Religion, Honor and
Love to our Country, to adopt and endeavor to
carry into Execution whatever Measures may be
recommended by the Continental Congress, or re-
solved upon by our Provincial Convention for the
purpose of preserving our Constitution, and oppos-
ing the Execution of the several Arbitrary and op-
pressive Acts of the British Parliament until a Rec-
onciliation between Great Britain and America on
Constitutional Principles (which we most ardently
desire) can be obtained: And that we will in all
things follow the Advice of Our General Committee
respecting the purposes aforesaid, the preservation
of Peace and good Order, and the safety of Individ-
uals and private Propert}-.
"John Barclay, Chairman; Walter Livingston,
John Bay, James ^lagee, Tyrans Callans (.?), Isaac
Van Aernam, Gysbert IMarselis, Philip P. Schuyler,
George White, John McClung, Gershom Wood-
worth, Bastyaen T. Vescher, Florus Baricker, John
Knickerbacker, Junior, Barcnt Vanderpoel, Will-
iam Van Bergen, John Abbott, Jacobus William-
son, Samuel Van Vechten, Peter Becker, Ebenezer
Allen, Simeon Covel, Asa Flint, James Parrot,
Henry Leake (his y, mark), Andries Watbeck, Mat-
thew Visscher, Samuel Stringer, Gerrit Lansing,
Junior, John Ten Broeck, Robert Yates, Henry I.
Bogart, John Van Loon, Henry Van Veghten,
Joseph Young, Richard Esselstyn, Othniel Gard-
,ner, BaretD3'ne, Abraham Cuyler, Robert McClul-
len, Henry Wendell, Cornelius Van Santvoordt, R.
Bleecker, Henry Bleecker, John H. Ten Eyck,
Jacob Bleecker, Junior, John T. Beeckman, Har-
manus Wendell, Matthew Adgate, Abraham Yates,
Junior, John Taylor, Rutger Lansingh, Henry
Quackenboss, John M. Beeckman, John D. Fonda,
]ohn Van Rensselaer, Junior; John Price, Anthony
Van Schaick, Dirck Ten Broeck, Reitzert Bronck,
Frederick Beringer, Reynard Van Alsteyn, Philip
Van Veghten, Joshua Losee, Anthony Van Bergen,
Albertus Van Loon, Mynderse Roseboom, Abra-
ham Ten Eyck.''
At a meeting of the Committee, May ist, it was
ordered that Luke Cassidy be paid 3/ for beating
the drum, and John Ostrander 3/ for going about
and ringing the bell to notify the people.
One of the first acts of this new Committee
was the following letter to the Committee of Cor-
respondence at Boston dated May i, 1775, fitly
supplementing the act of association given above.
"Gentlemen, — While we lament the mournful
event which has caused the Blood of our Brethren
in the Massachusetts Bay to flow, we feel that
satisfaction which every honest American must ex-
perience at the Glorious stand you have made, we
have an additional satisfaction from the conse-
quences which we trust will [ensue] in uniting
every American in Sentiments and Bonds, which
we hope will be indissoluble by our Enemies.
This afternoon the Inhabitants of this City con-
vened and unanimously renewed their former
agreement, that they would co-operate with our
Brethren in New York and in the several Colonies
on the Continent in their opposition to the Minis-
terial Plan now prosecuting against us, and also
unanimously appointed a Committee of Safety,
Protection and Correspondence, with full power to
transact all such matters as they shall conceive may
tend to promote the weal of the American Cause.
We have the fullest Confidence that every District
in this extensive County will follow our Example.
On the twenty-second Instant a Provincial Con-
gress will meet, when we ha^•e not the least doubt
but such eflfectual aids will be afforded you, as will
teach Tyrants and their Minions that as we were
born free, we will live and die so, and transmit
that inestimable Blessing to Posterit}'. Be assured.
Gentlemen, that nothing on our Parts shall be
wanting to evince that we are deeply impressed
with a sense of the necessity of Unanimity, and
that we mean to Co-operate with you in this ardu-
ous struggle for Liberty to the utmost of our
Power. * * * We are. Gentlemen, with the
warmest wishes and most fervent Prayers for your
THE AMERICAN li EVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
407
Success, safety and the success of the Common
Cause, your Most Humble Servls.
' ' By order of the Committee,
" Abraham Yates, Jr., Chairman.''
May 2d — ^Jeremiah Hasely and Captain Stevens
from the Boston encampment, appeared before the
Committee disclosing secret plans under considera-
tion by the New England forces for capturing Fort
Ticonderoga, which, on information was said to
be furnished with several pieces of brass cannon
and many fine stands of arms, a quantity of gun-
powder and other military stores. Aid was re-
quested for our countenance and small assistance
with a supply of flour in the execution of the pro-
posed plan.
May 3d — A letter was addressed to the Com-
mittee in New York, advising them of the visit and
disclosures of these gentlemen, and requesting
their sentiments.
The letter makes this statement; "From the
many applications that have been and are daily
made from the eastward, we are very scant of
powder, arms, and warlike stores, and the city is
in a very defenseless situation; not a piece of ar-
tillery in it. "
A letter from the Committee in New York,
dated April 28th, urges the necessity of a Provis-
isonal Congress to be held in that city May 2 2d,
to be composed of delegates from each county in
the Colony.
A committee was appointed to wait on Colonel
Guy Johnson, to know the truth of the report pre-
vailing about the disposition of the Indians being
unfriendly to the Colony, relative to the present
commotions.
Colonel Johnson informs the Committee that
on his honor there is no ground for the reports
that he knows of, but says that he has it from good
authority that the Canadians were to come down
upon the back of the Colonies, and which he be-
lieves to be true.
Therefore Resolved, "That Abraham Cuyler and
Hendrick Wendell be a Committee to apply to
Mr. Dirck Ten Broeck for two hundred Stand of
Small Arms of the parcel he is possessed of, to be pre-
pared and made fit for immediate service. ' ' ' From
the present State and turbulance of the County,
from the alarm arisen by suspicion of the Negroes,
from the information from Col. Johnson respect-
ing the Canadians, we conceive it prudent to have a
strict and strong watch, well armed and under proper
discipline, and the Corporation declining to under-
take the same. Therefore, for the peace, good
order, safety, and protection of this City, ordered
that copies of the following advertisement be fixed
up in the proper places in the different wards.
" ■Notice is hereby given to the inhabitants of the
City of Albany that it is the opinion of their Com-
mittee that they assemble and meet together in the
different wards of this City at the usual places of
election, to-morrow, at one o'clock in the after-
noon, to form themselves into Companies from the
age of sixteen to sixty, each Company to consist of
a Captain, two Lieutenants, one Ensign, four Ser-
jeants, four Corporals, one Drum and fifty-one pri-
vates. Dated 3d Ma}', 1775. — By order of the
Committee.
'Abraham Yates, Chairman:
Meeting of Committee, May 4, 1775 — The
following is the return of the officers chosen this
day by the people in consequence of our advertise-
ment— to wit:
For the First Ward.
First Company — ^John Barclay, Captain; John
Price, Stephen Van Schaaik, Lieutenants; Abra-
ham Yates, Ensign.
Second Company — John Williams, Captain; Hen-
ry Staats, Barent Van Allen, Lieutenants; Henry
Hogan, Ensign.
Third Company — Thomas Barret, Captain; Abra-
ham Eights, Matthew Visscher, Lieutenants; John
Hoogkerk, Ensign.
For the Third Ward — Captains : John Beeckman,
Harmanus Wendell; Lieutenants: Isaac De Freest,
Abraham Ten Eyck, William Hunn, Peter Ganse-
voort, Junior; Ensigns: Cornelius Wendell, Teunis
T. Van ^^eghten.
At Committee meeting of May 5th, a letter from
Barrington was read requesting aid, which was de-
clined until advices should be received on the
subject from the New York Committee.
Committee Chamber, loth May, 1775, City
Hall ofthe City of Albany.
Present, Nineteen Members of Committee. Dis-
trict of Grote Imboght, 2 delegates; Sinkaick and
Hosick District, 3 delegates; Bennington District, 8
delegates; Corporation of Cambridge, 8 delegates;
Manor of Livingston, 5 delegates; Schagtekoeke,'
8 delegates; Kings District, 3 delegates; German
Camp, 2 delegates; Cambridge District, 3 dele-
gates; District of Cocksackie and Katskiil, 5;
Schoharry and Duanesborough,6 delegates; Claver-
ack, 5 delegates; Kinderhook, 4 delegates; Manor
of Rensselaerwyck, 22 delegates; Saratoga, 10 dele-
gates; Schenectady, 10 delegates; Half Moon, 7
delegates.
Adjourned to 3 o'clock this afternoon.
May 5th — The following delegates were chosen
by ballot to meet in General Congress at New York
the 2 2d instant. Abraham Yates, Dirck Swart,
Volkert P. Douw, Robert Van Rensselaer, Peter
Silvester, Francis Nicoll, Robert Yates, Henry
Glenn, Jacob Cuyler, Abraham Ten Broeck, Wal-
ter Livingston.
Resolved, That the Committees of the different
districts recommend to the people to form them-
selves into Companies, properly equipped and dis-
ciplined, and that they make report to the Chair-
man of the Committee for the time beino-.
May nth — Sixty-six members present. An-
other request for supplies for the use of the people
gone against Ticonderoga, " was voted in the nega-
tive.
May 1 2 th—" We received a letter signed Ethan
Allen by the hands of Mr. Brown, acquainting us
of the taking Ticonderoga. Upon which we wrote
a letter to the committee of New York b}' Captain
408
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Barent Ten Eyck, Express, and each of us paid him
a Dollar a piece for going. "
May 13th — -Received letter from New York con-
firming previous decisions not to furnish aid to
Ticonderoga expedition until some action of the
Provincial or Continental Congress.
May 1 6th — Samuel Stringer, Chairman /ro tem.
Resolved, That any Person in this City
County who has arms, ammunition or other
articles necessary for our Defense to dispose of,
shall not within ten days after the publications of
these resolutions inform this Committee of the
quantity and quality of the same, shall be held up
to the Public as an Enemy to this Country.
Resolved, That any person who shall dispose of
any aforesaid articles to any person, knowing or
having reason to believe such person to be inim-
ical to the liberties of America, he shall be held
up as an enemy to this Country. Ordered, that
the same be published in Hand I3ills.
Committee Chambers, 2 2d May— John H. Rose-
boom delivered a speech from an Indian called
Little Abram, a chief of the Mohawks. "They
hear that Companies and troops are coming to mo-
lest us, that a large body are hourly expected from
New England to take away by violence our Super-
intendant and extinguish our Council Fire, for what
reasons we know not. We have no purpose of
interfering in the dispute between Old England
and Boston; the White People may settle their own
quarrels; we shall never meddle in those matters
if we are let alone. But should ourSuperintendant
be taken away from us we dread the consequences.
We are so desirous of maintaining peace, that we
are unwilling the Six Nations should know the
bad Reports spread amongst us. Brothers, We desire
you will satisfy us as to 3'our knowledge of those
reports and what your News are and not deceive
us in a matter of so much importance.
"Abraham, Chief.
"Interpreted by Samuel Kirkland, Missionary.
May, 1775'."
A committee of two was appointed to go with
an answer to the Indians.
May 25th — The first communication from the
Congress then in session at Philadelphia, received.
It was a request that the Albany Committee send
provisions and supplies to Ticonderoga, with a
sufficient number of men and mechanics to build
and manage scows with which to bring cannon
and military stores from the conquered fort.
A resolution was at once passed to act accord-
ingly— to raise a company of one hundred men
and march as soon as possible to Ticonderoga.
Cornelius Van Santvoordt was chosen commissar)'
of stores by ballot, and Henry I. Bogert was ap-
pointed to go to Fort George in charge of the
stores and building of the scows for lake trans-
portation.
May 26th — The following was passed :
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Commit-
tee that the physicians and others of this city and
county who are in the practice of inoculation for
small-pox, be requested immediately to desist from
inoculation until the sense of this Committee be
signified to the contrary.
May 29th — A letter was received from the Pro-
vincial Congress at New York, dated 25th May,
1775, inclosing instructions to Messrs. John N.
Bleecker, Henry Bogert, George Palmer, Peter
Lansing, and Dirck Sevant, who were by said Con-
gress appointed commissioners or agents to super-
intend and put in execution the recommendation of
the Grand Continental Congress of the loth May,
1775, relative to Ticonderoga.
Peter W. Yates, John N. Bleecker, Jeremiah
Van Rensselaer, and John Taylor, the Committee
appointed to draw up an instrument to bind those
in their duty who shall enlist in the Provincial Ser-
vice, brought an instrument in the words follow-
ing, to wit:
" We, the subscribers, being well convinced of
the absolute necessity of raising a body of Provincial
Troops for the defense of the Constitution and the
preservation of our just rights and liberties, when
the same are in the most imminent danger of being
invaded, have therefore voluntarily enlisted into
the Provisional Service, and do hereby promise and
agree that we will severally do, execute, and per-
form all and every such instructions, directions,
orders, military discipline, and duties as our offi-
cers, or either of them, shall from time to time
give or send to us during the time that our service
is required in the unhappy contest between Great
Britain and the Colonies; and we do severally
promise and engage not to go from or quit the said
service until we shall be discharged or dismissed
from the service by the Continental or Provisional
Congress, or by the General Commitee of the City
of Albany, under the penalty of forfeiting our
wages, and being deemed in the eve of the Public
as enemies to our Country."
Resolved, That the Captains of this City call out
their Companies once every two weeks in the after-
noon for the purpose of pefecting themselves in the
military discipline, and that Saturda}-, the third of
June next, be appointed for the first time of muster-
ing.
Resolved, That John Ostrander be appointed un-
der the denomination of Town Serjeant, who shall
keep a regular Roster of all the officers of the dif-
ferent wards in the City, and that he warn the officer
not on duty, every morning preceding the night he
is to watch, and that every officer so warned shall
order his Serjeant to warn the men w ho shall at-
tend to the watch house at the appointed hour with
proper arms, ammunition and accoutrements, and
that every person capable of doing his duty Shall
attend in person.
8th June — We received a letter from Colonel
Phillip Schuyler, dated Philadelphia, 3d June,
1775, in these words, to wit:
"The conduct of the Albany Committee has
given great Satisfaction to the Congress. You can-
not wonder that I should be pleased with every
Transaction that reflects honor on m}' dear Country-
men. The article of powder is under serious con-
i sideration; but, difficult as it is to procure that
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
409
essential commodity, I hope we soon shall have a
supply. May indulgent Heaven smile propitious
on the endeavor of the Americans to remain a free
and a happy people; may my Countrymen stand dis-
tinguished in the glorious Struggle, and may an
All directing Providence guide us safely through
the dangers of this unhappy Contest."
June 17th — Received a letter from Colonel
Bsnedict Arnold, dated Crown Point, 12th June,
1775-
" Gentlemen, — Your letter to Captain White with
orders for the Companies from Albany County to
return to Fort George he has just received, in con-
sequence of which they are now embarking for that
place. Their departure leaves us in a very defense-
less Situation, as we have only 100 men left here,
but could not advise them to go contrary to their
orders, tho' the men are much wanted. Had you
known our present Situation, I believe you would
not have given orders for their removal.
"Your Most Humble Servant.
" Bened"' Arnold. '
Received a letter from the Committee of Schenec-
tady, dated i6th June, 1775, requesting that fifty
Stand of Arms be sent them by Mr. Wendell's
Servant.
Resolved, That John N. Bleecker deliver to Mr.
Wendell's Servant fifty guns for the use of Captain
Cornelius Van Dyck's Company at Schenectada.
Resolved, That John N. Bleecker, Commissary,
Send to Fort George four barrels of New England
Rum, to be delivered to Henry I. Eogert or any
others of the Commissaries at that Post. To be
Charged to the Soldiers at the rate of Six Shillings
per gallon.
June 2 2d — Present, twenty-two members.
On motion, the question being put whether or
no it is necessary that some money be raised to
pay the troops raised for the use of this colony.
Resolved in the affirmative.
Resolved, That five hundred pounds be raised, by
bills of credit, as follows :
1,000 of 1/ ^50
750 of 2/ 75
500 of 5/ 125
500 of 10/ 250
Resolved, That the bills for the above sums be of
the following tenor, to wit :
" This Note shall entitle the bearer to the sum of
New York Currency, pay-
able by us, the Subscribers, on or before the first day
of September next, pursuant to a Vote of Credit of
the Sub-Committee of the City and County of
Albany. < , g^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^j^ Committee. "
Resolved, That Messrs. Jacob C. Ten Eyck,
Jacob Lansingh, Jun., and Samuel Stringer, sub-
scribe their respective nam.es to the several notes,
to be issued as aforesaid, and number the same;
and the respective members of this Committee do
hereby engage to save and keep harmless and in-
demnified the said Jacob C. Ten Eyck, Jacob
62
Lansingh, Jun., and Samuel Stringer, for all sums of
money which they or either of them may be com-
pelled to pay in consequence of their signing the
Slid notes, exclusive of their proportional part as
members of this Committee.
Resolved, That Messrs. Robert Yates, John Bay,
Abraham Cuyler, Gosen Van Schaick, Cornelius
Van Santvoordt, John Ten Broeck, Henry Quack-
enbush and Lucas Van Veghten, or any two of
them, superintend the printing of said bills.
At the Committee meeting June 23d, a note was
sent to Boston, as follows :
"We are at a loss to know what must be done
with the Donations collected in this City for the
Poor of Boston, and beg to be informed by you,
as the Chief Contributions was in Grain, whether we
shall dispose of it here and convert it into Cash, or
otherwise. Waiting your directions, we are,
"Brethren, your very humble servants."
June 26th— Resolved, That there be struck in
Bills of Credit, in addition to what has already
been ordered, Five Hundred Pounds of the follow-
ing tenor, to wit : Two hundred and fifty of twenty
shillings and one hundred and twenty-five of forty
shillings.
Committee Chambers, June 29th — Samuel
Stringer, ChaWmnn pro /em.
Upon the whole, we are of opinion, Elrsl. — That
as the safety of our Persons, and the Preservation
of our Properties depends upon the due adminis-
tration of Justice, that the course of Justice ought
not to be obstructed, but that the Same Continue
in the usual Course, and in the King's Name, as
our allegiance to him is not denied ; and that we
are to Wait the resolution of the Provincial or Con-
tinental Congress on this Subject and abide by their
determination, otherwise we Conceive the whole
Country will be reduced to a State of the Greatest
Anarch}' and Confusion.
Second. — Appeals are still admitted, at least in
this Government, in all cases where they always
have been Allowed; in this the law has not been
altered, and the Subject in this Province has the
Same Liberty of a fair and impartial trial, as usual
on Constitutional principles; and we do not object
against any Acts of Parliament, except the late Un-
constitutional and oppressive ones which have been
Noticed by the Continental Congress in their Session
last Fall.
Th'rd. — We are neither Rebels or Traitors, nor
have we forfeited our Estates, neither are there any
acts of Parliament of that nature in force to our
knowledge against any persons in this Province;
nor do we conceive the application of Traitors and
Rebels justly applied to Subjects who refuse to
comply with requisitions of unconstitutional Acts of
Parliament.
July 3d — Mr. Leonard Gansevoort reports that he
had paid Captain George White the sum of jCioo
14s. New York currency for himself, the officers
and privates of his Company, which this board does
approve of
Resolved, That Mr. Leonard Gansevoort, Treas-
urer, pay unto Captain Hezekiah Baldwin, the sum
410
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of/^71, in behalf of his pay as Captain, and for and
on behalf of the rest of his officers and privates of
his Company.
July 5th — Received letter from Phillip Schuyler,
of which the following is a part:
"I have received advice that some Oneida In-
dians are now at Albany. Your prudence will sug-
gest that the kindest treatment is necessary to these
People, and I beg of you not to let them return
without some liberal presents or tokens of our
friendship, nor without assurances that they will
speedily be called to a Conference at Albany, or
some other convenient place, in that or Tryon
County. What money you may disburse for pres-
ents I shall immediately see repaid."
July 5th — Mr. Henry Glen produced to this
board warrants and instructions for the following
persons from Albany County:
Captain, Stephen J. Schuyler; First Lieutenant,
Barent Roseboom; Second Lieutenant, Dirck Han-
sen; Captain, Joel Pratt; First Lieutenant, Benja-
min Chittenden ; Second Lieutenant, Israel Spen-
cer; Captain, Elisha Benedict; First Lieutenant,
Samuel Fletcher; Second Lieutenant, Alexander
Brink: Captain, Joseph McCracken; First Lieuten-
ant, Moses Masten; Second Lieutenant, John
Barns; Captain, John Visscher; First Lieutenant,
Benjamin Evans; Second Lieutenant, Joseph Fitch;
Captain, Hezekiah Baldwin; First Lieutenant,
Nathaniel Rowley; Second Lieutenant, Roswell
Beeby; Captain, Peter Yates; First Lieutenant,
Henry Van Veghten; Second Lieutenant, Gideon
King.
Mr. Henry Glen also informs this Board that the
Congress have approved of the following field offi-
cers:
Colonel, Myndert Roseboom; Lieutenant-Col-
onel, Goosen Van Schaick; Major, Lucas Van
Veghten; and that they had appointed John M.
Wendell, Quartermaster, and Barent J. Ten Eyck,
Adjutant.
Received a letter from the Deputies of the Prov-
ince in Continental Congress, dated 30th June,
1775, in which they announce:
" The Mihtary Arrangement within the Depart-
ment of New York is entrusted to Major-General
Schuyler, to whom we refer you for the money
which you request, not doubting but his hands will
be strengthened so as to enable him to do every-
thing necessary for the Protection of our Frontiers.
Signed,
" Philip Livingston,
"James Duane,
" William Floyd."
Resolved, That Robert Yates, Abraham Ten
Broeck and Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Esqs., be
appointed to prepare an address to be presented to
General Philip Schuyler on his arrival.
July 6th — New York Provincial Congress.
Resolved, That ten shillings shall be allowed
to every soldier that shall enlist in the Continental
service in this Colony for the present Campaign,
who shall furnish himself with a good musket, to
be approved by the Muster-Master and Armorer of
each Regiment.
July 1 2th — Abraham Yates, Chairman.
Resolved, That Jeremiah Van Rensselaer be
furnished with the sum of out of the
Paper Emission of this Committee, and that he go
up to Lake George, Ticonderoga and Crown Point
and make a final settlement with those Companies,
and declare to them that they for the future must
look for their pay and necessaries to the Officers
appointed by the Continental or Provincial Con-
gress for that purpose.
It being intimated to this board by Mr. Peter
Vrooman, that some tavern-keepers in this county
sell spirituous liquors too freely to the Indians,
from which evil consequences often happen, there-
fore
Resolved, That it be recommended to all Tav-
ern-keepers and others in said County, to sell spirit-
uous liquors to the Indians as sparingly as possible,
so as to prevent their getting drunk.
" Canajorhary, July 13.
"Gentlemen, — We are informed by good au-
thority that Col. [Guy] Johnson was ready with
eight or nine hundred Indians to make an invasion
of this County; that the same Indians were to be
under the Command of Joseph Brandt and Walter
Butler, and that they were to fall on the inhabitants
below Little Falls, in order to divide the people in
two parts, and were to march yesterday or day be-
fore. From this and other circumstances we have
too much reason to think that all our enemies in
this County will appear against us as soon as the
Indians are nigh to us.
" Our ammunition is so Scant, we cannot furnish
300 men so as to be able to make a stand against
so great a number.
"This is the more alarming to us, as we
shall within a few days be obliged to begin with
our harvest. In these deplorable circumstances
we look to you for assistance.
' ' By order,
" Chris" P. Y.wes."
Resolved, I'hat a letter be prepared for General
Schuyler, enclosing a copy of this, and sent by ex-
press to Saratoga.
July 15th — Received a letter from General
Philip Schuyler, dated Saratoga, Friday evening,
three-quarters past eleven, July 14, 1775, in the
following words, to wit:
" Sir, — The letter you have enclosed me is of a
truly alarming nature, and requires the most vigor-
ous and immediate efforts. I would advise that
not only Captain Van Dyck and his company, but
also such others as you can possibly get, should im-
mediately march into Tryon County with the
Albany and Schenectady Militia, who should also
be requested to march to the relief of that County.
" Your obedient senant,
" Ph. Schuyler,"
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
411
Resolved, That 150 pounds powder be trans-
mitted to the Committee of Tryon 'County, they
paying for the same at the rate of five shilHngs
per pound, and that 25 pounds be forwarded to
Schenectady for the use of Captain Cornelius Van
Dyck's Company.
A paper was handed to this Board, supposed to
contain reflections on this Board, which is as fol-
lows, to wit:
"The Mode of a late very Extraordinary and
very Grand Procession.
" I. The Congressional General.
"II. The Deputy Chairman, and who is only
Chairman Pro Tempore.
" III. Mr. Ten Broeck — through a mistake.
"IV. The Chairman.
"V. The Committee.
"VI. The Troop of Horse, most beautiful and
grand; some Horses long taild, some bob Taild,
and some without any tails, and attended with the
Melodious Sound of an mcomparable fine Trumpet.
" VII. The Association Compan}'.
" A Spf.ctator. "
The above caused much indignation and com-
motion among the Committee and the Citizens, as
the occasion alluded to was the public reception of
General Schuyler.
A few days later, Peter W. Yates, a member of
the Committee of Correspondence, wrote an ac-
knowledgment of being the author, and asked to
be forgiven, as he meant no injury to the Board or to
the Cause of Liberty, still being a friend to both;
also sending in his resignation, which was ac-
cepted, together with apology.
Mr. Yates, however, stood well with the people,
for he was re-elected to the membership he had va-
cated, as appears from the following entry of July
26th:
" In pursuance of a resolve of the 22d instant,
of the inhabitants of the First Ward of this Cit}-, to
proceed to an Election of a Member in the room of
Peter W. Yates, Esq., the Clerk of this Beard
files a return of the Poll, by which it appears that
the said Peter W. Yates was again elected."
July 27ih — Peter W. Yates, Esq., declined serv-
ing, on his being elected on the 23d instant. An
election was again held on the 26th instant,
agreeable to a resolve of this Board, when Doc-
tor Joseph Young was elected.
July 29th — Extract from a letter to General
Philip Schuyler, from the Committee:
' ' We have the Pleasure to inform you that the
apprehensions of the inhabitants of Tryon respect-
ing the Indians is entirely removed, and the un-
happy dispute between the inhabitants of the upper
Part of the County with Sir John Johnson and the
Sheriff of that County amicably accommodated
upon the two following Points:
"First. — The Sheriff is to leave the County and
not return to it again.
"Second. — Sir John Johnson is not to take any
active part against the People in the Disputes at
Present Subsisting between Great Britain and the
American Colonies."
Mr. Benjamin Baker laid before this board
proposals for making Salt Petre.
Resolved, To forward the said proposal to the
Provincial Congress in the following words:
"Gentlemen. — You will find enclosed, pro-
posals from Mr. Baker, and think it may be worth
your while to give him encouragement. Doctor
Young (one of our board) has examined the Nitre
he has made as a sample, and considers it as good
as the Nitre from Europe."
August ist — Ensign Daniel Lee petitioned for
his pay while serving in Captain Joel Pratt's Com-
pany. Granted.
August 5th — Letter from General Philip Schuy-
ler:
"Gentlemen, — I have directed the Commissary-
General, Mr. Livingston, to pay you ;^i,ooo New
York Currency to call in the Bills )'0u have emit-
ted. As you must ultimately account to the public
for this money, you will please to take the proper
Vouchers from the People, and when the bills are
called in )'ou will proceed, jointly with Mr. Liv-
ingston, to cancel them."
August 8th — Letter from Provincial Congress
dated New York August 2, 1775:
"We have the pleasure to inform you that this
Congress have made an allowance to each Officer
of One Dollar for every man that may or has al-
ready inlisted in the Service, in order to reimburse
them for the expense of said inlistment.
August 9th — Received letter from Governor
Jonathan Trumbull, dated Lebanon, July 21, 1775,
on Onedia Indian affairs.
Robert Yates writes from New York that Con-
gress had just examined a Soldier who deserted
from the Army in Boston and fought with the British
at Lexington and Charles Town. He says they pay
their men weekly, but their pay is only 14 coppers
each.
August 1 6th — Whereas, Complaint has been
made to this board by an Indian, that he was beat
by some person in this City and his Shirt taken
away or lost; for the sake of maintaining peace
with the Indians,
Resolved, That Mr. John W. Bleecker furnish the
said Indian with a new Shirt of the value of ten
Shillings.
August 19th — Received the following letter
dated Geiman Flats, August 16, 1775:
"Sir, — We beg the favor of you to Supply the 55
Onedia Indians at Albany with provisions till we
come, and we will be answerable for the expense.
We have about 500 of the Six Nations here, who all
Seem in good Temper, and we hope will proceed
from here to Albany and there await the arrival of
the Indians from Canada to hold a General Treaty.
' ' We are, with Respect,
"VoLKERT P. DoLnv,
' ' TURBUTT pRANCtg. "
413
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
August 2 1 St — Received a letter from the Commit-
tee of Safety for Pennsylvania, dated Pliiladelphia,
August 12, 1775, '" these words, to wit:
"Gentlemen, — With this you will receive 2,400
pounds of Gun powder sent by us for the use of
General Schuyler, to \\[hom we make no doubt you
will forward it by first opportunity.
"This Committee has heard that a great and
Superfluous quantity of Lead was taken at Ticon-
deroga. It is an article much wanted here. If
that lead should be with you and you can conveni-
ently load this Wagon back with a parcel of it we
shall be much obliged and will be accountable for
the Same.
"We are. Gentlemen,
"Your Most Ob' Humble Servants.
"Signed, by order of Committee,
"B. Franklin, Pre^."
Resolved, That the following order be sent to the
Captain of the City Watch for this night, to wit:
"Sir, — On your watch this night you are to take
m Charge Alexander White and three other persons
in Confinement with him and to order that strict
care be taken that said prisoners do not escape."
The Committee, about half an hour after ten, re-
ceived a note from the Commissioners of Indian
Affairs, that they are to open the Treaty with the
Six Nations about eleven o'clock in Yonkers Street,
back of the Dutch Church, and request our attend-
ance and that of the principal gentlemen of the
Town. This Committee, though taken by sur-
prise. Resolved immediately to attend, and the Bell
man was sent to apprise the inhabitants who might
wish to attend.
Long Speeches by an Oneida Chief in behalf of
the Six Nations were made, declaring their good
feelings and intentions, and their purpose to live
up to the old Treaties of Peace.
Arvin Montague Morris was brought before this
board, suspected to be inimical to the American
Cause; and, upon examination, he could not give a
proper account of himself; therefore
Resolved, That he be sent to the Camp and
there remain till further orders.
Received a letter from the Committee of Tryon
County, expressing Satisfaction that White, Clement
and Brown were held as prisoners, as there is much
evidence that they are enemies to the Common
Cause.
Henry Ten Eyck, Sheriflf of the City and County
of Albany, being called before this board to tell
who was the plaintiif in the suit upon which Alex-
ander White, Esq., is in custody, said that Abraham
C. Cuyler was the Plaintiff", and John Hansen the
Attorney.
By a return of the Field Officers for the District of
Rensselaerwyck, the following persons were rec-
ommended for the four Battalions, to wit: Abra-
ham Ten Broeck, Colonel-in-Chief; Francis Nicol,
Lieutenant-Colonel; Henry Quackenbush, Baren't
Staats, Majors; John Quackenbush, Adjutant; Chris-
topher Lansingh, Quartermaster.
Secottd Battalion. — Killian Van Rensselaer, Col-
onel; John H. Beeckman, Lieutenant-Colonel ;
Cornelius Van Beuren, Jacob C. Scherraerhorn,
Majors; Jacob Van Der Poel, Adjutant; John A.
Lansingh, Quartermaster.
Third Battalion. — Stephen Schuyler, Colonel;
Gerrit Van Der Bergh, Lieutenant-Colonel; Peter
C. Schuyler, Volkert Veeder, Majors; Maas Van
Vranken, Adjutant; Francis Marshall, Quarter-
master.
Fourth Battalion. — Stephen J. Schuyler, Colonel;
Henry K. Van Rensselaer, Lieutenant-Colonel;
Philip De Freisto, John J. Fonda, Majors; Volkert
Oothout, Adjutant; Jacob Van Alstyne, Quarter-
master.
The above persons were Approved of by this
Board.
The Officers appointed by this Board to the City
Regiment are as follows:
Jacob Lansingh, Colonel; Derek Ten Broeck,
Lieutenant-Colonel; Henry Wendell, Abraham
H. Cuyler, Majors; Volkert A. Douw, Adjutant;
Ephraim Van Veghten, Quartermaster.
The Provincial Congress dissolved October 14,
1775, recommending the Election of Deputies to
form a new Congress. The General Committee of
the City and County of Albany also resolved that
they be dissolved the 21st day of December, 1775.
An Election was accordingly held on Tuesday,
November 7, 1775, at which the following persons
were Elected as Delegates to the New Provincial
Congress: Leonard Gansevoort, Abraham Ten
Broeck, Abraham Yates, Jun., Jacob Cuyler, Fran-
cis Nichol, Robert Yates, Henry Glen, Peter Syl-
vester, Peter B. Livingston, John J. Bleecker,
Henry Oothout, and Robert Van Rensselaer.
This Committee do hereby declare the said per-
sons to be duly elected, and that they, or any five of
them, represent this City and County in the next
Provincial Congress.
January 20, 1776 — The Committee to enquire
for a proper place to confine such persons as are
inimical to American Liberty, Report that there are
two rooms in the Fort in this City which might be
repaired with little expense for said persons; there-
fore
Resolved, That General Schuyler be requested
to fit the upper room in said Fort.
Resolved, That the Committee of this County
Condole the Death of the brave General Richard
Montgomery, by wearing each a crape around their
arms for six weeks from this day successively.
February 7th — Fifty-eight members present.
John Barclay, President pro tern. George Ramsey
having been sent from Schenectady, charged with
calling persons in favor of American Liberty, Rebels:
Resolved, That the said Ramsey be disarmed and
Stand Committed until he enter into Bond in the
Sum of ;^20o, with sufficient sureties, for his fu'.ure
good behavior. Joseph Kingsly was also charged
with the same offense, and was dealt with in the
same manner.
March \^\k^— Resolved, That no person or per-
sons be permitted to move into or settle in this
County, unless he or they bring a Certificate from
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
413
the Committee of the County or district from which
they claim that they had, prior to this resolve,
signed the association recommended by Congress,
and had in all things behaved in a manner becom-
ing to Friends of American Freedom.
April nth — The following is the form of parole
in use at this time.
"I do promise, on the word and honor of a
Soldier and gentleman, that I will hold no manner
of correspondence or conversation on Political
Matters with any person or persons that are in-
imical to measures now pursued by the United
Colonies of America; and that I will not depart
the bounds of the District of Coxackie without
leave of the Committee of the said district.
"James Hewetson."
May 3d — Messrs. Rutger, Bleecker and Dr.
Joseph Young were named a Committee to en-
courage the culture of Hemp, Flax and Wool; also
the making of Sturgeon Oil to supply the place of
Whale Oil, in view of the Stoppage of the Whale
Fisheries.
May 8th — John Boyd Confessed to selling
Bohea Tea for 7/6 per pound. Contrary to Resolu-
tion of Continental Congress. That others did it,
was his excuse.
Resolved, That the said John Boyd has violated
the Resolution, and ought to be considered an
Enemy to the American Cause; and it is recom-
mended that all persons break off all intercourse
with said Boyd.
Absalam Woodworth was also convicted of same
offense, and was punished in the same manner.
A Resolution passed some weeks ago to disarm
all disloyal persons. The following is the Warrant
for so doing :
"Sir, — You are hereby required and Commanded
forthwith to proceed to the houses of Abraham
C. Cuyler, John Van Allen, Stephen De Lancey,
Gysbert Fonda, John Monier, and William Shep-
herd, there to receive and take all their Arms and
Ammunition, Side arms excepted; for which arms,
etc. , you are to give a receipt. And bring said arms,
etc., to the Chairman of this Committee without
dela)'. And for so doing this shall be your War-
rant. "
The number of troops furnished by Albany
County for General Schuyler, in Canada, was :
East Manor, Rensselaerwyck, 75; West District,
Rensselaerwyck, 75; Claverach and King's District,
150; East Camp and Grote Imboght, New York,
75; Half Moon, Balston and Saratoga, Canada, 75;
Albany, Schohary, Coxackee and Kinderkook, 75.
Henry Marselis was made Captain of Company
raised in Albany City, Schenectady, Coxackee and
Schohary, to reinforce Continental Army in Canada;
Benjamin C. Dubois, First Lieutenant; John Van
Antwerp, Second Lieutenant.
Resolved, That Henry K. Van Rensselaer be ap-
pointed Major of the Company of Militia for the
County for Service in New York.
Peter Van Rensselaer was appointed Captain of
Company raised in Claverack; Christopher C. Mil-
ler, First Lieutenant; Wilhelmus Philips, Second
Lieutenant.
July I St — Committee appointed Officers of
Battalion, raised in Albany, Tr}'on, Charlotte,
Cumberland and Gloucester Counties as follows:
Cornelius Van Dyck, Colonel; Barent S. Ten Eyck,
Major; John Shepardson, Lieutenant-Colonel.
July 17th — Received a letter from Abraham
Yates, Junior, Robert Yates and Matthew Adgate,
dated White Plains, 14th instant, enclosing the
Declaration of the United States of America;
declaring the Said United States free and inde-
pendent; also the resolutions of the Representa-
tives of the State of New York, in consequence
thereof
Received a letter from John Rogers, one of the
Committee of Saratoga, dated nth instant, com-
plaining that the Small Pox is very prevalent in
said district.
July 1 8th — Resolved, That the Declaration of In-
dependence be published and declared in this
City to-morrow at Eleven O'Clock at this place, and
that Colonel Van Schaick be requested to order
the Continental Troops in this City to Appear under
Arms at the place aforesaid; and, further, that the
Captains of the Several Militia Company in this
city be requested to Warn the Persons belonging to
their respective Companies, to appear at the place
aforesaid, and for the purpose aforesaid.
Much of the time of the Committee during their
Sessions was consumed in the apprehension, con-
viction, and punishment of disaffected and dis-
loyal persons, of whom there was a great number.
The " Tory Gaol '' in the City Hall was filled with
them, and the list was constantly increasing.
Expenses increased rapidly for arms, ammuni-
tion, and supplies, and it was found difficult to pay
the soldiers with sufficient regularity to prevent
great discontent. The labor of the Committee was
very perplexing and arduous at this time.
August 3d — Samuel Stephenson is hereby dis-
charged of being Keeper of the Tory Gaol, and
Volkert Dawson is appointed in his room.
Resolved, That John A. Bratt and Alexander
Baldwin be appointed Captain for the Ranger
Companies; and Marte Van Beuren, John B.
Marselis, Michael Jackson and John Jost Sidney,
Lieutenants for said Company and Stephen
Lush, Captain for the Company to guard the
stores in Albany, and Gerritt Staats and Jacob J.
Lansing, Lieutenants.
August 1 7th — The Association Company elected
Andrew Douw, Captain, and Peter Van Bergen,
Ensign.
Rev. Harry Munro, Rector of St. Peter's, Al-
bany, requested a pass to New York and Phila-
delphia, which was refused by the Committee in
the following words:
Resolved, That the Chairman acquaint you, the
said Munro, that this Board cannot, consistent
with their duty, grant his request, as the very Idea
of a pass is to recommend the person having it to
the public as a Friend to the Cause and right of
America, and that they extremely lament that they
414
HlSTOkY OP THS COVNTY Of AIBANY.
have it not in their power to give him such a rec-
ommendation, as they are ignorant that he has
ever manifested himself such a friend in any one
instance since the Commencement of the present
unhappy Contest.
Captain John Williams was appointed Captain of
a Company of 75 men to be drafted out of the
Militia of this County to reinforce the Fortresses in
the Highlands.
September 29th — This board being informed that
a Company of Colonel Van Dyck's Regiment had
deserted.
Resolved, that a letter be prepared for General
Schuyler on the subject, which was done.
Resolved, That there be allowed Eight Shillings
for the three first pair of two-threaded Stockings
that shall be knitted in one family.
October 2 2d — Jonathan N. Mallory is hereby
appointed Surgeon to Colonel Peter ^^an Ness,
Regiment of Militia.
Resolved, That any Negro Man Slave within the
Manor of Rensselaerwyck, who shall be found from
his Master's house after Six o'clock in the Evening
without a permit from his master or mistress, he
shall be immediately apprehended and receive
Corporal punishment.
November 26th — Resolved, That John Barclay
be appointed Chairman of this Committee, Mat-
thew Visscher, Clerk, and Jacob Kidney, Messenger.
Pursuant to a resolvent of the 8th instant, it ap-
pears that the following persons are duly Elected
for the space of Six months from the first
day of December next, unless sooner disbanded
by the Convention of this State.
The resolution of the 8th instant was as follows:
Whereas, The lime limited by the good people of
this County for the present Committee to serve, ex-
pires in the County this 4th Tuesday of this month;
and
Whereas, The Representatives of this State in
Convention have been inevitably prevented from
forming a Government for this State, it is neces-
sary that another Committee be elected in this
County for the Space of Six months:
Resolved, That the Election in the several dis-
tricts in this County be held on the 3d Tuesday
of November.
There were elected from the First Ward, 9
members; Second Ward, 9 members; Third Ward,
9 members; Manor of Rensselaer, 20 members;
Schoharry, 6 members; Grote Imboght, 5 mem-
bers; Ballston, 5 members; Hosick, 12 members;
Coxackie, 6 members; German Camp, 4 mem-
bers; Schagtikocke, 10 members; Manor of Liv-
ingston, 10 members; Half Moon, 7 members;
Saratoga, 7 members; Schenectady, 1 1 members;
Cambridge, 9 members; Kings, 8 members; Clav-
erack, 12 members.
Resolved, That the Committee of the County
meet every Fortnight in the City Hall, on Tuesday,
and that at least one member from each District
attend.
Resolved, As the opinion of this Committee, there
be allowed one Shilling per day for the first five
days the militia supplied themselves with pro-
visions on the late alarm to the northward, and
that for the remainder no more than eight pence
half penny be allowed.
November 30th — General Gates laid before this
Board a letter from the President of the Conven-
tion of this State to the Hon'" Major-General
Schuyler, desiring him to take the management of
obstructing Hudson River, which the Committee
had resolved upon, desiring the opinion of this
Board whether same ought to be forwarded by Ex-
press to His Honor, which is hereby ordered to
be done.
December loth — Resolved, That a permit be
granted to Lady John Johnson to go to Fish Kills,
in order to apply for a pass to New York.
December 31st — General Schuyler applies to this
Board for assistance in procuring blankets for
Colonel Van Schaick's and Colonel Gansevoort's
Regiments. Committees were appointed to obtain
the same from the inhabitants of Albany and Sche-
nectad}'.
January 21, 1777 — Resolved, That ever}' person
who shall offer anything for Sale for a less sum
in Gold or Silver than in Continental or other
paper money now passing currently, shall be con-
sidered as a Depredator of the paper Currency, and
treated accordingly, and that any Person who shall
refuse to take the same shall be treated in like
manner.
February 3d — Resolved, That the Deputies of
this County in Convention, be instructed to use
their influence to have General Schuyler appointed
one of the Delegates to represent this State in Con-
tinental Congress.
February loth — Whereas, The great number of
persons keeping taverns or Tipling houses, many
of whom are disaffected and there is reason to
believe they have influenced many Soldiers to quit
the Service: be it
Resolved, That no person or persons shall con-
tinue or set up a Tavern in any District in the City
or County of Albany without a license or permit
for the same, under penalty of ;^50 fine.
March 4th — Resolved, That the Committee of
each respective District within this County do ap-
point and assign fit and suitable places in their said
Districts for Inoculadng Hospitals, and that the
said Committee use all the precautions to prevent
the spreading of the Small Pox.
The Committee are informed that Mr. Waters,
who has hired the house now occupied by Colonel
Philip P. Schuyler, intends to inoculate his family
upon his having moved them to said House. The
Committee being sensible that by such conduct
the infection will spread among the Continental
Troops; therefore
Resolved, That the said Waters be strictly forbid
to inoculate his family as aforesaid, on pain of for-
feiting the sum of ^"500.
Ordered, That Jacob Kidney is hereby appoiiited
Gaoler in place of Samuel Loadman.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
415
Resolved, That all officers in this Count}' belong-
ing to the Crown of Great Britain, at either full or
half-pay, be sent for; and, on their appearance, that
they be sent to the Convention of this State, Re-
questing them to have them exchanged, or ordered
to such place that they may do no injury in this
country.
March ijth—Reso/ved, That Marten Halenbeck
be and is hereby ordered to desist, from the
receipt hereof, from Keeping Public House.
Jacobus Houghtaling, who, some time since
made his escape from Jaol, being now busy enlist-
ing men for the service of the Enemy, and being a
dangerous person to the Liberties of America:
Resolved, That Major Volkert Veeder be re-
quested to order the said Houghtaling to be ar-
rested and put in Close Confinement till the further
order of this Committee.
April nth — Resolved, That Jacob Kidney be
and he is hereby ordered every Sunday during
Divine service to Patrol the Streets of this City and
quell all riots and disturbances, and keep the
inhabitants of this City and others to behave
decent, for which services he shall be allowed 4/
per day.
Ordered, That Colonel Van Schaick be requested
to desire Captain Finch to send out a scouting
party towards the Salt Springs, in order to discover
a plot which it is conceived is making head in
that part of the Country.
April 1 8th — Colonel Schuyler reported that a
certain person who had given information against
certain disaffected persons, was threatened to such
a degree that the Committee of the Manor of
Rensselaerwyck had agreed to remove him and his
family to a place of safety, and that they also en-
gaged to repay the man any damages he might
sustain.
Unanimously approved.
Christian Smith, a person who has been emplo)'ed
in discovering the designs of our internal Enemies,
having discharged his duties with faithfulness and
success:
Ordered, That the Treasurer pay said Smith
Eight Pounds for his Services.
May 4th — The Committee having undoubted
evidence that Peter S. Van Alstyne and Isaac Van
Der Pool are the Ringleaders of the Conspiracy at
Kinderhook, and that the said Van Alstyne and
Van Der Pool have lately headed a party who fired
upon and wounded, a certain Gose Van Beuren,
who had in his custody a prisoner:
Resolved, Thereupon, that a reward of one hun-
dred Dollars shall be paid by this Committee to
such person or persons who shall take the said Van
Alstyne, or Van Der Pool, dead or alive.
Resolved, That an order issue to the Treasurer to
pay unto Edward Davis, or order, one hundred
dollars, for his services in discovering a number of
Conspirators.
May 19th — Abram Yates having received from
the Committee of this State the sum of five thousand
pounds;
Resolved, The same be paid to Gerrit Lansing,
Jun', the Treasurer to this Committee.
June 3d — The names of the new Committee
Elected were announced.
Resolved, That John Barclay be appointed Chair-
man; Matthew Visscher, Secretary; Gerrit Lansing,
Jun', Treasurer; James Kidney, IMessenger, and
be paid 6/ per day.
Resolved, That the Keepers of the Gaols in this
City be immediately ordered to make out lists of the
names of the prisoners confined therein, and deliver
the Keys of the said Gaols, with the lists aforesaid,
to Henry J. Wendell, the Sheriff of this County.
June 19th — Resolved, That the public records
of this City and County be delivered into the hands
of Leonard Gansevoort, Esq.
Abraham C. Van Allen having, since taking the
oath of allegiance, declared himself a subject of the
King of Great Britain; therefore
Resolved, That the said Abraham C. Van Allen
be immediately apprehended and put in Close
Confinement.
From a letter of David McCarthy and William
Adamson, it appears that Conradt A Ten Eyck,
after taking the oath of Allegiance, has drank Dam-
nation to the Congress, and beat and abused the
wife of the said Adamson. The said Ten Eyck
upon his appearance confessed the same; therefore
Resolved, That he be confined till Monday
ne.\t.
The foregoing are given as specimens of the
work that largely engaged the Committee; from
one to a score of such disloyal persons being ar-
rested and brought before them almost ever}' day.
Colonel Hay, Deputy Quarter Master, appeared
before this Committee and informed them that the
public business is impeded for want of a bellows to
carry on the Black Smith's business, and suggested
that Harmen Van Der Zee had one he seldom or
never used.
Resolved, That if said Van Der Zee does not
comply with the request to sell the same, Colonel
Hay shall seize the Bellows, and have the same
apprized by two indifferent persons, and pay such
value to the said Van Der Zee.
Owing to the great want of lead and the scarcity
of the same, the Committee resorted to the follow-
ing as one source of supply:
Resolved, That Mr. Isaac D. Fonda be requested
to attend the Quarter Master General, or any of his
Deputies, in taking all the lead out of the Cesh Win-
dows in the houses in and about this City, and that
he use all the Caution in his power to prevent any
Damage being done to the Window Ceshes, etc.,
etc., by the means aforesaid.
July 30th— Daniel Campbell and John Sanders,
of Schenectady, were arrested for refusing to take
continental money.
August 4 th— rF/2e/-ca.v, The approach of the Ene-
my to the northward has caused anumber of families
from this County to move into this City, and a
number having Milch Cows and no pastures to \m\.
them in, and it being suggested to this Board that
416
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Edward and Ebenezer Jessup (who are gone over
to the Enemy) have a large tract of pasture land
near the City:
Therefore, The said families are hereby empow-
ered to put their Cows into the said pasturage, under
the inspection of Cornelius Van Deusen, who will
permit families of eight or more persons to put in
two cows; of less than eight, one cow.
August loth — Resolved, That all inhabitants of
this State, who have fled to this City for protection,
and have no houses to put their families in, are
hereby empowered to use such empty houses in
this City as they can find.
Messrs. Jeremiah Van Rensselaer and Matthew
Visscher, the Committee appointed to examine the
accounts of Gerrit Lansing, Jun', Treasurer, report.
That he has produced Receipts for the Sum of
^"8, 6 5 8. 18.3 and that said Treasurer ought to be
discharged therefrom.
The said report is hereby confirmed, and the
said Treasurer may retain in his hands the sum of
,,^85. 1 1.3, as a compensation for his trouble.
Adam Helmer, having, at the risque of his life,
come out of Fort Schuyler to give information:
Resolved, That he be paid ten pounds as com-
pensation.
Colonel Myndert Roseboom is hereby appointed
to provide and issue provisions to such Persons —
Refugees — who are not able to support themselves.
August 14th — By minutes of this date, it ap-
pears that Leonard Gansevoort was directed by a
resolution of the ist instant to proceed to Kingston,
and there deposit the Records of the City and
County of Albany.
Resolved, That two Companies of Rangers be
raised and put under command of Captains Robert
Woodworth and George White, to quell Robberies
and disloyalty in different parts of this County, the
ofiicers to receive Continental pay.
August 2ist— Patroon's Island and the farm of
Courtlandt Schuyler, deceased, were designated as
pasture land for cattle of refugees.
August 27th — The house of James Mather, who
was ordered to leave the city, and take his family
and affects with him, was this day rented to Abra-
ham Bloodgood, a good and loyal citizen.
August 30th — ^John Abbott was appointed to
keep the town clock in repair.
September 2d — Resolved, That the following
persons, with their families, be sent to the Enemy
in case General Gates should approve of the
measure. [Mrs. Abraham C. Cuyler, Henry
Cuyler, and several others are named. ]
Whereas, The Legislative Body of this State are
ordered to Convene at Kingston, and a Council of
appointment will be chosen by ballot from the
Senate to appoint persons to fill the different civil
offices in this State; and as the Council may not be
fully acquainted with capable persons in the differ-
ent parts of this County to fill the different offices;
Resolved, That it be recommended to the Commit-
tees of the different Districts to consult with their
Constituents, and inform the Council of the names
of such persons as they think most suitable, that if
they meet with the approbation of the Council they
may be appointed accordingly.
September 2 2d — A letter from General Gates
states that he expects General Burgoynewil! speed-
ily endeavor to come to Albany.
September 29th — Resolved, That Doctor Mal-
achi Treat be empowered to take into his possession
the house of Abraham C. Cuyler for the Wounded
and Sick Officers.
October 9th he was authorized to use any un-
tenanted houses for hospital purposes.
Captain McAlpine having gone over to the
Enemy, his furniture, farming utensils and Cattle
were seized and sold for the public good.
September 22 — Mrs. Cuyler, wife of Abraham
C. Cuyler, formerly Mayor of this City, applied for
a permit to move to New York City.
Resolved, That said permit be granted on con-
dition that she goes at her own expense and de-
livers an inventory, under oath, of all the effects she
was in possession of at the time her and husband
went over to the Enemy, and where such effects
can be found.
Resolved, That the Rev'' Samuel Swertteger
be liberated from confinement upon his entering
into Bond in the sum of $500 for his future good
behavior.
November 6th — Whereas, This Committee stands
indebted to many persons who are in great Distress
for want of the money, and as the State Treasury is
in a low state:
Resolved, That application be made to the Com-
missioners for Sequestering the Assetts of Persons
gone over to the enemy in the Middle District of
this County, for the said sum of ^"2, 00b.
Resolved, That Philip Van Rensselaer, Esq., be
requested to replace the Lead taken from the win-
dows of the different houses in and about this City.
Resolved, That one hundred Dollars be paid
unto Major Ezekiel Taylor for apprehending one
Jacob Miller.
Resolved, That such persons who require to
speak with any of the prisoners Confined in Gaol,
be permitted to do so through the hole in the Door,
in the presence and hearing of the Gaolers, and
that the Gaoler be allowed by the person desiring to
Speak aforesaid, \ as compensation for his trouble.
November 19th — Resolved, That a list be made
of the well affected persons in this District, and that
said list be sent to Peter R. Livingston, with re-
quest to deliver to the order of the Chairman of this
District a quantity of salt, not exceeding two quarts
per Head.
Pay roll of Captain William Winne's Company
was laid before this board, amounting to ^20. 17.-
6^, which is allowed and ordered to be paid for
services performed in apprehending a number of
disaffected persons.
November 29th — Harmanus Ten Eyck brought
in a charge of ^"3 los. for freight on an Iron Stove
sent to Fish Kill for the use of the Convention of
this State. Ordered to be paid.
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.
41t
December yth — Jeremiah Vincent having some
time ago received from this Committee the sum of
ten pounds to perform certain secret services, in-
stead of doing which he went over to the Enemy:
Resolved, That one of the two Cows left on the farm
of said Vincent be sold and a return made of the
said ten pounds, and a return made of the over-
plus to the wife of the said Vincent, and that this
Committee dispose of the other cow.
December i^\h— Resolved, That William Giili-
land be remanded to prison, as proof has this day
been made before this Board of his further Inimical
Conduct to the United States.
1778 — Election of New Committee was held
throughout the County of Albany, January 2, 1 778.
January 6th — It appearing to this Committee
that Daniel David and David Gibson, under the
sanction of power given them by the Committee
of Sequestration, have taken to their own use, not
only the property of Persons gone over to the En-
emy, but also such persons as reside amongst us;
therefore
Resolved, That the said David Gibson and
Daniel David be apprehended and put in Close
Confinement, unless they find sufficient surety for
their appearance before any Court of Jurisdiction to
answer said Complaint.
The following Officers are hereby appointed to
serve the New Committee, just elected : John Bar-
clay, Chairman ; John M. Beeckman, Deputy
Chairman ; Matthew Visscher, Secretary ; Jacob
Kidney, Waiter.
In regard to holding a New Election in the Dis-
trict of Cambridge, The Committee are of opin-
ion that a new Election be held, and will appoint a
day for that purpose. In respect to the Discrimina-
tion of such as are entitled to vote, this Committee
would rather submit it to the inhabitants of that
District ; at the same time they are of opinion that
many persons went over to the Enemy through fear,
some through the persuasion of artful and design-
ing persons, others through the allurements of gain
and the prospect of seeing their oppressed country
in the hands of its base Invaders. However, such
conduct, be their motives what they may, it is a
conduct that will ever be held in detestation by
every man that is fired with the love of Liberty or
attachment to his injured Country. Notwithstanding
the most vigorous efforts of those wretches, many of
whom have plunged Their Daggers in the breasts of
many of Their Bosom friends, we would remind
our Countrymen that the God of Justice has de-
clared Victory in our favor and put many of our
Enemies in our Power. The Brave are ever Hu-
mane. Let us now Convince our Enemies that we
seek not to spill their blood, and that we fight only
for that Liberty which God hath conferred upon us.
Let us now exercise Mercy (one of the Attributes
of Heaven), as far as is consistent with the good
or safety of our Country, and by acts of Clemency
forgive our off'ending Brethren, provided they show
Signs of Contrition for their past offenses and prom-
ise of amendment in future. Those who have
63
taken the oath of allegiance and perjured them-
selves, or such as have seduced others from their
allegiance to the State, we are of opinion ought
not to interfere in our Elections.
January 7th — Resolved, That a subscription be
set on foot for the use of the Ruined Settlers of our
Frontiers.
January 15th — The Committee appointed in the
Second Ward delivered to the Chairman ^97. 14.
8, being the Collection made in that Ward for the
use of the poor.
February 19th — The military authorities having
authority to impress Teams and Sleighs wherever
found, when they would not hire voluntarily for
that purpose, the farmers of the Surrounding Coun-
try feared to come to the City, with Wood and other
Supplies; therefore
Resolved, That no sleighs or horses by which
fire wood and other necessaries are brought to this
City shall be seized or impressed in coming to or
going from said City.
March i6th — Moses R. Van VranUen confessed
that he had bought Butter for one shilling per
pound in Specie, and Sold it for 6. 8. in Conti-
nental Currency, for which he was deemed to be
dangerous to the State, and put in confinement
till further orders.
March i8th — Remembrance Smith Complained
to the Board that he had been fined ^^50 for selling
about two gallons of Rum Without License.
March 24th — Resolved, That it is the opinion of
this Board that /^■^ per barrel for tar, delivered at
Albany, is reasonable, when the persons making
the same are excused from Military Duty.
The last entry in that part of the Journal of the
Committee that has been preserved, is under date
of June ID, 1778, as follows:
Resolved, That Gerrit Lansing, Jun', John J.
Bleecker, and Stewart Dean, or any two of them, be
and they are hereby appointed a Committee to ex-
amine and audit the Accounts of this Board, and
that they be allowed each 20/ per day, while in ac-
tual service, for their trouble and expense; and it is
further
Resolved, That the said Committee enter upon
this necessary business with all dispatch, and that,
immediately on the Completion thereof, they Re-
port to this Board.
COLONIAL, PROVINCIAL AND CONTI-
NENTAL ASSEMBLIES.
We deem it appropriate to this history to give
the names of the officers in these assemblies, of
whatever class, that represented Albany County, and
some of the local transactions in connection with
them.
COLONIAL CONFERENCES.
The first movement in New York State, looking
toward the union of the colonies against the ag-
gressions of the Crown, was made by the New York
Assembly, October 17, 1764. It adopted resolu-
tions approving the resolutions of the New York
City merchants relative to the oppressive legisla-
tion of Parliament, and directed that a memorial be
418
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
forwarded to the Court of Great Britain, assuming
the expense of urging it upon the home govern-
ment. A committee of six was appointed to take
the matter in charge, of which Philip Livingston, of
Albany, was Chairman.
In 1690, 1754 and 1765, Colonial Conferences
were held. The Conference of 1765 was called to
meet in the City of New York on the first Tues-
day of October then next, to consult together on
the present circumstances of the colonies, and the
difficulties to which they are and must be reduced
by the operation of the Acts of Parliament for levy-
ing duties on the colonies. Massachusetts, Con-
necticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and South Carolina were
represented.
The Conference adopted a petition to the King,
prepared by Philip Livingston ; another to Par-
liament, by James Otis; and also published a
" Declaration of Rights and Grievances," claiming
the right of taxation themselves, the right of
trial by jury, and the right of petition, by John
Cruger.
Albany was represented in this Conference by
Philip Livingston.
THE PROVINCIAL CONVENTION.
In March, 1775, the several counties in the
province of New York elected deputies to a Pro-
vincial Convention, to be held in the City of New
York on the 20th of April, 1775, for the purpose
of choosing delegates to represent the colony in a
Continental Congress. This Convention met at
the Exchange, in New York City, on the day
appointed. Albany was represented in this Con-
vention by Peter R. Livingston, Walter Livingston,
Philip Schuyler, Abraham Ten Broeck, Abraham
Yates, Jr. Philip Livingston, of Albany, was Pres-
ident. This Convention elected delegates to the
Continental Congress, to concert and determine
upon such measures as shall be judged most effec-
tual for the preservation of American rights and
privileges.
STATE OR PROVINCIAL CONGRESSES.
These bodies were what the Assembly subse-
quently became, the members being elected in the
same manner. There were four of these Con-
gresses. The first began in New York, May 2 2,
1775, and had three sessions, May, July and
October. The last session adjourned November
4th.
The Second Congress began November 14,
1775, and adjourned sine die, May 13, 1776.
The Third Congress convened May 14, 1776,
and adjourned sine die, June 30, 1776.
The Fourth Congress convened July 9, 1776,
and adjourned SOTg 5/(?, May 13, 1777.
The Delegates to these Congresses from Albany
were :
First Congress. — Robert Yates, Abraham Yates,
Volkert P. Douw, Jacob Cuyler, Peter Silvester,
Dirck Swart, Walter Livingston, Robert Van
Rensselaer, Henry Glen, Abraham Ten Broeck,
Francis Nicoll.
Second Congress. — Abraham Ten Broeck, Abra-
ham Yates, Jacob Cuyler, Francis Nicoll, Robert
Yates, Henry Glen, Peter Silvester, Peter R. Living-
ston, John James Bleecker, Leonard Gansevoort,
Henry Oothoudt, Robert Van Rensselaer.
Third Congress. — Abraham Ten Broeck, Abra-
ham Yates, Leonard Gansevoort, John Tayler,
Mathew Adgate, John J. Bleecker, Peter R. Liv-
ingston, Christopher Yates, John Ten Broeck,
Henry Glen, Francis Nicoll.
Fourlh Congress. — Abraham Yates, Jr., Robert
Yates, Robert Van Rensselaer, Matthew Adgate,
John Tayler, John Ten Broeck, Abraham Ten
Broeck, John James Bleecker, Jacob Cuyler,
Leonard Ganesvoort, Peter R. Livingston.
CONTINENTAL CONGRESS.
The Delegates from Albany County were : Session,
April 20, 1775, Philip Schuyler; Session, April 13,
1777, Philip Livingston, Philip Schuyler; Session,
March 25, 1778, Philip Schuyler; Session, October
16, 1778, Philip Schuyler; Session, October 18,
1779, Philip Schuyler; Session, September 12, 1780,
Philip Schuyler; Session, October 26, 1781, Philip
Schuyler; Session, February 3, 1784, John Lan-
sing, Jr., Walter Livingston; Session, October 26,
1784, John Lansing, Jr., Walter Livingston; Ses-
sion, March 29, 1785, Peter W. Yates; Session,
February 27, 1786, Peter W. Yates; Session, Jan-
uary 26, 1787, John Lansing, Jr., Peter W. Yates,
Abraham Yates, Jr.; Session, February 2, 1788,
Abraham Yates, Jr., Leonard Gansevoort; Session,
January 30, 1788, Abraham Yates, Jr.
CONVENTION TO FORM THE CONSTITUTION.
The Convention to form a Federal Constitution
met May 14, 1787. It was composed of delegates
from all the States, with the exception of Rhode
Island. Its proceedings were secret, but an ac-
count of them was afterwards drawn up from Mr.
Madison's notes. George Washington was Presi-
dent. At last a constitution was agreed upon, but
only 39 of the 55 delegates signed it. On Sep-
tember 17, 1787, the new constitution was trans-
mitted to Congress, and by it referred to Conven-
tions of the several Slates for adoption or rejection.
On June 17, 1788, a Constitutional Convention,
called for the purpose of deliberating upon the
adoption of the Federal Constitution, assembled at
Poughkeepsie. It was one of the most important
bodies that ever met in this State. George Clinton,
Governor of the State, was elected President. The
delegates from Albany were John Lansing, Jr.,
Henry Oothoudt, Dirck Swart, Anthony Ten Eyck,
Israel Thompson, Peter Vrooman, Robert Yates.
The adoption of the Constitution was violently op-
posed, and the Convention was a scene of animated
and at times angry discussion. But on July 26th,
the Convention adopted and ratified the Constitu-
tion by a vote of 30 to 27, seven members of the
Convention not voting. The following members
from Albany voted against it: John Lansing, Jr.,
Henry Oothoudt, Israel Thompson, Robert Yates.
The other members from Albany did not vote.
THE WAR OF 1812.
419
Governor Clinton, President of the Convention, vfas
also opposed to the Constitution.
The intelligence of the adoption of the Constitu-
tion was received with great rejoicing by the people
at Albany, and by a vote of the Common Council
it was unanimously resolved to celebrate the event
in an appropriate manner. The 8th day of August
was set apart for the occasion. Every trade and
profession united in the jubilee, forming an im-
posing procession. A description of the procession
and the proceedings occupied two pages of the
Albany Gazette of August 28 th. It was in charge
of James Farley, Marshal, and moved through
Watervliet, Market (now Broadway), to the Fed-
eral Bower, a commodious building prepared for
the occasion, standing on the Rights west of
Fort Frederick, and commanding an extended view
of the city. The edifice was 154 feet long, 44
feet wide, and raised on four rows of pillars fifteen
feet in hight, close wreathed with foliage. Eleven
arches were built in front. Above the arches, em-
bowered in festoons of foliage, were white oval me-
dallions, with the names of a ratifying State on
each. In this beautiful structure the dinner took
place. This over, the procession re-formed and
moved down State Street to Pearl, to Columbia, to
North Market, to Court Streets, and into a large
field south of old Fort Orange, where it was dis-
missed, by the marching away, at intervals, of the
respective divisions.
When the procession reached Green Street, a
party of opponents to the Constitution made an
attack upon it, and a skirmish ensued. They had
procured a loaded cannon and brought it to bear
upon the procession. One of the assailants was in
the act of discharging it, when Jonathan Kidney
sprang from the procession and succeeded in spik-
ing the gun. A company of cavalry in the proces-
sion then charged upon the assailants and dispersed
them.
There were several outbreaks in the city growing
out of the adoption of the Federal Constitution,
among which was a general miUe in State Street.
Among the combatants were some of the most em-
inent men of the times; canes, clubs, and cobble-
stones were used with great freedom, and many
persons were more or less injured, but fortunately
none fatally.
THE WAR OF 181 2.
This war has been called the Second War with
Great Britain, the Last War with Great Britain, and
the Second War for Independence. It is usually
denominated as written at the heading. It was
formally declared June 19, 1812, and closed with a
treaty of peace, signed at Ghent December 24,1814.
The brilliant battle of New Orleans, fought under
Andrew Jackson, January 8, 1815, occurred after
the treaty was made. It was not a day of cable-
grams, and the news of peace did not reach this
county until February 12th.
The English government was not satisfied with
the issues of the revolutionary war; and was dis-
posed to make encroachments upon what were
deemed national rights. Among other things it
claimed the right to board and search American
vessels for deserting British soldiers and sailors.
This claim was exercised in a manner so obnoxious,
as to call for most decided remonstrance from our
Government. Continued abuses of this kind led
to open war.
The public feeling in regard to the expediency
of this war was far from unanimous. Indeed,
those who took opposite sides in the matter were
very bitter towards each other. No such bitter-
ness probably has existed in regard to any other
political question, unless it be that of slavery,
since the days of the Revolution of 1776. The
Democrats, as a party, favored the war; the Fed-
eralists opposed it, mostly for commercial reasons.
They were called the war party and the peace party.
Both, no doubt, were influenced by honest love of
country.
The Albany press was divided — Solomon South-
wick conducting the Democratic paper, called the
Albany Register, and Charles R.Webster, the Fed-
eralist paper, called the Albany Gazette. It is stated
that, as an exhibition of party feeling, the office of
the Gazette was threatened with destruction by the
more violent and ignorant democracy of that day.
The public were notified by the Gazette that every
man connected with that office was armed against
any mob, and ready for resisting attack at any
moment. No attack was made. But many a war
of bitter words was fought at street comers and in
public places, sometimes resulting in blows. The
skirmish on State street, April 21, 1807, when the
war controversy was raging, between those two
eminent citizens. Governor John Tayler, Democrat,
and General Solomon Van Rensselaer, Federalist,
shows something of the spirit of parties before and
during this war. The trial that followed was pub-
lished in a pamphlet, and is mentioned in Munsell's
edition of Worth's " Random Recollections."
We are sorry to be able to give so little explicit
information concerning the military transactions in
Albany County during this war. Our examination
of the newspapers of the time gives little help;
and the Adjutant-General's office does not con-
tribute anything in regard to the formation and
officering of companies and regiments for service.
This explains the fragmentary condition of this
article.
It is quite certain that Albany County was deeply
interested in this war, and furnished many officers
and men. We insert here an alphabetical list, taken
from the "Index of Awards on Claims of the
Soldiers of the War of 181 2, as audited and allowed
by the Adjutant and Inspector-Generals," pursuant
to the Stale Laws of 1859, Chapter 176, in the
hope that it may lead some of their descendants
to give us reliable information in regard to their
services. This is supposed to contain the names
of most of the militia from Albany County who
enlisted in this war.
Orrin Abbott, Albany; John Adams, Jr., Bethle-
hem; Joseph Arkles, Bethlehem; Michael Artcher,
Albany; Chester Atherton, Albany; Ammiel Ba,r-
420
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
nard, Albany; Asabel S. Beens, Albany; Orange
Beeman, Beme; Michael Belle, Berne; Henry
Benn, Rensselaerville; George Benn, Rensselaer-
ville; Daniel J. Beyea, Jerusalem; Harmanus
Bleecker, Jr., Albany; Nicholas Bleecker, Jr.,
Albany; Adam Blessing, Guilderland; Garritt H.
Bloomingdale, Albany; Henry Bunzer, Knox;
Matthew Boom, by widow, Albany; William
Bunzey, Knox; Cornelius Bounds, Albany; Joseph
Bradley, Berne; Adrian Bradt, Albany; Henry P.
Bradt, New Scotland; John C. Bradt, Albany;
Salvo Brintnall, Albany; John Bussy, Albany;
Asa Brown, Jerusalem; Richard Brownell, Berne;
Stewart Bull, Coeymans; Abraham Balson, Albany;
Calvin Butler, Albany; Henry Cacknard, Coey-
mans; Daniel Carhart, Coeymans; John Carr,
Coe)Tnans; Henry Carroll, Berne; Daniel R Clark,
Albany; William Campbell, Watervliet; Henry
Chadwick, Watervliet; Elisha Cheesebro, Guilder-
land; Jeremiah Clute, Albany; David Cole, Water-
vliet; Peter Colbum, Albany; James Cole, Cohoes;
John Cole, South Jerusalem; Peter M. Conger,
Watervliet; William Crandall, Rensselaerville;
Edward P. Crary, Knox; Frederick J. Crounse,
Guilderland; Philip DeForest, Albany; James W.
Dubois, West Troy; Martin Easterly, Albany;
Ebenezer S. Edgerton, Albany; Peter V. B. El-
mendorf. New Scotland; Ethel Enos, Watervliet;
C. Ertzberger, Albany; Ralph Farnham, Albany;
Richard Filkins, Berne; Thomas Fish, Albany;
William Forby, Albany; John Fraligh, Westerlo;
Christopher Frederick, Guilderland; Luther Fris-
bie, Albany; William Fuhr, Albany; John J.
Fulton, Albany; Joseph Gallup, Knox; Abiel
Gardner, Westerlo; Thomas S. Gillet, Albany;
Nathan B. Gleason, West Troy; Jonathan Gold-
waite, Albany; Daniel Green, Coeymans; Isaac F.
Groesbeck, Albany; Abraham Hagaman, Albany;
Oliver Hastings, Watervliet; Aaron Hawley, Beth-
lehem; George Hawley, Albany; Ezra Haynes,
Watervliet; Charles Hazleton, Jerusalem; Jesse
Helligus, Beme; Josiah Hinckley, Jr., Westerlo;
Isaac Hitchcock, West Troy; William Holdridge,
Rensselaerville; Elias Holmes, Coeymans; John
D. Houghtaling, Albany; Reuben Hungerford,
Beme; Walter Huyck, Westerlo; Elisha Ingraham,
Berne; Moses Jay, Albany; James Johnson, Water-
vliet; John Johnson, Albany; Daniel Joshlin, Berne,
Albany County; Daniel Joslin, Berne; Sylvanus
Kelley, Albany; John Lamoreux, Albany; Nicho-
las I. Lampman, Albany; Henry Lasee, Water-
vliet; William Latta, New Scotland; Daniel D.
Lawyer, Albany; Jacob Lewis, Albany; Aaron
Livingston, Albany; Jacob Loatwall, Albany;
Charles Low, Albany; Jeremiah Luther, Albany;
Robert McGill, New Scotland; Daniel Mcintosh,
Albany; John McMicken, Albany; Abraham Mar-
tin, Albany; Derrick Martin, Berne; Jacob Martin,
New Scotland; Henry T. Mesick, Albany; Thomas
Mitchel, Albany; Moses Mowers, Jerusalem; Will-
iam Muir, Albany; John Myers, Albany; John
Newbury, Westerlo; Benjamin Northrop, Albany;
Nicholas Osterhout, Berne; Peter Osterhout, Albany;
Henry Ostrander, Jr., Guilderland; Henry Pad-
dock, Albany; Aaron Palmer, Albany; David D.
Palmer, Berne; Stephenson Palmer, Beme; Anthony
Pangborn, Bethlehem; John Parker, Bethlehem;
Robert Patten, Albany; John Pier, 2d, Beme; Jacob
Place, Albany; Jonas D. Piatt, Albany; John
Pruyn, Albany; Adam Relyea, Guilderland; Simon
Relyea, Albany; William Rhinehart, Beme; Jesse
E. Roberts, Watervliet; James Robinson, Albany;
John I. Schermerhom, Berne; Henry I. Schoon-
maker, Bethlehem; Courtland Schuyler, Albany;
Jacob Scott, Albany; John Scovell, Watervliet;
William Scrafford, Bethlehem; Abraham Severson,
Albany; John N. Severson, Guilderland; William
Seymour, Albany; Israel Shadbolt, West Troy;
John F. Shafer, Coeymans; Jacob Sharp, Albany;
Peter Shafer, Guilderland; John Shouts, Albany;
Stephen Simpson, Watervliet; John Skinkle, Al-
bany; James Sloan, Beme; James Sloan, West
Troy; William J. Smith, Albany; Peter H. Snyder,
Albany; John Spoor, Albany; Lewis Stiman, Beth-
lehem; John Stenkle, Albany; Cyrus Stone, Wes-
terlo; John Stone, Albany; George W. Swartwout,
Westerlo; Peter Ten Eyck, Albany; Francis E.
Thompson, Albany; Thomas Tibits, Rensselaer-
ville; William Truax, Berne; John Turk, Coeymans;
Conrad Turner, Jerusalem; David Turner, Water-
vliet; Henry Turner, Albany; Jacob Turner, West
Troy; John Uran, West Troy; Cornelius Van
Aiken, Rensselaerville; John Van Antwerp, Albany;
Garret I. Vanderberg, Albany; Garret Vanderpool,
Bethlehem; Cornelius Van Derzee, Guilderland;
Peter Van Olinda, Albany; Comelius W. Vedder,
Albany; Ebenezer C. Warren, Albany; Samuel
Warner, New Scotland; Joseph Werden, Water-
vliet; Jacob White, Albany; John Wilda, Berne;
Hezekiah Wilks, Bethlehem; Benjamin Williams,
Knox; Henry Williams, Knox; Christian Willmon,
Berne; George Wilson, West Troy.
The war was largely fought at our own doors.
Stephen Van Rensselaer, known as the " Old Pa-
troon," a Federalist, but a firm patriot and of reso-
lute bravery and great wealth, was appointed Major-
General of the Volunteer Militia, by Governor
Tompkins. He proceeded, in the autumn of 181 z,
as ordered, to the invasion of Canada on the
Niagara frontier. A strong force of British troops
was posted, under General Brock, on Queenstown
Hights, opposite Lewistown. A great batde was
fought here, October, 13, 18 12. The first attack
was made by Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer,
with 225 men, in the morning of that day. Bravely
advancing. Colonel Van Rensselaer was severely
wounded at the outset. Captain John E. Wool,
afterwards General Wool, of West Troy Arsenal,
pressed on as leader, and gained the Hights by a
vigorous assault of the battery. The British were
repulsed, and the brave General Brock was killed
in attempting to retake the battery. All the efforts
of General Van Rensselaer to bring reinforcements
across the river were resisted by a majority of his
troops, who pleaded that this was nota war of inva-
sion. About a thousand, many of them raw and
undisciplined, went over, and were badly cut up or
taken prisoners. The General, disgusted by such
cowardice, and by the ineflSciency of the service
THE WAR OF 1812.
431
everywhere, resigned his command October 24,
1 8 1 2, and returned to Albany.
Among the discouragements of this first year of
the war, was the surrender of General Hull, at
Detroit, August 9th. He was tried by court mar-
tial at Albany, in 18 14, and convicted of cow-
ardice, and sentenced to be hung; but was par-
doned on account of former valiant services in the
Revolution, and from a conviction that his sur-
render was more the result of over-estimating the
force of the enemy, and a humane desire to save
his men from threatened Indian butchery, than of
cowardice.
There were many battles fought along the north-
ern frontier through the war, some of them over
the Canada borders. It seemed to be a leading
purpose of the Government then in power to sub-
ject Canada, as well as to defend our northern
lakes from the invaders. Much service was done,
much blood shed. The full record would tell of
much daring bravery and noble patriotism. We
have reason to believe that Albany County soldiers
were in most of these engagements. Among them,
besides that of Queenstown, were the battle of Og-
densburgh, February 22, 18 13; the capture of
York, now Toronto, April 27th; capture of Fort
George, May 27th; battle at Sackett's Harbor,
May 29th; battle at Stony Creek, June 6th; naval
battle of Lake Erie, under Commodore Perry, Sep-
tember loth; battle on the Thames, October 5th;
battle of St. Regis, October 23d; battle of Chrysler's
Farm, November nth; burning of Newark, De-
cember 1 2th; capture of Fort Niagara, December
26th; retaliating destruction of Fort Niagara, atLew-
iston, Black Rock, Youngstown, and other frontier
settlements, December i8th to 30th. In 18 14, we
record the capture of Oswego, May 5th; Fort Erie,
July 3d; battle of Chippewa, July 5th; battle of
Lundy's Lane, July 25th; battle of Fort Erie, Au-
gust 15th; sortie at Fort Erie, September 17th; bat-
tle of Plattsburgh, September 6th to nth.
From old newspapers, and other sources, we
gather the fragmentary items that follow, relating
to the soldiers of 1812. .
When General Stephen Van Rensselaer returned,
October 31, 181 2, to Albany, after the battle of
Queenstown, a large concourse of private citizens
and dignitaries turned out to escort him to the
city. Major John Lovett was his Secretary, and
Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, one of the bravest
men that Albany ever produced, was his Aid. He
was long disabled by four bullet wounds received
in this battle. One of the balls he carried in his
flesh until his death.
November 8, 181 2, Commodore Perry was met
by a large body of cidzens between Albany and
Schenectady, and escorted to Douw's Tavern. From
this point he was taken to the Capitol, accompanied
by a large procession. Here he was presented with
the freedom of the city in a gold box, and with an
elegant sword. Then the procession conducted him
through the principal streets. On the way, the
Hero of Lake Erie was hailed with loud accla-
mations. At the close of the march, at the Eagle
Tavern he was received by the Mayor and other
public officials and assigned apartments. A bril-
liant ball was held in the evening; houses were
illuminated; and the motto, "We have met the en-
emy, and they are ours," displayed. On the next day
an elegant public entertainment was given. He
continued his journey to his family, residing in
Newport, R. I. The news of Perry's victory was
first received in Albany, September 1 7th, with great
demonstrations of jo)'.
About this time, Captain R. C. Skinner, of the
artillery in the Albany Volunteer Regiment, had a
recruiting office at Ladd's Coffee House, corner of
Green and Beaver streets, for the purpose of com-
pleting five companies of infantry, two of riflemen,
and one of artillery, which he reported as filling up
in the city and county with wonderful success. He
stated that the city had raised a fund of many thou-
sand dollars for the benefit of the soldiers who should
enlist.
November 28, 181 2, the local papers report the
return, after an absence of three months on Staten
Island, of Captain Bulkley's company of Albany
volunteers and Captain Walker's company of artil-
lery. Their soldier-like appearance is highly com-
mended.
Colonel John Mills, of this city, fell in the batde
at Sackett's Harbor, May 29, 1813. He com-
manded the Republican artillery in that battle, with
as many militia as he. could enlist. He was given
a conspicuous place in the line of battle, and fell
gallantly in brave, but vain, endeavors to stop his
men, who ingloriously fled after the first fire. So
says General Jacob Brown, in his report. Many of
the men assigned him were raw troops, unaccus-
tomed to subordination. His remains were re-
moved to the city and interred in Capitol Park,
May 29, 1844, and finally, with military honors,
put to rest, a few years ago, in the Rural Cemetery.
August 15, 18x3, the arrival of two hundred
British prisoners at the encampment in Greenbush
is reported; also, of British deserters from Canada;
and the arrival and departure of General Wilkinson
on the same day (Sunday), on his way to the fron-
tier.
The British flag taken by Lieutenant Wm. L.
Marcy, afterward Governor Marcy, at St. Regis,
October 23, 181 2, was presented to the State ot
New York as a trophy of war, January 5, 18 13.
The act was accompanied with much ceremony;
with processions, bands, and speeche.s, in which
were joined the military of Troy and Albany.
At the battle of Ogdensburgh, fought October 12,
1813, under Colonel Forsyth, mention is made of
the distinguished bravery of a single company of
Albany artillery.
Among the honored names of men who have had
homes in Albany County, and who are mentioned
as having done service in this war, are found those of
Stephen Van Rensselaer, Solomon Van Rensselaer,
John Lovett, John E. Wool, John Mills, Colonel
Forsyth, and William L. Marcy, already men-
tioned; also, William J. Worth, John O. Cole,
Thurlow Weed, Lieutenant Gansevoort, Lieutenant
Rathbone, and Ambrose Spencer, Jr. We shall be
433
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
very grateful to any one who niay, hereafter add to
this list.
On the reception of the news of peace, the whole
city was illuminated.
The surviving soldiers of the campaign of 1812,
about one hundred in number, residing in New
York City, came to Albany by railroad, February
I, 1853, and marched through the city under Col-
onel Haight, escorted by the Republican artillery.
Here, on the next daj', they were joined by thirty-
eight of their old companions belonging to Albany,
and escorted to the Capitol, where they were ad-
dressed by Governor Seymour.
A corps of about fifty veterans of the War of 1 8 1 2
joined in the celebration of American Independence,
July 4, 1854, under General John S. Van Rensse-
laer. After the procession was dismissed, they met
in convention at the Capitol and passed a series of
resolutions.
THE WAR WITH MEXICO.
Texas was a part of the domain of Ancient Mex-
ico. When Mexico became a republic, in 1824, it
was made one of its united states. It had been
claimed by our Government as a part of the Loui-
siana purchase in 1803 ; but this claim was not
pressed. Texas began to be settled by Americans
as early as 1821. It rebelled against the govern-
ment of Santa Anna, and declared itself an inde-
pendent state, March 2, 1836. This independence
was not admitted by Mexico. On the 4th of July,
1845, it was, with its own consent, admitted as
one of the States of our Union. This act caused an
immediate rupture between the United States and
Mexico. Added to this, our Government had a
series of complaints against Mexico for aggressions
upon our vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, confisca-
tions, in its own territory, of the property of Amer-
ican merchants, violations of treaty, and other acts
of injustice, extending back for a period of nearly
forty years. General Taylor was sent at once, with
an army of occupation, to Texas to hold and defend
it. On the 24th of April, 1846, the first blood was
shed in the War with Mexico. The contest, under
Taylor, Scott, Wool, Worth, and others, was short
and sharp. The treaty of peace was signed Febru-
ary 2, 1848, which gave to the United States, Upper
California, New Mexico and adjacent territory, and
conceded Texas. The distance of the field of strife
was so great, that Albany County had only a small
part in the contest, but that part belongs to our
history.
An Act of Congress was passed providing that 50
regiments of volunteers should be raised in the
United States for this war. Under the enactment,
seven regiments were allotted to the State of
New York, but only two were furnished.
The first regiment was raised by Colonel
Stevenson in 1846. In this, one company of
about 80 members was recruited in Albany, com-
manded by Captain John B. Frisbie and Lieutenant
Edward Gilbert. This regiment, soon after it was
formed, proceeded to Governor's Island and re-
mained there about one month, when it was sent
to Mexico, by way of Cape Horn, in sailing vessels.
Arriving at its destination, it joined General
Scott's division of the army, and participated in all
of his marches and battles till the close of the war.
November, 1846, the second regiment of New
York volunteers was raised, commanded by Col-
onel Ward B. Burnett. In this regiment was a
company of Albanians, commanded by Captain
Abraham Van O'Linda and Lieutenant Adison
Farnsworth.
In December of this year, this regiment went to
Fort Hamilton, and there remained until the follow-
ing January, when it proceeded to Mexico by way
of the gulf Landing at Vera Cruz it was joined
to General Scott's command, and participated in all
his engagements, from the battles of Vera Cruz to
the capture of the City of Mexico.
By an Act of Congress in 1847, ten regiments of
regular troops were called for from the State of
New York.
Under this call the Tenth Regiment of Infantry
was formed of ten companies. This regiment was
credited to Albany, and contained many soldiers
from this city and county, although the greater
number were recruited from outside of the county.
It was commanded by Colonel Robert E. Temple
and Lieutenant-Colonel James McGown. This
regiment was joined to General Taylor's division of
the army, and remained with him until the close
of the War.
The Third Regiment of Dragoons contained a
number of soldiers recruited in this section, but
no distinct company of Albany men. Such was
the case with a number of regiments which served
in the Mexican War.
The soldiers from this county, so far as we are
able to learn, did good service. A few of them
still remain to tell the story of entering the Halls
of the Montezumas. Among them is Mr. Will-
iam L. Burgess, to whom we are under obliga-
tions for most of the facts here presented.
The brave Generals John E. Wool and William
J. Worth, who were among the most prominent
and successful leaders in the Mexican service, were
formerly residents of this county.
WAJi OF THE REBELLION.
423
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
THIS was a war between citizens of the same
country, and has, hence, been sometimes
called The Great Civil War. But our heading best
expresses its character. It came after a long and
exciting controversy between the slave-holding and
non-slave-holding States, involving the questions of
the moral right or wrong of slavery; the political
policy of its extension and perpetuation ; and of State
rights generally. There was also a bitter jealousy
between the Southern and Northern States as to the
balance of power between those States, shown in a
constant struggle to secure the public offices and
patronage. The South was not improving by
slave labor; the North was rapidly increasing in
wealth and power by free labor.
The Southern States began to secede from
the Union and form a Southern Confederacy
when they found Abraham Lincoln elected Presi-
dent of the United States. South Carolina was the
first in the secession, December 20, i860. Ten
other of the slave States followed. Their artful
leaders had accumulated in the forts and arsenals
on their borders, a large quantity of the public
munitions of war — seized those forts, and put
them in the hands of fellow-conspirators.
The attack of the rebels upon Fort Sumter took
place April 11, 1861. This overt act was the
actual beginning of the war.
Its record is a story of fratricidal strife unparalleled
in the world's history, whether we consider the
malignity of the seceders, or the determined self-
sacrificing patriotism and bravery of the friends
of the Union of all the States; or whether
we attempt to count the suffering and loss of
human life, or estimate the devastation made and
the treasure expended. But its results showed
the superior value of grand free labor, when con-
ducted by heads educated in free schools and
hands addicted to habits of productive industry.
The war practically closed with the surrender
of the rebels under General Lee to General Grant,
April 9, 1865. What follows is only the merest
outline of the part borne by Albany County in this
war.
The ladies and citizens of all classes, under dif-
ferent voluntary organizations, did a vast amount
of labor, and expended great sums of money for
the comfort, encouragement, and relief of the sol-
diers and their families during the whole time of
the war.
The Citizens' Military Relief Fund contributed
|20,479-
The Ladies' Army Relief Association was organ-
ized in Albany, to co-operate with the U. S. San-
itary Commission, as early as November, 1861, to
aid sick and wounded soldiers. Similar societies
existed in Coeymans, Rensselaerville, Knox, and
other towns in the county. Useful articles were
made or purchased, and forwarded in barrels and
boxes continually. At one time 287 were sent; at
another about 600. Fruit, vegetables, and cor-
dials, and delicacies of every sort were gathered
from farm-houses, grocers, and families, and in-
cluded in the benefactions. This local association
of ladies raised also $19,212.30 in money during
the four years ending January i, 1866, for disabled
soldiers and their families.
The Army Relief Bazaar was erected in the
Academy Park, and kept open as a great Sanitary
Fair of Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and other
places in the State, during the months of February
and March, 1864. It was a building remarkable
for size and fitness. It was filled with articles of
utility and beauty on sale. Everything was con-
ducted with order, zeal, and energy. It was a
grand success. The net proceeds, amounting to
181,908.50 were paid into the treasury of the U.
S. Sanitary Commission.
The Albany Auxiliary to the U. S. Christian
Commission, between April i, 1864, and January
I, 1866, received $23,740.20 in money, besides a
great amount of books, papers, provisions, delica-
cies, and minor articles of convenience made in
sewing circles, which were contributed for the spir-
itual, social, and physical needs of the soldiers.
A Refreshment Committee fed 16,709 soldiers
as they passed through Albany in coming or going.
Their expenses were over $7,600.
Besides these, much time was spent and thou-
sands of dollars in money were given by private
citizens. And the deeds of heroic patriotism and
Christian charity done by gentlewomen, never can
be fully expressed in words.
The War Expenses of the County of Albany are stated as
follows :
For County Bounties $3, 100,700.00
For Recruiting and Enhstments 225, 125.39
Total $3,325,825.39
Raised by County Taxes $641,441.47
Raised by County Loans 2,889,552.00
Total $3,930,963.47
We now give a brief record of military service
organized in the county. We would be glad if we
could give the names and services of every soldier.
On April 16, 1861, the day following President
Lincoln's call for 75,000 men to suppress the re-
bellion, the Legislature of New York State passed
an Act to authorize the embodying and equip-
ment of a volunteer militia, and to provide for the
public defense. One week later, 155 companies
were recruited in this State, and ready for accept-
ance into service. The number of men furnished
by the State under each call was as follows : Call for
434
HlSTOkY OF THE COVNTY OF ALBANY.
militia, April 15, 1861, 13,906; call for volunteers,
July 22, 1861, 120,231; July 2, 1862, 59,705;
August 4, 1862, 20,980; October 17, 1863, and
February i, 1864, 75,751; March 14, 1864, 44,-
435; July 18, 1864, 83,843; December 19, 1864,
32,965; militia for 100 days, 5,640; for less than
100 days, 15,987. Whole number militia, 35,533;
wholenumberof volunteers, 437,910. Total, 473,-
443-
The first regiment in Albany County to respond
to the Governor's order, issued on the evening of
April 21, 1861, to move on to Washington next
morning at nine, was the Twenty-fifth Regiment,
N. Y. State Militia. It was officered as follows :
Michael K. Bryan, Colonel; James Swift, Lieuten-
ant-Colonel; David Friedlander, Major; John M.
Kimball, Adjutant; Cornelius B. O'Leary, Surgeon.
Captains: Company A, Jacob Fredendall; B, Tim-
othy McDermott; C, John Gray; D, Frank Mar-
shall; E, J. J. Huber; F, M. H. Kenneally; G, H.
Mulholland; H, — Godfrey; K, Hale Kingsley;
L, F. Newdorf. With 479 men all told, the
regiment proceeded to Washington, arriving on the
morning of the 29th, and was quartered near the
Capitol. Ordered to Arlington Hights, the regi-
ment built Fort Albany, and after three months'
service, returned to Albany, numbering 575 men.
May 31, 1862, the regiment was again mustered
into the United States service for three months,
and ordered to Suffolk, Va. On its return. Col-
onel Bryan and many of its officers and men en-
listed in the volunteer service. Colonel Michael
K. Bryan, born in Ireland in 1820, came to Albany
in 1827, and was educated in the public schools.
He was for many years in the employ of his cousin.
Colonel John McCardle, but became proprietor in
1853 of a restaurant and hotel. In 1850 he was
Captain of Albany Worth Guards; and was succes-
sively Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel of
the 25th N. Y. S. M., which he led twice in his
country's service. He afterwards raised the 175th
Regiment, N. Y. Volunteers, and was made its
Colonel, and proceeded to Louisiana early in the
winter of 1862. He was mortally wounded in a
charge at Port Hudson, La., June 14, 1863, and
died at the head of his command. He was a
noble patriot.
Third Regiment Infantry, N.Y. S. V., was organ-
ized in Albany, May 7, 1861, and was composed of
ten companies, of which five were recruited from
Albany, viz. : C, Captain E. G. Floyd; E, Captain J.
W. Blanchard; F, Captain H. S. Hulbert; G, Cap-
tain J. H. Ten Eyck, Jr. ; I, Captain E. S. Jenny.
May 8th, Frederick Townsend was elected Colonel,
S. M. Alford, Lieutenant-Colonel, and George
D. Bayard, Major. Alexander H. Hoff was made
Surgeon, and Jonathan O. Moore, Adjutant.
The regiment left Albany May 18, 1861, with
796 officers and men; was in the engagement at
Big Bethel, and afterwards stationed at Fortress
Monroe, until its term of enlistment expired. May
8, 1863, it went into service as a veteran com-
mand, with 800 men; received 700 conscripts, 200
recruits, and, by consolidation, the ii2thN. Y. Vol-
unteers. It did distinguished service at Fort Wag-
ner, Charleston, Bermuda Hundred, Petersburg,
Fort Gilmer, Fort Fisher, Wilmington, and in
many skirmishes. Colonel Townsend resigning
July 2, 1 86 1, the regiment continued in service
under Colonel Alford, and was mustered out Au-
gust, 1865. Colonel Townsend has since been Ad-
jutant-General of the State, and still resides in the
city, one of its most esteemed citizens.
The Forty-third Regiment, New York Volun-
teers, was organized at Albany and mustered into
the United States service between August 25 and
September 21, 1861, when it reached the field, with
the following commissioned officers: Francis L.
Vinton, Colonel; Charles H. Pierson, Lieutenant-
Colonel; Benjamin F. Baker, Major; James H.
Thompson, Surgeon; James H. Bogart, Adjutant.
Captains: Company A, John Wilson; Company B,
I. R. Van Slyke; Company E, E. Cass Griffin;
Company D, Charles H. Clark; Company E, Jacob
Wilson; Company F, James C. Rogers; Company
G, William H. Mathews; Company H (Yates
Rifles), Edwin C. Drake; Company I, George W.
Reed; Company K, Harvey S. Chatfield; Captain
Charles B. Mitchell, 1862; Captain John L. New-
man, 1862; Captain David Burhans, 1862; Cap-
tain James D. Visscher, 1862. The regiment left
Albany September 16, 1861, with 706 men; re-
ceived 1,621 recruits, and returned in July, 1865,
with 290 men and 13 officers. It was at the front
all through the war; was distinguished for dash
and courage; and was in the following engage-
ments: Lee's Mills, Warwick Creek, Siege of York-
town, Golding's Farm, Seven Days' Battles,
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Mary's Hights, Salem
Church, IBanks' Ford, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg,
Rappahannock Station, Locust Grove, Mine Run,
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Coal Har-
bor, Petersburg, Fort Stephens, Charleston, Ope-
quam, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Petersburg (two
engagements). Sailor's Creek.
Among those who fell was Major (afterwards Col-
onel) James Henry Bogart, who was born March 24,
1839, in Albany; was educated at Albany Academy.
Enlisted under Colonel Vinton as Adjutant; was
Major in the i62d, and was killed by a shell while
advancing with his regiment at Port Hudson, June
14, 1863. Captain (afterwards Colonel) John Wil-
son, born in Albany December 29, 1838; educated
at Albany Academy; was proficient in scholarship;
raised Company A of the 43d in a week, and
marched to the barracks August 3, 1861. He was
commissioned as Major, July 17, 1862; Lieutenant-
Colonel, September 24, 1862; Colonel, February
I, 1864. May 6, 1864, his right knee was shat-
tered by a rifle ball; his leg was amputated next
day; and he died May 8th, greatly lamented.
Captain (afterwards Major) William Wallace;
born in Albany January 8, 1835; educated in public
schools; was foreman in Weed, Parson & Co. 's office;
active in the Fire Department; raised Company F
for the 43d Regiment in September, 1862; was
confined in Libby Prison in May and June, 1863,
until exchanged. He was commissioned Major,
April, 1864. While leading a charge at the Battle
of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, was shot through
tVAR O^ THE REBELLION.
426
the head. In the same engagement Lieutenant
Colonel Fryer was mortally wounded. Both sleep
among the bravest of the brave.
Captain David Burhans, Company H, was born
in Bethlehem June 24, 1840; became mail agent
from New York to Troy. In September, 1862, he
raised a company for the 43d, and was with his
regiment until he fell, fighting at the front, at Po
River, May 10, 1864. He was esteemed for ex-
alted virtues.
Captain (afterwards Colonel) James D. Visscher
was born in Albany March 26, 1829; was in employ
of Weed, Parsons & Co. ; was member of the Bur-
gesses Corps and went with them, and 25th Regi-
ment New York State Militia, in April, 1861, to
Washington for three months' service. He enlisted
and took command of Company G, 43d Regiment,
September 4, 1862; was promoted Colonel of the
regiment after the battle of the Wilderness, May 1 2,
1864; and was killed at Fort Stevens, Washington,
July 12, 1864. He was beloved for his Christian
virtues and soldierly conduct.
Captain Douglass Lodge, son of Mr. Benjamin
Lodge, born in Albany September 22, 1842; at-
tended public schools, the Academy, and Annap-
olis Naval School. He enlisted in Company B,
25th New York State Militia, in April, 1861;
re-enlisted in 43d Volunteers; Third Sergeant,
Company A. He was promoted, for bravery, to
Quartermaster-Sergeant, September, 1861; Second
Lieutenant, April, 1862; First Lieutenant and
Captain, November 3, 1862. At the charge on
Mary's Hights, May 3, 1863, Captain Lodge
planted the regiment's colors on the enemy's
works. On the following day he received his death
wound. This young soldier died, greatly beloved
and honored. May 5th.
The Tenth Regiment National Guards was
organized at Albany in 1861, early in the rebellion,
and performed guard and other duty at the call of
Governor Morgan. It tendered for the third time
its services for nine months; went into service
November 21, 1862, with 864 men, officered as
follows: Ira W. Ainsworth, Colonel; Frank Cham-
berlain, Lieutenant-Colonel; David M. Woodhall,
Major; Richard M. Strong, Adjutant; William H.
Craig, Surgeon. Captains: Company A, Lionel
U. Lenox; Company B, Charles E. Davis; Com-
pany C, Stephen Bronk; Company D, James
Dodds; Company E, James McFarland; Company
F, James R. Harris; Company G, Morgan L. Fil-
kins; Company H, Harmon N. Merriman; Com-
pany I, E. H. Tomlinson; Company K, William
H. Brandenburg. It was assigned to General
Banks, Department of the Gulf, as the 177th New
York Volunteers. It served in the campaigns
from New Orleans to Port Hudson, and did some
of the best fighting at the latter place, suffering
severely.
On the fall of Port Hudson, and at the close of
its nine months' service, it returned home and
resumed its original position in the Ninth Brigade
National Guard.
Among those of the 177th who fell in the field
were —
Adjutant Richard M. Strong, son of Anthony
M. Strong; was born in Albany June 10, 1835,
and died at Bonnet Carre, La., May 12, 1863. He
had graduated with honor at Albany Academy
and Princeton College; was admitted to the Bar in
1856; was Judge Advocate of the Ninth Brigade
National Guard, and Adjutant 177th Volunteers,
at the time of his death.
Lieutenant John Peter Phillips, Company F;
born in Fishkill July 25, 1820; .when 16 re-
moved to New York, afterwards to Albany. Went
with the Tenth Regiment to Louisiana; contracted
fever, and died September 4, 1863, four days after
his return home.
Sergeant Charles H. Frederich, born in Albany
October 23, 1841; attended public schools. En-
listed in Company B, Tenth National Guard; died
of typhoid fever at Bonnet Carre, La., March 10,
1863.
Sergeant Joseph C. Vanderhoop, born July 25,
1843, in Albany; was a marble cutter. Joined Com-
pany B, 25th Militia, and went with that regiment
to Washington, April, 1861. May 23d, Sergeant
Vanderhoop captured two prisoners, supposed to
have been the first taken in the War for the Union.
He enlisted in the 177th Regiment, and died of
typhoid fever in Louisiana.
Sergeant William Crounse, born in Guilderland,
September 19, 1830; came to Albany in 1855.
Enlisted in the Tenth National Guard; went to
Bonnet Carre, La., where he died June 28, 1863.
Forty-Fourth or People's Regiment. — After New
York's quota under the first call had been
filled, it was deemed advisable to ask each town
and ward to be represented by furnishing one man,
armed and equipped by voluntary subscription, to
form a Zouave regiment to avenge the death of
Colonel Ellsworth, and serve during the war. It
was organized October 16, i86r, and left October
20th for the seat of war, 850 strong, composed
largely of Albany City and County men. Its
officers were as follows : Stephen W. Stryker, Col-
onel ; James C. Rice, Lieutenant-Colonel ; James
McKown, Major; William Frothingham, Surgeon;
Edward B. Knox, Adjutant. Captains: Company
A, Edward P. Chapin ; Company B, L. S. Larra-
bee; Company C, William H. Revere, Jr.; Company
D, Freeman Conner ; Company E, Michael McN.
Walsh; Company F, Campbell Allen; Company
G, William L. Vanderlip ; Company H, William
N. Danks; Company I, A. Webster Shaffer; Com-
pany K, William H. Miller. Captain Rodney G.
Kimball, 1862; Captain B. Munger, 1862. The
regiment was mustered in September 24, 1861,
and served at Yorktown, Hanover Court House,
Gaines' Mills, Turkey Island, Malvern Hill,
Groveton, Antietam, Fredericksburgh, Chancel-
lorsville, Aldie, Gettysburg, Jones' Cross Roads,
Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna, Bethesda
Church, Petersburg, and the Weldon Railroad.
The regiment was mustered out September 24,
1864, and returned 170 in number. During
its service upwards of 700 recruits joined its
ranks.
436
HISTORY OF THi: COVNTY OF ALBANY.
The following, among others in the regiment,
died in service —
Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Brigadier-Gen-
eral) James C. Rice; born in Worthington, Massa-
chusetts, 1828; graduated from Yale College, i8j'3;
studied law; enlisted April, 1861 ; did brave ser-
vice and was transferred to the 39th New York Vol-
unteers Garibaldi Guards ; commissioned Plrst
Lieutenant, then Adjutant; he was appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-Fourth; went to the
front; was promoted Colonel; and finally was made
Brigadier-General for gallant conduct at Gettys-
burg. He was killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May
ID, 1864. A devoted patriot, a sincere Christian.
His last words were, "Turn me over that I may die
with my face to the foe." Sergeant Walter H.
Angus, born June 10, 1845 ; enlisted October 21,
1 86 1, in the Forty- Fourth; was in all engagements
with his regiment, escaping unhurt until the fatal
shot Was promoted Second-Lieutenant October
9, 1863; killed at Petersburgh June 21, 1864.
Ninety-first Regiment, New York Volunteers,
was raised in the autumn of 1861, mostly in
Albany, and was called into the United States'
service for three years, December 16, 1861, with
847 names on the roll. It left Albany December
20th, and Governor's Island January 8, 1862;
arriving at Key West, January 20th. The ofl5cers
were as follows : Jacob Van Zandt, Colonel; Jon-
athan Tarbell, Lieutenant-Colonel; Charles G.
Clark, Major ; Robert F. Keeven, Adjutant ;
Robert Morris, Surgeon. Captains : Company A,
John W. Felthousen ; Company B, George W.
Stackhouse ; Company C, J. G. McDermott ;
Company D, Henry Crounse ; Company E, Will-
iam Lee ; Company F, John Cooke ; Company
G, Allan H. Jackson ; Company H, J. B. Collins;
Company I, Charles A. Burt; Company K, Henry
S. Hulbert. The Ninety-first was stationed at Pen-
sacola seven months; went to New Orleans under
General Banks. Was in three engagements at Port
Hudson, Irish Bend, Bayou Vermilion, Gonzales'
Plantation, and many skirmishes. It suffered se-
verely. Returned home July 19, 1864. Nearly all
re- enlisted. It was stationed six months near Bal-
timore, and recruited 1,600 strong. In February,
1865, it was assigned to First Brigade, Third Di-
vision, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac,
before Petersburgh. Was in the battles of White
Oak Ridge, Five Forks and many minor engage-
ments.
The following are among those who fell in
battle:
Major George W. Stackhouse, enlisted 1861;
Second Lieutenant, Company A, 25th New York;
promoted Captain and Major 91st New York,
March, 1863. Died June 19, 1863, from gun-
shot wounds. His two brothers, James and Will-
iam, were with him at Port Hudson.
Captain John A. Fee, born in Albany, January
i6, 1837. Enlisted October, 1861 ; appointed
Orderly - Sergeant ; promoted Second-Lieutenant
48th New York. Was Commandant at Tybee Is-
land until April, 1863. Promoted Captain, April,
1863 ; ordered to Army of the Potomac. Was in
battles of Chester Hill, Drury's Bluff, Coal Har-
bor. He was wounded in the arm June 30, 1863,
and died July 15th.
Lieutenant William P. Clark, born in Water-
vliet, January 27, 1835; educated in common
schools of Albany. Enlisted in April, 1861; served
three months with 25th New York State Militia;
re-enhsted in September, 1861 ; served until April
14, 1863, when he was shot through the head at
Irish Bend, La.
Lieutenant Sylvester B. Shepard, born in Albany,
July 25, 1 84 1. Was in Burgesses Corps, and with
25th New York State Militia, in its three months'
service. Recruited Company C, 91st New York
Volunteers. Appointed Second-Lieutenant, pro-
moted First-Lieutenant, and appointed Adjutant.
He was killed at Port Hudson, June 14, 1863,
while in command of his Company.
Eleventh New York Havelock Battery was
organized at Albany, October 26, 1861 ; mustered
in January 6, 1862, with 158 men and the follow-
ing officers: A. A. Von Puttkammer, Captain; R.
A. Warrington, First-Lieutenant ; James Rodgers,
First-Lieutenant ; G. A. Knapp, Second Lieuten-
ant ; John E. Burton, Second Lieutenant. The
battery left Albany January 1 7, 1862. Was engaged
in the following battles : Second Bull Run, Fred-
ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine
Run, Spottsylvania Court House, North Anna
River, Tolopotony Creek, Coal Harbor, Peters-
burg, and Deep Bottom. It was engaged about
every day, from September, 1864, till Lee's sur-
render, April 9, 1865.
The following are among those who fell in
action:
Lieutenant Henry D. Brower, bom in Albany
November 12, 1839. Raised first installment of
men for Havelock Battery; mustered in as private,
October i, 1861 ; transferred to 12th Battery as
Corporal; promoted Lieutenant, March 30, 1863.
Was killed at Reams' Station, August 25, 1864.
Sergeant John R. Warmington was killed at Chan-
cellorsville, May 3, 1863. Corporal William H.
Van Gaasbeek was killed at Coal Harbor, June 6,
1864. Corporal William H. Broughton was killed
at Petersburg, September 28, 1864.
One Hundred and Thirteenth Regiment, N. Y.
Volunteers, or Seventh Regiment, N. Y. Volun-
teer Artillery, was organized as the Albany County
Regiment in the 13th Senatorial District, under
the auspices of the following committee, appointed
by Governor Morgan, viz. :
Hon. Eli Perry, General J. F. Rathbone, Hon.
Lyman Tremain, J. Tracey, T. W. Olcott, George
Dawson, Hon. C. B. Cochrane, Hon. J. V. L.
Pruyn, Hon. Franklin Townsend, Samuel Anable,
W. M. Van Antwerp, Hon. George H. Thacher
and Hon. Henry A. Brigham. The first man was
enlisted July 24, 1862. Over 1,100 men were
mustered in August 18, 1862, with the following
field and staff officers:
Colonel, Lewis O. Morris; Major, Edward A.
Springstead; Adjutant, Frederick L. Tremain;
Quartermaster, E. Willard Smith; Surgeon, James
E. Promfret; Assistant Surgeons, J. W. Blaisdell,
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
427
George W. Newcomb; Chaplain, Humphrey L.
Calder. Captains: Company A, Joseph M. Mur-
phy; Company B, Samuel E. Jones; Company C,
John A. Morris; Company D, Charles McCulIoch;
Company E, Norman H. Moore; Company F,
Robert H. Bell; Company G, Francis Pruyn;
Company H, John McGuire; Company I, William
' Shannon; Company K, Samuel L. Anable.
Lieutenants: Company A, A. Sickles, ist, John
B. Read, 2d; Company B, J. Kennedy, ist, Will-
iam E. Orr, 2d; Company C, H. N. Rogers, ist,
M. Bell, 2d; Company D, C. Schurr, ist, H. C.
Coulson, 2d; Company E, A. V. B. Lockrow, ist,
J. F. Mount, 2d; Company F, N. Wright, ist, R.
"Mullens, 2d; Company G, S. McEwan, 1st, C. W.
Hobbs, 2d; Company H, H. C. Ducharme, ist, F.
Pettit, 2d; Company I, J. Q. Hair, ist, J. M. Ball,
2d; Company K, M. H. Barckley, ist, G. Krank,
2d.
The regiment left Albany August 19, 1862. Was
stationed in the defenses of Washington. Changed,
December, 1862, from infantry to artillery, and
designated as Seventh N. Y. Volunteer Artillery.
It was recruited to 152 men in each company. It
built, reconstructed and cleared timber before the
following works, and garrisoned them : Forts Reno,
De Russey, Kearney, Gaines, Bayard, Ripley,
Franklin and Alexander; Batteries Smead, Reno,
Cameron, Vermont and Martin Scott.
In spring of 1864, two companies were added,
with officers as follows — Captains: Company L,
James Kennedy; Company M, George H. Tread-
well. Lieutenants: Company L, F. W. Mather, ist,
C. C. McClellan, 2d; Company M, G. B. Smallie,
ist, E. S. Moss, 2d.
May 17, 1864, the regiment joined the Army of
the Potomac, near Spottsylvania Court House, Vir-
ginia. Was engaged in the battles of the Po River,
North Anna River, Tolopotony Creek, Coal Har-
bor, Petersburg, Deep Bottom and Ream's Station.
It suffered severely, and was greatly reduced in
numbers. February 22, 1865, the remnant was
ordered to Baltimore, till mustered out June, 1865.
Colonel Lewis Owen Morris, born in Albany,
August 14, 1824; studied at Albany Academy. In
1847 was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the
First Artillery, U. S. A., and went out to Mexico.
Afterwards he was in constant service in Florida,
or on Texan frontier. May, 1861, he was in com-
mand of Fort Brown, Texas. Refused to surrender
or give up United States property to the Southern-
ers. Was in service at Roanoke and Newbern, and
captured Fort Macon. In 1862 he took command
of the 113th N. Y. Volunteers, which he retamed
until killed by a rebel sharpshooter, June 3, 1864.
Major Edward A. Springsteed, born in Albany,
January 31, 1840. Commissioned First Lieutenant
43d N. Y. Volunteers, August 17, 1861; Captain,
113th N. Y. Volunteers; promoted Major. Com-
manded at Forts Kearney and De Russey. Com-
manded 2d Battalion at Lauren's Hill, Spottsyl-
vania, North Anna, Coal Harbor, Milford Station.
Had been promoted Colonel. He was killed, while
leading his men, at Ream's Station, August 25,
1864, before his commission reached him.
Captain James Kennedy, born in Albany, Feb-
ruary 15, 1833. Was commissioned First Lieuten-
ant, Company B, 113th Volunteers, August 4,
1862; promoted Captain, Battery L, February 12,
1864. Wounded at Coal Harbor, June 3d, at
Ream's Station, August 25th, and captured. Died
in Libby Prison of typhoid fever, September 10,
1864.
Captain John A. Morris, a native of Albany, bom
August 31, 1835. Was member of Company B,
Washington Continentals; mustered into United
States service August 7, 1862, as First Lieutenant,
Company C, 1 13th Volunteers; promoted Captain,
August 19th. Was in constant service until May 19,
1864, when a bullet pierced his heart at Spottsyl-
vania Court House.
Captain Nathaniel Wright was a native of Kirt-
land, O. When seventeen, came to Albany as
clerk. Enlisted in the 113th; mustered in, August
II, 1862, as First Lieutenant. Sent to Albany to
recruit regiment, 1863; returned to field and was
shot dead at Ream's Station, August 25, 1864.
Captain Robert H. Bell, born in Lancashire,
England; came to America when nineteen. Was
foreman of Company No. 8, Albany Fire Depart-
ment. Served three months with 25th N. Y. Militia;
raised company for the 113th, and was commis-
sioned Captain. Was wounded May 19, 1864, at
the Wilderness, and died June 20th.
Lieutenant William Emmet Orr, born in Albany,
September 12, 1841; studied at Rochester Univer-
sity. Was commissioned Second Lieutenant, Com-
pany B, 113th N. Y. Volunteers, August 7, 1862;
promoted First Lieutenant, Company F, January,
1 864. A. A. A. G. , on Colonel Morris' staff. Died
June 2, 1864, from wound received at North Anna
River.
Lieutenant James H. Morgan was a native of
Albany; studied law. Commissioned First Lieuten-
ant, Company G, i8th N. Y. Volunteers, 1861;
re-enlisted in Seventh N. Y. Volunteer Artillery.
Taken prisoner at Ream's Station, August 25, 1864.
Died at Salisbury, N. C, November 21, 1864.
Lieutenant Michael H. Barckley, born in Knox,
November 15, 1840; graduated Union College,
1862. Raised a Company in Knox and was com-
missioned First Lieutenant Company K, 113th
Regiment. He went with his regiment through all
its engagements. Was wounded at Coal Harbor,
and died July 6, 1864.
Lieutenant Charles S. Evans, born in Rensselaer-
ville, November 10, 1840. Enlisted, August 2,
1862, Company K, 7th Volunteer Artillery; pro-
moted Lieutenant Company I. June 5, 1864, he
was killed at Coal Harbor, buried there, and his
body never found afterwards.
Lieutenant Charles L. Yeardsley was born in
West Troy, May 19, 1843. Enlisted August 13,
1862, Company H 113th New York Volunteers;
was promoted Orderly Sergeant and Lieutenant
April 15, 1864. He was killed at Petersburg,
Va., June 3, 1864, while leading the charge of
Company G.
Lieutenant John B. Read, Adjutant 7th New
York Volunteer Artillery; was born October
428
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
8, 1830, at Stuyvesant, N. Y. Helped raise a
Company for 113th Regiment, and was commis-
sioned Second Lieutenant Company A, August 4,
1862. Was wounded at Coal Harbor, and left
within the enemy's lines.
Sergeant James S. Gerling was born in England
October 7, 1845. Came to America when nine
years old. Enlisted July, 1862, in the 113th Regi-
ment; promoted Corporal and Sergeant. Wounded
in the Wilderness June 3, 1864, again August
24th, and died October 8, 1864.
Sergeant George Sanders was a native of Eng-
land; came to Albany when fourteen years old.
Enlisted August i, 1862, Company D 113th Regi-
ment. He was wounded in the head by a shell at
Coal Harbor, and died in hospital June 18, 1864.
He was promoted Corporal, April 11, 1863, and
Sergeant, January 24, 1864.
Sergeant William H. Bell was born in Berne
March 28, 184 1. Enlisted August 18, 1862,
Company K, 113th Regiment. He died in the ser-
vice, March 15, 1864.
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTICES.
Colonel Edward Frisby was born in Trenton,
N. Y., August 3, 1809. When seventeen, came
to Albany; was a hatter. At eighteen he was
Corporal in a Militia Company; promoted Ensign,
89th Infantry, September 2, 1831; Captain, August,
1833; Major, March, 1835; Lieutenant-Colonel,
September, 1839; Colonel, August, 1841. He
was Colonel of 25th Militia Regiment, and Briga-
dier-General nth Brigade, N. Y. S. M. He went
to the front with the 25th Militia Regiment, April,
1 861; returned and raised the 30th New York
Volunteers, and was commissioned Colonel. The
Regiment left Albany June 2'], 1861. He was
killed at Second Bull Run battle, August 28,
1862.
Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Lyman Tremain,
son of Hon. Lyman Tremain, was born in Dur-
ham, N. Y, June 13, 1843. He attended Albany
Academy, Anthony's Classical Institute, and Ho-
bart College. He enlisted in 113th Regiment,
raised a Company and was promoted Adjutant;
he was transferred to First Brigade, Third Division
of the Cavalry Corps; afterwards to Second Cavalry
Division, Second Brigade. He was in all the en-
gagements with his division under General Sheri-
dan in the Wilderness, Todd's Tavern, Childsburg,
Meadow's Bridge, Richmond Heights, Haw's
Shop, Spottsylvania, St. Mary's Church, Ream's
Station, Malvern Hill, Lee's Mills, and others.
He was made Lieutenant-Colonel of loth New
York Cavair}', and was wounded at Dabney's Mills
February 5, 1865, and died three days later.
Captain Harmon N. Merriman, born in Frank-
lin, Pa., September 19, 18 19; was a lawyer.
Helped raise the Tenth Regiment; was Captain
Company H; was wounded at Port Hudson May
27, 1863, while leading his company, and died
on his way home July 15, 1863.
Captain John McGuire was born in Ireland in
1829. Came to Albany in 1845; was Sergeant of
the Albany Worth Guards; enlisted in 25th New
York Militia and served with the Regiment in
1861 and 1862. September, 1862, he joined 175th
New York Volunteers; was appointed First Lieu-
tenant and promoted Captain. He served with
Regiment at Port Hudson, in Shenandoah Valley,
and North Carolina, where he was killed by guer-
rillas April 15, 1865.
Lieutenant James Williamson was born in Scot-
land October 2, 1829. Was First Lieutenant loth
Regiment, New York State Militia, July 8, 1861.
When the Regiment was changed to 1 77th New
York Volunteers, he was appointed First Lieuten-
ant Compan}' H. He was in battles of Poncha-
toula and Port Hudson. At the latter he was
killed May 27, 1863, while leading a charge.
Orderly-Sergeant Peter M. Shaler was bom in
Scotland March 11, 1842. Came to America at
the age of 10 and to Albany in 1858. He joined
loth Regiment, New York State Militia. Went to
war with this Regiment. Was wounded March 24,
1863, at Ponchatoula, La., and died July 18,
1863.
Sergeant Alexander D. Rice was born in Albany
April ID, 1837. Enlisted August 6, 1862, in
Company C, 7th New York Heavy Artillery, and
promoted Sergeant He was wounded June 3,
1864, at Coal Harbor, and died June 28th.
Sergeant Andrew T. Hotaling, Company A, was
born in New Baltimore July 23, 1838. Enlisted in
Company A, 7th New York Artillery, November 7,
1862; promoted Corporal, December i, 1862; Ser-
geant, May I, 1863. He was wounded at Peters-
burg June 22, 1864, and died in hospital July 26,
1864.
Sergeant Paul Quay was born in Knox July 30,
1 84 1. Enlisted in the 7th Regiment August i,
1862; taken prisoner June 16, 1864; sent to An-
dersonville, afterwards to Milan, where he died in
prison.
Our space admits of no more extended notice of
the noble part acted by Albany County in the
cruel War of the Rebellion. We are indebted to
Dr. Clark's " Heroes of Albany " for most of our
facts, which we have been obliged to express here
in a very condensed form.
In the history given in this volume of the Lew
Benedict Post, George S. Dawson Post, and Lewis
O. Morris Post, of the G. A. R., will appear hon-
ored names of some other men of patriotic hearts
and brave deeds, who came back from that fearful
struggle to dwell with us, and cairy on still longer
the battle of life as useful citizens. Some others
will also appear in the history of our local military
organizations.
To one who wishes to know more of these men,
and to keep their names and deeds in lasting re-
membrance, we commend the observance of Dec-
oration Day, when soldiers and citizens unite in
processions, and proceed to decorate with flowers
the soldiers' graves in Rural Cemetery and other
last resting places of the dead patriots in this
vicinity. May this custom, and the other appro-
priate ceremonies of the day, long be annually
observed !
BOARD OF CHARITIES.
439
WEST POINT CADETS.
The following list, obtained from the Adjutant-
General in the War Department at Washington, un-
der date of June 18, 1855, contains, so far as can
be ascertained from the records of this department,
the names of cadets admitted to the U. S. Military
Academy at West Point, from Albany County, N.
Y. , since 181 5:
♦Dudley W. Allanson, 1818; William Blood-
good, 181 9; Stephen V. R. Ryan, 1821; Horace
Smith, 1821; John R. B. Gardenier, 1823; Abra-
ham Van Buren, 1823; *Isaac P. Van Antwerp,
1823; *Burritt Shepherd, 1824; Chileab S. Howe,
1825; Henry Van Rensselaer, 1827; Daniel P.
Whitney, 1828; *Richard Ten Broeck, 1829; *Ed-
ward Elliott, 1829; Archibald Campbell, 1831;
JohnBratt, 1833; John Hillhouse, 1838; Egbert L.
Viele, 1842; Albert J. S. Molinard, 1847; *Thomas
E. Collins, 185 1 ; *HenryS. Hulbert, 1853; *George
T. Peckham, 1854; William H. Harris, 1857; James
F. Gregor)', 1861; Leonard G. Hun, 1865; Henry
P. Walker, 1869; *Theodore P. Bailey, 1875;
Daniel E. McCarthy, 1877; Frank De W. Ramsey,
1 881; fWilliam G. Thompson, 1885.
The establishment of a U. S. Military Academy
at West Point was recommended by George Wash-
ington in 1793. It was established by Act of U.
S. Congress, March 12, 1802, and organized in
1812.
SPECIAL OFFICERS CONNECTED WITH
SOME OF THE INDUSTRIES OF
ALBANY COUNTY.
Chapter XL, Laws of 1784, enacts that no pot
or pearl-ashes shall be shipped for exportation
until inspected by a properly appointed inspector,
who shall start the same out of the casks and care-
fully examine, try and inspect the same, and sort
the same in three different sorts if necessary; to be
placed in separate casks, well hooped and coopered,
and branded with the quality, weight, place of in-
spection, and name of inspector. His fees were
sixpence per hundredweight.
In case of any dispute between inspector and
owner, any magistrate within the county may issue
a warrant to three indifferent judicious persons of
skill and integrity — one to be named by the owner,
one by the inspector, and one by the magistrate —
to be viewers to view and search the said pot or
pearl-ashes and report of the quality thereof as soon
as conveniently may be. The fees and costs were to
be paid by the party against whom the report was
made.
By the Laws of 1788, General Inspectors of Lum-
ber were authorized, and by Chapter LIX of the
Laws of 1 80 1, an inspector for the City of Albany
was authorized to inspect all timber, boards, plank
of every kind, scantling or shingles, before they are
exported out of this State, and mark with a mark-
ing iron on each board, plank, or piece of timber
the initial letters of his Christian name and surname,
with the number of feet in each board, plank, or
piece of timber; and no board shall be marked as
merchantable and good but what is at least six
inches wide, clear of sap, and shall be of the actual
thickness sold for. Provided, however, that all
plank and boards which are less than six inches
wide, clear of sap, may be exported as sap-plank and
boards, if they be of the thickness of merchantable
plank and boards and marked with the letter "S"
in addition to the inspector's mark. The inspectors
were not to trade in lumber, and received 37^ cents
for each thousand feet, superficial measure, in-
spected; fourteen cents per ton of forty cubic feet
for square timber; and twenty cents per bundle for
shingles.
Chapter 152, Laws of 1829, authorized the per-
son administering the government of this State to
appoint Inspectors and Admeasurers of Wood and
Timber for Albany County, for the term of three
years, whose fees were 12\ cents for every 100 feet
of timber inspected and measured; four cents per
cord for parcels of wood containing less than ten
cords, and three cents per cord for parcels of ten
cords and upwards; besides his traveling fees of six
cents per mile. These fees to be paid jointly by
the buyer and seller.
BOARD OF CHARITIES.
ONE of the most beneficent of the departments
organized by the State and doing service for
the whole State, is the State Board of Charities. It
is not in our plan to give a detailed history of this
Board, nor a statement of the important service it is
rendering ; only enough in a general way to make
known its organization, its object, and the nature
of its work; and then to exhibit, in abridged tabu-
lar form, what it is doing for Albany County Insti-
tutions of Charit}'.
A State Legislative Act was passed May 23,
1867, providing that "the Governor, with ad-
vice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint
* L«ft the Academy before graduation, t Present cadet.
eight persons, one of whom shall reside in each
judicial district of the State, to be designated
as the Board of State Commissioners of Public
Charities." Their term of office was to be eight
years; but the first appointed were to be classed so
that one should go out each year, the place to be
filled by the appointing power as above. In 1870,
the Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Comp-
troller and Attorney-General were made membeis
of the Board, ex-officio.
The Commissioners, by this statute, have full
power to inquire into the financial condition of
the institutions under their care; to examine into
the methods of instruction and management of
430
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
inmates; the conduct of officers; condition of build-
ings; and all other matters pertaining to their use-
fulness. Under this aspect of its duties the Board
is constituted the "moral eye" of the State, and
its adviser in relation to the condition and care of
the unfortunate classes under its guardian care.
For these services the members of the Board re-
ceive no compensation other than reimbursement
for actual expenses.
The first Board of Commissioners were duly
appointed and confirmed in January, 1858, and
were as follows: First District, Nathan Bishop;
Second District, Harvey G. Eastman; Third Dis-
trict, John V. L. Pruyn; Fourth District, Edward
G. Foster; Fifth District, Theodore W. Dwight;
Sixth District, Samuel F. Miller; Seventh Dis-
trict, Martin B. Anderson; Eighth District, F. H.
James. Two of these commissioners, Messrs.
Foster and Miller, are members of the present
Board.
Little was accomplished dunng the brief term
of Henry C. Lake, the first Secretary. Dr. Charles
S. Hoyt, who was chiefly instrumental in the legal
establishment of this Board, was made Secretary
of the Board, June 5, 1868. The wisdom of this
choice has been proved by the remarkable fidelity
and success with which he has discharged the
duties of the office ever since. The work of the
Secretary had so much increased, that in 1874 the
present Assistant-Secretary, Hon. James O. Fan-
ning, received his appointment It was a most
fitting selection, as a faithful service of eleven years
has shown. Much of the out-door work has come
upon him; and nearly all of those arduous duties
connected with the office, such as correspondence,
collecting facts, and preparing and distributing re-
ports and other documents, have been his special
charge.
Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, of Albany, a noble man,
one of the originators of this Board, and its first
President, died November 2, 1877. Rev. Dr. M.
B. Anderson succeeded him only a short time,
when Hon. William P. Letcl. worth, the present de-
voted and judicious President, was elected.
By the statutes of May 21 and June, 1873, the
name of the Board was changed to The State Board
of Charities. Its membership was increased to
eleven, and additional powers were conferred upon
it. The right of supervisory visitation was extended
to all charitable, reformatory or correctional
institutions, except prisons. Even private asy-
lums are included. By this act any person or
association is prohibited from establishing any
asylum or institution of any sort for the custody
or treatment of the insane without obtaining a
license therefor from this Board. It provides, also,
for the appointment of a State Commissioner of
Lunacy, who is, ex officio, a member of this Board.
When, in 1873, the act relating to State paupers
was passed by the Legislature, Albany was selected
as one of the five counties of the State for their re-
ception, support and care. It thus came to have
a State Alms-house. The accommodations of-
fered were for two hundred persons, and $2.50 per
week was to be the price of support. At first
seventeen males and one female were assigned. Of
these, one died, the ist of January, 1874, two ab-
sconded, and nine were removed from the State as
not belonging. This policy of determining the legal
residence of paupers and relieving the State of the
burden of their support by the removal of non-res-
idents, has ever since been carried on.
December 31, 1874, there were in Albany County
Alms-house, thirty-five children born in that insti-
tution during the year. Only three of these now
remain. The dependent children in this county
are, as fast as possible, placed in various asylums
in Albany. In 1875, the whole number was be-
tween three and four hundred. The price paid for
their maintenance is #1.50 per week.
Much might be written concerning the vast
amount of saving of expenditure by the judicious
oversight and management of this Board in regu-
lating the lavish out-door relief; in the organization
of productive labor in the poor-houses; in remand-
ing to their own country large numbers of foreign
paupers; in relieving our own citizens from the
burden of their support, and transferring them to
those persons or places upon whom it in equity
should devolve.
It is also justly claimed that, by the watchfulness
and care of this Board, there has come to be a greatly
improved condition of the poor-houses, a better un-
derstanding of the objects and purposes of orphan
asylums, hospitals, and like charities; a general im-
provement in the treatment and care of the insane
and idiots; an equitable law carefully carried out
relating to the settlement of paupers; in short, more
intelligence, more economy, less taxation and less
wrong-doing in the management of our unfor-
tunate classes than before this State Board was es-
tablished.
We close our brief article with a tabulated state-
ment of the names of the institutions in the County
of Albany under the supervision of the State Board
of Charities, and giving the principal items of
general interest, so far as figures can give them, at
intervals of five years.
We take occasion here to put on record that the
New York State Asylum for Idiots was first located
in Albany County. It commenced its useful work
in the City of Albany, October, iSsr, and was re-
moved to Geddes, near Syracuse, in September,
1855. The number of pupils admitted during that
period were, in 1851, 23; in 1852, 26; in 1853,
17; in 1854, 8.
bOARD OF CHARlflE'S.
431
TABLE I.
ALBANY CITY HOMOEOPATHIC HOSPITAL.
Year.
Real Estate.
Personal
Property.
Total
Receipts.
Total
Expenditures.
Total
Under
Treatment
During
the Year.
Total ,^
Dischajiged
During
the Year.
Total
Remaining
AT End of
Year.
1870
i87q
$10,057 00
21,000 00
1,000 00
$3,000 00
5,790 42
6,230 72
$10,428 00
5.437 71
5.983 04
23
82
131
17
68
118
6
.880:::.:::;.:
14
1885
13
ALBANY HOSPITAL.
1870
$48,000 00
$5,000 00
$22,913 25
$22,457 26
432
393
39
1875
1886
75,000 00
100,000 00
2,500 00
12,000 00
30,701 00
30,070 02
30.373 00
27,682 02
482
808
439
754
43
54
1885
CHILD S HOSPITAL.
1870
1875
1885:.;;:. :.
1885
$30,500 00
$02,710 C7
SlOQ-JI AX.
III
83
48
ST. Peter's hospital.
1870
1875
$100,000 00
100,000 00
55,000 00
$18,329 16
12,437 76
12,909 77
$18,252 26
12,432 43
12,565 56
376
509
477
350
449
434
26
1880
60
1885
$1,000 00
43
TABLE II.
ALBANY GUARDIAN SOCIETY AND HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS.
Year.
Real Estate.
Personal
Property.
Total
Receipts
for the Yeiar.
Total
Expenditures.
Number
Supported
During
THE Year.
Number
Discharged
Number
Remaining
AT End OF
Year.
J870
$35,988 77
35,000 00
40,000 00
35,000 00
$3,000 00
27,500 00
39,150 00
46,300 00
$32,625 04
3,420 02
4,086 70
9.250 75
$32,206 00
3.345 80
3.289 39
5.053 05
34
53
47
57
4
8
6
5
30
1875
45
41
1880
1885
52
ALBANY ORPHAN ASYLUM.
[For Children Between Ages of 3 and 12. Incorporated March 30, 1881.]
1870
$15,000 00
30,000 00
45,000 00
50,000 00
$12,456 69
30,694 65
33.066 41
27,448 77
$10,020 24
29,157 90
32. 1 16 49
26,824 61
148
193
308
421
46
44
84
"3
102
1875
$76,463 20
90,000 00
95,000 00
149
224
1880
1885
308
babies' NURSERY.
1870
lJ?7C
1880
1885
$800 00
$2,200 00
$2,474 47
$2,461 83
29
II
18
CHILDREN S FRIEND SOCIETY.
[First opened December i, 1856.]
1870
$3,500 00
4,200 00
4,200 00
16,000 00
$200 00
3,400 00
14,800 CO
15,200 00
$5,527 43
2,882 20
3.137 67
17,377 20
$3,627 65
2,475 24
3,196 09
16,850 20
lJ?7C
1880
1885::::::....
43ii
HISTORY Of THE COVNTY Of ^LBANT.
1870.
1875-
1880.
1885.
1870.
1875.
18S0.
1885
ST. VINCENTS FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM.
[Opened in 1845.]
$75,000 CO
83,116 00
116,198 40
127,289 CO
$3,000 00
2,000 00
2,000 00
1,000 00
$8,752 90
10,877 84
i5.4«3 65
22,480 49
$5,745 90
10,089 42
14,197 86
22,326 63
136
160
301
315
ST. VINCENT S MALE ORPHAN ASYLUM.
33
44
62
$i6,ooo 00
45,000 00
58,000 00
32,000 00
$2,400 00
$13,762 23
10,154 18
8,508 22
12,046 24
$13,641 60
10,126 31
8.391 58
11.983 03
193
145
142
157
59
35
25
29
HOME FOR THE AGED OF LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR.
1870 1
1871; 1
1885
$43,700 00
80,000 00
$3,005 00
3.500 00
$2,750 00
3,500 00
130
160
24
10
106
150
HOME FOR AGED MEN.
1870
1871;
1880
$35,000 00
35,000 00
$12,641 61
$4,233 53
4,124 44
$3,993 68
4. "7 58
15
24
15
18
1885
6
house of shelter.
[Incorporated January 4, 1869.]
1870
1871; .. ..
1880
$20,000 00
20,000 CO
$3,550 00
4,o';o 00
$3,455 64
i.oOi 78
$2,623 42
i. 178 1:6
78
165
^2
128
28
1885 . ..
27
OPEN DOOR MISSION.
1870
1871;
1880
_
1881;
$10,600 00
S2,i;q7 84
S2.OQ6 Oi.
58
38
20
orphans' HOME OF ST. PETER's CHURCH.
1870 . ..
$6,000 00
$1,839 96 Si. 1:71; 10
18
29
27
19
3
12
4
5
15
17
23
14
1871; . ..
1,246 15
1,697 05
12,118 77
1,141 41
1,206 24
1.953 10
i88o
10,000 00
$1,375 00
9,786 56
1885
ST. Joseph's industrial school.
1870
1
187":
1880
1885
126
127
257
253
134
110
117
128
TABLE III.
ALBANY COUNTY POOR-HOUSE.
<
No. Persons
SUPrORTED.
<u
u
rt
m '^
<Ll —
J3 ID
S
3
-a
§
<
81
30
78
62
Q
63
50
55
64
2
•d
5
3
p
ft,
'S,
w
•0
u
6
>
"C
I
I
Value of Poor-
house Establish-
ment.
Amount
expended for
support.
5 weekly
se each
son.
>
Male.
Female.
Total.
hjQ Eh U
T870
945
674
5>7
486
563
884
389
247
1,508
1,561
906
733
1.033
1,160
479
411
172
71
59
35
7
10
3
3
8
5
3
3
1
1
8
4
16
3
272
27
13
554
509
291
280
954
1,052
615
453
120
116
"5
112
$2.86
1875
1880
1885
$300,000
250,000
145,000
$21,700.00
23,068.00
27.89743
1.90
1-45
2.50
V. S. OFFICERS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. 433
UNITED STATES OFFICERS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS
OTHER INSTITUTIONS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
Prof. J. TBNJSTEy, Kditor.
THE United States Arsenal is in the township
of Watervliet, within the boundary of the village
ot West Troy; having the Hudson Ri\er on the
east, the Watervliet Turnpike and horse railroad
passing through the grounds on a line with the
river, and the Erie Canal running through the
depot inclosure, between the front and rear build-
ings, over which are two bridges. The local posi-
tion is distant northeast from the new Capitol, Al-
bany, six miles; nearly opposite the City of Troy;
and in latitude 42 degrees 43 minutes and 9
seconds, and longitude 73 degrees 42 minutes and
7 seconds.
The establishment was located here in 1813,
upon about 12 acres of land which was the original
purchase, and was commenced in 1814 under the
direction of Colonel George Bumford, of the ord-
nance department; after which it was under the
supervision of Major Daliba, an officer of the same
department, who matured many of its details, and
introduced an excellent system of economy and
police regulations. These first officers have been
succeeded b}' the following:
Colonel 'I'alcott. General W. J. Worth, Major
Baker, Major Symington, Major Mordecai, Colonel
Thornton, Colonel Hagner, Brevet-Captain O. E.
Michaelis, Colonel Buffi ngton, Colonel Mordecai,
Captains Michaelis, Metcalfe and Young.
The area of territory has been enlarged by several
purchases, and cessions Irom the State. At this
time the reservation contains 109 acres, the whole
inclosed by a wall eight feet high, except on the
east front, where there is an iron fence which
allows an open, clear outlook to the river.
The river front is i,6cofeet long, 800 feet of
which is finished, at a cost of $50,000, as a stone
wharf, where vessels as large as any navigating the
upper Hudson can unload. From the river it ex-
tends westward, with a width of 1, 700 feet to the Erie
Canal, which passes through about 600 feet from the
river, and thence in triangular shape to a point about
1,000 feet from the canal, and within 200 feet of
the Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.'s railroad.
The area within the inclosure now unoccupied
is arranged with taste, and skill has been exercised
in combining the useful with the agreeable. All
the appointments and construction of buildings are
nearly perfect. The roadways are substantial and
made of gravel interlaid with flag-stone walks,
while the spaces, or portions unoccupied, are kept
in lawns and garden plats, which, with the many
shade trees, add to the general attractiveness.
The present permanent buildings required to
meet the demands of the various branches con-
nected with the Arsenal, as well as offices, residen-
ces and quarters, are arranged with admirable skill
with reference to their convenience and special
purpose of economic adaptabilit}'. They are con-
structed of brick and iron, in plain, solid masonry,
without elaborate architectural design, and pre-
sent a military appearance, increased by the war
supphes, and ornamented with many memorial
tr(>phies of former victories on land and sea, dis-
tributed over the vacant spaces within the inclos-
ure. The buildings, more than thirty in all, are
painted and kept in repair.
During the Rebellion this arsenal employed
1,500 men, and in some departments work was
continued day and night to fill the requisitions for
ordnance supplies for our armies during their con-
tinuous engagements. The quantity, variety and
quality of the issues made and forwarded day by
day, for many months, demonstrates the special
advantages of this site for rapidly manufacturing
military supplies, and shipping them in all direc-
tions and at all seasons. Since that time the erec-
tion of a new system of store-rooms and shops, with
increased motive power, improved machinery of
many kinds, and other facilities of recent introduc-
tion and modern invention, have greatly enlarged
the capabilities and relative completeness of the es-
tablishment, which will now accommodate a larger
force of workmen and insure greater promptness.
The more recent improvements are a com-
pleted range of two-story shops, inclosing three
sides of a square, 465 feet front and 300 deep; this
block, built of brick and iron, is of the most ap-
proved style for working purposes, and supplied
with double steam engines as well as with water
power from the canal, the use of which is secured
by perpetual grant, for privileges granted to the
State. Connected with this valuable system of con-
venient shops, the permanent quarters, barracks,
store-houses, timber and carriage stores, and all
other fixed structures are well supplied with every
necessary modern convenience, and many improve-
ments which contribute to the health, comfort and
well-being of all, have received careful attention.
Independent of the extensive iron manufacturing
establishments in the immediate vicinity, there are
advantages in the geographical location and facili-
ties for transportation of materials and supplies
which command consideration from the general
Government, to permanently establish this depot on
iU
HISTORY OF THE COUIJTY OF ALBAMv.
a scale of national magnitude and importance, com-
mensurate with the resources and demands of a
people who are proud of their ability to maintain
public improvements creditable to the military de-
partment of this Republic.
This establishment is under the Ordnance Bu-
reau of the War Department at Washington, and
in all its arrangements, and in every detail, refer-
ence has been thoroughly represented in the con-
struction of permanent improvements as to ele-
gance, durability and order; and the general
working force is most admirably selected with
regard to their actual value and capacity for sub-
stantial results.
This is one of the national arsenals ranking as
first-class, and is designed to be the principal
depot for mihtary stores, arms and equipments in
the Northern States; also for the manufacture, repair
and storage of war material and military equipages,
and supplies for every branch of the infantry and
cavalry service, including fortification munitions.
The cost of the buildings for arsenal purposes,
including all necessary structures, machinery, im-
provements, manufactures, and stores, are estimated
at $1,500,000, and value of raw material used
during the year, $30,000; average number em-
ployed, 130, including 4 officers and 30 soldiers.
The original cost of all the land is about $57,000.
Under proper regulations the public have access to
this establishment, and it is well worthy of a visit.
Upon a map of the arsenal grounds in 1878
there were the following buildings:
Guard-house; office; Quartermaster's office and
engine-house; iron store-house; workshops, con-
taining eight departments; turbines, boiler and
engine-rooms; arsenals, two; laboratory; officers'
quarters, two; commanding officers' quarters; ar-
tillery store-house; cottages for enlisted men, four;
brick stables, two; hospital; barracks; ice-houses,
two; nitre store; timber store-houses, six; carriage
sheds; proof-house; tank-house; magazines, two;
carriage sheds, 12.
In the year 18 13 the United States purchased
two lots of land from James Gibbons and wife,
upon which were located the first buildings of the
arsenal. The deed to these lands is recorded in
the County Clerk's office, in Book of Deeds No. 29,
pages 23, 24, and 25. The following extracts are
given:
"This Indenture, made the 14th day of July, in
the year of our Lord, 18 13, Between James Gib-
bons and Esther, his wife, of the first part, and the
people of the United States of the second part,
Witnesseth, That the said party of the first part, for
and in consideration of the sum of two thousand five
hundred and eighty-five dollars, current lawful
money of the United States, do grant, bargain,
sell, demise, release, and confirm unto the said
party of the second part, and to their successors
and assigns forever, All that certain lot, piece, or
parcel of land situate, lying and being in the village
of Gibbonsville, in the town of Watervliet, in the
County of Albany, in the State of New York, and
* * * containing one acre and fourteen perches
of land. Also all that one other certain lot, piece,
or parcel of land situate, lying, and being in
Gibbonsville aforesaid and * * * containing
eleven acres three roods and fourteen perches."
The first cession of lands by the State to the
United States, is found in 5th edition R. S., page
93, in pursuance to the act passed March 31, 1815,
as follows:
"And also all that certain piece or parcel of land
situate in the town of Watervliet, in the County of
Albany, and State aforesaid, at a place called Gib-
bonsville, on which is also erected an Arsenal and
other buildings belonging to the United States,
bounded as follows, to wit: * * * "pjjg United
Slates are to retain such jurisdiction so long as said
tract shall be applied to the use of providing for
the defense and safety of the said State and no
longer. The jurisdiction so ceded does not. pre-
vent the execution on said tracts of any process,
civil or criminal, under the authority of this State,
nor prevent the laws, not incompatible with the
purpose for which such cession was made, from
operating within the bounds of said tract. "
Included in this Act is the following: "The
United States have also jurisdiction over a tract of
land in the town of Watervliet, in the County of
Albany,such jurisdiction having been ceded for the
defense and safety of this State by the Commis-
sioners of the I^nd Office, pursuant to the act
passed March 20, 1807."
Second cession. — Chapter 332 of the Laws of
1830, cedes to the United States of America, "for
the purpose of erecting and maintaining thereon
arsenals, magazines, dockyards, and other neces-
sary buildings, jurisdiction of the State over all
that certain tract, piece or parcel of land, situate,
lying and being in the town of Watervliet, in the
County of Albany, and bounded as follows: * * *
together with all the land under water lying oppo-
site and westerly of the described premises, which
has been heretofore granted by letters patent to
James Gibbons by the people of the State of New
York, but always excepting and reserving, out of
the lands above described, the land occupied by
the Erie Canal, one rod on each side thereof, and
also the public highway."
The State retains concurrent jurisdiction for the
execution of all civil process therein, and of crim-
inal process for offenses committed without the
said tract of land. The United State are to retain
jurisdiction only so long as the ceded lands are
used for the purposes named in the act
Third cession. — Chapter 96 of the Laws of 1833,
cedes jurisdiction over an additional tract in said
town " bounded as follows, to wit: * * * contain-
ing thirty-eight and one-tenth of an acre, excepting
and reserving out one rod in width along the west
side of the Erie Canal, subject to the same condi-
tions as the tracts first conveyed."
Fourth cession. — Chapter 337, Laws of New
York, April 14, 1859. "An Act vesting in the
United States of America jurisdiction over a cer-
tain piece of land in the village of West Troy, in
the County of Albany, bounded as follows, to
wit:" — With the same conditions as previous
conveyances.
U. S. OFFICERS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS.
435
In 1825, James Gibbons agreed to sell to the
State forty acres of land, at three hundred dollars
per acre. He failed to give a deed before his
death, and April 28, 1828, the property was ob-
tained from Esther Gibbons, his widow and execu-
trix. Some additions have been made by the
purchase of several contiguous lots.
GOVERNMENT BUILDING.
The Government Building is a granite structure,
located on Broadway, corner of State street.
The marked progress of Albany, with its in-
creased business, largely due to the concentration
here of river, canal, and railroads offering almost
unparalleled facilities for inland transportation of
every variety of merchandise, was brought to the
consideration of the general Government. Influ-
ence of prominent citizens was successful in secur-
ing the erection of a building for the transaction
of Government business. The Post-office and
other Federal offices had for all past years de-
pended upon rented apartments.
The first definite action was taken by Congress,
March 21, 1872, when an act was passed, having
for its object the erection of a building at Albany
for Government purposes, the cost of which was
limited to $350,000. At this time no appropria-
tion was made, as it was required that the site be
given by the City of Albany.
After viewing several locations selection of the
Exchange Building and lot was made, and purchased
by the city at a cost of $100,000, and accepted
by the Government; byt the area of this lot was
considered too small for the purposes. The act
of March 3, 1873, appropriated $150,000 for the
purchase of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank
property on the north, separated by Exchange
street. Again, June 3, 1874, Congress appropri-
ated $5,000 additional for the site. This made
the total cost to the city and Government $225,000.
In December, 1875, the work of razing the Ex-
change Biiilding was commenced, and continued
until March, 1876. Work was then suspended be-
cause Congress had failed to set a limit to the cost
of the contemplated building. In March, 1877,
an act was passed limiting the cost to $500,000.
This necessitated a new plan; and the present,
which is Italian Renaissance, was adopted in place
of the original design, which was an elaborate
Gothic.
In June, 1877, work was resumed, and the cor-
ner-stone laid with Masonic ceremonies, May 7,
1879. The appropriation having been used, work
was discontinued in November, 1883, leaving
some portions incomplete, but with many apart-
ments ready for occupancy.
The revenue officials were the first to take pos-
session of the new building in December, 1883.
Then followed the Post-office, January r, 1884.
436
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
0;hei Government officials took possession of their
several apartments during 1884.
The walls of the building are of cut granite, which
is fire-proof in construction and material. It
measures 113 feet front, on Broadway; 126 feet
rear, on Dean street; and 150 feet on State and
Exchange streets. It is • three stories high, with
mansard roof and towers on each corner carried
up an additional story. The main tower, on the
corner of Broadway and State, is appropriated
to the United States Signal Service or Weather
Bureau.
The basement, which extends under the whole
building, is used for heating purposes, receiving
and shipping mail matter, and bonded warehouse.
The roof is constructed of iron, copper and tin.
The stairways are of iron and slate, with oak hand-
rails. The corridors are spacious, well lighted,
with floors covered with tiles. All doors, casements
and moldings are solid white oak. The ventila-
tion and heating arrangements are most admirable
in every apartment. All the rooms are spacious,
elegantly finished, and splendidly lighted. Every
office is supplied with all needed accommodations
for comfort and convenience; while the furniture,
desks and book-cases are of walnut and oak, made
substantial and for service.
The different floors are reached by easy stair-
ways or elevators. The approaches to the build-
ing are cut granite, and the side-walks smooth
patent slabs. The building is a model in all its
details.
The total cost thus far is $627, 148. The super-
intendents of construction have been resident archi-
tects. Edward Ogden was the first superintendent,
who had charge after removing the old Exchange
Building and the building of the foundation. Mr.
George H. Sear had charge of putting up the base-
ment. Mr. Walter Dickson was then placed in
charge, and under his superintendence the building
was completed. Colonel William E. Fitch was
clerk, and Mr. John E. Todd, master mechanic.
THE ALBANY POST-OFFICE
Is located in the Government Building, and oc-
cupies the first floor and part of the basement.
There is no reliable evidence that any general mail
or postal service was instituted or maintained by
the colonial government at Albany, nor was it a
postal point, and during the Revolution each party
was dependent upon its own methods for convey-
ing information or communicating with distant
points.
The earliest traveled route from Albany was to
New York, by the Hudson River, and at the com-
mencement of hostilities the settlements near Al-
bany were only outposts and centers for the collec-
tion of trade and traffic. Modes of communication
and conveyance were primitive and conducted by
parties directly interested. This condition was
somewhat improved or modified during hostilities
by opening new roads or avenues for conveying
supplies and communicating with the army. These
in time became post roads, and were extended to
more distant settlements, reaching many miles from
Albany.
The introduction of practical improvements and
the rapid development of the country, necessitated
some method by which the people could commu-
nicate with distant places; and the new Government
was prompt in establishing the post-office depart-
ment for the rapid transmission and safe delivery of
mail matter to all available settlements.
The following facts and records connected with
the early history of the general post-office are
gathered from the acts of the Provincial Congress.
At the sesion held July 26, 1775, it was
"Resolved, That a Postmaster-General be ap-
pointed for these United Colonies, to hold office
for one year, and to hold his office at Philadelphia,
and he shall receive a salary of one thousand dol-
lars a year. "
Benjamin Franklin received the first appoint-
ment.
"Resolved, That a line of posts be appointed
under the direction of the Postmaster-General,
from Falmouth, in New England, to Savannah, in
Georgia. "
July 8, 1776. — "Resolved, That the postmasters,
while in office, be excused from military duty ; "
and August 8, 1776, it was "Resolved, That the
post-riders be exempt from military duty."
In 1777 three new routes were established:
from Casco Bay to Philadelphia; from Philadelphia
to Edenton, N. C. ; and from Edenton to Savannah.
In 1780, packets, and other vessels in the Conti-
nental Service, were to carry letters and deposit
them in the nearest office to the post where they
shall arrive.
October 18, 1782, ordinance was made for reg-
ulating the post-office in the United States of
America. All postmasters were to subscribe to a
general oaih; post-riders were appointed. Postage
was established at the following rales in penny-
weights and grains of silver, estimating each penny-
weight at five-ninetieths of a dollar, or five and five-
ninth cents : for any distance not exceeding 60
miles, one pennyweight, eight grains; less than 100
miles, two pennyweights; 100 to 2co miles, two
pennyweights, sixteen grains. Sixteen grains for
every additional 100 miles — for single sheets. A
packet of one ounce was equal to four letters.
Post-riders could carry newspapers, if licensed.
September 7, I'j^. — " Resolved, That the Post-
master-General be and he is hereby authorized,
and instructed, to enter into contract for the con-
veyance of the mails by the stage-carriages from
the City of New York to the City of Albany, ac-
cording to the accustomed route.
"No paper money to be received for postage."
The history of the Albany Post-office, as a
Government institution, dates from 1783, when
Abraham Yates was the first postmaster under the
Provincial Congress. * The records previous to this
time give very little information on the subject.
It appears that postal facilities were limited to in-
* 't is said that Colonel Henry Van Schaack served as postmaster
in Albany previous to 1775.
U. S. OFFICERS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS. 437
dividual enterprise, and messages were sent by river
conveyance to New York, and post-riders to other
points. This method for the distribution of pubhc
or private correspondence with neighboring coun-
ties was continued for several years, and to some
parts of this county as late as 1820.
These riders met at certain points and inter-
changed letters and papers. The shrill blast of the
postman's horn gave notice to the waiting maiden
at the farm-gate that he had something for her or
the family, after delivering which, he hastened on
his journey. When the business was not remuner-
ative, subscriptions were made among the citizens
who were interested in their continuance.
Post-riders were, in time, followed by stage-
coaches; these by steamboats. The introduction
of railroads made a marvellous change in the trans-
mission and rapid conveyance of all postal matter,
as well as in an increase in the post-offices. At
this date only a few offices in the county receive
their mail by the antiquated stage-coach. The
several lines of railroads which leave Albany traverse
the county in many directions, and pass through
nearly all the post villages, distributing mails daily.
In 1785, Albany served for Greenbush, Schenec-
tady, Cherry Valley, Orange and Dutchess Coun-
ties, and letters were advertised for Vermont.
In 1776 post-mails were received twice a week
from New York. At this time a mail was re-
ceived once a week from Springfield, Massachusetts.
Other routes and extensions were made in 1789 and
1790, reaching west, the post leaving Albany on
Monday for .Schenectad}', Johnstown, Canajoharie,
Fort Plain, Fort Hunter, and arrived at Warrens-
bush on Friday; returning to Albany on the fol-
lowing Monday.
About this time mails were sent to Vermont and
other towns as far as Hoosic, and in 1791-92
the Postmaster-General extended the post-routes
from Albany to Bennington and Burlington, Vt.
In 1794 there were five post routes from Albany.
The first on the east side of the river to New York
once a week; the second, north, by way of Lan-
singburgh, Bennington, Manchester, Rutland and
Middlebury, to Burlington, Vt. ; the third went
to New Lebanon, Pittsfield, Northampton and
Brookfield, Mass.; the fourth passed, via Kinder-
hook and Stockbridge, to Springfield, Mass. On
these lines the mail was carried once a week. The
fifth route extended east to Schenectady, Johns-
town, Canajoharie, German Flats, Whitestown,
Old Fort Schuyler, Onondaga, Aurora, Scipio,
Geneva, and Canandaigua, once in two weeks.
In 1796, mails were established between Albany
and Philadelphia, a distance of 260 miles, and
delivered in three days. In this year the mail
facilities were extended to Genesee County, which
was then the far west. Post-riders travel sed the
county in 1797, distributing letters and papers,
and in i8oo a post was sent to Duanesburgh.
Other offices were established soon after. Mails
were delivered and collected by post-riders as late
as 1 8 20 in this county; after this date stage-coaches
were brought into use, and the gradual development
of agriculture and other resources demanded in-
creased postal facilities. There are now fifty-seven
post-offices in Albany County, as shown in another
part of this volume. The first postman or letter-
carrier for the Albany post-office was William
(Billy) Winne, celebrated as the captor of the Pye
robber, in December, 1806. He served from 1800
until his death in 1848.
The post-office in Albany has been located in
different places. The earliest known was in 1784,
a few doors above Maiden lane on the east side
of Market street, now Broadway ; Abram Yates,
Postmaster.
May 2, 1 86 1, the building on the southeast
corner of State and Broadway was taken down, to
give place for the present more substantial struc-
ture now occupied by P. V. Fort & Son, During
the war of 1812, in this old corner was a drug
store, kept by Jacob Mancius, and in the rear
of it, in a room seven by nine, was kept the
city post-office. The postmaster employed but
one clerk, who attended the drug store and as-
sisted in opening and putting up mails, and the
delivery of letters and papers. During the season of
river navigation, sailing vessels brought the mails to
and from New York City. In the winter they were
conveyed by land carriage. The post-office was a
one-horse concern; but then, as now, everybody
was anxious to learn the latest news.
In 1823, the post-office was located on North
Market street, a little north of the Government
Building, nearly on the present site of George A.
Birch's store.
The post-office was taken to the Exchange Build-
ing in 1840, and remained there till 1862, when
it was temporarily moved to State above Green
street, in the building now occupied by Smith,
Covert & Co. After repairs were made in the
Exchange, it was removed in 1863 to its former
location, where it remained until 1873. In this
year it became necessary to vacate the building,
and the office was again obliged to occupy new
quarters. This time it was on the east side of
North Pearl, south of Columbia street, in the Little
Building, now occupied by A. B. Van Gaasbeeck.
Another change followed in 1877, when the post-
office was transferred to the Delavan Block on
Broadway. Here it remained until January i,
1884, when it took possession of its assigned lo-
cation in the new Government Building, as a fixed
institution, with all modern improvements, appli-
ances and conveniences.
In 1799, the rates of postage were as follows : for
a single sheet, 40 miles, more or less, 8 cents; 40
to 90 miles, 10 cents; 90 to 150 miles, 12I cents ;
150 to 300 miles, 17 cents; 300 to 500 miles, 20
cents; 500 miles or more, 25 cents. These rates
were continued until about 1825, when they were
changed to 6, 10, 12 J, i8f and 25 cents, and were
the established rates up to 1845. Then the 5 and
ID-cent rates were adopted by Act of Congress; for
every single letter under 300 miles, 5 cents, and
for any distance over 300 miles, 10 cents for each
half-oimce. Postage stamps were first used in
1847 of the denomination of 5 cents. June 31,
1 85 1, the act took effect reducing postage to 3 cents
438
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
on all letters less than half an ounce and not ex-
ceeding 3,000 miles in distance, prepaid; and
double this rate for over 3,000 miles. This year
envelopes were introduced. In 1852, Government
stamped envelopes were issued. In 1855, another
modification was made; on single letters, 3 cents
prepaid for any distance less than 3,000 miles, and
10 cents over 3,000 miles. In 1863, the law was
enacted making the rale of postage within the
United States 3 cents, and prepayment by stamps.
October, 1883, the two-cent stamp became the law
for every half-ounce or less; and on the first of
July, 1885, the law took effect making the pre-
payment of two cents by stamp the legal rate of
postage on all letters -weighing one ounce or less.
Postal cards and money orders were first issued
in 1872, and about the same time the registration
of letters was introduced
Since Abraham Yates, who served till 1795, the
following have performed the duties of postmaster
in the Albany office. The dates of their respective
appointments are given from the best available
data :
1795) George W. Mancius, Jacob Mancius;
1812, James Mayer; 1815, Peter P. Dox ; 1816,
Gerrit L. Dox; 1821, Solomon Southwick; 1822-
29, Solomon Van Rensselaer; 1839-40, Azariah
C. Flagg ; 1842-43, Solomon Van Rensselaer;
1843-49, James D. Wasson; 1849-50, Lewis Ben-
edict; 1850-58, James Kidd; 1858-61, Calvert
Comstock; 1861-65, George Dawson; 1865-69,
Joseph Davis; 1869-71, Morgan L. Filkins; 1871
-77, John F. Smyth; 1877-85, WilHam H. Craig;
and on June i, 1885, Dr. D. V. O'Leary entered
upon the duties of the office. Nineteen different
men have been postmasters in the past one hundred
years, represented by twenty appointments.
The salary of the postmaster is $3,500 per an-
num. The working force of the Albany office at
this time is composed of 65 persons. Their
duties are divided as follows: 32 letter carriers,
salaries from $600 to |i,ooo per annum; 8
general delivery clerks; 2 stamp clerks; 4 registry
clerks; 2 money order clerks; 8 letter distributors;
and 9 baggage clerks; salaries from $350 to jji, 100.
The office is also represented by a deputy or assist-
ant. Albany is one of the important distributing
offices. Mails are dispatched to all parts of the
United States and British America. The business
of this office by the carriers for the month of May,
1885, was : Delivered mail letters, 286,490; local
letters, 37,655; registered letters, 973; mail postal
cards, 48,671; local postal cards, 3 3, 68 2; newspa-
pers, 172,202; collected letters, 196,746; postal
cards, 50,049; newspapers, 20,804. For the year,
total letters 1,335,720; papers, 607,800.
There are 217 mails distributed daily at this
office. At the present time there are only five
mail stage routes from Albany.
THE UNITED STATES CUSTOM HOUSE.
The collection of customs at Albany was estab-
lished in the year 1803, in connection with the
New York Custom House, and the first Deputy-
Collector was William Seymour. The first license
entered is dated July 1 2, 1 833. At this time only
two vessels were trading regularly to Boston — the
schooner Visscher and sloop George Washington,
owned by Davis & Center.
As early as 1 770, the sloop Oliver Bronk, Cap-
tain Bloodgocd, was sent from Albany to the West
Indies. In 1771, the number of sloops running
between Albany and New York was about 125.
In 1785, the sloop Experiment, 80 tons burden.
Captain Stewart Dean, fitted out at this place for
China, and sailed from New York, December i8th.
After the completion of the Erie and Champlain
Canal, followed a few years after by the introduc-
tion of railroads, new avenues of trade were opened
which necessitated the establishment of an office
for the collection of customs at the terminus of the
canals and at the head of tide-water at Albany.
Since 1833 the following persons have performed
the duties of Deputy Collector and Surveyors:
William Seymour, Albert Gallup, Dennis B. Gaf-
ney, and Wjlliam Bruce. March 2, 1867, Con-
gress passed an act making Albany a port of entry,
with Surveyor of Customs as the chief officer. The
following have served under that act: Peter M.
Carmichael, 1867; Isaac N. Keeler, 1870; John
C. Whitney, 1875; William N. S. Sanders, 1879;
John A. Luby, 1882; Addison D. Cole, 1885; Or-
rin A. Fuller, Special Deputy.
There are also connected with the office two
Deputies and four Inspectors. The revenue from
this office yields about $150,000 annually, at an
expense of less than $11,000. The receipts for
May, 1885, were $1,832. The Custom House is
located in the Government Building.
THE UNITED STATES INTERNAL REV-
ENUE OFFICE
Is located in the Government Building. It was
established in 1862, with a Collector as chief offi-
cer, assisted by nine Deputies. The district is known
as the fourteenth, and originally comprised the fol-
lowing counties: Albany, Schenectady, Schoharie,
Montgomery, Fulton, Hamilton, and Saratoga. It
now also includes the counties of Greene, Ulster,
Orange, Sullivan, and Rockland, which were added
to the district August i, 1883. The collections
in the original district from 1862 to 1879 ^go^^"
gated about $21,453,803. The average collections
per annum do not vary much from $600,000.
The receipts for May, 1885, were $133,716. The
Internal Revenue Collectors for this district have
been Theodore Townsend, John M. Bailey, Ralph
P. Lathrop, James W. Bentley, and Isban Hess.
STEAMBOAT INSPECTORS.
The . Local Board for the District of Albany,
which comprises the Hudson River above Milton,
was established in July, 1871. The office is in the
Government Building. Charles S. Hervey and
Leonard Brainard were the first appointees, and
have not been superseded. Captain Frank A.
Shepard has filled the position of Clerk to the
U. S. OFFICERS, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS.
439
Board since September, 1872. The duties of the
officers are to inspect hulls, engines, and boilers,
and license masters, mates, pilots, and engineers.
There are about 200 steam vessels in the district,
comprising passenger, towing, freight, and ferry-
boats. The boats of the People's Line belong to
the New York District.
UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURT.
This is known as the second circuit, and in-
cludes Vermont, Connecticut, and New York. It
was organized September 24, 1789. A term is
held on ihe third Tuesday in January annually, in
the Government Building.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT.
This is designated as the Northern District of
New York, and Albany is one of the forty-six
counties of which it is composed as organized
April 9, 18 14.
The District Attorne3's are appointed for a term
of four years, at a salary of $6,000 per year. The
present incumbent is Honorable Martin I. Towns-
end, of Troy. Alden Chester, of Albany, is Assist-
ant District Attorney.
Masters and Examiners in United States Circuit
Court: William Lansing, J. Hampden Wood.
Masters and Examiners in United States District
Court: Worthington Erothingham, William Lan-
sing, J. Hampden Wood.
Commissioners: Worthington Erothingham and
J. Hampden Wood.
Deputy-Marshal: James H. Kelley.
Board of Pension Examining Surgeons. — The
following physicians of Albany have served as ex-
amining surgeons: S. D. Willard, S. H. Ereeman,
George T. Stevens, J. Savage Delavan, William H.
Craig. The present Board consists of Drs. Charles
H. Porter, William H. Bailey, Herman Bendell.
Alonzo B. Voorhees was appointed Registrar in
Bankruptcy in 1867.
SIGNAL SERVICE.
The United States Signal Service was established
in Albany in December, 1873, and located in the
Dudley Observatory under the direction of Ser-
geant Myers. March 13, 1880, the office was
removed to Gray's Building, Nos. 42 and 44 State
street. October i, 1884, the rooms on the upper
floor of the Government Building, which are admir-
ably arranged for this special purpose, were placed
in care of Sergeant J. O. Barnes, the officer in
charge. There have been stationed at the Albany
office since its commencement. Sergeants Myers,
Danhauser, Beal, and Barnes.
The whole service is conducted by the War
Department under Chief Signal Officer General W.
B. Hazen, at Washington. Observations are taken
at the Albany office at 7 a. m , 3 and 11 p. m. , and
the reports are forwarded to Washington by tele-
graph. Local observations are taken at 1 1 a. m.
and 7 P. M., and a sudden fall in the temperature
is indicated by hoisting a black flag from the roof
of the building.
The Farmer's Bulletin, containing weather indi-
cations, is sent from this office to about three hun-
dred and eighty postmasters in this vicinity, and to
several business firms and other persons in the
city. Reports are received from about fifty-six
stations, which are furnished to newspapers for
publication, and posted in many public places
about the city.
The office is open during the usual business
hours, and any information as to reports and the
general work of the service is freely given through
the kindness of Sergeant J. O. Barnes.
The temperature of Albany, as observed at this
station for the past ten years, has an extreme range
from 93° above to 18° below zero, and an average
yearly range from 92. 5° above to 11.8° below zero.
The mean for the seasons is: winter, 25.6°; spring,
45.6°; summer, 70.5°; autumn, 51.2°. Average
for the year, 48. 2°.
In the winter of 1790, the thermometer marked
24° below zero; February 9, 1807, at sunrise, 20°
below zero; February 12, 1809, Sunday morning,
8 o'clock, 17° below zero. July 13, 1853, the
thermometer at Albany indicated 94° above zero.
These are recorded by Joel Munsell as remarkable
for this city.
The average yearly rainfall, as computed from
observations at this station for the years from 1874
to 1884, is 36. 97 inches, and is distributed through-
out the year as follows: winter, 8.07; spring, 8.69;
summer, 10.95; ^-^d autumn, 9.26 inches. For
the year 1853, 'he rainfall was 45.79 inches, and
for 1850, 50.97 inches. The lowest record was in
1851, 31.79 inches. The average rainfall at Al-
bany, as determined at the Boys' Academy, from
1826 to 1852 was 40.64 inches. Compared with
the past ten years the rainfall appears to be dimin-
ishing.
A code of weather signals has been adopted at
the service station for Albany. In accordance
with the recommendation of General Hazen, the
following signals are used at this station: The red
and blue sun, star and crescent, displayed on flags.
The blue sun indicates general rain or snow; blue
star, local rain or snow; the blue crescent, clear or
fair weather; the red sun indicates higher tempera-
ture; the red star, stationary temperature; the red
crescent, lower temperature.
UNITED STATES OFFICERS.
This list comprises the names of men who are
or have been citizens of Albany County and held
very prominent offices in the United States Govern-
ment.
President of the United States. — Martin Van
Buren, elected in the fall of 1836. Sworn into
office March 4, 1837. He was a native of Kin-
derhook; but resided and practiced law in Albany
many years.
Vice-President.— -Daniel D. Tompkins, elected
in 18 17. Though Mr. Tompkins was not one
who might be called a permanent resident of Al-
440
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
bany County, he spent many years of his life in the
City of Albany, and was at the time of his election
as Vice-President, residing in this city as the Gov-
ernor of the State.
United States Senators. — The Constitution of
the United States provides that the Legislature of
each State shall choose two senators, who shall
hold their office six years. Vacancies during the
recess of the Legislature are filled by the Governor
until the sittings of the next Legislature. At the first
session they were divided into three classes, that
one-third might be chosen every second year. A
Senator must be an inhabitant of the State which
chooses him, and must have been a citizen of the
United States nine years.
Phihp Schuyler, chosen July i6, 1789, serving
till 1 791; Philip Schuyler, chosen January 24,
1797, serving one year. Martin Van Buren, elected
February 6, 1821; Martin Van Buren, elected
February 6, 1827; Charles E. Dudley, elected
January 15, 1829; William L. Marcy, elected
February i, 183 1; John A. Dix, elected January
18, 1845; Ira Han is, Februarys, i86r.
U. S. CABINET, JUDICIAL AND DIPLO-
MATIC OFFICERS.
Alexander Hamilton, who studied law and mar-
ried in Albany, and spent much time in this city,
was Washington's Secretary of the Treasury; John
C. Spencer also held this office, to which Daniel
Manning has recently succeeded. Martin Van
Buren and William L. Marcy held the office of
Secretary of State; Smiih Thompson, Secretary of
the Navy; John C. Spencer, John A. Dix, Sec-
retary of War; Benjamin F. Butler, Attorney-
General.
John J. Bradley, a native of Berne, and Smith
Thompson, once a resident of Albany, have
adorned the Bench of the United States Supreme
Court.
Martin Van Buren, Daniel D. Barnard, Har-
manus Bleecker, Henry G. Wheaton, Bradford R.
Wood, John A. Dix, Henry A. Homes, Robert H.
Pruyn, Alfred Conkling, Bret Harte, E. G. Squier,
S. G. W. Benjamin, J. Meredith Read, John M.
Bailey, and probably some others whose names
do not now occur to us, have gone from this
county to hold various important diplomatic posi-
tions abroad.
Besides these, we record Roscoe Conkling and Le-
land Stanford, ex-United States Senators, as natives
of Albany County. Aaron Burr, who read and
practiced law in Albany, where, also, was born
his daughter, Theodosia, held the office of United
States Senator, and Vice-President under Jefferson.
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS.
The Constitution of the United States provides
that the President and Vice-President shall be
chosen by Electors appointed in such a manner as
the Legislatures of the States shall direct, the num-
ber to be equal to their number of Senators and
Representatives in Congress. In this State the
electors were origina,lly appointed by the Legisla-
ture. Subsequently, by an act passed March 26,
1796, the Legislature convened in Special Session
quadrennially, on the first Tuesday in November,
at Hudson, in place of the Electoral College.
They continued to hold their Special Sessions there
till 18 1 2, since which time, by an act passed May
26th of that year, the Electors have met at Albany.
By the Act of March 15, 1825, the District System
was adopted; but this existed for only one election,
when the Legislature, by an act passed April 1 5,
1829, adopted the present system. In making up
the general ticket, one person is selected from each
Congressional District, and two to represent the
State at large. The Electoral College meets at the
State Capitol the first Wednesday of December of
the Presidential year, and casts its votes for Presi-
dent and Vice-President; makes a list thereof; and
forwards it, under seal, to the President of the United
States Senate, who announces the result.
Electors /rom Albany appointed by the Legislature
under the Act of 1792. — 1796, November 7, Abra-
ham Ten Broeck, Abraham Van Vechten; 1800,
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer; 1804, Henry Quacken-
boss; 1808, Ambrose Spencer, Henry Yates, Jr.;
1 812, Simeon De Witt, Archibald Mclniyre;
1816, Charles E. Dudley; 1820, Benjamin Knower;
1824, Elisha Dorr.
Electors elected by Districts. — 1S28, Abraham'Van
Vechten; 1832, John M. Quackenbush; 1836,
Peter Wendell; 1840, Archibald Mclntyre; 1844,
John Keyes Paige; 1848, Clarkson F. Crosby;
1852, Cornelius Vosburgh; 1856, Henry H. Van
Dyck; i860, Jacob H. Ten Eyck; 1864, John
Tweddle; 1868, John Loew (did not attend and
Cornelius Armstrong was appointed.). From the
adoption of the Constitution down to 1872, an
elector was always taken from Albany. 1876,
Eli Perry; 1884, Erastus Corning.
REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS.
The House of Representatives is composed of
members elected by districts; they hold their office
two years; must reside in the State which they are
chosen to represent, and have been seven years
citizens of the United States, and have attained the
age of twenty-five. Each new Congress com-
mences on the 4th of March every odd year. The
elections are held during the year preceding.
The Constitution of the United States directs
that a census be taken every ten years, which has
been fixed at those years ending with a cipher.
After each enumeration, Congress apportions the
representation among the several States. There
are now thirty-three Congressional Districts in the
State. The County of Albany comprises the six-
teenth district.
The following shows the names of the Represent-
atives that represented Albany County, with the
Congresses in which they served. — Jeremiah J. Van
Rensselaer, ist Congress; James Gordon and Peter
Silvester, each a part of the second Congress; Henry
Glen, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th; Killian Van Rensselaer,
7th, 8th, 9th, loth, nth; Harmanus Bleecker,
STATE OF NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
441
1 2th; John Lovett, 13th, 14th; Rensselaer West-
erlo, 15th; Solomon Van Rensselaer, i6th;
Stephen Van Rensselaer, 17th, i8th, 19th,
20th; Ambrose Spencer, 21st; Gerrit Y. Lansing,
22d, 23d, 24th; Albert Gallup, 25th; Daniel D.
Barnard, 26th, 27th, 28th; Bradford R. Wood,
29ih; John I. Slinajerland. 30th; John L. School-
craft, 31st, 32d; Rufus W. Peckham, 33d; Sam-
uel Dixon, 34th; Erastus Corning, Sr., 35th, 37th,
38th; John H. Reynolds, 36th; Charles Good-
year, 39th; John V. L. Pruyn, 40th; Stephen L.
Mayham, 41st; Eli Perry, 42d, 43d; Charles H.
Adam's, 44th; Terence J. Quinn, 45th; John M.
Bailey, 46th; Michael M. Nolan, 47th; Thomas
J. Van Alystyne, 48ih; John Swinburne, 49th.
In some instances the districts represented in-
cluded portions of territory adjacent to Albany
County.
STATE OF NEW YORK.
ITS BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS IN ALBANY COUNTY.
Prof.- cT. TKlSrKr H; y, l^ditor.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
1 HOi ~'^HIS Convention was held at Albany
-^^Oi , from October 13 to 27, 1801, pursuant
to an act passed April 6th of that year, to settle a
controversy that had arisen regarding the relative
powers of the Governor and Council of Appoint-
ments respecting nominations for office, and to
consider the expediency of altering the Constitu-
tion in regard to the number of Senators and As-
semblymen, with power to reduce and limit the
same. The Convention unanimously decided that
the Council of Appointment had equal powers of
nomination of officers with the Governor. The
number of Senators was fi.xed at thirty-two, and As-
semblymen at one hundred, to be increased after
each census, at the rate of two yearly, until they
reached the number of one hundred and fifty.
Aaron Burr was President. The delegates from
Albany were: Johan Jost Dietz, Leonard Ganse-
voort, Daniel Hale, John V. Henry, Josiah Ogden
Hoffman, Abraham Van Ingen, .Stephen Van
Rensselaer, Peter West.
1821. — The Legislature of 1820 passed an act
recommending a Convention of the people ol this
State. Objections were made to it by the Council
of Revision. These objections were referred to
a select committee, which submitted its report Jan-
uary 9, 182 t, in opposition to the opinion of the
Council, which was adopted by the Assembly.
But the bill did not receive a two-thirds vote and
failed to pass.
A new bill was immediately drafted, received
the sanction of the Council of Revision, and passed
both Houses March 13, 1821.
The Convention assembled in Albany, August
28, and adjourned November 10, 1821. Daniel
D. Tompkins was President. The Delegates from
Albany were James Kent, Ambrose Spencer,
Stephen Van Rensselaer, Abraham Van Vechten.
These gentlemen all refused to sign the Con-
stitution as revised bv this Convention.
1846. — The Constitution of 1821 grew in dis-
favor owing to a feeling that the power in the
hands of the Governor and Senate had become
too great. Other strong objections were made to it.
Agreeably to the popular will, expressed at the
general election November 4, 1845, an act passed
the Legislature, April 22, 1846, calling a Conven-
tion at Albany, June ist following. It met on that
day, and adjourned October 9, 1846.
The new Constitution Umited the discretion of
the Legislature in regard to some of the great con-
cerns of the State, extended the elective franchise,
gave the people the selection of most of the local
officers which had been appointed by the Legisla-
ture, erected an independent Court of Appeals,
and made other changes in the Judiciary and
Courts of the State. John Tracy, of Chenango,
was President. This Constitution was submitted
to the people November 3, 1S46, with the ques-
tion for the repeal of the property qualifications for
colored citizens separately. The result was: Con-
stitution— Ayes, 221,528;^ Noes, 92,436. Equal
SuiTrage to Colored Persons — Aj'es, 85,306; Noes,
223,834. The delegates from Albany were: Ira
Harris, Peter Shaver, Benjamin Stanton, Horace K.
Willard.
1867. — According to the provisions of the
Constitution and the will of the people, the Legis-
lature of 1867 "provided for the election of de-
legates to revise the organic law of the State, which
was held April 23d of that year." The election
resulted in a majority in favor of the convention.
Thirty-two delegates at large were chosen, voters
being restricted to sixteen names upon their ballots.
Thus were secured equal representations, so far as
these delegates were concerned, of the two Itading
political parties of the day.
The Convention met in Albany June 4, and ad-
journed November 12, 1867.
William A. Wheeler was President. Delegates
from Albany County were Ira Harris, at large, and
William Cassidy, Erastus Corning, Amasa J. Parker.
442
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION.
The Constitution framed by the Convention of
1867 contained several provisions, the essential
principles of which were felt to be desirable in the
organic law. Among these was the clause for-
bidding the Legislature to audit claims, and the
sections relative to the Public Works and Prisons.
Governor Hoffman, in his annual message of 1872,
recommended that a commission of thirty-two
eminent citizens, taken from the two great political
parties, be created for the purpose of effecting a
thorough revision of the Constitution. The Legis-
lature acted upon this suggestion, empowering the
Governor, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, to designate thirly-two persons —
four from each judicial district — to constitute a
commission for the purpose of proposing to the
Legislature, at its next session, amendments to the
Constitution, provided that no amendment shall be
made to the sixth article thereof
Commissioners from the Third District, includ-
ing Albany County, were Robert H. Pruyn, Al-
bany; William Cassidy, Albany; George C. Bur-
dett, Troy; Joseph B. Hall, Catskill; Cornelius
Tracy, Troy. Robert H. Pruyn was chosen Chair-
man.
The Commission assembled in Albany December
4, 1872, and adjourned March 15, 1873. Their
deliberations were submitted to the Legislature of
1873, by which, after some modifications, the
proposed amendments were referred to the Legis-
lature of 1874, pursuant to Article 13, Section i, of
the Constitution. This Legislature submitted to
the people at the general election to be held in
1874, the amendments to which it agreed. The
fifth article, as proposed by the Commission, pro-
vided for the appointment, by the Governor and
Senate, of Secretary of State, Attorney-General,
State Engineer and Surveyor, "Superintendent of
Public Works, and Superintendent of Prisons.
This article was not approved and was not submit-
ted to the people.
The disagreement in the Legislature upon this
article, resulted in the postponement of the impor-
tant amendments relating to the Superintendent of
Public Works and Superintendent of Prisons, and
providing for their appointment by the Governor,
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
These amendments were submitted to the people
in 1876, and adopted by them.
PUBLIC OFFICERS.
Governors of the State. — John Tayler, elected
1 816. Mr. Tayler was elected Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor January 29, 1814, under a special act of the
Legislature, passed April ir, 181 1, after the death
of John Broome, Lieutenant-Governor, who died
August, 1 8 10. At that time Daniel D. Tompkins
was serving his second term as Governor. In 18 16
Daniel D. Tompkins was again elected Governor,
and John Tayler, Lieutenant-Governor. The next
year Mr. Tompkins was elected Vice-President,
and Mr. Tayler became Governor.
Martin Van Buren, elected 1828. Mr. Van
Buren was appointed Secretary of State under
President Jackson, March 12, 1829, and resigned
the office of Governor, and Enos T. Troop became
Governor.
John A. Dix, 1872.
Lieutenant-Governors. — Stephen Van Rensse-
laer, April 28, 1795; Jeremiah Van Rensiselaer,
April 28, 1801; John Tayler, January 29, 1814;
John Tayler, April 27, 18 16.
State Secretaries of State. — Daniel Hale,
March 24, 1793; Charles D. Cooper, April 17,
1817; John Van Ness Yates, April, 1818; John
Van Ness Yates, February 13, 1823; John A. Dix,
February i, 1833.
State Treasurers. — This is an ancient office.
It was first known as Receiver-General when the
State, as New Netherlands, was under the Dutch
Government; under the English Colonial Govern-
ment, as Receiver and Collector-General. These
last officers were also Collectors of the Port of New
York. They were always the keepers of the peo-
ple's money. They were appointed under the En-
glish laws by the Crown. The Provincial Congress
continued the office. The first State Constitution
directed the appointment to be made by an act of
the Legislature, to originate with the Assembly.
Under the present Constitution the State Treasurer,
elected by popular vote, receives the public funds,
and pays drafts upon the warrants of the Comp-
troller, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
and the Secretary of the State Board of Charities.
He is also, ex officio. Commissioner of the Land
Office and of the Canal Fund, the State Board of
Equalization, of Assessments, of the Board of
State Canvassers and a Trustee of the Union Uni-
versity. He is chosen every two years. The salary
is 15,000 per annum. He has a deputy, book-
keeper and clerks.
Robert McClallen, March 16, 1798; Abraham
G. Lansing, February 8, 1803; Abraham G. Lan-
sing, February 18, 18 10; Charles Z. Piatt, Febru-
ary 10, 1 8 13; Gerrit L. Dox, February 12, 1817;
Benjamin Knower, January 29, 182 1; Stephen
Clark, November 7, 1855; Nathan D. Wendell,
November 4, 1879.
Attorneys-General. — This is another very an-
cient office in the State of New York. Under the
Dutch, in the Province of New Netherlands, the
office was known as " Schout-Fiscal. " He was
both Attorney-General and Sheriff. He arrested
persons and examined and prosecuted them. In
very important cases, where there were reasons for
strong suspicions, but no direct evidence, of the
prisoner's guilt, 'he subjected him to the most cruel
torture. This was done to obtain a confession of
guilt. He, with one magistrate, were witnesses
of the torture, deciding when to begin and when
to suspend. As Sheriff he executed the judgments
of the Supreme Courts in Criminal and Civil
cases, and was allowed deputies. He had a
voice in the enactment of all laws and a seat in the
Council, except when officiating as prosecuting
officer.
STATE OF NEW YORK—BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
443
Under the English Colonial Government he was
appointed by the Colonial Governors until 1702,
after which he was commissioned by the Crown
and held the office during its pleasure. As law
officer of the State his duties have been about the
same. Under the first Constitution he was com-
missioned by the Council of Appointment and was
a Commissioner of the Canal Fund and of the
Land Office. Under the second Constitution he
was a Commissioner of the same Boards as the Sec-
retary of State. He is now elected every other )ear
by the people, and is, ex officio, Commissioner of the
Land Office and of the Canal Fund, a member of
the Canal Board, the Board of Stale Canvassers,
the State Board of Health, the State Board of Char-
ities, the State Board of Equalization of Assess-
ments, a Trustee of the University and of the New
York State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home.
John Woodworth, February 3, 1804; Abraham
Van Vechten, February 2, 1810; Abraham Van
Vechten, February 13, 18 13; Martin Van Buren,
February 17, 1815; Samuel A. Talcott, February
12, 1821; Samuel A. Talcott, Februarys, 1823;
John Van Buren, February 3, 1845; Lyman Tre-
main, November 3, 1857; Charles S. Fairchild,
November 2, 1875.
Comptroller. — The Comptroller is now the
Auditor of Public Accounts, except those pay-
able from the Free School Fund. He manages the
funds of the State, loans its moneys, superintends
the collection of its taxes and the payment of cur-
rent expenses of the State. He is also at the head
of a Bureau of Canal Affairs. He is", ex officio. Com-
missioner of the Land Office and of the Canal
Fund, a Member of the Canal Board and of the
Board of State Canvassers, a Trustee of the Idiot
Asylum and of Union Universit;', and of the State
Board of Equalization of Assessments. He is elect-
ed every other year.
John V. Henry, March 12, 1800; Archibald
Mclntyre, March 25, 1806; William L. Marcy,
February 13, 1826; Azariah C. Flagg, January 11,
1834; Azariah C. Flagg, February 7, 1842; Fred-
erick P. Olcott.
Surveyor-General and State Engineers. — The
Surveyor-General and State Engineer is, ex officio.
Trustee of the Union University, a Commissioner
of the Land Office, and a member of the Canal
Board and the Board of State Canvassers. He is
elected every other year. He has a deputy and
necessary clerks. The State Engineer and Sur-
veyor supervises the canal engineering department.
He appoints three division engineers and three
resident engineers.
Philip Schuyler, March 30, 1781; Simeon De-
Witt, May 13, 1784; Simeon DeWitt, February 8,
1823; Orville L. Holly, February 5, 1838.
State Engineers and Surveyors. — William J.
McAIpine, November 4, 1851; Sylvanus H. Sweet,
November 4, 1873; Elnathan Sweet, November,
1883.
Canal Commissioners. — The Constitutional Com-
mission of 1874 recommended, among other things,
the appointment of Superintendent of Public Works.
This was adopted by the Legislature of 1875. The
office of Canal Commissioner was abolished on the
appointment of the Superintendent of Public Works,
which took place February 8, 1878. Stephen Van
Rensselaer, April 17, 1816; Asa Whitney, Febru-
ary 22, 1840; Stephen Clark, February 8, 1842;
Stephen Clark, November 4, 1844; Charles H.
Sherrill, November 5, 1856.
GOVERNORS' MANSIONS.
The Legislature of the State fixed the seat of
government at Albany in 1 797. Its session that
year was held in the Stadt Huys, commencing
January 3d, and ending April 3d. The law mak-
ing Albany the State capital is dated March loth.
John Jay was then Governor. He occupied "Mr.
James Caldwell's elegant house in State street," sit-
uated where Walsh's hat store is now located.
George Clinton, who was the first Governor of the
State, from' 1777 to 1795, was again elected, and
followed Mr. Jay from 1801 to 1804. The same
house occupied by Governor Jay was occupied by
Governor Clinton and family. We do not find where
Morgan Lewis (1804 to 1807) had his mansion.
Governor Daniel D. Tompkins (1807 to 18 17) re-
sided a portion of his term, if not the whole of it,
at 99 Washington avenue, where George B. Steele
now resides. DeWitt Clinton (1817 to 1823, and
1826 to 1828) had his residence corner of North
Pearl and Steuben streets, on the site now occupied
by Johnston & Reilly's store. Here he died, Feb-
ruary II, 1828. Martin Van Buren (1828 to 1829)
resided at 92 State street, on the site of J. H. Sim-
mons' auction-rooms. Enos T. Throop, who
filled out the term of Governor Van Buren (who
resigned March 12, 1829, to become Secretary of
State under Andrew Jackson), and was afterwards
Governor from 1831 to 1833, had his mansion at
No. I Elk street, where the late Harmon Pumpelly
resided.
William L. Marcy (1833 to 1839) occupied No.
2 Elk street, where General Rufus H. King now
resides.
The Kane mansion, on the site of the Ash Grove
Church, was the mansion of William H. Seward
during his gubernatorial career (1839 to 1843).
William C. Bouck (1843 to '^45) lived at 119
Washington avenue, now the residence of General
John F. Rathbone.
Silas Wright (1845 to 1847) resided at 133 North
Pearl street.
John Young (1847 to 1849), at 1 1 1 State street,
where now resides Mrs. John Twaddle.
Hamilton Fish (1849 'o '^SO. ^.t 15 Elk street,
the residence of the late Hon. John V. L. Pruyn.
Washington Hunt (1851 to 1853), at i Elk street;
as also did Horatio Seymour (1853-54) during his
first term, the same as formerly occupied by Gov-
ernor Throop. Governor Seymour, during his
second term (1863-64), had his executive mansion
in " Dudley Row," 65 Hawk street.
Myron H.Clark (1855-56) occupied 132 State
street, where now is the Chris'tian Brothers' Acad-
emy.
444
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
John A. King (1857-58), 881 Broadway, corner
of North Ferry, now St. Peter's Hospital.
Edwin D. Morgan (1859 to 1862), and Reuben
E. Fenton (1865 to 1868), four years each, made
144 State street, late the residence of Dr. S. O. Van-
derpoel, their home in this city.
John T. Hoffman (1869 to 1872) made the old
Congress Hall, east of the new Capiiol, his resi-
dence.
John Adams Dix (1873-74), 123 Washington
avenue, north of the new Capitol.
Samuel J. Tilden (1875 to 1877), Lucius Rob-
inson (1877 to 1879), Alonzo B. Cornell (1880 to
1882), and Grover Cleveland (1882 to 1885),
resided in the Executive Mansion, 138 Eagle
street, bought by the State of the late Robert L.
Johnson.
This is also the residence of David B. Hill, the
present Governor, and is intended as the perma-
nent gubernatorial mansion.
STATE LEGISLATURES.
The Legislature meets annually, on the first
Tuesday in January, at the Capitol in Albany.
The Senate consists of 32 members, elected bien-
nially; the Assembly of 128 members, elected an-
nually. Salaries, $1,500. AlbanyCounty now con-
stitutes the Seventeenth Senatorial District. It sends
four members to the Assembly, elected by Dis-
tricts. The First District is composed of the First,
Second, Third and Fifteenth Wards of Albany, and
the towns of Bethlehem, Berne, Coeymans, Rensse-
laerville and Westerlo; Second District: Tenth,
Eleventh, Fourteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Wards of Albany, and towns of Guilderland, Knox
and New Scotland; the Third District: Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Twelfth, Thirteenth
and part of the Ninth Wards of Albany; the
Fourth District the remainder of the Ninth Ward
of Albany, Cohoes and Watervliet.
A list of the Albany County Members appeal s
in the County history.
The first session of the New York Legislature
under that Constitution began in September, 1777,
holding two subsequent meetings that year at
Poughkeepsie. The second session was held con-
linuously at Poughkeepsie; but the third began at
Kingston, August 18, 1779, and adjourned Oc-
tober 25th, to meet at Albany, January 27, 1780;
adjourned March 14th, to meet at Kingston,
April 22d; and adjourned July 2, 1780.
The session of January 27, 1780, was the first
legislative session held in Albany alter the Revolu-
tion. The January term of 1781 — the fourth ses-
sion— began on the seventeenth of that month, and
was held at Albany in the old Stadt Huys. After
this, the legislative sessions were held at Pough-
keepsie, New York and Albany until January 3,
1798, since which time they have been regularly
held at Alban}'. They were mostly held in the
old Stadt Huys, until the completion of what is
now spoken of as the Old Capitol in 1808.
The sessions close or adjourn sine die by con-
current vote of Assembly and Senate. We give
the dates of closing the regular sessions from 1831
to 1885:
April 26, 1831; July 2, 1832; April 30, 1833;
May 6, 1834; May 11, 1835; May 26, 1836; May
16, 1837; April 18, 1838; May 7, 1839; May 14,
1840; May 26, 1841: April 12, 1842; April 18,
1843; May 7, 1844; May 14, 1845; May 13, 1846;
May 13, 1847; April 12, 1848; April 11, 1849;
April 10, 1850; April 17, 1851; April 16, 1852;
July 21, 1853; April 17, 1854; April 14, 1855;
April 9, 1856; April 18, 1857; April 19, 1858;
April 19, 1859; April 17, i860; April 16, 1861;
April 23, 1862; April 25, 1863; April 23, 1864;
April 28, 1865; April 20, 1866; April 20, 1867;
May 6, 1868; May 10, 1869; April 26, 1870;
April 21, 1871; May 14, 1872; May 30, 1873;
April 30, 1874; May 22, 1875; May 3, 1876; May
24, 1877; May 15, 1878; May 22, 1879; May 27,
1880; July 23, 1881; May 2, 1882; May 4, 1883;
May 16, 1884.
OLD STATE HALL.
On February 14, 1797, a bill to erect a public
building in the City of Albany, with a view of
rendering it the permanent seat of government for
the State, passed both branches of the Legislature
and became a law.
A site for this building was selected on the cor-
ner of Lodge and State streets. It was the first
public building erected by the State of New York
in Albany after the Revolution.
Ground was broken for the building early in
1797, and pushed forward with such speed that it
was completed in the spring of 1799. It is said
that several sessions of the Legislature were held
in it before the completion of the State Capitol in
1808.
The building is still standing and in a perfect
state of preset vation, presenting nearly the same
external appearance it did when first built. It is
built of brick, four stories high, fronting on State
street, with a wing extending back on the west side
of Lodge street.
In the eastern wall of the lower hall, there is a
white marble tablet, bearing the following inscrip-
tion ;
Erected for State Purposes,
A. D. 1797.
John Ja}', Girvermr. [ Philip Schuyler, Abra-
i ham Ten Broeck, Teu-
{ nis T. Van Vechten,
Daniel Hale, Jeremiah
Van Rensselaer, Com-
William Sanders, [ missioyiers.
Arch'.
In this building were the State departments —
Secretary of State, Comptroller, State Treasurer, At-
torney-General, State Engineer and Surveyor, and
Surveyor-Geneial. And here, for a time, was the
Executive Chamber. It continued to be occupied
by those officers until 1840, when they were moved
to the new State Hall, under the recommendation
of Governor Seward. The State Museum, organ-
ized in 1836, was placed in this building. This
STATE OF NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
445
museum embraces nearly all the natural produc-
tions of the State of New York, in the several de-
partments of botam', zoology, geology, and min-
eralogy. The Old State Hall was thus made the
depository of the collections in these departments.
The internal arrangement of the building has
been subjected to such changes as were ne-
cessary to render it convenient for the purpose to
which it was devoted after it ceased to become a
hall for legislative and executive purposes.
At a later period the State Agricultural Society
was authorized by law to occupy a part of the
building. The two organizations — the State Mu-
seum and the State Agricultural Society — occupied
so much space that the building was inadequate to
their accommodation; whereupon the Legslatiire
made appropriation for a new building, to be erect-
ed in the rear of the Old Capitol; and the libraries,
antiquities and other collections, especially those of a
literary and art character, were removed to it in 1858.
In 1865 the Legislature passed resolutions, rec-
ognizing the importance of making the Stale
Cabinet of Natural History a museum of scientific
and practical geology and compaiative zoology.
In 1870 the Legislature passed a law organizing
the State Museum of Natural Histor)', and pro-
viding an annual appropriation for its support.
This old hall, occupied for the purposes we
have described, has been known from that time as
Geological Hall.
GEOLOGICAL HALL
Has become one of the most interesting and in-
structive places in the City of Albany.
The following from the "Albany Hand-book
for 1884," compiled by H. P. Phelps, gives a very
adequate description of the internal anangement
of Agricultural and Geological Hall :
Tlie wing on I^odge street, in tlie rear of the building,
is tliree stories higli. On the ground floor is a large lecture-
room, while in the other stories is the Museum, containing
the agricultural implements and products in the stories
above. On the lower or basement floor, and on the same
level as the lecture-room, at the east end of the main build-
ing, are two rooms occupied with the work of cutting and
preparing thin sections of fossils of minute structure for the
purpose of microscopic study in the Museum. The machin-
ery and appliances for this work are of superior character,
and the results are of great importance and interest to
the Museum and to science. The first floor of the main
building is occupied by the offices and libraries of the State
Museum and of the State Agricultural Society; and, in ihe
rear of the former, a large working room is furnished with
about 300 drawers for tlie reception of collections in process
of preparation and arrangement. The main entrance hall
exhibits a collection of dressed blocks of granite, marble,
freestone, etc., the products of New York and adjacent
States.
The second floor is occupied by the colleclio. s illustrat-
ing the geology and paleontology of the State. The wall
cases, and a single series of table-cases around the ruoni,
are occupied by the rock specimens, whether fossiliferous or
otherwise, and are arranged in such order that in going
from left to right they show the geological superposition of
the formations, each right-hand case containing specimens
of the rock or formation lying next above the one on the
left. This is supplemented by a coloced geological section
extending around the room above the cases, and so ar-
ranged that each formation shown in the section is repre-
sented by characteristic specimens in the case below. Besides
this illustration, there are enlarged figures of the characteristic
fossils placed in the part of the cases above each formation.
The entire arrangement is simple, instructive and easily un-
derstood. The collection of fossils (paleontology) occupies
the tables, the table cases in the central portion of the floor,
and also a large number of drawers beneath the table cases.
This collection is arranged in the same simple and systematic
order as the geological formations. Under each formation
is a natural history arrangement of the genera and species
of the fossils. This collection of rock specimens and fossils
presents the most complete geological series of the older
rocks to the base of the coal measures of any in the world;
the older or paleogic rocki of the State of New York being
more complete in their order of succession. Also along the
west side of the room are arranged a series of large blocks
of magnetic iron ore representing the principal mines of
Northern New \'ork and Orange County.
Geological Ha
The third floor is occupied by collections from geological
formations above the coal measures, both American and
European, and by the mineralogical collection. The fossil
series represents the period from the new red sandstone to
the pleistocene. The pleistocene of North America is rep-
resented by the Colioes mastodon skeleton, and other re-
mains of mastodon and fossil elephants from different points.
The pleistocene of South America by the cast of the
gigantic megatherium and other forms of that age; and the
same of Europe by the skeleton of the Megaceros hibernicus.
The wall cases are in part occupied by a collection of the
minerals of the State, and in part devoted to a general col-
lection of minerals from all parts of the world.
The fourth story is occupied by the zoological collection.
The western part of the room is devoted especially to the
New York fauna, which is represented in its mammals, birds,
reptiles, fishes, crustaceans, and shells. The eastern part of
the room is occupied by a case containing a large collection
of birds, with some mammals, which v\ere presented to the
Museum as a special collection by Mr. de Rham, ol New
York, and is known as the De Rham collection. The
ethnological and histoiical collections occupy some wall
cases on the north side ol the room, and the central north
side by cases of corals, etc. The center of ihe room con-
tains the two double ranges of table cases, comprising the
Gould collection of 6,coo species of shells, of more ihan
60,000 specimens. Since 1866 the collections in the
Museum have been more than doubled in every department.
At present every available space in the Museum is filled. All
the collections ate arranged for study and comparison, and
the museum is strictly an educational institution.
Beitig <i State institution it should be considered as cos-
mopolitan. Its institutions are to cover the whole field of
natural research, and to be a center for the dissemination
of a technical and popular knowledge of the products,
fauna and flora of the Empire State. With this view, it
should be an object of interest for the remote portions' of
the State as well as the immediate locality.
446
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
NEW STATE HALL.
This edifice, located on Eagle street, was com-
pleted in 1842, and was occupied by the officers of
the various State departments, who removed thither
from the Old State Hall.
After the adoption of the Constitution of 1846,
which created a Court of Appeals in place of the
old Court for the Correction of Errors, a part of
this hall was appropriated to the Clerk of that
Court. He is the custodian of all the legal docu-
ments, records, and books kept in the four Supreme
Court Clerk's offices in the State, and in the
offices of the Clerks in Chancery. AH of these
offices were abolished by this' Constitution. He
was also the custodian of the vast sums of money,
which for nearly a century had been accumulating
in those Courts. The rooms devoted to the Clerk
of the Court of Appeals are in the southwest corner
of the second story of this building. As these
State departments have most of them been re-
moved, or will soon be, to the New Capitol, a
further description of them will be found in what
we have to say in regard to that edifice.
NEW STATE HALL.
This State Hall is still a very substantial and
handsome building. Until the beauties of its archi-
tecture were eclipsed by the elegant and commo-
dious City Hall, which stands directly south of it,
it was regarded as one of the finest buildings in
the city. It cost the State $350,000. It is built
of the white stone from the quarries at Sing Sing.
The quality of this stone is the perfect manner in
which it resists the vicissitudes of weather. It is
more beautiful than marble and as enduring as
granite. The building is 138 by 88 feet, and is 65
feet in height A spiral stone stairway, with an
artistic iron railing, leads from the floor to the attic.
The whole building is surmounted by a low, well-
formed dome, which furnishes light to the stairway
below. The building is fire-proof The principal
stories have what are called groined arches. It is
one of the first fire-proof buildings erected in
Albany.
This State Hall, so long the depository of the
State Records, and the place where State dig-
nitaries most did congregate, has had its day, so
far at least as the purposes for which it was erected
are concerned. Few of the State officials, with
their subordinates are now seen there. Their
offices are mostly in the New Capitol. It is
understood that the State cabinets in Geological
Hall will soon be placed here.
THE OLD CAPITOL.
The City and County of Albany prides itself on
the fact that its generous contributions aided largely
in the erection of the Old Capitol.
In 1803, the Common Council of the city
adopted a resolution requesting the Legislature to
pass an act authorizing the erection of a State
House and Court House, and appointed a com-
mittee to prepare a petition and map, and to report
an estimate of the cost. The committee consisted
of John Cuj'ler, Charles D. Cooper, and John V.
N. Yates. This committee submitted their report
March 7, 1803, and the Legislature authorized the
erection of the building, then known as the New
Capitol, by an act passed April 6, 1804.
The Capitol Commissioners appointed on the
Old Capitol were John Taylor, Daniel Hale, Philip
S. Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, Nicholas N.
Quackenbush.
•This act is a characteristic specimen of the
legislative methods of that day. The bill for its
erection was entitled: "An Act Making Provisions
for the Improvement of Hudson River below Al-
bany, and for Other Purposes. "
After providing for some improvement in the
Hudson at Troy and Waterford, above Albany,
it appoints John Taylor, Daniel Hale, Philip S.
STATE OF NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
Hi
Van Rensselaer, Simeon De Witt, and Nicholas
N. Quackenbush, Commissioners for erecting the
New Capitol Building. It required the Supervisors
of Albany County to raise by tax $12,000 for
such purposes, and it contained the following pro-
visions:
VI. And be it further enacted, that the managers of the
Lottery herehibefore mentioned shall cause to be raised by
Lottery the sum of Si2,oco, in such manner as they, or a
majority of them, sliall think proper, which sum the said
managers shall pay to the Comirissioners aforesaid.
At that day the State lotteries held intimate rela-
tions with the finances of this State. These lotteries
were authorized by law. Upon their managers
devolved the raising of funds for the opening of
roads, improving rivers, building bridges, and the
advancement of great enterprises generally, now
thrown upon the taxpayers.
The lotteries were originally established to aid
in the endowment of schools under an act for the
"encouragement of literature." The early colleges
of the States depended largely upon the lotteries.
During the legislative session of 18 12, a law was
passed giving $2co,ooo to Union College, and
smaller sums to Hamilton and Columbia Colleges,
and other institutions, upon the lottery plan.
At length the lottery system became corrupt and
unpopular. The provision abolishing lotteries, in
the Constitution of 1821, was supplemented by a
provision, now in force in the Constitution of to-day
(Article I, Section 10), which reads thus: "Nor
shall any lottery hereafter be authorized, nor any
sale of lottery tickets allowed, within this State."
The original appropriation for the Capitol was but
|24,ooo, added to the proceeds of the sale of the
old Sladt Huys, whatever they might be; but the
building cost the sum of $110,688.42. This in-
cluded the furnishing of the Council Chamber.
Of this sum the City of Albany paid I34, 200, the
County of Albany $3,000, and the State $73,485.42.
This was hardly sufficient to pay for painting and
plastering the new building.
The Commissioners chose Pinkster's Hill as
the site of the Capitol. On April 23, 1806, the
corner-stone was laid with impressive ceremonies.
Philip S. Van Rensselaer was then Mayor of Al-
bany, and to him was assigned the duty of placing
the stone in position. A large concourse of people
were assembled, among whom were John Lansing,
Jr., Chancellor of the State; Morgan I^wis, Chief-
Justice; Ambrose Spencer, Smith Thompson and
Brockholst Livingston, Justices of the Supreme
Court; the Members of the City Corporation and
other dignitaries.
The building was first occupied by the Senate
and Assembly at a special session of the Legisla-
ture, convened November i, 1808. It was con-
sidered a magnificent edifice, an object of as muA
curiosity and interest as is the new Capitol to-day.
People from all parts of the State and nation
visited it. In 18 13, Professor Silliman, of Yale
College, visited it and wrote an elaborate description
of it, in which he said: "It is a large, handsome
building, the furniture exhibiting a good degree of
taste and splendor."
H. G. Spafford, describing the building, said of
the Senate and Assembly Chambers, which were on
the same floor: "In the furniture of these rooms
there is a di'.play of public munificence. The
American eagle assumes almost imperial splendor.
It stands at the head of State street, 130 feet above
the level of the Hudson. It is a substantial stone
building, faced with freestone taken from the brown
sandstone quarries on the Hudson, below the
Highlands. The walls are 50 feet high, consist-
ing of two stories, and a basement story of 10 feet.
The east or main front is adorned with a portico of
the Ionic order, tetrastile, the entablature support-
ing an angular pediment in the tympanum of wtiich
is to be placed the Arms of the State. The ceiling
of the wall is supported by a double row of reeded
columns; the floors are vaulted and laid with
squares of Italian marble; the building is roofed
with a double hip of pyramidal form, upon the
center of which is a circular cupola, 20 feet in di-
ameter. On its dome is a statue of Themis, facing
eastward — a carved figure of wood, 1 1 feet in
height, holding a sword in her right hand and the
balance in her left."
The above is a good description of the Old Cap-
itol as it appeared in 1883, when it was taken
down, with the exception of some few additions
which had been made in its rear. The interior,
with some exceptions, was at that time about the
same as it was when first occupied. We give be-
low the changes which were made.
To the Executive Chamber there was made, dur-
ing the Rebellion, an additional room, extending
into the main hall. In other respects it was the
same in 1883 as in 1808. To the departments oc-
cupied by the Adjutant-General, previous to the
removal of the building, was added another room
during the war. This room was devoted to the
Common Council of the City of Albany. Various
additions have been made from time to time in the
rear of the Assembly Chamber. The Senate Cham-
ber was originally to the left of the Assembly on
entering from the main hall. It was, howeiver, re-
moved to the large room on the second floor, and
the old Senate Chamber was used by the Depart-
ment of Public Instruction, and latterly as the Post-
office and cloak-room of the Assembly. When the
Senate Chamber was removed to the second floor, a
floor was constructed and additional rooms were
added to the building. In one of these the Super-
visors of Albany County held their meetings. On
the upper floor the Supreme Court originally oc-
cupied the main room. It was afterwards occupied
by the Court of Appeals, and one winter by the
Senate. The other rooms were occupied by the
Court of Chancery, the Court of Common Pleas,
the Court of.Sessions and the Mayor's Court. The
Mayor's office was in the attic, as were also the
rooms of the Society of Arts, tb.e State Library and
the State Board of Agriculture. The basement
was devoted to the oflSces of the County Clerk, City
Marshal and the rooms of the Keeper of the Capitol.
It is singular that there was not a committee
room in the entire building. It can hardly be con-
ceived that the building could ever have rendered
448
mSTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
accommodations for such a number of public offices;
but this arrangement continued till the completion
of the City Hall in 1831, when the city and county
officers were removed to that building. After that
time various changes took place. A new State
library was built, under the law of 1851, and large
additions were made to the rear of the building;
but it was not even then rendered adequate to the
needs of the State.
Congress Hall stood almost adjoining the Old
Capitol on the north, a fimous hotel of the past.
For many years it was the resort of senators, assem-
blymen, lobbyists, judges and lawyers.
Owing to the overcrowded state of the Capitol,
a part of this hotel, a private house, and many
rooms in the Delavan House, were used for com-
mittee rooms.
The Governor's room, to which we have alluded,
was on the south side of the Capitol, its windows
opening on State street, its entrance being from the
south side of the hall of the Capitol. Over its door
appeared the well-remembered words: "Executive
Chamber." This door led into a room occupied by
the Governor's clerks; to the left, folding-doors
opened directly into the Governor's room. The
addition made during the war was occupied by the
Governor's Military Secretary. The room had few
decorations; a portrait of Lafayette, by Charles
Ingham, was about the only embellishment the
room contained. It is a full-length portrait, a fine
work of art, and represents very correctly the fea-
tures of its illustrious original. It now hangs in the
Executive Chamber of the new Capitol.
A large table, the office desk of the Governors,
stood in the center of the room. A desk for the
Private Secretary, book-cases, sofas, and some easy
chairs, made up its furniture.
The old Senate Chamber, a very handsome room,
exceedingly appropriate for legislative purposes,
was embellished with portraits of three distinguished
men — Christopher Columbus, George Clinton and
Stewart L. Woodford. The first of these was pre-
sented to the Senate, in 1784, by Maria Farmer, a
descendant of the honest Jacob Leisler, once de
facto Colonial Governor of New York, murdered
by his enemies for high treason while guilty of no
crime. The picture of Clinton is painted from life,
and is an artistic work. The portrait of Woodford
was presented to the Senate by his friends in the
Senate of 1868.
The doorways of the Senate Chamber were orna-
mented with a sculptured cornice familiar to the
architecture of seventy years ago. A tall Dutch clock,
that for nearly a century noted the official hours of
assembling and adjourning, was a main featuie of the
chamber. The galleries were a fiction of language,
being on the same level as the main floor.
JAMES W. EATON.
The subject of this sketch, James Webster Eaton,
was born August 22, 1817, at Summerville, N. J.
His father, Josiah Eaton, came from Keene, N. H.,
and was descended from old Puritan stock which
had taken root in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
in the early days, whence the descendants had
spread out over New England. His mother, Ger-
trude MacEaton, was of Scotch-German parentage
and was born in New Jerse}'. Both were intelligent,
industrious. God-fearing people. In 1828, young
Eaton removed with his parents to Albany, where,
not long after, he began to learn the trade of his
father, that of a stonemason. Born with the heri-
tage of respectable poverty, which has been the
spur of ambition to so man}^ he diligently laid
hold of every opportunity for self-improvement,
and while he spent the summer working at his
trade, in the winter he attended the old Lancaster
School and a private school kept by Mr. Fitch,
both of which are names familiar to many old
Albanians, who gained there that modest, but effi-
cient education which has been so great an element
in their subsequent success. In 1840, Mr. Eaton
married Eliza M. Benner, who is still living. By
this marriage there were three children, two of
whom survive: Calvin Ward, who is a member of
the firm of Van Santford & Eaton, wholesale
lumber dealers, and James Webster, Jr., who is a
recent graduate of Yale and the senior partner of
the law firm of Eaton & Kirchwey. About the
time of his marriage, Mr. Eaton embarked in the
building business which he has since followed.
His sterling integrity, indomitable purpose and
business sagacit)', slowly, but surely, won for him
the victory over adverse circumstances. The his-
tories of such lives would be interesting commen-
taries on the influence of character over fortune,
if they could be written out; but such a history
must usually be read in the tangible achievements
of painstaking effort. In his business career, Mr.
Eaton has probably done as much as any other
one man to beautify the city of his residence.
Over five hundred of the most noteworthy of the
public and business buildings, and the most ele-
gant of the private residences in Alban}-, have been
erected by him, and his reputation as a builder is
unsurpassed. In 1874, he was appointed by Gov-
ernor Dix, Superintendent of Construction of the
New Capitol, an office which he held during four
successive administrations until the position itself
was abolished in 1883. This magnificent structure,
most of which was erected under his supervision,
and over the practical details of which he had
control, is an enduring monument to his adminis-
trative capacity as well as mechanical skill. In
these days of political jobs, it is a significant and
gratifying fact, that men of all political faiths who
are conversant with the management of this great
work, unite voluntarily, asserting that no suspi-
cion of unfairness or undue partizanship has ever
clung to him. Whatever may be the criticisms
made upon the design of the Capitol, or the ma-
terials used in it, or the method of administration
under the old Commission — for which Mr. Eaton
was of course in no way responsible and over
which he had no control — it is safe to assert,
without fear of contradiction, that the State never
had a more honest, fearless, and efficient servant.
So far as the appointments made by him, per-
sonally, were concerned, his administration was an
\
STATE OF NEW FORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
449
admirable exemplification of practical Civil Service
reform.
Since his retirement from the Capitol, Mr. Eaton
has devoted himself principally to the management
and improvement of his real estate, of which he has
a considerable amount in and about the city.
During the greater part of his life, Mr. Eaton has
been a consistent member of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, and for many years President of the
Board of Trustees of the Hudson Avenue Soci-
ety, now known as the First M. E. Church. Mr.
Eaton has always enjoyed, in very large measure.
the esteem, confidence and respect of his fellow
citizens; but only to those who have known him
intimately has it been given to fully appreciate the
genial kindliness, the large-hearted sympathy, and
unobtrusive generosity which has endeared him to
many. As a loving husband and father, as an up-
right oflficiaj, as a useful and successful member or
society, and above all, as a good man in the highest
sense of the term, it has seemed to us that the
history of Albany would be incomplete without
this little sketch of his life, especially in connection
with the New Capitol.
THE NEW CAPITOL.
From Osgood's *' Public Service of the State of New York.'
THE NEW CAPITOL.
The seat of government of New York, during
the colonial period, was in the City of New York.
There the Colonial Legislature generally held its
sessions, at first, at the fort. It sometimes con-
vened in Jamaica, L. I. At length it met regularly
in the New York City Hall.
New York City was regarded as the capital dur-
ing the revolution; but when the British Army took
possession of it, the Legislature was compelled to
meet at places regarded most safe from the attacks
of the British — as at White Plains, Albany, King-
ston and Poughkeepsie. After the British evacu-
ated New York, the Legislature assembled at these
places or in New York. The places designated
for each session were fixed by a vote of the Legisla-
ture, or by the Governor. Since 1798 the legisla-
lative sessions have been held entirely at Albany.
As the growth of the State had rendered the Old
Capitol 100 limited for legislative and other pur-
poses, the subject of erecting a New Capitol at Al-
bany began to be agitated. But it took no definite
form until April 24, 1863, when, on motion of
Hon. James A. Bell, Senator fiom Jeflferson
County, the Senate referred the subject to the Trus-
tees of the Capitol and the Committee on Public
Buildings.
In 1865, the Senate appointed a committee of
three to receive propositions from various cities of
the State, as to what action they would take in re-
gard to the removal of the capital of the State from
Albany. The question of its removal at that time
was considerably agitated. No satisfactory results
were reached by the action of this committee, ex-
cept in response to the circular issued by it. Albany
proposed to convey Congress Hall Block, or any
other lands in the city, required for the purpose of
450
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
a New Capitol. This proposal was at.once accepted,
and, on May i, 1865, an act authorizing the erec-
tion of a New Capitol, at Albany, passed the Legis-
lature. The grand structure now known as the
New Capitol was, by excavating and laying founda-
tions, begun July 7, 1869.
It was not until early in the summer of 1871
that the superstructure was ready to receive the
corner-stone. June 24, 1871, was designated as
the day. The exercises attending this work were
grand and imposing. An introductory address
was delivered by the Hon. Hamilton Harris, fol-
lowed by reading a list of the documents placed in
the corner-stone, by Hon. William A. Rice; an ad-
dress by Governor John T. Hoffman; and Masonic
ceremonies conducted by Most Worshipful John
Anton, Grand Master of the Grand Masonic Lodge
of the State.
The liberal spirit of the citizens of Albany was
exhibited in a marked manner in the erection of
the New Capitol. To Hon. Hamilton Harris,
President of the Board of Capitol Commissioners,
and to his exertions in the Senate, the State and the
City of Albany are largely indebted for the suc-
cessful manner in which the work was from the
first pushed forward. By a concurrent resolution
adopted May 14, 1878, the Legislature declared
the new building to be the Capitol of the State of
New York, and it was formally occupied as such
January 7, 1879. The same evening the citizens of
Albany gave a reception in honor of the event,
and commemorative exercises were held under
authority of the Legislature on the 1 2th of February
following.
New Capitol Commissioners. — Hamilton Harris,
May 3, 1866; John V. L. Pruyn, May 3, 1866;
Obadiah B. Latham, May 3, 1866; James S.
Thayer, May 1 9, 1868; William A. Rice, May 19,
1868; James Terwilliger, May 19, 1868; John T.,
Hudson, May 19, 1868; Alonzo B. Cornell, May
19, 1868.
Second Board.— Hamilton Harris, April 26,
1871; William C. Kingsley, April 26, 1871; Will-
iam A. Rice, April 26, 1871; ChaunceyM. Depew,
April 26, 1871; Delos De Wolf, April 26, 1871;
Edwin A. Merritt, April 26, 1871.
Architects — Thomas Fuller, August 12, 1868;
Eidlitz, Richardson & Co., September 12, 1876.
Superintendents. — John Bridgeford, September
10, 1868; William J. McAlpine, June 11, 1873;
James W. Eaton, June 12, 1874.
The Second Board was superseded by Act of the
Legislature of 1875, and the Lieutenant-Governor,
Attorney-General, and Auditor of the Canal De-
partment were constituted Commissioners of the
New Capitol. An Advisory Board to the Commis-
sioners was appointed July 15, 1875, consisting of
F. Law Olmsted, Leopold Eidlitz and Henry
Richardson. This board was superseded by the
appointment of architects in 1876. An Act passed
March 30, 1 883, authorized the Governor, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint
an officer to be known as the Commissioner of the
New Capitol, who shall have charge of the work of
constructing and finishing the building. He is
authorized to employ labor, purchase material and
make contracts, which, in all cases, must be
awarded to the lowest bona fide responsible bidder.
He is required to give a bond for $50,000, condi-
tioned for the faithful performance of the duties of
his office. His term of office is the same as that
of the Governor, from whom he receives his ap-
pointment. His salary is %•], 500 per annum. The
same Act abolished the office of Superintendent of
the Capitol.
A subsequent law of the same year designated
the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor and Speaker of
the Assembly, ex officio, trustees of the finished
parts ■ of the building, and of several other public
buildings of the State at Albany, for which they
are to appoint a Superintendent at an annual salary
of $3,500.
After the laying of the corner-stone, the work
on the building was continued with more or less
rapidity, according to the appropriation of funds.
There were times of entire cessation from work
for lack of funds. In 1874 no work was done
upon it for six month.<!.
It is now occupied by the Senate and Assembly,
the Court of Appeal, and nearly all the State
Departments.
The Foundation. — To receive the foundation,
the earth was excavated to an average depth of 15-
■^■^ feet below the surface. Then concrete to the
thickness of four feet was first laid down. The
material for this was of a nature that indurates
with the lapse of time, so that a stone floor now
exists which is every year approaching the hard-
ness and duration of granite. The sub -base-
ment extends down nineteen feet four inches, and
contains 935,000 cubic feet of stone. The brick
walls are from thirty-two inches to five feet thick,
containing between ten and eleven miUion bricks.
The foundation of the main tower is one hundred
and ten feet square at the base, tapering to seventy
feet square at the basement floor, The sub-base-
ment is divided into one hundred and forty-four
different appartments, and is utilized for heating,
storing and ventilating purposes.
The immense boilers in the sub-basement used
for propelling machinery for heating, lighting and
ventilating purposes have long been regarded as
dangerously located. They were considered liable
to explode. They were also the source of other
inconveniences. A proposal to remove them to a
building adjacent to the Capitol, to be constructed
by the State for this purpose, has been agitated for
several sessii ns of the Legislature. The Legisla-
ture of 1885 passed an Act providing for the erec-
tion of a building for a boiler-house with chimney-
stack, having a conduit running from the boiler-
house to the Capitol.
The foundation of the boiler-house is seven feet below
the sidewalk at the corner of Lafayette and Hawk streets,
the walls three feet wide. From floor levels to the water
tables the walls are two feet thick, faced with dressed
stone. Water tables blue stone, and the wall above faced
with pressed brick, lower included. The roof is supported
by iron trusses, peaked aud slated. The floor is bricked or
flagged. The chimney is 100 feet high, built of hard brick ;
STATE OF NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
451
at the base it is fourteen feet square and ten and one-
half feet in diameter at the top. The conduit comprises
cast-iron tubes in lengths of six feet, clearing six feet in the
diameter and an inch thick. Two ten-inch steam-pipes must
run through it to connect the Capitol with the battery
of boilers. The return pipes are four inches in diameter.
For 270 feet the Washington avenue drains are lowered three
feet, and for 300 feet the Lafayette sireet drains are lowered
eight feet'. There are five boilers, each 150-horse power.
The plates are made of the best quality of Otis homo-
geneous steel, with tensile strength of 60,000 pounds to the
inch of area.
The responsibility of making this construction
and the removal was committed to Hon. Charles
B. Andrews, Superintendent of Public Buildings
and Grounds in Albany belonging to the State.
The Capitol is now lighted by magnificent elec-
tric lights. The Senate, Assembly and Court of
Appeals and other larger rooms are illuminated by
the incandescent light. The effect of these lights
can scarcely be described, but must be seen to be
appreciated.
The Capitol is magnificently situated in what
will be hereafter known as Capitol square, includ-
ing the land between Eagle street on the east,
Capitol place on the west, with Washington ave-
nue on the north, and State street on the south.
The length is 1,034 feet, the width 330, containing
in all Tx^ acres.
Capitol place is 155 feet above the level of the
Hudson, and the land slopes to the east 51 feet.
State street leads directly up from Broadway to the
Capitol.
One of the first impressions of the traveler as he
beholds the building is its immense proportions.
It occupies 3^ acres of land. It is 300 feet from
north to south, and 400 feet from east to west. The
walls are 108 feet high from the water-table, and are
composed of granite, most of it from Hallowell,
Maine.
The Central Court is 137 by 92 feet, extending
an open space to the sky and admitting much
needed light and air. Above the six dormer win-
dows that open on the Court that are above the
fourth or gallery story, are sculptured the arms of
six families more or less distinguished in the history
of the State. The Stuyvesant Arms are on the
north side, west; Schuyler arms on the north side,
middle; the Livingston arms on the north side,
east; the Jay arms are on the south side, west;
the Clinton arms are on the south side, middle;
the Tompkins arms are on the south side, east.
The carvings descriptive of these arms, with the
mottoes, are beautifully wrought, and blend with
fine effect in the whole entablature on which they
appear.
We take the following description of the Capitol
from H. P. Phelps' admirably compiled work,
"The Albany Hand-book."
The first or ground story, which is nearly on a
level with Washington avenue and State street, is
devoted to committee rooms and offices elsewhere
specified. Ascent to the other stories may be
made by elevators, but visitors will generally prefer
to walk up one or the other of the grand stair-
cases.
The Assembly Staircase, on the north side, is of
Dorchester freestone of soft drab color; its ascent
is easy; its design vigorous and scholarly. The
views of it so often seen give a better idea of its
majestic proportions then words can do.
The Golden Corridor. — On arriving upon the
second floor by the Assembly Staircase will be seen
the Golden Corridor, 140 feet long by 20 wide
and about twenty-five feet high, extending along
the whole court side of the north center. Seven
large windows opening upon this court divide the
corridor into bays, twenty feet square. Each bay
is flanked by piers, between which arches are
turned, and these arches sustain a low and ribless
groined vault.
Mr. Montgomery Schuyler says:
"The piers are covered witti a damask of red
upon umber. The angle moldings are solidly gilded.
The crimson wall screen on both sides is overlaid
with a simple reticulation of gold lines framing or-
naments in yellow. The whole vault is gilded,
and upon its ground of gold traversing each face
of the vault, is a series of bands of minute ornament
in brown, scarlet and deep blue. The method —
this close mosaic of minute quantities of crude
color — is entirely Oriental in treatment and effect.
The varying surfaces of the vaulting, each covered
with fretted gold, give a vista, lengthened by the
dwindling arches, alive with flashing lights and
shimmering shadows. Opening out of the corridor
to the right is the room originally intended for the
Court of Appeals, but declined by the Judge as un-
suitable for their purpose. It is sixty feet square
and twenty-five feet high, subdivided into parallel-
ograms, one twice the width of the other, by a line
of red granite columns carrying with broad, low
arches a marble wall. The walls are of sandstone,
visible in some places, but covered in most with a
decoration in deep red, and with the tall wainscot-
ing of oak, which occupy the wall above the dado
of sandstone. The ceiling is a superb, construction
in carved oak, carried on a system of beams dimin-
ishing in size from the great girders supported by
great braces, and finally closed by oaken panels,
profusely carved. The Senate occupied this room
previous to the completion of the Senate Chamber,
and it has been ussd for various purposes. At the
time of the scare, in relation to the ceiling of the
Assembly Chamber, in 1882-83, it was hastily fitted
up for the occupation of the Assembly with gallery,
etc The members sat there one day and returned
to their quarters. When the State Library Build-
ing was razed, this room and the Golden Corridor
were utilized temporarily for library purp.ises.
The Assembly Chamber. — Ascending another
flight of the staircase we come to what is, without
doubt, the grandest legislative hall in the world —
the Assembly Chamber — 84x140 feet by including
the galleries, although the chamber proper is but
84 by 85 feet. Four great pillars, 4 feet in diameter,
of red granite, sustain the largest groined stone
arch in the world, the key-stone being 56 feet from
the floor. These pillars, and the arch which
springs from thenijare the most striking features
452
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of the room, but it will bear a world of study.
While all admit the grandeur of the work, its
vastness is also its defect; for as a debating hall it
is far from perfect. With the Assembly in perfect
order (a condition rarely observed for ten consecu-
tive minutes) a good speaker cannot be heard
without difficulty, but the Statesman with weak
lungs, poor voice, uninteresting manner, or thread-
bare subject, is apt to complain bitterly of the
acoustics. It had been found necessary, in order
to keep the key-stone in place, to weight it very
heavily; this extra weight upon the sandstone
caused some of the defective stones to crack.
Small pieces fell, and there was much apprehension
that the building was settling unevenly, and that
the tons upon tons of stone in and about the ceiling
would some day come down with a crash. A com-
mission of experts reported that it was best to take
the ceiling down. The architects protested and
offered to repair it at their own expense; they were
allowed to do so, replaced the defective stones, and
all anxiety appears to have subsided.
The Allegorical Pictures. — No one feature of
the Capitol has caused more comment than the
pictures that occupy the upper portions of the
north and south walls of this chamber. They
were painted by the late William M. Hunt, one of
the greatest of American artists, and possess a
melancholy interest from the fact that they are the
only work of the kind he ever did. He received
for his services fifteen thousand dollars. The space
covered by each is fifteen by forty feet. That on
the northern wall represents the allegory of Armujd
and Ahriman, or the flight of Evil before Good;
or, as is more frequently interpreted, The Flight
of Night. The Queen of Night is driving before
the dawn, charioted on clouds drawn by three
plunging horses, one black, one white, one red,
without other visible restraint than that of a
swarthy guide, who floats at the left of the picture,
and whose hand is lightly laid upon the head of
the outermost horse. At the right of the goddess,
and in deep shade, is the recumbent figure of a
sleeping mother with a sleeping child upon her
breast. The picture on the southern wall repre-
sents the Discoverer standing upright in a boat,
dark against a sunset sky. Fortune erect stands
behind him trimming the sail with her lifted left
hand while her right holds the tiller. The boat is
rising to a sea, and is attended by Hope at the
prow, with one arm resting on it, and one point-
ing forward; Faith, whose face is buried in her
arms, and who is floating with the tide: and Science
unrolling a chart at the side.
We are told that since Mr. Hunt's melancholy
death on the Isle of Shoals, that the fifty-five days
devoted by himself and his assistant to the paint-
ing of these pictures, by no means represented all
the labor bestowed upon them. The Discoverer
was first drawn in charcoal in 1857. The Flight of
Night had been put on paper ten years earlier,
and had been designed simply for an easel picture.
After accepting the commission, Mr. Hunt's pre-
pa,rat9ry work in his stqdio in Pogto^ was of pearly
five months' duration. For the Flight of Night,
the heads of the horses, their legs and feet were all
freshly painted from life. The Queen was painted
from a model. Sleep and the child were painted
from life; also the dusky guide. For the other
picture, the Discoverer, Hope, Science, and For-
tune were painted from life models. The heads,
hands, and arms of these figures were also 'drawn
and colored as separate studies. In all, thirty or
more careful charcoal drawings and more than
twelve pastels were made, besides nineteen com-
plete copies in oil — seventeen, twelve by thirty
inches, and two, six by eight feet. The work itself
had to be done by a specified time, and this in-
volved much anxiety. Each morning the artist
and his assistant were up to catch from the rising
sun a fresh impression to carry to the work upon
the Flight of Night. Every evening they watched
the waning daylight, and noted the effect of figures
and objects against the setting sun, as a study for
the Discoverer. Later on in the work, Mr. Hunt
obtained from his assistant a solemn promise that
if their effort proved a failure, he would paint out
both pictures in a single night
The South Side Corridor. — The Executive
Chambers, or the Governor's rooms, are in the
southeast corner on the second, or entrance floor.
On the way to this portion of the Capitol, one is
struck by two very important differences in con-
struction between the southern corridors and the
corresponding passages on the north side of the
building. These differences consist in the use of
colored marbles here for wainscoting, and in the
admission of light by windows rising from the top
of the wainscot above the level of the eye and sur-
rounding the doors leading into the various com-
mittee rooms that receive direct light. The effect
of the wainscot is of great richness and variety, and
it also seems substantial and enduring. The rich-
ness and variety of color is truly wonderful, and it
contains in low tones more combinations than the
most elaborate palettes of a painter could reach in
a lifetime. The most prominent tints aie shades
and hues of red, and these are reHeved by num-
berless colder tones, grays and browns predom-
inating. The marble has been selected upon a
harmonious scale of color, and is put together in
simple slabs, the joining edges of which are beveled
perpendicularly, and are held in place by a slightly
convex string molding and a cap of brownstone,
which, where they abut upon doors, are daintily
carved into terminal bosses, while the whole rests
upon a molded base of brownstone. This
wainscot is more pleasing than any combination of
tiles could be, but its effect would be entirely
thrown away were it not for the means adopted for
lighting the corridors through the windows above
mentioned.
The Governor's Room is sixty feet long by forty
wide; the walls are wainscoted to a height of
fifteen or sixteen feet with mahogany, arranged in
square panels surmounted with a band of carving
and a carved molding above. The space between
this and the gelling of mahogany is covered with
STATE OF. NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
453
hangings of Spanish leather, which harmonize, in
its soft tones of golden-brown, and red, and olive,
with the mahogany. On one side of the room is
an enormous fire-place having a shelf and several
emblematic panels of elaborate carving about it.
The ceiling is composed of beams, which divide
the space into panels, having rails perforated in
the form of a quatrefoil surrounding the panel.
There are convenient arrangements to connect
with the offices of the executive attendants and the
bill room by small doors in the paneling, and
altogether the room is well adapted to the recep-
tion of persons having business to transact with the
Governor and his assistants.
The Corridor of Columns. — Ascending from
this floor by the commodious and easy running
elevator, we find ourselves in a corridor similar to
that previously described, which leads into a
broader one, running east and west along the north
side of the Senate Chamber. This last-named
corridor, which is after plans furnished by Mr.
Eidlitz, is entirely lined and vaulted with sandstone,
and has a row of columns in the center, above
which there is a double-arched vault extending to
either wall. Upon this spacious corridor open the
main doors leading to the Senate Chamber.
The Senate Chamber, in the richness and
variety of its decoration, is equaled only by the
famous Sl Mark's Cathedral in Venice, its treat-
ment was assigned to Mr. Richardson, and of his
success there can be no question. The space in
which he had to work was sixt}' feet in breadth,
nearly one hundred in length, and about fifty in
height He has reduced the plan of the room to a
nearly square form, cutting off from either end of
it the lobbies, above which are placed the gal-
leries, opening on the chamber proper. These
lobbies, opening from the corridors, are simple in
treatment Yet by a slight similarity in detail
they, in a measure, prepare the eye for the Senate
Chamber itself They are wainscoted with a light
marble, arranged panelwise in slabs and rails, and
are ceiled with quartered oak. From the west
lobby opens the Lieutenant-Governor's room, com-
fortably fitted up with a carved and polished ma-
hogany wainscot and fire-place, and an oak ceiling
supported on corbels of marble. By the arrange-
ment of the galleries over the lobbies, the actual
floor space of the Senate Chamber proper is re-
duced to about sixty feet by fifty-five. Entering on
this floor by the main doorway from the vaulted
corridor above described we first see the south wall,
from which the chamber is lighted by three large
openings rising from a level with the floor and six
lesser openings near the ceiling. Two of the '
large windows are filled with disks of stained glass,
which shade from browns and rubies near the
floor through olives and golden hues to the semi-
circular tops, which are filled with varied iridescent
and opalescent tints. The central window is ob-
scured by the reredos behind the president's desk,
which rises to the spring of the window arches,
but does not cover the semicircular window-
Jiead, which, like the. others, is filled with many-.
hued opalescent glass. The stained glass has been
used not only to add brilliancy of color, but to
avoid the glare of light that has proved so objec-
tionable in some of the other rooms. These win-
dows are arched, and the stone moldings above
and below them are carved with intricate and deli-
cate patterns of interwoven lace-like forms, and a
carved band of stone divides the lower part of
each window from the semicircular upper light
The capitals of the angle columns are more
heavily cut into conventional forms taken from
oak leaves and other foliage. The wall space be-
tween the windows, as far up as the spring of the
arches, is of Knoxville Tenn., marble, a reddish-
gray stone not highly polished, though having a
smooth finish.
The Mexican Onyx Paneling. — Above the
three arches of the lower windows for about twelve
feet (perpendicular), the wall is paneled with Mex-
ican onyx. These panels are cut into slabs three
feet square and are separated, or rather framed, by
slightly convex rails of Sienna (Italy) marble, the
mottled reds,, yellows, and browns of which con-
trast with the tints of the onyx. For additional
support the slabs are backed up with slabs of ordi-
nary marble. The variety of color displayed in the
onyx is very remarkable, the prevailing tints being
mottled and semi-translucent whites, cream colors,
sea-water, olive and ivory. These tin is are broken
and waved by lines, striae and splashes of raw
Sienna coloring, rosy brown, and numberless shades
of other neutral browns, some inclining toward red
and some toward green and even blue, while the
surface everywhere varies in play of light and shade
of semi-opacity and translucence. The various
slabs, no two of which are alike, are arranged with
a certain idea of contrast, but never formally
nor with regularity of counter-change. They are
laid haphazard with a motive. The dividing rails
of Sienna marble are of colors that harmonize ad-
mirably with those of the onyx, being principally
yellows of a soft golden character and reddish-
brown mottled, the intensity of which is varied in
every piece, and sometimes approaches so nearly
the color of an adjacent slab of onyx as to melt
into it Both panels and rails are highly polished.
Above this paneling is a string course of simply
carved marble, and above this is the upper tier of
windows, six in number. The shape and treat-
ment are similar to those of the lower windows.
The wall space above these windows is filled in
with lead, heavily gilded, constituting a sort of frieze.
The ornament of this is a carefully studied design
of arabesque or floral pattern, beaten out or em-
bossed by means of hammers, stamps and dies of
various sizes and shapes, thus aff"ording a varied
plav of light and shade on the gilt surface. This
field of gold, being absolutely neutral, adapts itself
to the color of the surrounding objects, and in the
elevation and depression of its beaten and stamped
surface supplies the complementary colors neces-
sary to complete the color harmony of
the whole chamber. Above the broad frieze
of beaten gold, and terminating the wall are
the massive carved beams of oak, more than four
454
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
feet in depth, which constitute the framework of
the ceiling. These great beams are supported on
stone corbels sunk into the walls and projecting
under the beams. The corbels are carved into bold
and vigorous forms derived from foliage and
flowers. The main beams divide the ceiling into
long, narrow, rectangular spaces running from east
to west, and these spaces are divided into lesser
rectangular spaces running north and south, which
are again divided in half by smaller beams and
form squares, which are still further divided by rails
into four square panels each. Half way between
the east and west walls is the main entrance of the
corridor, and on either side of this entrance are two
great open fire-places jutting out into the room.
The doorway and fire-places are constructed of
marble, as is the space between them. The open-
ings of the fire-places are about six feet in height,
and something more in breadth. The cheerful
effect of these, when filled with blazing logs, the
flames of which are reflected on the polished onyx
and marble from all sides of the room, may well be
imagined. Above the fire openings are to be
carved legends or symbolical devices. Above these
are the broad faces of the chimney-breasts, which
are to be cut in bas-relief, with representations of
historical or legendary scenes, emblematical of or
illustrating the legislative character of the room.
The whole chimney-pieces are about half as high
as the room, reaching to the string course below
the gold frieze. Above the doorway and wall
space of Knoxville marble, we see the wall space
up to the frieze covered with the Mexican onyx
panel, and like the frieze, in greater extent of sur-
face than elsewhere. Above the onyx and inclosed
within the frieze is a long rectangular space, which
may be filled in with mural painting of some
allegorical subject fitted to the place.
The Court of Appeals. — Nine spacious rooms
are assigned for the Court of Appeals, six in the
thiyd or principal story, three in the fourth or gal-
lery story, the two stories being connected by an
ornamented iron staircase. The Court-room is in
the southeast comer over the executive chamber,
and is 35 by 53 feet and 25 feet high. It is finished
in quartered red oak, timbered ceiling of the same
material, with carved beams and deep recessed
panels. The five window openings are finished
with Knoxville marble, the arches resting on carved
trusses and columns recessed into the angles formed
by the jambs and outer belting, terminating in
ornamental trusses. A deep carved wood string in
line with the trusses, and the carved capitals of the
marble columns divide the oak paneling on the
walls into two parts. The framework of the upper
section is filled in with large plain panels, and the
intention is to decorate, by gilding, the rails. The
panels are designed to be painted in varied designs
to harmonize with the wood-carving. The lower
section below the window arches stands upon a
molded base and is filled in with double raised
panels and sub divided longitudinally by carved
string courses, containing between them a section
of vertical fluted work, in which are fixed at inter-
vals, in carved frames, the portraits of the judges,
many of which hung in the Court of Appeals'
room of the Old Capitol. On the west side of the
room is a recessed fire-place of large dimensions,
over which is displayed the arms of the State,
carved in the oaken panels of the mantel over the
recess. The recess of the fire-place is lined with
Sienna marble, and has a bench on either side of
the fire-place of the same material. The lintel over
the fire-place is also of Sienna marble, richly
carved and extending across the whole recess.
Resting on the lintel is a large panel composed of
several choice specimens of Mexican onyx skill-
fully arranged. The Judge's bench has been care-
fully designed in style and form to suit the require-
ments and wishes of that honorable body. The
front is divided into panels set in framework; the
panels are exquisitely carved in varied • designs and
separatecf by ornamental balusters, the whole rest-
ing on a molded base. Carved in the center panel
are the arms of the State. There is a medallion
convex of carved grotesque heads located along
the projecting top. Perhaps no room in the build-
ing is better adapted to its purpose than this.
The Southeast, or Senate Staircase occupies a
space fifty-two by fifty-two, and one hundred and
fourteen feet high from basement to the top of the
walls. The stairs start on the ground floor on
the south side and extend to the gallery story.
The great platforms and steps are of Dorchester
sandstone. Each story is divided into two sec-
tions by spacious intermediate platforms midway
in each story, extending the whole distance be-
tween the north and south walls, a distance of
fifty feet by twelve feet wide. The stairs are of
easy ascent and grand and dignified in appear-
ance. The upper landings of the stairs on each
story are on platforms extending the whole length
between the walls by fourteen feet wide, resting on
the walls at either end, and supported at the cross-
joints by massive molded granite girders. The
west walls on the ground and entrance stories form
a continuous line of niches, divided by piers and
columns, embellished with molded brass and
carved caps. The west wall in each of the four
stories is pierced by large openings, through which
light is admitted to the staircase from the court
The eastern wall in the entrance and main stories
is provided with balconies, the platforms placed on
a level with the tiled floors of the corridors adjoin-
ing. These balconies serve both as useful and or-
namental features, and are approached through the
openings made in the east wall, as heretofore de-
scribed. The openings are spanned by pointed
arches, the two outer arches extending over the
steps. The faces of piers and arches are decorated
by incised ornaments, the under side of arches by
flowing lines of tracery, terminating in grotesque
heads and figures. The north and south sides of
the wall are each divided into two openings, which
are spanned by arches springing from the massive
piers at the ground floor, up to and against the
piers resting upon the caps of the center columns,
from which the upper span of arches spring, to and
against the piers of the various landings. These
arches are constructed at an angle conforming to
STATE OF .NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
455
the angles of the steps, and supporting the same.
The vertical faces and soffits are decorated in a
similar manner as the arches heretofore described,
with the exception of the lower section, in which
spandrels are formed, filled in with geometrical
tracery.
Resting on the arches, continuing up the steps,
and forming the coping over the same, is a molded
string course, up the face of which is a deeply re-
cessed and richly carved decoration. This coping
and decoration extends along a level with all the
platforms, and is divided by the piers at the angles.
The coping, up the steps and along the platforms,
is surmounted by a beautiful balustrade worked in
geometrical figures and foliage ornaments, on
■which rests a heavy molded hand-rail. * * *
This great monumental work is believed to be
without parallel on the face of the globe.
Stone- WORK. — The following description of the
stone-work used on the New Capitol was kindly
furnished the editor by Mr. James J. Mitchell,
Superintendent of Granite Work. It puts on rec-
ord facts of abiding interest in the history of this
great building that can be found nowhere else. It
is the statement of a skillful practical mechanic,
who has been on the work from the beginning,
given in his own clear language.
I came here October 8, 1870, when the foun-
dation was being built, from Washington, D. C,
where I had been employed as a stone-cutter on
the United States Capitol and other public build-
ings. At that time the building was under the
management of a commission, of which the Hon.
Hamilton Harris was Chairman. The corner-
stone was laid June 24, 1871, by the Masonic
fraternit)'. After the laying of the corner-stone,
measures were taken to push forward the ' con-
struction with the greatest rapidity. I worked as
a stone-cutter on the building until May 25, 1872,
when I was appointed assistant foreman of stone-
cutters, which position I held until 1876, when
Mr. Reynolds, who had been principal foreman,
died. I was appointed his successor. In 1883 I
was further promoted to Superintendent of Gran-
ite Work by Commissioner Perry.
In my department are employed almost two-
thirds of the whole force on the building, the total
of which is about eight hundred and fifty men.
In my office are two clerks, one messenger and one
assistant
The average number of men employed yearly
since 1870, is 1,100. Of the different kinds of
Stone used in its construction as follows: For
foundation. Tribes Hill and Kingston limestone,
also Fall River and Saratoga granite, and Potsdam
sandstone for bond stone. The basement is flag-
ged with bluestone from Ulster County.
The water table is of Dix Island, Me., granite;
the corner-stone, weighing ten tons, is also of this
material. It is situated in the northeast corner of
the building. It was contemplated at one lime to
construct the whole building of Dix Island, Me.,
granite, but it was found to be too expensive.
The next five courses around the entire building
are of Yarmouth, Me., granite. It was condemned
on account of having been found to contain iron,
thereby causing discoloration, which is plainly
visible, and is a great eyesore. From the fifth
course upward the entire exterior structure is com-
posed of Hallowell white granite, a fine, if not!the
finest building material in the world.
In the north and south entrances halls, ground
floor, the first story of the main tower and cor-
ridors, granite from Keene, N. H., is used, not
including the arches. In the east and west
entrance halls, Hallowell granite, with polished
granite columns from Fox Island, Me., is used.
The great columns in the Assembly Chamber
are red granite from Stony Creek, Conn., while
the bases and capitals are Tuckahoe, Westchester
County, marble. The remainder of the Chamber
is entirely of Dorchester, Ohio, and Belleville, New
Jersey, red sandstone.
In the corridors of the south side we find, in
the wainscoting, marble of almost every hue, prin-
cipally from Lake Champlain. The base-band
and cap-courses, also the jambs, are of dark brown-
stone from Newark, N. J. On the next two floors
above, the same materials are used in the wains-
coting. In the room formerly intended for the
Court of Appeals are red granite columns and
pilasters of great beauty from the Bay of Fundy,
Nova Scotia.
The bases, capitals and arches in the Chamber
supporting the floors of the Assembly Chamber, are
of white marble from Tuckahoe, Westchester Coun-
ty. The wainscoting is of Ohio sandstone and
Dorchester sandstone. The carving in the oak
panels is of rare beauty.
The stone used in the Governor's Room is Knox-
ville marble, highly polished and carved. The
marble lintel in the fire-place is of exquisite finish,
consisting of oak leaves and stems of the most in-
tricate design. The wainscoting and ceiling in
this room are of red mahogany.
The Senate Chamber is regarded as one of the
most beautiful legislative chambers in the world.
The principal material used in this chamber is
Knoxville, Tennessee, marble. The red granite
columns and pilasters are from Jefferson County,
New York. They are surmounted by capitals of
extraordinary delicacy and workmanship, of Knox-
ville, Tennessee, marble. The north and south
walls, above the string-course, are lined with Mex-
ican onyx and Sienna marble — the onyx forming
the panels, the Sienna, the styles and rails. These
materials are the most costly in the market. The
great arches are also of Sienna, elaborately carved.
The large mantels in the Senate Chamber are
very elaborate, consisting of sculptured cherubs,
animals, foliage, etc., in deep relief They are
very massive, and, when finished, will be one of
the features of the already gorgeous and costly
Chamber.
The lobbies and ante-rooms are finished with
Knoxville, Tennessee, marble, as also the Lieuten-
ant-Governor's Room, except the wainscoting,
which is of mahogany.
456
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The main corridor on this, the principal floor,
and the one above the gallery, are very striking to
the visitor, who passes though trhem before enter-
ing the Senate Chamber, where he finds a different
style of architecture.
The materials in these corriders are Dorchester
and Ohio sandstone, the architect of the latter evi-
dently preferring sandstone, as it seems to be al-
ways used where his designs are to be found.
The carving in these corridors, especially in the
gallery, is of exquisite design and execution, treated
by master hands.
The new Court of Appeals, situated in the south-
east comer, is a fine room. The windows are
trimmed with Knoxville marble; the wainscoting
and ceiling is of oak, elaborately carved; the rail-
ing in front of the clerk's desk is a feature. The
fire-place is very rich; the materials are Mexican
onyx and Sienna marble, and quite unique.
A very beautiful, if not the most beautiful, man-
tel, so far as material is concerned, is in the Clerk's
Room, Court of Appeals. It is of variegated green
Lissoughter marble. The other two in the same
suite of rooms are of exquisite design and finish, and
are composed of Little Island and Middleton B
marble.
The wainscoting in the east corridor is different
from that of the south corridor. The base-board
and cap are of Belgian black marble; the panels from
East Tennessee, and Greot (French) marble. Lake
Champlain marble is also used.
The northeast staircase is entirely composed of
Dorchester sandstone. The style is in harmony
with the Assembly Chamber, being very rich in
detail.
The southeast staircase, now building, will be
a magnificent work when completed. The material
used is red Scotch Corsehill sandstone; the col-
umns of Peterhead, Scotch, granite. Fox Island and
Quincy granite are also used.
In the Parlor of the Assembly, a beautiful mantel
of East Tennessee marble is constructing; also, in
the Committee Room of Ways and Means.
The following is a list of the different kinds of
stone used in the construction of this building:
Granite : Fall River, Mass. ; Saratoga, N. Y. ;
Dix Island, Me.; Yarmouth, Me.; Hallowell,
Me. ; Fox Island, Me. ; Mount Waldo, Me. ;
Rockcliffe Island, Me. ; Keene, N. H. ; Red Stony
Creek, Conn.; Red Peterhead (Scotch); St. John's,
Bay of Fundy (N. S.); Quincy, Mass.
Marble: Lake Champlain; East Tennessee; Ger-
man; Virginia, variegated; Knoxville, Tenn. ;
Sienna; Mexican onyx; Black Belgian; Irish, varie-
gated; Flavirco; Tuckahoe, Westchester County;
Pennsylvania dove color; White Italian; Greot,
French; Vermont, variegated; Glen Falls, black;
Middleton black, Little Island; Lissoughter.
Sandstone: Potsdam and Dorchester, Ohio; Red
New Jersey; Red Scotch; Corsehill.
Brownstone: Newark, N. J.
Limestone: Tribes Hill; Kingston.
Bluestone: Ulster County.
Previous to the construction of this building, it
was doubted by many architects that granite could
be treated by the workmen in such a delicate man-
ner as the elaborate carving on the different parts
of the exterior demanded. The carving on the
gallery story of the small towers could scarcely be
treated with greater delicacy in any material than
it is in the Hallowell granite. The tympanum
in the dormers on all sides of the building demon-
strate beyond a doubt, that in the hands of skillful
workmen there is hardly any kind ef ornament
which cannot be wrought in this granite.
The dormers on the north, south, and west sides
of the central court are, perhaps, the strongest
evidence that can be adduced of the delicate treat-
ment and beautiful finish that this granite will
bear. The coats of arms sculptured on them took
months to complete. Heraldic emblems are, in
my judgment, the most difficult ornaments to exe-
cute out of granite in order to get the proper
effect, as the smallest defect in any part would
destroy the whole.
The most skillful mechanics have been gathered
to this building. It has been my constant desire
to encourage and foster mechanical and artistic
talent wherever I found it. To do this, while con-
tending against the importunities of politicians, has
indeed been a hard task, and under the circum-
stances, it is little less than a miracle that the great
work has so successfully been prosecuted.
The great gable on the west front is elaborately
ornamented. The loggia is one of its principal
features. The tympanum is enriched with disks,
crossed and roseated, forming a diaper or drapery
of extraordinary beauty. Over the string-course,
and flanking the arches, stand the Winged Lions of
Babylon. Below the spandrels are sculptured in
bas-relief the figures of Justitia and Puritas. Sur-
mounting the whole is a massive finial, richly
carved in deep relief, and stamping the whole as
one of the best pieces of work ever executed out
of granite in this or any other country.
ISAAC G. PERRY.
To Mr. Isaac G. Perry has been entrusted the
work of carrying forward the construction of the
finest and most expensive building in this country,
and the third most expensive in the world — the
New Capitol at Albany. The history of Albany,
and of the great structure itself, would be incom-
plete without a sketch of his career.
Bom in Bennington, Vermont, in 1822, Mr.
Perry is in his sixty-third year, though his robust
frame and strongly-marked features would indicate
that he was much younger. Much of his early life
was passed at Keeseville, Essex County, New York,
where he received his education and acquired a
knowledge of the details of that which was to be
his life work. After a time he removed to New
York City, where lie made a success of his occu-
pation, and remained until he was induced to take
up his residence in Binghamton, N. Y. , where he
obtained a wide reputation as a builder and archi-
tect
The most important of his works before the
Capitol, was the Binghamton Asylum for the In-
STATE OF NEW YORK— BUILDINGS AND PUBLIC OFFICERS.
457
sane, a fine specimen of Elizabethan architecture.
Next only in importance was the new Court House
at Scranton, Pa., an elegant structure in the medi-
aeval style adapted to modern requirements. Near-
ly all of the modern built buildings in Bingham-
ton — and they are numerous and beautiful, as well
as substantial — are from his designs, as well as
many equally attractive ones in other cities.
March 30, 1883, Governor Cleveland appointed
Mr. Perry; Commissioner of the Construction of the
New Capitol, under the then recently enacted law
creating a single Commissioner to have entire charge
of the interests which had theretofore been confided
to a Board of Commissioners, and his appointment
was confirmed on the 5th of April following. The
appointment was entirely unsolicited by Mr. Perry,
who was chosen as an architect, not as a partisan.
He had been a life-long adherent to Democratic
principles, but had never thought that his vocation
as an architect and a builder had anything to do
with his political convictions as a citizen, and he'
had not made himself known to the country or to
the State by any prominence in politics. In an
editorial notice of Mr. Perry's appointment, the
Albany Argus said:
"He has carried to completion many edifices
which are attestations of good work, and the history
of them shows promptness, harmony and honesty
in every stage. He has large numbers of men in
his employment, and his record shows that he can
command their regard and respect while requiring
of them the utmost fidelity and energy. Great en-
terprises have confided to him enormous tasks, in-
volving the use of large capital, the development of
complicated plans, and the necessity of combining
thoroughness of work with rapidity of execution.
He has in every instance shown marked ability, ab-
solute integrit}', exceptional diligence and an intel-
ligent purpose to regard every undertaking as a
trust to be discharged with scrupulous observance
of economy, impartiality and every other sound
business principle."
His appointment was favorably commented up-
on by the Press of the State, irrespective of party,
and his administration of the duties of his office
has been such as to more than justify the enthusi-
astic predictions ol his friends. The sterling integ-
rity, good business sense and untiring energy which
gained him his previous enviable reputation, have
been brought to bear upon the Herculean task
which he has undertaken, and in which his mind
and his energies are almost wholly asserted; for, as
it has been remarked by the Albany Journal, "his
heart is wrapped up in the Capitol. * + * He
appears not to take much interest in politics, and
is ready to spend his days and evenings walking
about the Capitol, superintending the work, look-
ing over designs and planning improvements."
While the Capitol stands as a monument to the
liberaliiy of the people and the enterprise and fore-
thought of the public men of the State of New
York, and the artistic and architectural skill of its
own designers and builders, the memory of the
name of Mr. Perry can never pass away, and he
will be known as one of America's greatest archi-
tects and builders.
458
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
HISTORY
CITY OF ALBANY
EDITED BY PROF. JONATHAN TENNEY, M. A, PH. D.
THAT the boats of Henry Hudson passed up
as far as Albany in September, 1609, is con-
ceded; probably a few miles further; enough fur-
ther, at least, to satisfy the bold navigator that this
was not a feasible route to the Pacific Ocean and
Eastern Asia. To make settlements and found
colonies was not the purpose of Hudson. It is
quite likely some of those " very loving people and
very old men where we were well used," who
"came aboard and brought us ears of Indian
Corne, and Pompions and Tabacco," and " Bevers
Skinnes and Otters Skinnes, which wee bought for
Beades, Knives and Hatchets," were primitive Al-
banians of the Iroquois tribes, who dwelt in castles,
pursued their game, and caught their fish along the
Hudson.
Traders came later, and carried on, for many
years, a lucrative commerce with the native Indians.
Still later came settlers and colonists. Of these
we have already spoken in the history of Albany
County.
We cannot admit the usual claim that Albany
was settled by Walloons and Dutch in 1623.
There is no settlement without settlers. There are
no settlers unless they come to stay. The early
traders who came and went with no other purpose
than as adventurers or speculators, were not set-
tlers. When colonists came and occupied farms,
settlements began. There were none of these be-
fore 1630; but very few before about 1638 or 1640.
Albany can make no claim to settlement before
1630.
Nor do we admit that Albany has the oldest City
Charter of any State in the Union. Truth gives
history its real value. Albany was first chartered
July 22, 1686. As a city it is nearly two hundred
Note. — What the writer said in the early pages of this work in re-
lation to the alleged discovery of the Hudson by Verrazzano in 1524, is
in accord with his firm convictions. Indeed, if it had been the prcper
place for discussing a matter so little relevant to the History of Albany
County, he would have said more. He, as a historian, has given study
and thought to the whole matter, and is convinced that the Verrazzano
letter is not genuine, and that the maps and geographical statements
printed to confirm the alleged discoveries of this brigand, arc absurd in
detail, and absolute attempts at historic fraud. To any one who wishes
to satisfy a mind unprejudiced, the reading of " The Voyage of Verraz-
zano,'* by the late Hon. H. C. Murphy, is commended as the work of a
high-minded, impartial and learned historian, who studied the whole
matter with unusual opportunities for getting at the truth.
Nor have we any more faith in the tradition of ail early French fort
upon Castle Island, which has hardly the shadow of probability to sup-
port it.
years old— an age very respectable for this country.
But New York was not only settled earlier, as it
naturally would be, lying nearly one hundred and
fifty miles nearer the ocean; but its city charter is
older. Under Stuyvesant, it received a Dutch
charter dated February 2, 1657; under Governor
Nicolls it received an English charter dated June
12, 1665; and because it had been again a Dutch
city in 1673-74, it received another English charter,
under Dongan, April 22, 1686. After this, for
special reasons, new Royal charters were given
New York by Cornbury in 1708, and by Mont-
gomerie in 1730.
The surface of the city as seen by the early set-
tlers, was a narrow alluvial tract along the Hudson,
from which the ascent was gradual for nearly a
mile, until a plateau about two hundred feet above
tide level was reached, extending westwardly in a
sandy plain. The slope from the river was divided
into four well defined ridges, separated by deep
and wide valleys or ravines, which have been so
much improved by grading that they add much to
the varied beauty of the city, as well as to the facil-
ities for drainage. When the plateau is reached,
they now nearly disappear in the densely settled
part of the city. Streams formerly coursed through
these valleys.
Albany is underlaid by clay, resting on Hudson
river shales, and covered by an argillaceous sandy
loam, which, on the plains further west, is covered
with deep sand. The clay is worked into bricks
and pottery, and the sand is used in large quantities
for molding and other purposes.
The islands that belong to Albany are two only
— the old Kasteel, or Castle Island, which has been
called many different names, but is now placed on
the maps as Van Rensselaer Island. It is believed
to be the place where Corstiaensen landed and
where Elkins had charge of a trader's post about
1 6 14; which, on account of freshets, was removed
later to a hill further south, near where Kenwood
now is.
Jacob Elkins was an aggressive and energetic
skipper and trade adventurer. He kept up an
active traffic with the wild men of the forest for
several years, under the protection of the New
Netherlands Company. His scouting parties were
THE CITY OF ALBANY.
459
constantly engaged in exploring all the neighbor-
ing country, and in becoming better acquainted
with the savage tribes around them, with all of
whom it was the constant policy of the Dutch to
cultivate the most friendly relations. His trouble
with the traders at Fort Orange, in 1623, put an
end to his trade in New Netherlands.
The other island, nearly opposite the Manor
Mansion, is called Patroon's Island. The island
now occupied by the Boston and Albany Railroad,
between this city and Greenbush, belongs to Rens-
selaer County.
There have been five Kills, or creeks, which have
a name in history, whose waters are wholly or in part
in the City of Albany. All discharge their waters into
the Hudson. Some are now converted into sewers
for the city. They were once spoken of numeric-
ally, commencing with the most southerly, and
called First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Kill.
Later they were named Normanskill, Beaverkill,
Ruttenkill, Foxenkill, and Patroon's or Mill Creek.
The first named is one of the largest creeks
in the county. It empties into the Hudson at
Kenwood, just below the city, and is represented
in the city only b)' the head waters of the Krum-
kill, one of its branches. Capital and enterprise
would make it much more useful than it is.
Beaverkill, sometimes called Buttermilk Creek,
was once a mill-stream, affording considerable
water-power, which was utilized by mills for saw-
ing logs and grinding grain. A portion of it is
now covered for sewerage purposes. It rises in the
westerly part of the city and runs near Park Lake,
across the Penitentiary grounds and by Martinville,
into the Hudson a little below the steamboat
landing.
Ruttenkill had its source above Lark street, and
was a large stream only when it was swollen by
great rains or the melting of winter's snows. It
had a never-faihng supply of fish for many years,
and was the only creek flowing inside the old
city walls. Leaving the deep ravine in which now
hes Hudson avenue, it crossed South Pearl street
where Beaver block stands, and entered the Hudson
a little below State street. It was bridged in South
Pearl and Broadway. Along the sloping banks of
the old ravine the bricks which form the walls
of the older houses of the city were made. Rats
{ratteri) infested the banks of the stream, and, as
some suppose, gave name to it. Along its whole
length it now forms the bed of a sewer.
The Ruttenkill ravine extended from Lark street
to the plain along the Hudson River, and was
originally about three hundred feet broad and fifty
feet deep, throughout nearly its entire length.
It was a filthy place, almost a dismal waste, from
the first settlement of the city. Bo)'s who had
notliing else to do, in summer bathed in its dirty
pools and caught small fish there. From some of
these pools the Albany brewers were said to take
the water for their ale and beer. Out of a public
charge of this kind came the libel suit of John
Taylor vs. Edward C. Delavan, mentioned in our
article on Temperance. In this ravine gallows
were erected and malefactors were.hung. The last
case of this kind was the execution of Strang for
the murder of Whipple, in 1827, which was wit-
nessed by thousands from the lofty banks and
slopes on its borders. The ravine was filled and
hills lowered about 1845 to 1848, by turning the
latter into the former. About 600,000 yards of
blue clay and an equal amount of other filling was
excavated to accomplish this work. The contractor
for this great work was Charles Stanford, a native
of Watervliet, and brother of Governor Leland
Stanford. He pushed it forward with wonderful
energy and completed it to public acceptance.
From fifty to two hundred and fifty persons were
employed. Hudson avenue, with its nicely graded
street and pleasant buildings, now lies above the
ravine.
Foxenkill, before the city was enlarged, ran
outride the stockades, which, for many years,
formed the northern limits of the city proper. It
furnished an abundance of excellent fish at that
time. Sixty years ago it was crossed by a bridge in
North Pearl street, near Canal. This last named
street lies above the bed of the old creek.
Patroon's Creek once furnished the power for the
Patroons' mills, and discharges into the Hudson
near the Old Manor House. It now contributes
to the water supply and sewerage of the city.
We speak of the Hudson elsewhere.
The only lakes of the city are Tivoli, which
really forms a part of Patroon's Creek and thus
makes a reservoir, and Park Lake, an artificial
body of water which adds much to the beauty and
pleasure of Washington Park.
The history of Albany County involves, to a very
large extent, the history of the City of Albany until
after the revolution. Indeed there was little done
outside of the limits of the present city, in the
territory of Albany County. There were no
other towns incorporated until Watervliet was made
into a township March 7, 1788, including the whole
of the West District of Rensselaerwyck, as made by
the division of March 5, 1779. ^^ '^is territory
was sparsely settled at that time by farmers work-
ing leaseholds under the Patroons. We may ex-
cept a few millers and other mechanics scattered
among the tillers of the soil. Some settlers en-
gaged in small trade, some were artisans in a small
way, and some were laborers in the service of the
Patroon, near his manorial residence, just north of
the city. This latter territory made a little village,
and held a separate corporate existence for several
years, under the name of Colonic.
Whatever we have given in regard to the early
history of Albany County need not be repeated
here, as it belongs as well to the city, which, for
many years, contained nearly all the population
and did nearly all the business of what is now Al-
bany County; and, indeed, was the center of nearly
all the important events that transpired on the up-
per Hudson for all the years up to the close of the
revolutionary period. To the pages then, that
record this early history under each topic, we refer
for everything except what is almost exclusively
local in occuri;ence and ipfluence.
460
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Our plan of arrangement considers our wider
field, the County, made up, only when it came to be
fully settled, of separate townships of special in-
terests and events. Whatever facts existed in
topography, geography, natural history, aboriginal
occupation, early settlements, industries, warlike
contests, government, religion, education, and such
like, we have arranged under these topics. When
the events took root before the present century be-
gan, and grew out so as to have branches all over
the county, we have placed them under county
history. When the foundations were laid by the
fathers of the county in the early days, and the
work of building has been going on ever since, so as
to interest all the people who dwell in our present
territory of two cities, two incorporated villages,
and nine towns — we have placed the topic under
county history.
The City of Albany is situated in latitude 42"
39' 11" north, and longitude 3° 18' east from
Washington; 73° 45' west from London; and 15"
west from New York City.
The site was probably selected because of its situa-
tion on the Hudson near the head of tide- water, with
a convenient place for building a fort and for trade;
it was well watered by small creeks and well shel-
tered from the winds. The Mohawk Indians whom
the early traders met, seemed very friendly and
ready for business. Their castles were along the
Mohawk; and, at a very early date, along the
Hudson also.
The names given to this city have been: Pem-
po-tu-wuth-ut (place of the council-fire), by the
Mohegans; Sche-negh-ta-da (through the pine
woods), by the Iroquois; Ga-ish-tin-ic, by the
Minci; Fuyck (fouk), a hoop-net, otherwise Be-
versfuyck, supposed to refer to a bend in the river
where fish were caught, probably first Dutch name;
Beverwyck, a place for beavers, retained from about
1634 to 1664 (sometimes written Beverswyck);
Fort Orange, in honor of William, Prince of Orange
and Nassau; Rensselaerwyck, in honor of the
Patroons, the Van Rensselaers; Aurania, another
name for Orange; Williamstadt, in honor of Will-
iam, the Siadlholder; New Orange, in honor of
the Duke of Orange probably (a designation seldom
used); Oranjeburgh, city or fortress of Orange (a
name spoken of by Mrs. Grant); Albany, in honor
of James, Duke of York, Albany and Ulster, brother
of King Charles II, who made him proprietor of
the New Netherlands. He afterward ascended the
English throne, which he soon after descended, or
abdicated, because of his odious character.
The Dongan Charter boundaries in 1686 were —
east, by the Hudson at low-water mark; south, by
a line drawn from the southernmost end of the
pasture at the north end of Martin Gerritsen's
Island, and running back due northwest sixteen
miles into the woods, to a certain creek called
Sandkill; north, by a line parallel to the former,
about a mile distant; and west, by a straight line
drawn from the western extremities of the north
and south line. This Charter embraced rights to
certain fields and public buildings, the ferry, all
waste land, the right of fishing in the vicinity
of the Hudson within the limits of the county,
and of purchasing from the Indians 500 acres of
meadow land at Schaahtecogue on the north, and
1,000 acres at Tiononderoga (Fort Hunter) on
the west, in the Mohawk country, on which to plant
colonies as barriers against hostile incursions.
After the counties were organized and towns
formed from old Watervliet, or west division of
Rensselaerwyck, its boundaries may be described
as — westerly by Rotterdam and Niskayunain Sche-
nectady County; easterly by a line running through
the center of the Hudson River channel; south-
erly by Bethlehem and Guilderland; northerly by
Colonie and Watervliet.
The first territorial change was made February
25, 1815, by annexing a part of old Colonie, whose
line, adjoining Albany, extended from the river
westerly along where now are Quackenbush street
and Clinton avenue, formerly Patroon street.
This formed for many years the old Fifth Ward.
The other part of Colonie, embracing the residence
of the Patroon, was set off to Watervliet at the
same time.
The next and last territorial changes in the City
cf Albany were made by State laws, passed April 6,
1870, Chapter 139, and April 26, 1871, Chapter
727, and are described as follows:
'•All that part of the town of Bethlehem, in the
County of Albany, embraced within the following
limits, is hereby annexed to and made part of the
City of Albany, to wit: Beginning at the northwest-
erly corner of the east abutment of the Albany and
Susquehanna Railroad Bridge, over the Albany and
Bethlehem Turnpike, and running thence north-
westerly parallel with the present south bounds of
the City of Albany to a point ten chains west of
the west line of the Delaware Turnpike; thence
northeasterly at right angles with the last named
line to a point three-fourths of one mile from the
present south bounds of the City of Albany, meas-
ured at right angles with the city line; thence
northwesterly and parallel with the present south
bounds of the city to a point two chains west of the
west range of Allen street produced; thence north-
easterly three-fourths of one mile to a point in the
south bounds in the City of Albany two chains
west of the west line of Allen street; thence south-
easterly along the present south bounds of the City
of Albany to the Rensselaer County hne; thence
southerly along said line two hundred and sixty-
four feet; thence northwesterly to the face of the
dock on the south side of the island creek; thence
northwesterly along the face of said dock to a point
opposite the west range of Green street; thence
westerly and southerly along the east low-water
line of the island creek to a point in range of the
first boundary line produced; southeasterly to the
island creek; thence northwesterly along said line
to the northwesterly corner of the east abutment of
the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Bridge, the
place of beginning.
"Also all that part of the town of Watervliet, in the
County of Albany, embraced within the following
described limits, is hereby annexed to the city of
Albany, to wit; beginning at a point in the present
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
461
north boundary line of the City of Albany, three-
fourths of one mile west of the west range of Allen
street, as laid down in the city map; running thence
northeasterly on a line at right angles with the
present north line of the City of Albany one chain
north of low-water line of the main channel of
Patroon's Creek; thence running easterly and par-
allel with the general course of said creek, and one
chain northerly therefrom to a point six thousand
seven hundred and twenty feet from the center of
the "Russell Road" measured along the center
line of the New York Central Railroad; thence
northeasterly on a line drawn at right angles with
the present north bounds of the city to a point one
and one-fourth miles from the said city line; thence
southeasterly and on a line parallel wiih the present
north bounds of the city, and at the distance of one
and one-fourth miles therefrom, to a point three
thousand three hundred and twenty feet westerly of
the west line of the Watervliet Turnpike and Rail-
road; thence northeasterly on a line parallel with
said Watervliet Turnpike and Railroad one thou-
sand six hundred feet; thence southeasterly on a line
drawn at right angles with the said Watervliet
Turnpike and Railroad to the Rensselaer County
line; thence southerly along the Rensselaer County
line to the northerly line of the present bounds of
the City of Albany, and thence along the same
westerly to the place of beginning.
" All that part of the City of Albany lying north-
west of a line drawn from a point in the south line
of the City of Albany, where the northerly line of
the Great Western Turnpike crosses the said city
line, and running northeasterly at right angles with
the said city line, to the north bounds of said city
shall be and the same is set off from the Citv of
Albany and annexed to and made part of the town
of Watervliet, in Albany County; and all laws now
in force applicable to the said town of Watervliet,
are hereby made applicable to that portion of said
city hereby annexed to said town."
The town of Watervliet being unwilling to ac-
cept this addition to its territory, Chapter 727, Laws
of 1 87 1, passed April 26th, provided that the said
territory described in the preceding section should
be set off from Watervliet and annexed to the town
of Guilderland, in Albany County.
To R. H. Bingham, Esq,, for many years the
City Engineer and Surveyor of Albany, our ac-
knowledgments are due for the statements con-
tained in the paragraphs following:
The exterior lines of our city are somewhat ir-
regular. It is bounded N. by Watervliet; W. by
Watervliet and Guilderland; S. by Bethlehem; and
E. by the center of Hudson River. Its river front
extends 4 miles; and measured through the State
Capitol, its extent N. and S. and E. and W. is 4
miles, containing an area of 11^ square miles, or
7,360 acres.
The elevation of the base floor line of the New
Capitol is 161.09 'set above the sea, estimated
from mean low water at Governor's Island, in New
York Harbor, and 158.48 feet above mean low
water in the Hudson at Albany. The slope of the
Hudson from Albany to New Vork is 2.61 feet,
wliich makes the mean tide at Albany 2.61 feet
above that at Governor's Island. The highest tide
at Albany is 3.60 feet, and the mean rise and fall,
2.32 feet. The mid-stream ebb cuirent flows about
2 feet per second, or .75 feet on the whole river.
Boats carry 9 feet at mean low water.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
ALBANY received its charter as a city on the
22d day of July, 1686, from Thomas Don-
gan. Governor of the Province of New York. The
original document is on file in the City Chamber-
lain's office, as is also a copy of it, printed by
Hugh Gaines in 1771. It is mtroduced as follows:
"Thomas Dongan, Lieutenant and Governor
of the Province of New York and dependencies in
America, under his most sacred Majesty, James
the Second, by the Grace of God, of England,
Scotland, France and Ireland, King, defender of
the faith, etc., and Supreme Lord and proprietor
of the said province of New York and its depend-
encies, to all persons to whom these presents shall
or may come, or in any wise concerned, sendeth
greeting:"
Then follows the charter, a voluminous docu-
ment, drawn with all the care and nice legal dic-
tion of the age, with numerous repetitions, protect-
ing the interests not only of the Crown, but of the
citizens of Albany with the most scrupulous care.
It begins by saying that "the town of Albany is
an ancient town within the said Province, and the
inhabitants of the said town have held, used and
enjoyed, as well within the same as elsewhere
within the said province, divers and sundry rights,
liberties, privileges, fianchises, free customs, pre-
emmences, advantages, jurisdictions, emoluments
and immunities, as well by prescription as by
grants, confirmations and proclamations, not only
by divers governors and commanders in-chief in
the said province under his said Majesty, but also
of several Governois, generals and commanders-
in-chief of the Nether-Dutch-Nation, whilst the
same was or has been under their power and sub-
jection. And whereas divers lands, tenements
and hereditaments, jurisdictions, liberties, immuni-
ties and privileges have heretofore been given and
granted to the inhabitants of the said town, some-
times by the name of commissaries of the town of
Beverwyck; sometimes by the name of commissaries
Qf the town of Albany; sometimes by the name of
462
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
schepenen of Williamstadt; and sometimes by the
name of justices of the peace for the town of
Albany; and by divers other names as by their sev-
eral grants, writings, records and minutes amongst
other things may more fully appear. And whereas
the inhabitants of the said town have erected,
built and appropriated at their own proper cost
and charges, several public buildings, accommoda-
tions, and conveniencies for the said town, as also
certain pieces or parcels of ground for the use of
the same — that is to say, the town-hall or stadt-
house, with the ground thereunto belonging; the
church or meeting place, with the ground about
the same; the burial place adjoining to the pali-
sades at the southeast end of the town; the watch-
house and ground thereunto belonging.
"Also a certa:in piece or parcel of land commonly
called 'the Pasture,' situate, lying and being to
the southward of the said town, near the place
where the old Fort stood, and extending along
Hudson's River till it comes over against the most
northerly point of the Island commonly called
Martin Gerritsen's Island, having to the East the
Hudson river; to the South the Manor of Rens-
selaerwyck; to the West the highway leading to the
town; the pasture late in the tenure and occupa-
tion of Martin Gerritsen, and the pasture late in
the tenure and occupation of Caspar Jacobse; to the
North the several pastures late in the tenure of and
occupation of Rob' Sanders, Myndert Harmense
and Evert Wendell, and the several gardens late in
the tenures of Dirck Wessels, Killian Van Rens-
selaer and Abraham Staat, with their and every of
their appurtenances."
This charter in no way interfered with or abridg-
ed the citizens of any of their liberties, privileges,
franchises, rights, royalties, free customs, jurisdic-
tion and immunities; nor with the rights of their
respective messuages, lands, hereditaments and
leaseholds, etc. The charter provided that, "the
said town should forever thereafter be called by
the name of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common-
alty of the City of Albany." The charter also
"grants to the City of Albany, all the waste,
vacant, unappropriated land lying and being in the
City and the precincts and liberties thereof, extend-
ing and reaching to the low-water mark in, by and
through all parts of the said City, together with all
rivers, rivulets, coves, creeks, ponds, water courses
in the said City not heretofore granted. "
One of the most important parts of the Charter
is that which gives the Corporation of the City
power to purchase and hold land in their cor-
porate name; it is given as follows:
"I do, by these presents, give and grant unto
the said Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty, full
power and license at their pleasure, likewise to
purchase from the Indians the quantity of one
thousand acres of low or meadow land lying at a
certain place called or known by the name of
Tionnondoroge, which quantity of i,ooo acres of
low or meadow land shall and may be in what
part of Tionondoroge, or the land adjacent on both
sides of the river, as they, the said Mayor, Alder-
men and Commonalty of the said City of Albany
shall think most convenient; which said several
parcels of low or meadow land I do hereby, in be-
half of his said Majesty, his heirs and successors,
give, grant and confirm unto the said Mayor,
Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Albany
aforesaid, to be and remain to the use and behoof
of them and their successors forever. To have
and to hold all and singular, the premises to the
said Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the
said City of Albany and their successors forever,
rendering and paying therefor unto his most sacred
Majesty, his heirs, successors and assigns, or to
such officer or receiver as shall be appointed' to
receive the same, yearly, forever hereafter, the an-
nual quit rent or acknowledgement of one beaver
skin, in Albany, on the five and twentieth day of
March, yearly forever. "
The Charter provides that the limits of the city
shall be as follows:
" The City of Albany shall henceforth extend
and reach as well in length and in breadth, as in
circuit, on the East by Hudson's river, so far as
low water mark; to the South by a line to be
drawn from the southernmost end of the pasture,
at the North end of the island called Gerritsen's
Island, running back into the woods i6 English
miles due northwest, to a certain Kill or Creek,
called the Sand Kill on the North, to a line to be
drawn from the Post that was set by Governor
Stuyvesant near Hudson's river, running likewise
northwest i6 English miles, and on the west by a
straight line, to be drawn from the points of the
said South and North lines."
It also provides that
"The Mayor, Aldermen and Recorder shall be
Justices and Keepers of the Peace, and Justices to
hear and determine matters and causes within the
said City and precincts thereof, to hear, determine
and punish all petty larcenies and all other petty
offences."
It gives the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty,
and their successors forever, land's, tenements, rents
and other possession, within or without the City,
so as the same does not exceed the sum of ;^i,OQO
per annum; and also gives them power to grant
and sell the same.
The Mayor was. ex officio, Coroner and Clerk of
the Market, and he with the Aldermen and Re-
corder of the City were to be Justices of the Peace
of the County, and as such "shall and may sit in
the Court of Sessions or County Courts, and Courts
of Oyer and Terminer, that shall from time to
time be held in said County; and that the Mayor,
Recorder and some one of the Aldermen shall
preside at such County Courts and Courts of Ses-
sions. The Town Clerk of the said city shall al-
ways be the Clerk of the Peace, and Clerk of
the Sessions or Court of the County."
Governor Dongan in this Charter designates
the officers of the said city as follows:
"There shall be forever hereafter, within the
said City, a Mayor, Recorder, Town Clerk, and six
Aldermen and six Assistants, to be appointed,
nominated, elected, chosen and sworn, as herein-
after is particularly and respectively mentioned.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
463
who shall be forever hereafter called the Mayor,
Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Albany,
and that there shall be, forever, one Chamberlain
or Treasurer, one Sheriff, one Coroner, one Clerk
of the Market, one High Constable, three Sub-
Constables, one Marshal or Sergeant-at-Mace, to
be appointed, chosen and sworn in manner here-
after mentioned. That the Mayor, Aldermen and
Common Council of the City of Albany shall be
one body corporate and politic, in deed, fact and
name; and that by the name of the Mayor, Alder-
men and Commonalty of the City of Albany, they
may have perpetual succession."
The Charter then proceeds to appoint the Mayor,
Common Council and other officers of the city
under the Charter, which were as follows:
Peter Schuyler, Mayor; Jan Bleecker, Cham-
berlain; Jsaac Swinton, Recorder; Richard Pretty,
Sheriff; Robert Livingston, Clerk; James Parker,
Marshal.
Aldermen. — Dirk Wessels, Jan Jans Bleecker,
David Schuyler, Johannis Wendell, Lavinus Van
Schaack, Adrian Gerrilse.
Assistant Aldermen. — Joachim Staats, John Lan-
sing, Isaac Verplanck, Lawrence Van Ale, Albert
Ruyckman, Melgert Winantse.
Early in July, previous to the granting of this
Charter, Peter Schuyler and Robert Livingston
were appointed Commissioners by the town of
Albany, which appointment was ratified by the
Magistrates of the city, to go to New York, and
procure the Charter we have described, which they
did, and the same was agreed to between the
Magistrate, and Colonel Dongan, Governor-Gen-
neral of the Province of New York.
On the 2 2d of July, 1686, the Commissioners
returned with the same, and were publicly re-
ceived "with all the joy and acclamations imagin-
able, and received the thanks of the magistrates,
burgesses and other dignitaries of the city, for
their diligence and care," Peter Schuyler took the
oath of Mayor, to act until a further ratification of
his appointment by the citizens. In the same
manner the Aldermen and Assistant Aldermen we
have named, took the oath of office and entered
upon their duties.
The following is a copy of the minutes of the first
meeting of the Justices of the Peace after the re-
turn of Pieter Schuyler and Robert Livingston with
the charter, and a copy of the oath administered to
the Mayor:
"Att a meeting of y° Justices of y' peace for y'
County of Albany, y' 26th day of July, a.d. 1686.
"Pieter Schuyler, gent, and Rob' Livingston,
gent, who were commissionated by y° towne of
Albanie to goe to New Yorke and procure y"
Charter for this citty w"" was agreed upon between
y" magistrates and y' right hon'. Co'. Tho. Dongan,
Gov. Gen", who accordingly have brought the
same along with them, and was published with all
y' joy and acclamations imaginable, and y* said
two gent" received y" thanks of y' magistrates and
burgesses for their diligence and care in obtaining
y' same; and whereas Pieter Schuyler is nominated
and appointed to be Mayor of y' citty of Albany by
y° said charter, till such time that anoy' fitt person
be chosen in his room. Was sworn as follows:
"Whereas, you Pieter Schuyler are appointed
and commissionated to be mayor and clerk of y'
market and coroner of y' citty of Albany, as also
coroner for y' s'' county, by y' charter granted to
y' said citty by y' Right Hon'" Coll. Tho. Dongan,
Gov. Gen" of this province, you doe swear by y'
ever living God y' y" will truly endevor, to y' best
of y' skill, with a good conshience and according
to y" laws of this Government dispence justice
equally in all cases and to all p'sons whereunto by
vertue of y' office you are impowered, and further
official and perform y' duty and office of Mayor,
clerk of y market and coroner, in every respect
to y" best of y' knowledge and capacity, so help y°
God."
Previous to this City Charter, the laws of Albany
were administered by the Justices of the Peace, who
were invested with certain judicial and municipal
powers by the Governor-General of the Province of
New York. With the municipal jurisdiction given
the Mayor and Aldermen by the Charter, were large
judicial powers.
The Mayor and the Aldermen, with certain Jus-
tices of the Peace, were authorized to hold courts
of civil and criminal jurisdiction. This Court be-
came one of great importance, and continued down
to the Revolution, and with some changes, applic-
able to the new form of government, after the
adoption of the first State Constitution.
The Mayor's Court, as it was called, possessed
the powers and duties of a Court of Probate of
Wills, and these now held by Surrogates. They
also decided the time and place of holding elec-
tions. The first meeting, or Court, of the Mayor and
Aldermen, was held at the City Hall in Albany,
August 31, 1686. It was both a Court of Justice
and a meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen for the
transaction of municipal business.
Among the legal cases was one of a negro, Her-
cules, charged by Myndert Frederickse with steal-
ing wampum out of his house, belonging to the
churchwardens of the Lutheran Church.
The negro, having confessed the theft, was sen-
tenced "to be whipped through y' towne at y'
carte tale by y' hangman, for an example to others. "
His master was ordered to pay the costs.
Regulations were also passed for the observance
of the Sabbath.
The following order in regard to non-attend-
ance at the meetings of the Common Council was
made:
' ' Whoever of the members ofthe Com mon Coun-
cil shall be absent att y" second ringing of y' bell,
being in towne, at any common council day, shall
forfeit six shillings, toties quoties."
Extended regulations were adopted in regard to
the Indian trade.
The salary of Robert Livingston, Clerk of the
Board, in consideration of his diverse services, was
advanced so that he was to have twenty pounds per
annum.
Early in 1689, King James was compelled to
abdicate the throne, and was succeeded by Will-
464
Hl^TOkY OF THE eoVNTr OF AL^ANV.
iam.and Mary. On July i, 1689, the news of their
accession to the throne was received in Albany.
A meeting of the Mayor and Common Council
was immediately convened, which, by an ordinance
or proclamation, announced a meeting of the citi-
zens, to take place the next day in front of the City
Hall. This meeting took place. A procession
was formed, consisting of the Mayor and Aldermen,
with other city officials and citizens, who marched
up to the fort, where the Mayor, in a solemn man-
ner, proclaimed in English and in Dutch, William
and Mary their lawful sovereigns. At the conclu-
sion of the ceremony the guns at the fort were
fired and the bells rang out joyful peals.
It is our purpose to give only such doings of the
Common Council of the city as we consider most
interesting and instructive, as illustrative of the
spirit of the age, as well as its material condition.
At a meeting of the Council held at the City
Hall, October 14, 1695 (Evart Bancker, Ma3'or),
the city being ;^2,ooo in arrears of taxes, the follow-
ing order was made :
"Whereas the arriears of y* ;^2,ooo and
;^i,50o tax having been directed to y' constables
of each warde by an warrant from Dirk Wessells,
Justice, which constables give in their report, that
all who are indebted to y' said arriears gives them
an answer that they have paid it, and setts them aft
from time to time."
At the same meeting a committee was appointed
to examine the Treasurer's account, and a warrant
was directed to be issued to "fetch up all the
lycenses." These "lycenses" were granted to
persons for the right to sell various kinds of mer-
chandise The Justices of the County were also
directed to appear before the Board on December
9th following, "to correct all affairs between the
Citty and County."
At a meeting of the Mayor and Common Coun-
cil held December 3, 1695, a case came before the
Board, the disposal of which seems to have greatly
puzzled the city dignitaries, as appears in the fol-
lowing :
"Cornelia Vanderheyden appears here at y' barr,
and gives in y* oath of her suster Ariaantje,
who is brought to child-bed, that Leift Symon
Young is y' father thereof, y' only father, and
none but he; and deseres that )'' mayor and al-
dermen would use some methodd or anoyr with
y' ^ Young for the maintenance of the child."
What method their Honors took to compel
Lieutenant Symon Young to support his child, does
not appear.
Some time after this action of the Common
Council, Lieutenant Young was appointed Sheriff
of Albany, and proposed to take and support the
child; but the mother refused, and there the mat-
ter ended.
On December 17th there was an order made ftr
"repairing the City Stockadoes, which were out of
repair toward the river side; and that four hundred
and fifty new Stockadoes should be provided, to be
13 feet long and a foot over, and that a war-
rant may be directed to the assessors, to make an
equal assessment thereof upon the inhabitants, and
then deliver the same to the Mayor. "
At this time the city was surrounded, for its pro-
tection, by a stockade, thirteen feet in height. The
lines of this, stockade were Steuben street on the
north, Hudson street on the south, the river on the
east, and Lodge street on the west Afterward the
stockade was extended.
In the winter of 1696 there was a great scarcity
of grain, especially wheat. The merchants and
grain dealers having purchased large quantities of
wheat for the purpose of shipping it to New York,
where it was nearly double the price paid in Al-
bany— although commanding a high price in that
city — caused great suffering, inasmuch as they re-
fused to sell wheat in any quantities.
At a meeting of the Common Council, March
10, 1696, the matter was presented to the Board,
and the merchants were summarily dealt with for
their exorbitance, as appears from the following
order :
" Whereas, Several persons of y' citty and county
has given in a complaint to y* Mayor and justices
of y citty and County, y' there is severall persons
doe goe with money in thare hands to buy wheat,
and can not have it, by reason y marchants has
engrossed in there hands, being resolved to ship it
for New York; the Mayor, aldermen, and justices
of y* peace have resolved and agreed upon y' no
merch" or any other persons whatsoever shall ship
any com aboard any sloop, vessel, boat whatso-
ever untill such time wee have his Excell. direc-
tions in it, as they will answer upon there uttmost
perill."
The following quaint order, providing for the
necessities of an impecunious citizen, s-hows that
their Worships, the Mayor and Common Council,
were not inaccessible to flattery:
July 17, 1697, " Whereas, Mr. Leeft Oliver
doth make his addresse to the Court for bedding,
since he complains that he is in great necessity for
want thereof, y° gent" of y' Court cannot fynde
that they are obliged to furnish such supplies, but,
in consideration of his Civilly, doe give as a gift
y' summe of five pieces of eight"
At the time of which we are writing, the gates
of the city were opened and closed by an officer
called the City Porter, appointed by the Mayor
and Common Council
At a meeting of the Board, held in the City Hall
in Albany, November 23, 1697, the following
order was adopted:
" Whereas, It is by the Mayor, Aldermen and
Commonalty concluded, who have appointed John
Ratecliffe as Citty Porter, instead of Hend. Mar-
selis. Deceased, that he is upon all occasionable
times to open and shutt y= gates of this Citty, es-
pecially in y' mornings and in y' evenings at y ap-
pointed time, as also to attend y' Church Ringing
of y" bell on all occasions, for which he is to re-
ceive yearly eight and twenty Pieces of Eight at six
shillings, and to be paid quarterly; moreover, he,
y' s* John Ratecliffe, is to attend y' Burger Guards,
to keep them clain, and to- make every evening a
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
465
fyre, wherefore he is to receive Three pence per
Diem. Who hath made oath to be true."
At a meeting of the Common Council, held May
9, 1698, a resolution was adopted for building an
Indian House on the Hill, for the accommodation
of the Indians.
February i, 1699, the Common Council "Re-
solved, That one other Indian house, besides y" two
heretofore resolved on in January last, shall be
build just upon y' hill going up from y' Parle
street geat northwesterly, in or about y" middle
part of said hill, where y" whole Common Councill
foithwith shall appoynt f Place, and y' y' Building
and Charges thereof shall bee in y° lyke manner as
y' two houses aforesaid."
We have thus given a history of the organization
of the Municipal Government of Albany, and some
of the most interesting proceedings of the Common
Council, from its first meeting July 26, 1686, to
the close of 1699, showing how the city gov-
ernment was conducted for the first thirteen years
of its existence.
The Municipality of Albany thus organized.
Continued with great regularity and success down
to the termination of the Provincial or Colonial
Government, eaily in 1776.
From 1700 to 1753 '^^^ city was governed with
great wisdom through successive municipal admin-
istrations.
At a meeting of the Common Council July 31,
'753> an order was made directing that the pave-
ment between the houses of Jacob Lansing and
David Schuyler, in the Third Ward, be raised, so
that the water that came down from the hill be-
tween the houses of David Vischer and Jacob Lans-
ing may vent itself through the lane or street, and
so down to the river.
At a meeting of the Common Council, held July
10, 1756, the following important resolution was
adopted;
"Resolved, That the Clerk draw a deed to the
Minister, Church Wardens and Vestrymen of St.
Peter's Church, in the City of Albany, for them
and their successors, in trust forever, for a piece of
ground for a burying place, lying upon the Hill ad-
joining the fort, agreeable to a map made by John
R. Bleecker, and that the Mayor execute a deed,
and cause the City Seal to be thereupon affixed in
behalf of the Corporation."
At a meeting of the Common Council, held
April 3, 1760, Sybrant G. Van Schack, Mayor, the
matter of the great scarcity of water in the city and
neighborhood came up, under a proposal to bring
water in pipes from the hills, collect it in reservoirs,
and erecting pumps. The matter was presented in
the form of a petition, asking the Mayor and Cor-
poration for a conveyance of the right so to do to
the petitioners, their heirs and assigns, forever,
under proper restriction, and to the end that every
citizen may be partakers of the ease and advantage
of it, provided he pays unto the petitioners eight
shillings annually, and conform himself to the
articles of the agreement."
After a full hearing, the Board adopted the follow-
ing resolution:
"Resolved, that the petitioners have an instrument
drawn, including their petition; that the Mayor
will sign the same and cause the Seal of the City to
be thereupon affixed, by virtue of this resolution."
This, we believe, is the first action ever taken by
the municipal authorities of Albany for bringing
water into the city.
The following important historic entry was made
in the city records at a meeting of the Common
Council held April 3, 1760 :
"Whereas, A number of gentlemen residing in
this City have signified to the Mayor, Recorder,
Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Albany,
that they are desirous of establishing a Presbyterian
Church in the same, this is to certify that the Mayor,
Recorder, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City
of Albany, that they are desirous of establishing a
Presbyterian Church in the same.
" This is to certify, That the Mayor, Recorder,
Aldermen and Commonahy of the city aforesaid,
do very much approve of so laudable an inten-
tion, and promise that they will do every thing
in their power to encourage and promote the same,
and that the Mayor sign this in behalf of the Cor-
poration, and that the Clerk affix the City seal
to it."
. By the condition of the original Charter of
Albany, the title of all the land lying within the
Corporation was vested in the Mayor, Recorder
and Common Council, and in tracing the proceed-
ings of the Common Council, we find on almost
every page resolutions of the Board directing the
Clerk to execute deeds to the grantees of lands and
to affix the seal of the Corporation thereto.
The first deed of lands executed by the Corpora-
tion of the city is dated November i, 1687. It is
a document of so much interest and importance
that we insert a copy of it from the early records
of the county.
"To All Christian People to whom these pres-
ents Shall Come, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Com-
monality of y' Citty of Albany Send Greeting in our
Lord God Everlasting. Know y' that for and in
consideration of y' sum of three hundred an
ninty pounds currant money of this province to
them in hand paid, at and before y° ensealing
and delivery hereof, iDy Doctor Godfredius Dellius,
Minister of y° Reformed Nether Dutch Congrega-
tional Dutch Church, Albany, a certain piece or
parcel of land commonly called or known by
y' name of Pasture, Situate, lying and being to y'
Southward of y" said Citty, near ^ place where
y" Fort Stood, and extending along Hudson River
dll it comes over against y" most northerly point of
y' Island, commonly called Marston Gerritsen's
Island; having to y" east Hudson River, to y"
south y" manor of Renslarewck, to y" west of
highway leading to f Towne, Y" pasture lots in
y' occupation of Martin or Marston Geritsen, and
466
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the pasture lot in y' occupation of Casper Jacobs,
to the north of y' several pasture lots in y* occu-
pation of Robert Sanders, Myndert Harmons and
Evert Wendell, and y' Several Garden lots in y"
Tenure and Occupation of Killian Van Rensselaer
and Abraham Staats. Together with All and Singu-
lar y' profits, commodities and appurtenances
whatsoever to -f said Pasthur Piece or Parcel of
land and Premises, or any part or parcel thereof
Belonging or in any way appertaining to or with the
same, now or at any time heretofore belonging or
own'd, occupyed, enjoyed as part, parcell or mem-
ber thereof, and All deeds, Evidences and writings
Touching and Concerning the premises Only.
"To HAVE AND TO HOLD y' Said pasthur pece or
parcell of land, and all and Singular of y" Premises,
with their and every of their appurtenances unto
the Said Godfredius Dellius, his heirs and assigns, to
y" Sole and only Proper use. Benefit and Behoof of
said Godfredius Dellius, his heirs and Assigns, for
Ever; and y' said Mayor, Aldermen and Common-
ality doth by these presents Covenant, Promise and
Engage y* said pasthur piece or parcel of land so
as the same is granted to them in the Charter dted
y' 22d of July, 1686, with their and every of their
Appurtenances, unto the said Doctor Godfredius
Dellius, his Exutr' and Assigns, in his and their
peaceable possession for Ever, from any grant or
conveyance whatsoever made, or to be made, by
said Mayor, Aldermen and Commonality, or their
successors. In witness whereof, y" Mayor of y" said
Citty hath hereunto Set his hand and Caused y' Seal
of said Citty to be hereunto affixed, and these pres-
ents to be entered on our public record. Dated y"
1st day of November, 1687, in the 3" year of
y' Reign of our Sovereign Lord James y" Second,
by y° Grace of God, of England Scotland, France
and Ireland King, Defender of y' faith. Supreme
and y° only ruler of y' Province of New York.
" Peter Schuyler, Mayor."
It often occurred that the Common Council sold
pieces and parcels of land at public auction; for
instance, at a meeting of the Common Council
held at Albany on the nth of December, 1760,
the following resolution was adopted:
"Resolved by this Board, That the Clerk put
up Advertisements that a piece of land lying on the
Gallows hill containing between 10 and 1 1 acres,
as per Draft to be seen at the time of Sale, to be
sold at Public Vendue on Saturday, the 20th day of
this current month, by the Mayor, Aldermen and
Commonalty at two o'clock in the afternoon at the
City Hall in the City of Albany."
From the best authority we can find. Gallows
Hill was south of the city as it was then laid out
At a meeting of the Common Council held
February 19, 176 1, the following resolution was
adopted :
"That Mr. John Bleecker make a survey of the
land set forth in the petition of the Minister, Elders
and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch Church of this
city, leaving sufficient room for highways, for which
this Board is to give a deed to said Minister, Elders
and Deacons, and their successors forever, for
and in consideration of ^^50, current money of
New York, and a reserve of jf 20 per annum for-
ever." The tract of land thus sold contained fifty-
three acres, the description of which is found in
Bleecker's Survey.
By far the most important proceeding of the
Common Council for the year 1762, was the grant
made by it, to Abraham E. Wendell, of a tract of
valuable land occupying what is now the heart of
the city, known as the Wendell Patent, which is
briefly described as follows:
" On the northwest side it was 1,207 feet in a
straight line; the southwesterly corner of the patent
was located in the center of the block west of
Eagle street, between Hamilton and Hudson
streets; and the northeasterly corner, which was
the end of the above mentioned straight line, ter-
minated on the west side of Lodge street about
152 feet north of Howard street The other lines
of said patent are irregular, the southeast corner
terminating in the center of Williams street, about
fifty feet south of Beaver street In following the
southeast line, a bend and corner is located in the
center of the block between Philip, Grand, Hud-
son and Plain streets, the last remaining corner
terminating about ninety-five feet east of Eagle on
the north side of Hamilton. The greater portion
of the land where the old Normal School building
stands, belonged to the Wendell Patent"
The original map of this patent is now in the
possession of the descendants of the original pat-
entee, Abraham E. Wendell. It also appears, by
distinct lines, on several early maps of the city.
This was one of the early transfers of the real es-
tate acquired by the Corporation of Albany to
which we have referred.
On October 8, 1765, the Board resolved to pro-
cure the ground where Fort Orange formerly stood,
to be vested in the Crown, on which to erect store-
houses, so long as the services of his Majesty might
require.
Among the proceedings of the Common Coun-
cil, held October 14, 1765, was one of peculiar
interest, in regard to protection against fires, by
way of keeping chimneys cleaned, etc. By ordi-
nance it was provided that when any chimney should
take fire in a dwelling-house the occupant forfeited
forty shillings, and that whosoever of the City
Guard should discover any accidental fire in dwell-
ing-houses, oiit-houses or stables, or any other
combustible matter, received for the discovery the
sum of;^3.
At a meeting of the Common Council, held No-
vember 15, 1768, articles of agreement were en-
tered into between the Mayor, Aldermen and Com-
monalty of the City of Albany, of the one part,
and Stephen Van Rensselaer, Esq., Lord of the
Manor of Rensselaerwyck, in the County of Al-
bany, known as the Patroon, of the second part,
by which the party of the second part covenanted
and agreed, to the said Mayor, Aldermen, etc.,
their successors and assignees, that he will, within
three months of the date of letters-patent to be
granted by the Crown, giving him the exclusive
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
467
rights of all ferriages on Hudson River, in the
County of Albany, between Bears' Island to the
Cohoes, grant to the said Mayor and Commonalty
the exclusive right to all ferriages and liberty of land-
ing, passing and repassing, from the mouth of a certain
creek, commonly known as DeVysele Kill, on the
south of the city limits, to lands of H. Van Schack;
with one acre of ground, to be taken by said Cor-
poration in such position as it shall think most
convenient to them, joining to and on the north
bounds of John VanRensselaer
One of the offices under the Corporation was
that known as the "Town Whipper," a very useful
official. We find in the records of the Corpora-
tion very frequent instances where he discharged
the duties of liis office uf)on criminals in a manner
so exemplary and commendable, that he often re-
ceived due recognition of his efforts — as in one
case where Rick Van Toper, in 1762, was voted,
by the Common Council, the sum of five shillings
and sixpence, in addition to his regular fees, "for
the due and wholesome manner in which he laid
the lash upon the back of Tiberius Haines, who
had been convicted of beating his wife in a most
cruel and heartless manner.
At a meeting of the Common Council, held in
the City of Albany, on the 30th of January, lySq,
the following entry was made:
"The Corporation this day agreed with Benja-
min Gable to be the town Whipper at the rate of
^"20 per annum for that service, and if the sheriff
wants him to execute any person, he is to perform
that service likewise, the sheriff paying him there-
for."
Un the 20th March, 1770, the Common Council
agreed to let Thomas Lotteridge have the ferry lead-
ing from Albany to Green Bush for three years, for
thirty pounds per year, and to make a dock about
14 feet broad, for the convenience of persons and
carriages going to or from the ferry-boats.
A very important and interesting question arose
in the early part of Mayor Cuyler's administration,
in 1770. Certain provisions in the charter of the
city were construed by the Mayor and Aldermen in
a manner that rendered them, ex nfficio, members of
the Supreme Court, and members of the Court of
Oyer and Terminer. But the right to a seat on the
Bench with the Judges of those Courts was consid-
ered doubtful, and was not insisted upon until
Cuyler was appointed Mayor. He considered him-
self a Magistrate, and the IBoard of Aldermen as, ex
officio, members of these Courts. The term of the
Supreme Court and the Court of Oyer and Termi-
ner began its sittings at Albany on Monday, June
5, 1771, at 2 o'clock p. M. In the forenoon of that
day, a meeting was held, and a resolution was
adopted by the Board, appointing the Mayor and
Aldermen Yates and Ten Broeck a committee to
wait upon the Judges of the Supreme Court and
Court of Oyer and Terminer, and inform them that
the Mayor, Recorder and six Aldermen intended
to s!t as Judges in that Court, to be held that day
in the City Hall; and that they claimed the right
so to sit by virtue of the City Charter. The Judges
listened complacently to the message of this com-
mittee, and they withdrew. In a short time the
Mayor and Aldermen received a communication
from the Judges, denying the right of those
gentlemen to sit in a judicial capacity in these
Courts, concluding with these words: "We can-
not conceive that your City Charter can be so
construed as to render this honorable Court a
Mob, instead of a Bench of Judges with full
consideration of their dignity and responsibility.
We have therefore directed the Officers of the
Court to prevent your taking your seats upon the
Bench, in case you insist upon so doing."
This matter created no little excitement. The
Mayor and Common Council still insisted upon
their right to sit as judicial officers in the said
Courts, but as it was peremptorily denied by the
Judges of the Supreme Court, the Common Coun-
cil decided to submit the matter to the colonial
authorities in New York. Whereupon, at a meet-
ing of the Common Council, held on the 14th of
October, 1771, the following preamble and resolu-
tion were adopted:
"Whereas, A point conceived to be of much con-
sequence to the liberties and privileges of the peo-
ple of the County and City of Albany, respecting
the Right of the Mayor, Recorder and Aldermen of
the City of Albany, by virtue of the Charter, to sit
as judges in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and
general goal Delivery of the said County, has been
lately agitated and drawn in question, and it is
thought to be now a seasonable time to take the
necessary measures for determining the matter and
to empower a proper person of this Board to man-
age and solicit the said business; therefore
Resolved, That Alderman Abm. Yates, Esq.,
be appointed, and he is hereby authorized and
appointed accordingly to repair to New York
with all convenient speed, and to take with him
Charters and all other necessary Papers, to be dis-
tributed and laid before the Council already retained
by this Corporation on the subject; and he is hereby
directed to follow such advise as he shall receive
of them, in order to secure the Privilege aforesaid;
and he is also further impowered to serch the Rec-
ords, private and publick, at New York, and to take
such copies and Abstracts therefrom as may be
thought usefull on this occasion, and for all his dis-
bursements and Servises he is to be repaid and
satisfied, and soon after his return he is to make
report to this Board of his actings and doings
herein. "
We find no report of the result of Mr. Yates'
mission to New York on this important matter.
We infer, however, that he was unsuccessful, inas-
much as we nowhere find in the records of the
Colonial Supreme Court that the Mayor or any
municipal officer of the city occupied the Bench of
that Court They were, however, members of the
Court of Sessions of the City and County of Albany.
At a meeting of the Common Council, held
September 27, 1773, Mr. Peter Yates was made a
committee to revise, correct and amend the ordi-
nances of the city, and Ebenezer Jessop received
from the Common Council a grant of a piece of
468
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
vacant land covered with water, lying on the north
side of the upper wharf, subject to a yearly rent
charge of forty shillings.
On April 2, 1774, an ordinance was passed by
the Common Council "for regulating the ferry
between Albany and Greenbush ; for grading and
paving the streets and for preventing nuisance ; for
regulating the line of vessels at the Docks and
Wharfs of the City ; for regulating carts and Cart-
men ; for regulating the Public Markets ; against
the profanation of the Lord's Day ; for the better
securing the City from the danger of Gun Powder;
for the better preventing fire; to prevent accidents
by fast and immoderate riding ; to prevent ' raf-
fling ;' for regulating taverns ; for regulating the
office of Chamberlain or Treasury; for the better
regulation of Mid Wives."
We have already referred to a very important
matter, that of the title which the municipality of
Albany had to large portions of land in and about
it, and have seen that the granting and selling these
lands to various purchasers for many years formed
a large part of the business of the Mayor and Com-
mon Council. That, by the charter granted July
22, 1686, among other things, it gave the Mayor,
Aldermen and Commonalty of the city the power
to purchase, at their pleasure, 1,000 acres of low
or meadow land at Tionderoga, adjacent on both
sides of the river, as the Mayor should think most
convenient, and did grant and confirm unto the
Mayor and Commonaliy, and to their successors
fjrever, yielding and paying therefor yearly, for-
ever, the annual quit-rent of a beaver skin on the
20ih of March of each year.
Under this provision of the charter, several In-
dians, in June, 1721, conveyed a tract of said land
• — eleven morgen — to Mr. Cuyler in fee, whose
heirs on the 24th of April, 1769, obtained from
the Corporation, for the consideration of /'30, a
conveyance releasing the same.
On the 7th July, 1730, some Indians conveyed
ten or eleven morgen of said lands to Peter
Brower, for the term of 999 years; who, on Novem-
ber 29, 1734, conveyed the same to the Cor-
poration; who, on the 27th of April, 1749,
leased said land to Peter Brower for the term of
999 years, at the annual rent of one skipple of
wheat for each morgen. Some other of the said
lands were obtained from the Corporation for the
same annual rents, leaving still the largest portion
ol the I, GOO acres the property of the Mayor and
Commonalty of the City of Albany.
In 1779 'he Indians had all removed from the
said lands, and they were principally occupied by
refugees and squatters from Cherry Valley and
other parts. Theiefore one of the great questions
that occupied the attention of the Municipality of
Alban}', was to ascertain in what manner it could
obtain possession of these lands and foreclose the
claims of all subsequent incumbrances. The
matter was finally referred to Peter W. Yates, Esq.,
for his opinion in regard to the matter.
Mr. Yates was a very able lawyer, and considered
one of the best real estate lawyers of his time. His
report^ a very able legal document, was considered
conclusive in the matter. He advised the lands to
be immediately surveyed; boundaries properly fixed
and ascertained; the unpossessed lands should be
immediately taken possession of and leased for a
short term, with a special clause inserted, for the
tenant peaceably to deliver up, at the end of the
term, possession to the officers of the municipality,
or its successors. This report decides that the
charter o( incorporation gives the Mayor, Aldermen
and Commonalty, and their successors, an un-
doubted estate, in fee-simple, in these lands, and
that, although the Indian deeds referred to cannot
strictojure be considered as a part of the title, since
those deeds were intended to purchase peace mstead
of property, yet it is a tide paramount to any other
claimant. As the lands are possessed by other per-
sons who refuse to become tenants of the corpora-
tion, he directs that action of ejectment shall be
brought against them, to oust them of their assumed
possession.
This report was coincided with by the Common
Council, and other parties, and settled the question
in regard to said lands.
In February, 1780, an important question came
before the Common Council, in the consideration
of surrendering part of the privilege granted by the
charter to the city, and of applying for additional
ones, and, on February 17th, the Board unanimously
resolved to surrender certain privileges to the State,
and to apply to the Legislature for additional privi-
leges. For the purpose of carrying the resolution
into execution, a committee of three was appointed
to draw up the surrender and a petition for that
purpose.
A very important change in some parts of the
city charter was thus proposed, and was, as we
shall see hereafter, carried into effect.
The tides to the lands acquired by the city, and
granting them to purchase: s from time to time,
form an important part of the properly history of
Albany. The city held title to some of the lands
down to a late period, and a large part of the present
owners of real estate in the citv trace their titles to
the corporation. Lots were often sold to pay city
indebtedness, and the land transactions of Yates &
Mclntyre with the city are matters of such conspi-
cuous record that no description is needed here.
At a meeting of the Common Council, held April
14, 1780, very important measures were adopted
by the Board, tending to the improvement of cer-
tain parts of the city. The following transcript is
taken from the proceedings of the meeting, as a
succinct history of the transactions:
"April 14. Whereas, this Board, on the third
day of May, 1 761, by release granted unto the Min-
ister, Elders and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch
Church, in the City of Albany, a certain tract of
153 acres of land lying northwest of the city, and
did thereby reserve liberty and license for the Mayor,
Aldermen and Commonality of this City, or the
major part of them, and their successors forever, to
lay out Roads and Streets thro' the above mendoned
Lands, as they should see most convenient, and
whereas, the said Minister, Elders and Deacons ap-
plied this day for leave to lay out the said lands in
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
469
Lots, and allow Streets and Roads in such manner
as they might conceive most proper for the term of
25 years. And, whereas, this Board are well con-
vinced that no inconvenience can in that time arise
to this City, and thereupon Resolve to grant the re-
quest of the said Minister, Elders and Deacons, and
it is hereby granted accordingly for the term afore-
said. "
It is a matter of history that the Common Coun-
cil of the City were the owners in fee of large and
valuable tracts of land at Schaghticoke, now in the
County of Rensselaer, which lands were occupied
by tenants who for some time refused to pay their
rent, being incipient anti-renters.
On September 15th, it was resolved that a meet-
ing of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty
convene at Schaghticoke, on the 20th of Septem-
ber, at the house of Johannes Knickerbaker, Jr.,
for the purpose of inquiring into and settling
the matter of these rents. The Board met at the
time and place referred to, and summoned before
them the tenants, to learn their reasons for non-
payment of rent due the Board. They made vari-
ous excuses, most of them pretending that no rent
was due. These excuses being regarded as in-
valid and frivolous, Peter W. Yates and John Lan-
sing, Jr., Counsellors-at-Law, were employed by
the Common Council, and instructed to commence
actions against all the tenants at Schaghticoke for
the recovery of the rent then due, which was ac-
cordingly done, and, after the appointment of
Mayor Beeckman, a meeting was held January 30,
1784, at the City Hall, in the City of Albany.
There were present at this meeting the Mayor;
Aldermen Peter W. Yates, Thomas Hun, Peter W.
Douw and Abraham Schuyler; Assistant Aldermen
Richard Lush, Jacob G. Lansing and Mathew Vis-
scher.
It will be remembered that the Common Coun-
cil met at Schachticoke for the purpose of taking
measures to compel the inhabitants of that town,
occupants of the land belonging to the Corporation
of Albany, to pay the rent due the city; that Peter
W. Yates, Esq., was directed to commence actions
against every tenant to recover this rent; that the
tenants came forward and settled the matter by
agreeing to pay the city the following winter the
rent in wheat, each person delivering the quantity
of wheat equal to the amount due. Under this
agreement the suits were stayed, but a large number
of tenants made default in the payment ol the wheat.
At this meeting, held January 30th, the following
resolution was adopted:
"Resolved, That Peter W. Yates, Esq., be di-
rected immediately to write letters, as Attorney (or
the Corporation, to the tenants of this Board at
Schachticoke, and who were lately prosecuted for
non-payment of rent, acquainting them that unless
they pay this winter the wheat stipulated in the
agreement for the stay of the suits, they must de-
pend upon being prosecuted."
From the organization of the City Government
in 1686, the Corporation received wheat and other
grain from tenants — of which it had large num-
bers— in payment of rents ; consequently, the large
storehouses of the Municipality were constantly
filled with wheat and other grain. These store-
houses and grain were in the custody of the City
Chamberlain or Treasurer of the Corporation.
This wheat was sold by the Treasurer, under the
direction of the Corporation, to the citizens at very
reasonable prices, and to the grain merchants, for
shipping to New York and other places, at fair
profits. During times of scarcity the quantity sold
was restricted — particularly during the revolution;
thus, in January, 1777, we find an order directing
the Treasurer "to sell 100 skepels of the wheat
belonging to the Corporation, at four shillings six-
pence per skepel, to those persons who had
demands on the Board. No person to have more
than three skepels at a time."
On September 29, 1786, John Lansing, Jr., was
appointed to succeed John J. Beeckman as Mayor
of Albany, and entered upon the discharge of his
duties in that office, January 6, 1787.
We have already stated that proceedings were
taken to procure an act of the Legislature altering
the Charter of the City of Albany, after its adoption
by the city under State constitution. This matter
created much discussion and opposition, and the
passage of the act was delayed until March 21,
1787, when an "Act for altering the Charter rights
of the City of Albany" passed both branches of the
Legislature and became a law. Down to that
period the Charter granted by King James, in 1686,
continued to e.xist with a few changes incident to
the State Constitution, down to the period of the
passage of the act to which we have referred. By
that charter the Mayor of the city had authority
to grant licenses annually to all tavern keepers,
victuallers and all public venders of wine,
strong waters, cider, beer and every sort of liquor
by retail. And that the Mayor was sole Coroner
of the City and County; that he, with the Alder-
men and Commonalty, should have the exclusive
right to regulate the trade with the Indians. That
the Mayor and any three or more of the Aldermen
shall be the Common Council of the City. That
a Court of Common Pleas shall be held once in
every fortnight for the City of Albany, before the
Mayor.
This authority was surrendered by the said act.
The time for electing the Aldermen, Assistants and
Chamberlain was changed to the last Tuesday of
September in every year, instead of the time fixed
by the Charter. Provisions were made to take ef-
fect in case of the death of the Mayor. That in-
stead of the Mayor acting as Coroner, as formerly,
that officer was to be a citizen of said city.
These were the principal alterations made in the
original Charter of 1686.
On June 21, 1799, during the mayoralty of
Philip S. Van Rensselaer, a resolution was adopted
by the Common Council, which shows the hgh
regard and veneration in which the Sabbath was
then held. The resolution was as follows:
"Resolved, That the Constables in this City be,
and they are hereby required, on every Sunday
470
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
hereafter, to stop all manner of persons who shall
be riding for pleasure, or who may expose any ar-
ticles for sale on that day contrary to the Act for
suppressing immorahly; and that they report the
names of aggressors, on every Monday morning
to the Mayor or Recorder, to be proceeded against
according to law."
There was a strong attempt made to enforce this
ordmance, greatly to the disgust of pleasure seek-
ers; but many a delightful ride and excursion was
interrupted, and perhaps a pair of ardent lovers
would be arrested, and the next morning dragged
relentlessly before the Recorder to await condign
punishment for desecrating the Sabbath. The
scenes at the Court House on Monday morning
were amusing, and often aggravating. But the
strict enforcement of the law gradually wore away,
so none but flagrant abuses of the Sabbath were
punished.
An entry in the books of the Chamberlain, June
20, 1799, shows that the expense for lighting the
city and for a night-watch, for the }'ear ending June
I, 1799, amounted to ^^625 i6s. At this time the
citv was lighted with whale or sperm oil.
The public revenue that year was ^^146 14s.
4d., leaving a debt against the city of ^479 is. 8d.
For five years the expense for lighting the city and
the night-watch had exceeded the revenue to the
amount of $2, 110.88.
At this time the yellow fever was raging in the
City of New York, and, under the recommendation
of the Common Council, a collection was made in
the Dutch Reformed Church on Sunday, June 19th,
at each of the three services, for the relief of the
sufferers of the plague, which amounted to $247.
In the afternoon of the same day a collection was
taken at St. Peter's Church and at the Presbyterian
Churches for the same purpose. The amount at
the former was $107.87, and the latter $201. The
total contributions amounted to $555.87.
Early in July, 1799, ^ '^^ ^^^^ passed by the
Common Council regulating "the assize of bread."
The Common Council prepared a schedule for
graduating the price of bread, and every baker
detected in selling light bread subjected himself to
a fine of one dollar for every loaf found to be light
of weight By this schedule, when wheat was 6s.
per bushel, a loaf of bread of inspected wheat
flour was to weigh 3 lbs. i oz. 8 dr., for 6d. ; of
common flour, 3 lbs. 11 ozs. 8 drs.
At 8d., 2 lbs. 5 ozs. o drs. and 2 lbs. 12 ozs. 8 drs.
lod., I l^ 8 238
I2d., 188 I 13 8
I4d., 150 198
iSd., 138 178
2od., 14 8 118
and all intermediate prices in proportion.
On the morning of December 23, 1799, intelli-
gence of the death of Washington reached Albany.
The Common Council immediately assembled and
recommended the closing of all places of business,
directing that the bells be tolled from three to five
o'clock in the afternoon, and that the members of
the Board wear crape badges for the space of six
weeks; also recommending that all the churches
be dressed in mourning, and that preparations be
made by all the military and civic societies for an
imposing funeral.
The 9th of January, 1800, following, was desig-
nated by the Common Council as a time for the
funeral solemnities. On that day one of the most
imposing and solemn public funerals known in the
history of Albany took place. Very many who
witnessed it were present at the grand reception
given to the Father of his Country in Albany at the
close of the Revolutionary War.
On May 19, 1803, the yellow fever was still rag-
ing in New York, and the Common Council,
acting as a board of health, passed an ordinance
requiring all vessels from New York City to be
quarantined a few hours at a point fixed down the
river, before being permitted to come to their
moorings in the city. There was one death from
yellow fever at Troy, but none in Albany.
As the result of an ordinance passed on July 1 2,
1804, the intelligence of the death of Hamilton
was received in Albany. The Common Council
immediately assembled and passed appropriate
resolutions, recommending that the citizens take
proper public action in regard to the death of the
illustrious statesman and soldier.
Among the receipts into the treasury for the
year 1804, acknowledged by the Common Council,
was the sum of $1,128,461 for lands at Schaghti-
coke belonging to the city, which had been sold
during the year.
We find very little of the proceedings of the
Board of Common Council between the years 1 800
and 18 1 3.
On November 8, 1813, Commodore Perry, the
Hero of Lake Erie, arrived in Albany. In no city
through which the gallant hero passed was he
more brilliantly or joyfully welcomed than in
Albany.
At a meeting of the Common Council Decem-
ber 6, 1 813, a resolution was adopted offering a
reward of $1,000 to any person discovering a coal
mine within the distance of five miles of the navi-
gable waters of the Hudson, of a strata not less
than four feet in thickness.
One of the difficult matters that for many years
presented itself to the Common Council, was regu-
lating the price of bread in the cit}', which was
constantly fluctuating with the price of flour. In
December, 18 13, the price of a barrel of flour was
$11, and the Common Council adopted an ordi-
nance requiring the flour merchants to make the
assize of bread correspond to nine dollars per bar-
rel, which was 12 lbs. 10 oz. for one shilling.
This was considered a great hardship by the bakers,
and they called a meeting, which was attended by
all the craft in the city, and a resolution was
adopted to close their shops. This caused much
excitement in the city, which continued sometime.
The Common Council and the journals of the
city, the people and the bakers, all united in the
strife. At length a compromise was effected and
matters resumed their normal condition. For sev-
eral years the Common Council occasionally passed
ordinances regulating the price and size of loaves
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF AL^ANr.
4n
of bread, but on December 29, 1820, a resolution
was adopted by the Board deciding that it was in-
expedient any longer to continue the regulation
concerning the assize of bread.
On September 30, 18 17, a hotly contested elec-
tion took place for Aldermen and Assistant Alder-
men of the city. In those days political parties
were designated as Federals and Democrats. This
election resulted in the choice of twelve Federal
and eight Democratic members of the Board of
Common Council.
Previous to 1 8 1 8, the proceedings of the Com-
mon Council were conducted with closed doors, and
the public excluded; but on November 16, 18 18,
the Board adopted a resolution that all debates and
proceedings of the Board should in future be pub-
lic, and arrangements were made in the council
room for the accommodation of members, spec-
tators, and press representatives.
In 1819 another municipal election took place,
resulting in the election of fourteen Federals and
eight Republicans.
An entry in the minutes of the Common Council
made December 17, 1819, is as follows: The
expense of erecting the Capitol was at the joint
expense of the State, the City, and the County;
the amount paid by each was as follows :
Paid by the State $73,485 42
" " City 34,20000
" " County 3,00000
Total cost $1 10,685 42
It will be perceived by the above, that the Cor-
poration paid the sum of $34,200 towards the
erection of the Old Capitol. At this time the
Common Council occupied the northeast corner
on the first floor, which was divided into several
commodious and well furnished apartments for the
use of the municipal legislature. All the other
rooms on the first floor were occupied by the State;
the rooms in the second story were occupied by
the Court of Chancery, Supreme Court, Common
Pleas, General Sessions and Mayor's Court, except
the room immediately above the lobby of the As-
sembly room, which was used two or three times
each year by the Supervisors of the County.
At several of the meetings of the Common Coun-
cil, at the time of which we are now writing, efforts
were made to procure the passage of a resolution
to dispose of the interest of the Corporation in the
Old Capitol to the State. Proceedings of this nature
were also had in the meetings of the Board of Super-
visors, to grant the interests of the county in the
Old Capitol to the State, and with the joint funds of
the county and city to erect a new building for the
county and city; but these measures were opposed,
and delayed down to a late period, when the inter-
ests of the city and county were alienated in the Old
Capitol property. In the meantime the Common
Council and the Board of Supervisors continued to
meet in their rooms in the Old Capitol until the
erection of the first City Hall. During the years
when the Old Capitol was occupied by the Court for
the Correction of Errors, the Court of Chancery,
the Supreme Court, and the various other tribunals;
by the Legislature of the State, the Executive, and
some of the State Departments, it presented a scene
of unrivaled interest, and Capitol Hill was the heart
and vital part, so to speak, of the Empire State.
Congress Hall, adjacent, will always live in history
and memory as the place where judges, lawyers,
legislators and lobbyists for many years did most
congregate.
On January 21, 1820, a spirit of retrenchment
and reform took possession of the Board of Alder-
men, and they adopted a resolution reducing the
salaries of the corporation officers to the amount of
over $2,000.
On June 20, 1820, the meeting of the Common
Council held that day was the scene of a singular
controversy. After the meeting was called to order,
Alderman Visscher arose and stated that several
of the Magistrates of the city were willing to per-
form the duties of Police Justices without salary;
and he introduced a resolution to discontinue the
payment of salaries to those officers. This brought
on a spirited debate, and the resolution was lost by
a vote of eleven nays to six ayes.
On September 30, 1822, the Common Council,
by an ordinance, directed a tax to be raised of
$3,000, to pay the interest on the city debt; a tax
of $6,000 for the expense of lamps and night-watch;
and $8,000 to defray the expenses of the poor.
A meeting of the Common Council, January 25,
1821, was the scene of great excitement. At this
time Teunis Slingerland was one of the Police Mag-
istrates of the city, and Philip Phelps was another.
A resolution was offered, preceded by a preamble,
stating that the expense of two Police Magistrates in
the city was an unnecessary burden; that the duties
could all be performed by one official. Then fol-
lowed the resolution as follows:
"Resolved, That as a matter of economy, Teunis
Slingerland be dismissed as a Police Magistrate, and
that Philip Phelps be required to discharge the
duties of Police Magistrate of the City at the com-
pensation he is now receiving."
This was at that time $300 per annum. A tre-
mendous war of words followed the introduction of
this resolution. Vehement speeches were made for
and against it, but it was finally adopted by a deci-
sive majority, and "Esquire Slingerland," as he
was known in those days, was no longer a terror to
evil-doers as a police magistrate.
On April 19, 1824, at a meeting of the Common
Council, the City Chamberlain submitted a semi-
annual report, showing that the receipts into the
city treasury for the six months previous were
$30,886.74!. Thedisbursements were $ 1 3,005. 72i.
An order was entered directing the Chamberlain to
purchase 1,000 gallons of oil ofT. & J. Russell, at
36 cents per gallon, to be used in lighting the city.
It is seen that Teunis Slingerland was suspended
from the office of police magistrate, and Philip
Phelps retained to discharge the duties. On Oc-
tober 31, 1824, Mr. Phelps was removed and John
Gansevoort was appointed in his place. Peter Wen-
dell, the city physician, was also removed and Peter
Van O'Linda succeeded him. These appointment
m
ttl^TORY OP TtiP COUNTY Of ALBANY.
and removals were made for political consideration,
and occasioned much excitement at the time.
On January i, 1825, the Common Council unan-
imousl}' re-elected Ambrose Spencer Mayor.
We have heretofore referred to lands owned by
the city. This question again came up in the Com-
mon Council of March 25, 1825, in the following
manner: In 1818, the Common Council was au-
thorized by law to fund the city debt to the amount
of $205,000, which had been incurred in city im-
provements. In 1820, the Common Council, find-
ing they were unable to pay this debt, a law was
passed on the 14th of April of that year, authoriz-
ing the Common Council to sell certain lands be-
longing to the city, not to exceed $250,000.
"The lots were to be valued, put in parcels and
made the prizes. The Commissioners found they
could not carry the lottery into effect, because the
prizes consisted only of lots of land. The Com-
mon Council therefore, in 1825, applied to the
Legislature for permission to sell their lands, and
be allowed the privilege of raising the balance of
the amount in money by selling tickets in the lot-
tery created by the act of 1820, and .paying prizes
out of the proceeds in the usual way. As this act
had been passed, authorizing the lottery, before the
constitution was amended, which prohibited lotter-
ies, the Judiciary Committee reported a bill au-
thorizing the change. " The newspapers of that day
— some of them — were very severe in their com-
ments on this system of lotteries in which the City
of Albany was engaged. The New York Evening
Post, in denouncing the measure, said: "The
capiul of the State, with the aid of the Legislature,
has become an immense gambling establishment."
In January, 18 14, a law was passed granting to
Union College the sum of $200,000. This sum was
to be raised by lotteries. It was urged that this
mode of raising money was immoral; but as Dr.
Nott, the distinguished President of the College,
favored it, the project met the approval of the Leg-
islature and became a law.
In May, 1825, the Common Council appointed
a committee to negotiate with Yates & Mclntyre,
touching their proposition to purchase the Albany
City Lottery for the sum of $200,000. Thisnego-
tiation was subsequently carried into effect, and
Yates & Mclntyre became the purchasers.
In May, 1825, the Common Council adopted a
measure to which the city, at the present day, is
largely indebted for the beautiful shade trees that
embellish the Capitol Park and the grounds about
the Academy, now called Academy Park. Previous
to that time those grounds, now so pleasant, were
an open common, the resort of cattle, sheep, and
hogs. By the act of the Common Council, pa sed
May 2 2d, a resolution was adopted directing the
erection of a substantial fence aroupd these grounds
and inclosures, and measures adopted for planting
trees. The expense of setting out the trees was
largely defrayed by a generous subscription of the
citizens. Thus the public spirit that pervaded the
Common Council and the citizens of Albany sixty
years ago, is a source of beauty and comfort at the
present day.
The following shows the financial condition of
the year 1825:
Sinking Fund.
City Stock held by Commissioners . . . $6,oco 00
Albany Insurance Stock 2,500 00
Bonds, notes and interest due for
lands sold 2,879 67
Cash loaned 4i535 0°
" on hand 3,13088
359 Shares in Great Western Turnpike 8,975 00
46 Shares in Bethlehem Turnpike.. 1,150 co
Total $29, 170 55
Mayor $400 00
Chamberlain 500 00
City Superintendent 450 00
Superintendent of Alms-house 400 00
Overseers of the Poor 200 00
Police Justice 450 00
' ' Constables (2) 400 00
Deputy Excise Officer 200 00
City Physician 550 00
Clerk of Common Council 150 00
Deputy Clerk of Market 100 00
Bellringers 40 00
Total $3,840 00
City Debt.
Funded $205,000 00
Due on bonds to individuals 40,100 00
Small notes unredeemed 10,300 18
Total $255,400 18
On May 15, 1826, the negotiations which had
long been pending between the City Authorities
and Yates & Mclntyre, concerning the Albany
City Lottery, were consummated by a resolution of
the Common Council; these gentlemen agreeing to
take the management of the lottery and pay the
city the sum of $240,795, to be paid in five years.
The whole amount of the valuation of the city
lands, which formed the basis of this lottery, was
8254, 385. There were however some reservations.
The city debt which this lottery was to pay was
$250,000.
The Chamberlain's report of the business of his
office for the year ending October, 1826, shows
the receipts to have been $60,060. 19; the expend-
itures for the same time, $62,004.98.
On the last day of October, 1829, the City
Chamberlain submitted his report, showing the
amount of money received into the City Treasury
during that year was $320, 878. 53^. The amount
disbursed was $317, 126. 1 5-J. The city had been
at a large expense during the year; two markets
had been built; the City Hall begun; $9,804.43
was paid for the support of the city poor; and sal-
aries of the city officers to the amount of $5,952.
The report of the City Marshal, presented to the
Common Council, July 29, 1830, shows the popu-
lation of the city was as follows:
White, males ii>533
" females 11,632
Colored, males 42 1
" females 630
Total 24,216
Of these, 3, 199 were aliens.
The Common Council, from the completion of
the Old Capitol down to the completion of the City
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
473
Hall, held its meetings in the Capitol. This they
continued to do till July 25, 183 1, when they held
their first meeting in the City Hall.
On October 4th the Mayor's Court was held for
the first time in the City Hall, Recorder McKown
presiding. John Van Ness Yates tried the first
cause.
From 1832 to 1835 we find no record of the
proceedings of the Common Council worthy of
note, until October 27th of the latter year, when
the County Clerk reported to the Board that, ac-
cording to a recent canvass, the population of the
city was as follows :
Males I3i7i2
Females 14,373
Total 28,085
There were then 4,489 voters in the city. There
was a universal dissatisfaction with the returns of
this census. At a meeting of the Common Coun-
cil November 9th, a committee was appointed to
inquire into the expediency of ordering a new
census.
On January i, 1836, Erastus Corning was
inaugurated Mayor of the City. In that year the
elections for members of the Board took place for
the first time at the annual spring elections. The
following are other measures which had been
adopted that year:
"The equalization of the wards; the reduction
of the rates of ferriage at the Greenbush Ferry
from '^'i, to 50 per cent ; the improvements in the
basin; the improvements being made by the Gov-
ernment in the river; the improvement in the city
finances, by which the city debt had been reduced
$65,000 in two years, and of nearly $269,000 due
in 1817, but $95,000 now remained to be liqui-
dated. The Mayor called attention to the impor-
tance of supplying the city with pure water; of
establishing grades between Eagle and Lark streets;
to the near completion of the Utica and Schenec-
tady Railway as a source of increased business to
the city; the prospect of an uninterrupted railway
to Buffalo, and to the great importance of a rail-
road to connect with the Boston road at Stock-
bridge."
The Common Council, March 28, 1836, voted to
close the Lancaster School in Eagle street.
About this time the Common Council adopted a
resolution to open a space in the pier between the
Columbia and State street bridges; also to allow
the Hudson and Mohawk railroad to continue its
track from Gansevoort street, north to Ferry
street June 20, 1836, the Common Council de-
cided to widen Church street The condition of
the City finances was reported to the Board on that
day to be as follows:
Bonds due Commissioners of the Canal fund :
At five per cent $7S,ooo 00
Bonds to St. Peter's Church S.ooo 00
Temporary Loans 42,000 00
Award Maiden Lane; balance due Mary Ganse-
vort and Thomas McElroy 16,383 00
$138,883 00
Amount due the city $117,242 37
Slocks held by the city 43ii20 59
160,262 96
Balance in favor of city $21,479 9^
The population of the city in 1 840, as reported
by the canvassers to the Common Council on De-
cember 4th of that year, was 33,627. This was
an increase of about 36 per cent in the lapse of
ten years.
From 1840 to 1850, we find very few of the re-
ports of the proceedings of the Common Council.
But during this time new streets were opened and
old ones widened and extended; sewers were con-
structed, and all the city institutions were in a
prosperous condition. The following Chamber-
lain's Report, for the year ending May i, 1850,
exhibits the condition of the finances of the city.
Says the Chamberlain in his report:
The aggregate amount received from all
sources during the past year, including
$41,668.78, the balance on hand, is $695,366 67
Expenditure during the same time 627,635 42
Leaving a balance May i, 1850, of $67,731 34
In the year 1844, when the annual report of
the Chamberlain was made, the city had
available means, applicable to the support of
the city government, of $19,464 67
In the year 1845 10,677 81
" 1846 6,79798
" 1847 79370
" 1848 66235
" " 1849 41,66878
" 1850 67,73134
"The large balance of 1849, '^^^ '^^ ^'''^ larger
of 1850, are the results of the operations of the
law of 1848. In former years the amount raised
by tax for support of the city government was
nearly, if not entirely, exhausted on the 1st of May,
by its application to the payment of temporary
loans. These loans were made in anticipation of
the annual taxes, and the means realized there-
from were required for the ordinary expenditures
of the city. By a strict adherence to the require-
ments of the law above referred to, and a due re-
gard to economy in the administration of the affairs
of the city, these temporary expedients may be in
a great degree, if not entirely, avoided.
" Loans and Interest. — The amount of tempo-
rary and other loans made during the past year is
$ 1 90, ooo.
During the same period, the
amount paid and canceled by
the city was $192,008 75
Cash paid to Trustees of Sinking
Fund for same purpose 178,700 00
$370.708 75
Making a diminution in the debt of the city in
one year of $180,708 75
The amount raised by tax during the past year
on account of interest on the city debt was. . 45,500 00
Amount received from the Albany and Schenec-
tady Railroad Company, and other sources . 9,830 74
Making a total of $55.330 74
The expenditure for the same time 61,991 11
Leaving a deficiency of $6,660 37
GO
474
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
' ' This deficiency was caused by the accumulation
of interest on the bonds held by the State, and
■which were paid and canceled by carrying into
effect the law of 1849, above referred to."
In the Mayor's statement on the financial con-
dition of the city, he gives the following :
"On the first of May, 1848, the debt of the city
(exclusive of certain loans so amply secured that
they cannot be considered absolute liabilities of
the city) amounted to $752,896.93.. Since that
date, this debt has been reduced $211,764.90; and
the exact amount of the same at this time is $541,-
132.03.
"The population of the city as shown by the last
census, which was taken in 1845, was 42,189.
The increase during the then previous five years
was 8,476. The census of this year will probably
show the present population to be over 50,000.
"The value of the taxable property in the
city, as shown by the assessment rolls returned
to the Board of Supervisors in November, 1849,
was $11,971,203.
"The taxable property in the City of Albany at
this time may safely be estimated at $18,000,000."
There are no printed minutes of the Common
Council of the City of Albany before October 6,
1858. The minutes of December 6, 1858, are the
first which we can find.
At this time Hon. Eli Perry was Mayor; Hon.
William S. Paddock, Recorder.
Aldermen: James Schuyler, one year; Henry
Mix, two years. First Ward. Michael Delehanty,
one year; Thomas Schuyler, two years. Second
Ward. Nehemiah Osborne, one year; Isaac N.
Keeler, two years. Third Ward. Philip Wendell,
one year; Horace L. Emery, two years. Fourth
Ward. Albion Ransom, one year; Charles B. Red-
field, two years, Fifth Ward. James A. Wilson,
one year; George H. Thacher, two years, Sixth
Ward. Thomas Kearney, one year; Thomas Mat-
timore, two years, Seventh Ward. John Evers,
one year; Martin White, two years. Eighth Ward.
E. L. Judson, one year; Charles Bell, two years.
Ninth Ward. Charles W. Bender, one year; Will-
iam P. Brayton, two years, Tenth Ward.
City Officers. — Henry A. Clement, Clerk; Joseph
C. Y. Paige, Chamberlain and Deputy Excise Offi-
cer; Louis Wiles, Deputy Chamberlain and Re-
ceiver of Taxes; Henry T. Bradt, Marshal; John
B. Surtevant, Attorney; R. H. Bingham, Surveyor;
Jacob C. Koonz, Assistant Surveyor; William H.
Craig, Alms-house Physician; George H. Herbert,
Overseer of the Poor; William Hurst, Superintend-
ent of Alms-house; William T. Wooley, Inspector
of Weights and Measures; Philip Fredenrich,
Superintendent of Markets; Hiram Gilbert, Su-
perintendent of Northern District; John Franks,
Superintendent Southern District; Edward Bailey,
Superintendent of Lamps; James Kinnear, Chief
Engineer Fire Department; John Donahoe, Super-
intendent of Hose Depot; Belknap,
President Fire Department; Visscher Ten Eyck,
Treasurer Fire Department; Thomas Wilson, Sec-
retary of Fire Department; Archibald Young, Col-
lector; George W. Carpenter, Superintendent Water-
works; Erastus Coming, John Taylor, Visscher
Ten Eyck, John L. Schoolcraft, John McKnight,
Water Commissioners; J. J. Gallup, one year, Will-
iam C. McHarg, two years, Henry P. Nugent,
three years, Justices of Justices' Court.
The Supervisors for this year appear in the His-
tory of the Supervisors.
James Boyle, one year; I. Cunningham, two
years; Richard D. Betts, three years. City Assessors.
John O. Cole, John Simpson, John Tracy, Henry
Russelt, William. A. Rice, William A. Young,
George W. Carpenter, Eli Perry, C. L. Austin,
School Commissioners. Amos Adams, Chief of
Police. John O. Cole, one year; S. H. H. Par-
sons, three years. Police Justices. The Mayor,
twff Police Justices, Visscher Ten Eyck, John Mc-
Knight, Police Commissioners. John A. Hyatt,
Dock-master.
The report of the City Chamberlaia shows the
following receipts and disbursements for the year
ending November I, 1858:
Receipts $505. 55^ 76
Disbursements were the same in amount.
According to a resolution of the Board, passed
May 17, 1859, J. B. Sturtevant, City Attorney,
submitted his report September 6, 1859, by which
it appears there were 61 causes on his calendar in
various stages of progress.
By the Chamberlain's report of September 19,
1859, a large number of lots appear to have been
sold by the city, subject to quit rents at that
time due the Corporation. Another report shows
the lands on which the rents have been commuted
and released by the city, with the amount received
for such commutations, where and by whom paid,
commencing May 3, 1843.
At the annual meeting of the Board, May 7,
i860 — present: George H. Thacher, Mayor; C. L.
Austin, Recorder— the following Aldermen were
sworn in : Owen Golden, First Ward; Michael
Delehanty, Second Ward; John C. Feltman, Third
Ward; Philip Wendell, Fourth Ward; James I.
Johnson, Fifth Ward; Alanson A. Sumner, Sixth
Ward; Terence J. Quin, Seventh Ward; John
Evers, Eighth Ward; Wm. J. Humphrey, Ninth
Ward; George W. Luther, Tenth Ward. Henry
A. Allen was appointed to fill a vacancy in the
Sixth Ward made vacant by the resignation of Mr.
Thacher, May i, i860.
Martin Delehanty, Clerk; Clinton Cassidy, City
Attorney; Bartholomew Judge, City Marshal;
James L. Babcock, Alms-house Physician; Wm.
L. Osborn, Overseer of the Poor; John Hart,
Clerk City Superintendent; Wm. T. Wooley, In-
spector Weights and Measures; Reuben H. Bing-
ham, City Surveyor; James Brown. Assistant City
Surveyor.
Ward Physicians. — Cornelius D. Mosher, First
Ward; James Cox, Second Ward; Charles P. Staats,
Third Ward; Oscar H. Young, Fourth Wird;
Frederick C. Adams, Fifth and Sixth Wards; John
J. Myers, Seventh Ward; Addison S. Harlow
Eighth- Ward; O. C. Alexander, Tenth Ward.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITF OF ALBANY.
475
At a meeting of the Board June 25,1860, the
City Attorney gave his opinion that ' ' there is no
authority for the expense of laying crosswalks
being made a general tax. "
The report of the Chamberlain for the year
ending November I, i860, shows:
Balance on hand Nov. I, 1859 $44,210 31
Receipts for current year 448,418 58
$472,628 89
Disbursements $423,276 93
On hand Nov. I, i860 49.351 96
$472,628 89
On May 7, 1861, the Board met for the purpose
of organizing.
The following newly elected Aldermen were
sworn in, and took their seats, viz. : John Tracey,
First Ward; Lemuel M. Rodgers, Second Ward;
John W. Harcourt, Third Ward; Wm. Hastings,
Fourth Ward; Erastus Corning, Jr., Fifth Ward;
Samuel Anable, Sixth Ward; Patrick M. McCall,
Eighth Ward; John Philips, Ninth Ward; Joseph
L. Rice, Tenth Ward.
Martin Delehanty, Clerk; Clinton Cassidy, City
Attorney; Bartholomew Judge, City Marshal;
Thomas Smith, Alms-house Physician; Wm. L.
Osborn, Overseer of Poor; Wm. C. Birmingham,
Clerk City Superintendent; Wm. T. Wooley, In-
spector Weights and Measures; R. H. Bingham,
City Surveyor; James Brown, Assistant City Sur-
veyor.
Ward Physicians. — Geo. Steinert, First Ward;
James Cox, Second Ward; Henry Case, Third
Ward; Peter E. Sickler, Fourth Ward; F. C.
Adams, Fifth and Sixth Wards; Joseph N. North-
rup. Eighth Ward; Charles H, Smith, Ninth Ward;
L. P. Van Hoesen, Tenth Ward.
The details of the City Bonded Debt, contracted prior to May i, 1848, are shown in the following table,
which does not, however, include the loan on the Western Railroad Corporation.
Bonds.
When Payable.
On demand .
In 1862
In 1864
In 1865 . . . .
In 1866
In 1867
In 1868.. ..
In 1869
In 1870. .. .
In 1871
In 1872
In 1873
In 1874. . . .
Rate of Interest.
5 per cent.
$50,000
21,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
19,000
$150,000
6 per cent.
7 per cent.
$4,35°
20,000
100,000
75,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
$249,350
$1,500
$1,500
Interest, When and Where Payable.
At Chamberlain's Office
In New York, ist January and July. . .
In Boston, ist May and November. . . .
" Ist January and July
At Chamberlain's Office
In New York, ist January and July. . .
K <( It
(( (I (<
" 1st June and December.
Total.
$5,850
20,000
50,000
103,000
75,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
21,000
20,000
20,000
20,000
19,000
$400,000
Since 1851 the city has been gradually reducing
its debt.
November i, 1851, the city debt proper
amounted to $626,532.03
Paid in year ending Nov. I, 1852, $47,426.03
<< " " " 1853, 26,000.00
'< " " " 1854, 3,000.00
" " " " 1855, 23,590.00
■< '< " " 1856, 39,000.00
" " '< " 1857, 7,300.00
" << " " 1858, 17,966.00
" " " " 1859, 20,800.00
" ■' << '< i860, 20,600.00
<< " " " 1861, 20,000.00
-$225,682.03
Balance, November I, 1861 $400,850.00
The Chamberlain's Office at Albany is a model
of industry, order and efficiency. It is believed
that there is no other public office in this State
where so much is done at so little expense, and by
so small a force.
The annual meeting of the Board was held
May 6, 1862. Hon. Eli Perry, Mayor; Hon,
Charles L. Austin, Recorder,
Aldermen : John Tracey, Bernard Reynolds,
First Ward; Lemuel M. Rogers, Thomas McCartj',
Second Ward; John W. Harcourt, John Kennedy,
Jr., Third Ward; William Hastings, William Orr,
Fourth Ward; Erastus Corning, Jr., James I. John-
son, Fifth Ward ; Samuel Anabel, Abraham A.
Wemple, Sixth Ward; Edward Mulcahy, Terence
J. Quinn, Seventh Ward ; Michael A. Sheehan,
Thomas J. Cowell, Eighth Ward ; John Phillips,
George I. Amsdell, Ninth Ward; Joseph T. Rice,
Edward Wilson, Tenth Ward.
City Officers. — Martin Delehanty, Clerk;
Joseph C. Y. Paige, Chamberlain and Dep-
uty Excise Officer; Lewis Wiles, Deputy Chamber-
lain and Receiver of Taxes ; A. Cuyler Ten
Eyck, Marshal ; Clinton Cassidy, Attorney; R. H.
Bingham, Surveyor; James Brown, Assistant Sur-
veyor ; Owen Golden, Alms-house Physician ;
Samuel C. Harris, Inspector of Weights and Meas-
ures; William Hartnett, Superintendent of Mar-
kets; James Allen, Superintendent N. D. ; Richard
Carr, Jr., Superintendent S. D. ; Patrick Powers,
476
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Superintendent of Lamps; John J. Riley, Clerk of
City Superintendents; James McQuade, Chief En-
gineer, Fire Department; Thomas Fayles, Charles
Lightfoot, John Daly, Patrick Campion, Assist-
ants; John Donohue, Superintendent Hose De-
pot; George E. Latham, President Fire Depart-
ment; George W. Carpenter, Superintendent of
Water-works; Erastus Coming, John Taylor,
Visscher Ten Eyck, Henry H. Martin, James
Kidd, Water Commissioners.
John O. Cole, two years, S. H. H. Parsons,
four years, Police Justices; J. J. Gallup, one
year, William Gillespie, two years, H. P. Nugent,
three years. Justices of Justices' Court ; John L.
Hyatt, Dock-master.
The report of the Chamberlain for the year
ending November i, 1862, shows:
Balance on hand Nov. I, 1861 $40,906.40
Receipts for current year 525,749.14
$566,652.54
Disbursements $463,528. 19
On hand Nov. 1,1862 103,124.35
$566,652.54
The city reduced its debt this year $20,000, leav-
ing a balance November i, 1862, of $380,850.
An organization of the New Board was made
May 5, 1863. Eli Perry, Mayor.
Aldermen : John Tracey, First Ward; Lemuel
M. Rogers, Second Ward; James Mclntyre, Third
Ward; Francis N. Sill, Fourth Ward; Erastus Com-
ing, Jr., Fifth Ward; John R. McCollum, Sixth
Ward; Edward Mulcahy, Seventh Ward; James
C. Nolan, Eighth Ward; Richard Barhydt, Ninth
Ward; William Gould, Tenth Ward. Martin Del-
ehanty. Clerk ; Samuel Hand, Attorney; L. P.
Van Hoesen, Alms-house-Physician; Owen Golden,
Superintendent of Almshouse; Joseph Whalen, In-
spector of Weights and Measures; Patrick Powers,
Superintendent of Lamps; Erastus Coming, Vis-
scher Ten Eyck, Henry H. Martin, James Kidd,
Peter Cagger, Water Commissioners. The other
city officers are the same as last year.
In June, 1863, an able paper was laid before the
Common Council, requesting their immediate at-
tention to a plan for providing and opening a pub-
lic park in the City of Albany. - The paper is long,
but is ably written, urging the necessity of a place
of beauty in which the working and the business
men of the city might seek rest and pleasure, with
their families, within their own city.
On September 12, 1863, Articles of Association
were made and entered into, under and pursuant
to the provisions of an act entitied " An Act to Au-
thorize the Formation of Railroad Corporations, and
to Regulate the Same." The name of the said as-
sociation or company was to be the Albany
Railway.
City finances from November i, 1862, to No-
vember I, 1863;
Balance on hand, Nov. i, 1862.. $103,124 35
Receipts for current year 608,422 86
T^, ^ $711,547 21
Disbursements $607,946 69
Pn hand Nov. i, 1863 103,600 52
r- $711,547 21
On May 3, 1864, the Board met at their an-
nual meeting. Eli Perry, Mayor. William S.
Paddock, Recorder.
Aldermen : Bernard Reynolds, First Ward;
Thomas McCarty, Second Ward; John Kennedy,
Jr., Third Ward; Le Grand Bancroft, Fourth
Ward; James I. Johnson, Fifth Ward; Lemon
Thomson, Sixth Ward ; Bartholomew Judge,
Seventh Ward; Edward J. Kearney, Eighth Ward;
George I. Amsdell, Ninth Ward; William Gould
(to fill vacancy), Edmund L. Judson (for full term).
Tenth Ward.
Jeptha R. Boulware, Alms-house Physician.
Annual report of the Chamberlain's office for the
year ending November i, 1864:
Balance on hand, Nov. i, 1863. $103,600 22
Receipts for current year 756,936 82
1863,737 04
Disbursements $796,981 34
On hand Nov. i, 1864 66,555 7°
*863,737 04
City Bonded Debt Paid since 1851. — ^The
city debt proper amounted on "November i,
1841, to $626,532.03. June 14, 1864, issue of
City Bonds, $100,000, making a total of $726,-
532.03. Since November i, 1851, there has been
paid $295,682.03, leaving a balance November i,
1864, of $430,850.
On May 2, 1865, the Board convened for the
annual meeting, at which time the new members
of the Board were sworn in by Mayor Perry. Wm.
S. Paddock, Recorder.
Timothy Sullivan, First Ward; Thomas Mul-
hall, Second Ward; John C. Ward, Third Ward;
H. D. Burlingame, Fourth Ward; John N. Parker,
Fifth Ward; William Dalton, Sixth Ward; An-
drew Kean, Seventh Ward; Charles T. Shepard,
Eighth Ward; Richard Barhydt, Ninth Ward; John
B. Sturtevant, Tenth Ward.
James Mclntyre, Deputy Chamberlain and Re-
ceiver of Taxes; Charles A. Hills, Assistant;
L. M. Rodgers, Superintendent of Alms-house.
Alderman McCarty offered a resolution in rela-
tion to the application made by the Legislature
concerning the terms that the City of Albany offered
for having the New Capitol located in the city.
The Mayor, on February 23, 1865, by the
authority of the Common Council, made a com-
munication to the Legislature of the State offering,
on behalf of the State, the property known as
"Congress Hall Block, in case the Legislature
should pass a law for the erection of a New Capitol,
and locate the same upon the site of the present
Capitol and the grounds adjacent
"The Legislature accepted the proposition and
passed the law for erecting the New Capitol at
Albany; therefore
"Resolved, That the provisions of the Act of the
Legislature be and the same are accepted by this
Board, and this Board do purchase and cause to
be conveyed to the State the property before
specified." This property was purchased by the
Common Council for the sum of $125,555, ^"^^ 'n
September of that year was deeded to the State.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
477
The Chamberlain's report for the year ending
November i, 1865, is as follows:
Balance on hand Nov. i, 1864. . $66,555 7°
Receipts for current year 90S. 457 60
— $972,013 30
Disbursements $883,210 77
On hand Nov. i, 1864 88,802 53
$972,013 30
A special meeting was called January 22, 1866,
to consider the method of providing for the pur-
chase money of the Congress Hall Block, and to
authorize the issuing of City Bonds for the payment
of the same. The following resolution was
adopted:
"Resolved, That, pursuant to authority conferred
upon the Board by Chap. 2, Laws of New York,
passed January 1 2, 1 866, the Chamberlain, under
the direction of the Finance Committee, be and he
is authorized to negotiate, upon such terms as may
be deemed best for the interests of the city, a loan
of $190,000, bearing interest from the first day of
February next, at the rate of six per cent, per
annum, payable semi-annually, and the principal
to be reimbursed as follows: iSio,ooo at the expi-
ration of nineteen years from the first of February,
and the sum of $20,000 in each succeeding year
thereafter till all is paid. "
May I, 1866. — Hon. George H. Thacher,
Mayor.
Aldermen: Michael Murphy, First Ward;
Thomas Farrell, Second Ward; William H. Tay-
lor, Third Ward; William M. Gregory, Fourth
Ward; Peter M. Carmichael, Fifth Ward; Lemon
Thomson, Sixth Ward; Bartholomew Judge, Sev-
enth Ward; James D. Walsh, Eighth Ward; Bor-
den H. Mills, Ninth Ward; Edmund L. Judson,
Tenth Ward.
City Officers. — George W. Warren, Clerk;
Joseph C. Y. Paige, Chamberlain; Samuel Moffatt,
Charles A. Hills, Deputy Chamberlains and Re-
ceivers of Taxes; Henry McBride, Marshal;
William H. Greene, Attorney; E. H. Bingham,
Surveyor; Henry T. Carpenter, Assistant Surveyor;
William Craig, Alms-house Physician; James Pet-
tit, Overseer of Poor; Lemuel Rodgers, Superin-
tendent of Alms-house; Richard Groom, Inspector
of Weights and Measures; Albert Goodwin, Super-
intendent of N. S. ; Cyrus L. Woodruff, Superin-
tendent of S. S. ; Frank E. Cuyler, Clerk of Su-
perintendents; George Searles, Superintendent of
Markets; James McQuade, Chief Engineer of Fire
Departments; William Thompson, J. C. Griffin,
Patrick Campion, William H. Smith, Assistants;
Edward Scannell, Superintendent Hose Depot;
James H. Mulligan, President Fire Department;
Vischer Ten Eyck, Treasurer; John R. Stewart,
Secretary; George W. Carpenter, Superintendent
of Water - works; Erastus Corning, James Kidd,
Visscher Ten Eyck, Henry H. Martin, Peter Cagger,
Water Commissioners.
William C. Schuyler, Henry P. Nugent, John J.
Gallup, Justices of Justices' Court; John O. Cole,
S. H. H. Parsons, Police Justices; Marshal Teb-
but, Superintendent of Lamps; Campbell Allen,
Superintendent of Police; John L. Hyatt, Dock-
master.
Receipts and disbursements at the Chamberlain's
office from November i, 1865, to November i,
1866:
Balance on hand Nov. I, 1865. . $88,802 53
Receipts for current year 961,026 75
$1,049,829 28
Disbursements $978,037 71
On hand Nov. I, 1866 7i>79i S7
$1,049,829 28
The Common Council met May 7, 1867. George
H. Thacher, Mayor; William S. Paddock, Re-
corder.
Aldermen: Timothy Sullivan, Thomas Mulhall,
Nehemiah Osborn, Adam Cook, John N. Parker,
Abraham A. Wemple, Oscar L. Hascy, George E.
Latham, Robert Lenox Banks and John B. Sturte-
vant.
William Morgan was appointed Assistant Over-
seer of the Poor, and T. J. Grogan, President of the
Fire Department.
The annual report of the Chamberlain was as
follows:
Balance on hand Nov. I, 1866... $71,791 57
Receipts for current year 807,657 17
$879,448 74
Disbursements $800,816 27
On hand Nov. I, 1867 78,632 47
$879,448 74
Regular meeting of the Board, May 5, 1868 —
Charles E. Bleecker, Mayor; Simon W. Rosendale,
Recorder.
Aldermen: Hugh McCann, Alexander Kennedy,
Jonathan E. Herrick, Charles D. Mills, George
Evans, James E. Walker, Michael Lyman, Michael
S. McGue, Adam W. Smith and Charies G. Craft.
City Officers.- — Isaac Vanderpoel, Attorney;
Charles P. Staats, Alms-house Physician; A. Cuyler
Ten Eyck, Marshal; William L. Osborne, Overseer
of the Poor; Daniel O'Keefe, Inspector of Weights
and Measures; James Brennan, Superintendent S.
S. ; Richard Barhydt, Superintendent N. S. ; Will-
iam E. Murphy, Clerk of Street Superintendents;
J. J. Huber, Superintendent of Lamps.
Fire Commissioners: C. E. Bleecker, Mayor,
President; J. C. Cuyler, Secretary; Lansing Pruyn,
M. B. V. Winne, George Cuyler and Edward Wil-
son. James McQuade, Chief of Fire Department.
The Common Council, in December, 1867, ap-
propriated the sum of $15,000 for the construction
of a fire alarm telegraph for the City of Albany, and
in June, 1868, the working of the fire alarm tele-
graph, which had been constructed, was voted
placed under the control and direction of the Board
of Fire Commissioners.
On March 16, 1868, proposals were advertised
for the erection of a public building, to be erected
on the Market lot On June 30th, it was ordered
that the sum of $50,000 be appropriated for the
erection of a building on the present market site in
South Pearl street, to accommodate the Second
Police Precinct, Police Commissioners, Fire Com-
missioners, Chief of Fire Department, Police Court,
Justices' Court and Overseer of the Poor.
The Chamberlain's report for the year shows:
478
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
$968,939 66
Balance on hand Nov. i, 1867 . . . $78,632 47
Receipts for current year 890,307 19
Disbursements $871, 155 63
On hand Nov. i, 1868 97.784 03
$968,939 66
The new Board was organized May 4, 1869 —
Charles E. Bleecker, Mayor; Simon W. Rosendale,
Recorder.
Aldermen: John Burke, Thomas Mulhall, Nehe-
miah Osborn, Peter Foland, John N. Parker, Ralph
W. Thacher, Terence J. Quinn, Wm. B. Scott,
Albert C. Judson, Andrew M. Combs.
City Officers.— Martin Delehanty, Clerk of the
Common Council; Joseph C. Y. Paige, Chamber-
lain; Thomas A. Stuart, Deputy Chamberlain and
Receiver of Taxes; A. C. Ten Eyck, Marshal;
E. J. Meegan, Attorney; James Browne, Surveyor;
Charles P. Staats, Alms-house Phy.sician; William
Osborn, Overseer of the Poor; Lemuel M. Rodgers,
Superintendent of Alms-house; Thomas Whalen,
Inspector of Weights and Measures; Richard Bar-
hydt. Superintendent of Streets, S. S. ; J. J. Huber,
Superintendent of Lamps; John Flood, Clerk of
Street Superintendent. Fire Commissioners: C. E.
Bleecker, Mayor, President; J. C. Cuyler, Secretary;
M. N. Nolan.
Chamberlain's Report.
Balance on hand Nov. i, 1868. . $97,784 03
Receipts for current year 1,367,647 01
$1,465,431 04
Disbursements $1,338,109 52
On hand Nov. I, 1869 127,321 52
$1,465,431 04
At a meeting of the Common Council, held
March 19, 1870, His Honor the Mayor said, that
on account of the passage of the New Charter by
the State Legislature, it became necessary to re-dis-
trict the wards, appoint Inspectors of Election and
designate the places for holding polls for the com-
ing charter election. The meeting was devoted to
these purposes.
The Dongan Charter in 1686, with few amend-
ments, came down to the revolution. After the
revolution, with such amendments as the State
Constitution and Laws required, it continued to be
the fundamental law of the city until March 16,
1870, when the Charter was largely amended by an
Act of the Legislature, passed on that day.
This Act provided that the Corporation, hitherto
known by the name of the Mayor, Aldermen and
Commonalty of the City of Albany, shall continue to
be a body politic and corporate in fact and in name,
by the name of the City of Albany, and shall have per-
petual succession, with all the grants, powers and
privileges heretofore had by the said Mayor, Alder-
men and Commonalty of the City of Albany, and
be subject to all the restrictions and conditions
and possess all the powers of a municipal corpora-
tion, under and by virtue of the General Statutes
of the State.
2d. The Corporation of the City of Albany shall
continue to own, hold and possess all the prop-
erty, rights, privileges and franchises now owned,
held and possessed by the corporation heretofore
known as the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty
of the City of Albany.
At the annual meeting. May 3, 1870, George H.
Thacher, Mayor.
Aldermen-at-large: Philip Fitzsimmons, John
Evers, Robert H. Moore, William M. Van Ant-
werp.
Aldermen: John Burke, First Ward; James H.
Simmons, Second Ward; James Quin, Third
Ward; John Stuart, Fourth Ward; Matthew Quin,
Fifth Ward; Royal Bancroft, Sixth Ward; John N.
Parker, Seventh Ward; James Morris, Eighth
V\'ard; Terence J. Quinn, Ninth Ward; John
Laughlin, Tenth Ward; William B. Scott, Eleventh
Ward; James Allen, Twelfth Ward; Albert C. Jud-
son, Thirteenth Ward; Charles Senrick, Fourteenth
Ward; Benjamin V. Z. Wemple, Fifteenth Ward;
Cornelius Hill, Sixteenth Ward.
City Officers. — Thomas J. Lanahan, First
Clerk; Thomas Hogan, Second Clerk; Lucius G.
Hoyt, Inspector.
Street Department: George H. Thacher, Mayor;
Philip Fitzsimmons, President of Common Council;
John Stuart, James Allen, Albert C. Judson, Alder-
men; A. M. Combs, Street Commissioner; R. H.
Bingham, City Engineer and Surveyor; J. C. Y.
Paige, Chamberlain.
Finance Department: George H. Thacher,
Mayor; Philip Fitzsimmons, President of Common
Council; John Evers, Terence J.Quinn.WiUiam M.
Van Antwerp, Aldermen; J. C. Y. Paige, Cham-
berlain; Charles A. Hills, Deputy Chamberlain.
Law Department: John Evers, B. V. Z. Wem-
ple, Aldermen; E. J. Meegan, Corporation Coun-
sel.
Daniel M. Stinson, City Physician; George W.
Hoxie, Overseer of the Poor; James Farley, Super-
intendent City Buildings; Edward Brennan, John
Daly, James Rice, Assessors; George W. Carpen-
ter, Superintendent Water-works.
In the Mayor's address he particularly mentions
the condition of the various departments of the
city. During the two last years $350,000 was
added to the bonded debt The valuation of prop-
erty, previously high, had been increased to the ex-
tent of $2,234,000, and the rate of taxation for
1869 was $3.54 per $100.
For the first time in the corporate life of the city,
then over 183 years, the veto power was conferred
upon the Mayor.
About thirty suits were at this time pending
against the city. The aggregate claims exceeded
1 1 60, 000.
On Monday, February 13, 1870, the annual re-
port of the City Chamberlain showed the following:
Balance on hand Nov. I, 1869. . $127,321 52
Receipts for current year 1,510,538 37
$1,637,859 89
Disbursements $1,448,487 36
On hand Nov. i, 1870 187,372 53
$1,637,859 89
The Park Commissioners show progress in the
improvements of Washington Park; and in the first
annual report show the total receipts to January
20th to have been $55,970.39.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
479
The annual meeting was held May 7, 1872 —
George H. Thacher, Mayor.
Aldermen: Robert H. Moore, William Casey,
Thomas Mulhall, Richard Bortle, David N. Gla-
zier, Henry S. Van Santford, Philip Mattimore, John
G. Burch, James A. Fahy, Robert Aspinwall, Thomas
Cavanaugh, Townsend Fondey, Royal Bancroft,
Joseph McCann, Albert Brumaghim.
City Officers. — JohnG. Burch, President; Hale
Kingsley, Clerk; James L. Babcock, City Physi-
cian.
The Chamberlain's report for the year ending
November i, 1872, is as follows:
Balance on hand Nov. 1,1871.. $366,989 14
Receipts for current year 1,080,323 18
$1,447,312 32
Disbursements $1,266,410 28
On hand Nov. I, 1872 180,902 04
$1,447,312 32
William N. S. Sanders was appointed Chamber-
lain of the City, and John F. Baichelder, Deputy
Chamberlain and Receiver of Taxes.
In 1874 Mayor Thacher was declared re-elected,
but his seat was contested by E. L. Judson. John
G. Burch acted as Mayor from January 28 till
April, 1874, when E. L. Judson was decided
elected for the unexpired term of Thacher and also
the full term.
The proceedings of two years of the Common
Council are missing from the reports.
1876. — A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor; John A.
Luby, President of Common Council.
Aldermen: George Krank, First Ward; John G.
Schneider, Second Ward; James H. Simmons,
Third Ward; Wm. H. Keeler, Fourth Ward; Henry
Van Hoesen, Fifth Ward; Robert K. Oliver, Sixth
Ward; S. H. H. Parsons, Seventh Ward; Thomas A.
Becket, Eighth Ward; Patrick Dillon, Ninth Ward,
Conrad Degen, Tenth Ward; John A. Luby,
Eleventh Ward; Thomas Cavanaugh, Twelfth Ward;
Christian Schurr, Thirteenth Ward; John P. Bradt,
Fourteenth Ward; Michael J. Gorman, Fifteenth
Ward; Hiram Bender, Sixteenth Ward.
Executive Department: A. Bleecker Banks,
Mayor; Francis S. Pruyn, First Clerk; A. Douw
Lansing, Second Clerk; James Farley, Inspector.
Street Department: A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor;
John A. Luby, President of Common Council;
Thomas Cavanaugh, James H. Simmons, Christian
Schurr, Aldermen; R. H. Bingham, City Surveyor
and Engineer; Robert H. Waterman, Chamberlain;
Joseph McCann, Street Commissioner.
Law Department: S. S. H. Parsons, Thomas
Cavanaugh, Thomas A. Becket, Aldermen; Gren-
ville Tremain, Corporation Council.
Finance Department: A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor;
Robert H. Waterman, Chamberlain; John W. Har-
court, Deputy Chamberjain; John A. Luby, Pres-
ident of Common Council; S. S. H. Parsons,
Henry Van Hoesen, Thomas A. Becket, Aldermen.
City Officers. — Martin Delehanty, Clerk; Robert
H. Waterman, Chamberlain; Joseph S. Paige,
Chamberlain's Clerk; John W. Harcourt, Deputy
Chamberlain and Receiver of Taxes; Charles A.
Hills, Deputy Receiver of Taxes; Wilham S. Pad-
dock, Recorder; Reuben H. Bingham, City Sur-
veyor and Engineer; Henry Fitch, Superintendent
of Alms-house; Thomas J. Lanahan, Clerk of
Board of Contract and Apportionment.
1877. — The City Officers for the year 1877 are
the same as those of 1876, with the exception of
the following:
Abraham Lansing, Corporation Council; Joseph
McCann, Street Commissioner; Daniel V. O'Leary,
City Physician.
1878. — M. N. Nolan, Mayor; Thomas Cavan-
augh, President of Common Council.
Aldermen : John Zimmerman, First Ward;
Thomas B. Franklin, Second Ward; William A.
Donahoe, Third Ward; John T. Gorman, Fourth
Ward; Isaac Brilleman, Fifth Ward; William
Manson, Sixth Ward; James McKinney, Seventh
Ward; James H. Harrigan, Eighth Ward; Patrick
Dillon, Ninth Ward; Conrad Degen, Tenth Ward;
David M. Alexander, Eleventh Ward; Thomas
Cavanaugh, Twelfth Ward; Theodore M. Amsdell,
Thirteenth Ward; William Deyermand, Fourteenth
Ward; Michael J. Gorman, Fifteenth Ward; AUston
Adams, Sixteenth Ward.
Executive Department: M. N. Nolan, Mayor;
Desmond S. Lamb, First Clerk; William D.
Dickerman, Second Clerk; John J. Norton, Third
Clerk; Charles Senrick, Inspector.
Street Department : M. N. Nolan, Mayor ;
Thomas Cavanaugh, President ; James H. Harri-
gan, David M. Alexander, Conrad Degen, Aldermen;
William H. Keeler, Street Commissioner; Reuben
H. Bingham, City Surveyor and Engineer; Lucien
Tufts, Jr., Chamberlain.
Finance Department: M. N. Nolan, Mayor;
Thomas Cavanaugh, President; Michael Gorman,
William Deyermand, Conrad Degen, Aldermen;
Lucien Tuff's, Jr., Chamberlain; Charles A. Hills,
Deputy Chamberlain.
Law Department: James H. Harrigan, John T.
Gorman, Allston Adams, Aldermen; Simon W.
Rosendale, Corporation Council.
Martin Delehanty, Clerk of Common Council;
Joseph Y. Paige, Chamberlain's Clerk; Edward J.
Giraty, Deputy Receiver of Taxes: James O'Byrne,
City Marshal; Matthias Bissikummer, Deputy; W.
S. Paddock, Recorder; James Browne, Deputy
Surveyor and Engineer: John A. Luby, Super-
intendent of Alms-house; James McQuade, Chief
Engineer Fire Department; John Maloy, Chief of
Police; William J. Weaver, William J. Flynn,
Henry T. Bradt, City Assessors; William K. Clute',
John C. Nott, Police Justices.
1879.— M N. Nolan, Mayor.
Aldermen : Thomas Cavanaugh, President of
Common Council; John Zimmerman, First Ward-
Thomas B. Franklin, Second Ward; William A.'
Donahoe, Third Ward; John T. Gorman, Fourth
Ward; Isaac Brilleman, Fifth Ward; William
Manson, Sixth Ward; James McKinney, Seventh
Ward; James H. Harrigan, Eighth Ward; Edwin
V. Kirtland, Ninth Ward; Conrad Degen, Tenth
Ward; David M. Alexander, Eleventh Ward;
Thomas Cavanaugh, Twelfth Ward; Theodore M.'
Amsdell, Thirteenth Ward; William Deyermand,
480
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Fourteenth Ward; Michael J. Gorman, Fifteenth
Ward; Alston Adams, Sixteenth Ward.
Department officers are the same as last year.
Washington Park Commissioners : John H. Van
Antwerp, President; R. W. Peckham, James D.
Wasson, Robert L. Johnson, R. Lenox Banks,
Daniel Manning, George Dawson, J. G. Farns-
worth, Dudley Olcott.
Water Commissioners : Visscher Ten Eyck,
Henry H. Martin, Erastus Corning, John M. Kim-
ball. Vacancy.
Police Commissioners : M. N. Nolan, ex officio,
President ; James Mclntyre, Michael Schrodt,
William M. Bender, Richard B. Rock.
Fire Commissioners : M. N. Nolan, ex officio,
President; Jacob C. Cuyler, one year; Philip
O'Brien, two years ; Anthony N. Brady, three
years; Henry S. Rosenthal, four years; Thomas
Austin, five years.
1880.— M. N. Nolan, Mayor.
Aldermen : Albert Gallup, President of Com-
mon Council; Peter Snyder, First Ward; Philip J.
McCormick, Second Ward ; William A. Donahoe,
Third Ward; John T. Gorman, Fourth Ward;
John Carey, Fifth Ward; Michael A. Murphy,
Sixth Ward ; James Carlisle, Seventh Ward;
Michael Horan (died), Eighth Ward; Michael H.
Murray, Ninth Ward ; James A. Fahy, Tenth
Ward; William McEwen, Eleventh Ward; Robert
Bryce, Jr. , Twelfth Ward ; Samuel C. Harris,
Thirteenth Ward; Theodore D. Smith, Jr., Four-
teenth Ward; Joseph McCann, Fifteenth Ward;
Albert Gallup, Sixteenth Ward ; Henry C. Burch,
Seventeenth Ward.
The new City Officers this year were : William
J. Maher, Deputy Chamberlain and Receiver of
Taxes;' Michael E. Higgins, City Marshal ; An-
thony Gould, Recorder; John J. O'Hara, Deputy
City Surveyor and Engineer ; John McKenna,
Superintendent of Alms-house; James V.Viggers,
Mayor's Third Clerk; William J. Burke, Inspector
Public Buildings.
The City Hall was destroyed by fire on the
morning of February 10, 1880.
Steps were immediately taken to rebuild the City
Hall, and the matter was intrusted to a Committee
on Public Buildings and three other members who
were added to the above committee.
1 88 1. — M. N. Nolan, Mayor.
Aldermen: Albert Gallup, President of Com-
mon Council; Peter Snyder, First Ward; Philip
McCormick, Second Ward; William A. Donahoe,
Third Ward; John T. Gorman, Fourth Ward; John
Carey, Fifth Ward; Michael A. Murphy, Sixth
Ward; James Carlisle, Seventh Ward; Thomas A.
Becket, Eighth Ward; Michael H. Murray, Ninth
Ward; James A. Fahy, Tenth Ward; William
McEwan, Eleventh Ward; Robert Bryce, Jr.,
Twelfth Ward; Samuel C. Harris, Thirteenth
Ward; Theodore D. Smith. Jr., Fourteenth Ward;
Joseph McCann (died). Fifteenth Ward; Albert
Gallup, Sixteenth Ward; Henry C. Burch, Seven-
teenth Ward.
City Officers. — Rufus W. Peckham, Corpora-
tion Council; Lawrence Carey, Inspector.
Street Department: M. N. Nolan, Mayor; Albert
Gallup, President; James Carlisle, John T. Gor-
man, Thomas A. Becket, Aldermen; William H.
Keeler, Street Commissioner; Reuben H. Bingham,
City Surveyor; Charles E. Hills, Chamberlain.
Finance Department: M. N. Nolan, Ma)'or;
Albert Gallup, President; Robert Bryce, Theodnre
Smith. Jr., William McEwan, Aldermen; Charles
E. Hills, Chamberlain; William J. Maher, Deputy
Chamberlain.
Law Department: Theodore Smith, Jr., Robert
Bryce, William McEwan, Aldermen; Rufus W,
Peckham, Corporation Counsel.
1882. — M. N. Nolan, Mayor.
Aldermen: William H. Murray, President Com-
mon Council; Peter Snyder, First Ward; Jeremiah
Kieley, Second Ward; William A. Donahoe, Third
Ward; James Lyons, Fourth Ward; John Carey,
Fifth Ward; George W. Beck, Sixth Ward; James
Cariisle, Seventh Ward; Michael A. Nolan, Eighth
Ward; Michael H. Murray, Ninth Ward; James
A. Fahy, Tenth Ward; Austin S. Kibbee, Eleventh
Ward; Robert Bryce (resigned). Twelfth Ward;
Samuel C. Harris, Thirteenth Ward; Charles W.
Mead, Fourteenth Ward; James Thornton, Fif-
teenth Ward; William H. Murray, Sixteenth Ward ;
Henry C. Burch, Seventeenth Ward.
City Officers. — Henry R. Haskins, City Physi-
cian; Robert Bryce, Street Commissioner.
Executive Department same as last year.
Street Department: M. N. Nolan, Mayor; Will-
iam H. Murray, President Common Council; John
Carey, James Lyons, George H. Beck, Aldermen;
Robert Bryce, Commissioner; Reuben H. Bing-
ham, Surveyor; Charles A. Hills, Chamberlain.
Finance Department: M. N. Nolan, Mayor;
William H. Murray, President Common Council;
James Lyon, John Carey, (vacancy).
Aldermen; C. A. Hills, Chamberlain; William J.
Maher, Deputy Chamberlain.
Law Department: Samuel C. Harris, William H.
Murray, Charles W. Mead, Aldermen; R. W. Peck-
ham, Corporation Council.
1883. — John Swinburne, Mayor.
Aldermen : William H. Murray, President Com-
mon Council. Members of the Board the same as
1882, with Patrick McCann in the vacancy of the
Twelfth Ward.
Departments. — Executive: John Swinburne,
Mayor; William H. Haskell, First Clerk: George
D. Haskell, Second Clerk.
Board of Contract and Apportionment: John
Swinburne, Mayor; William H. Murray, Robert
Bryce, Jr., Reuben H. Bingham, Charles A. Hills.
Board of Finance: John Swinburne, William H.
Murray, C. A. Hills, M. A. Nolan, Visscher Ten
Eyck.
Trustees of Sinking Fund: John Swinburne; C.
A. Hills, Visscher Ten Eyck.
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITF OF ALBANY.
481
Law Department: Samuel Harris, William H.
Murray, Charles W. Mead; Henry Smith, Corpora-
tion Counsel.
Board of Audit: John Swinburne, William H.
Murray, C. A. Hills.
Board of Health: John Swinburne, ex officio,
President; Dr. A. Vanderveer, Dr. S. B. Ward,
Thomas H. Dwyer, Robert Bryce, Jr., John Mc-
Kenna, R. H. Bingham; Dr. D. V. O'Leary,
Health Physician; Edward H. Long, Clerk; James
Rooney, Lawrence Carey, William D. Dickerman,
Inspectors.
We have given the names of the principal officers
of the Corporation of the City of Albany under the
Charter as amended by the Charter of 1870.
On April 23, 1883, the Charter of the City of
Albany was again amended, of which the following
is an outline:
This amendment retains all the sections, three
in number, under Title i of said act.
Title 2 of said act defines the boundaries of the
seventeen wards of the city, one ward having been
added since the Act of 1870.
The various departments of the municipal gov-
ernment of Albany are established in Title 2, as
follows :
The legislative power of said Corporation shall
be vested in a Board of Aldermen, who shall form
the Common Council of the City of Albany.
The Board of Aldermen consists of nineteen
members, one Aldermen to be elected from each
of the seventeen wards, and two from the city-at-
large. To be eligible for the oifice of Alderman,
a citizen shall have resided in the ward, and in case
of each Alderman-at-Iarge, he shall have resided
in the city for at least one year immediately prior
to his election.
There was chosen by the electors, according to
this Charter, on the second Tuesday of April,
1884, one Alderman from each ward, and two
from the city-at- large, to hold their office for two
years. There is to be a Charter election held in
the city on the same day in every second year
hereafter for the choice of Aldermen.
The Common Council shall, biennially, elect a
President from its own body, and, in his absence,
a President for the time being, and biennially ap-
point its Clerk, who shall receive a salary of twenty-
five hundred dollars per annum, payable monthly.
He may appoint an Assistant, who shall have a sal-
ary of $600 a year. Every law, ordinance or reso-
lution of the Common Council, before it takes ef-
fect, and within five days after its passage, must be
sent to the Mayor's office. * * If the Mayor ap-
prove of such law, etc., he shall sign it, and it shall
take effect immediately. If he does not approve
it, he shall return it, with his objections, within ten
days after it is delivered at his office.
The Common Council are Commissioners of
Highways in and for said city.
The Charter defines the laws and ordinances
which the Common Council has power to make,
and the penalties for their violation. There are
thirty-six of those provisions or ordinances. It is
61
provided that nothing in this act shall affect the
powers, duties, rules, orders, or ordinances or reg-
ulations of the Board of Health, as they exist
under the laws of the Slate. The Common Coun-
cil shall have power to impeach the Mayor by a
resolution passed by a resolution of two-thirds of
all the members of the said Board.
The Executive Power of the Corporation. —
The executive power of the Corporation shall be
vested in the Mayor. He shall be elected at a
Charter election, and hold his office for the term
of two years, commencing on the first Tuesday of
May next after his election; and the Mayor elected
at any election held hereafter shall not be eligible
until one term shall intervene, and the acceptance
hereafter of any other elective office by the Mayor
shall operate to determine and end his term of
office as Mayor. His office is in the City Hall,
and is open daily for business between the hours
often o'clock in the morning and four o'clock in
the afternoon. His salary is three thousand five
hundred dollars per year, to be paid monthly by
the Chamberlain.
The duties of the Mayor of Albany are plainly set
forth in the Charter, and his powers, though suf-
ficiently guarded, are plenary.
It is his duty, among other things, to communi-
cate to the Common Council, at least once in every
year, a general statement of the finances, govern-
ment and improvement of the city; to recommend
to the Common Council all such measures con-
nected with the security, health, cleanliness, and
ornamentation of the city, and the protection of its
government and finances, as he shall deem expedi-
ent; to call out and command the police and fire-
men, and to call together the citizens and commis-
sion special policemen during an emergency, and
take all proper measures for the protection of the
property and lives of the citizens in case of riot or
disturbance.
He shall have power at any time to suspend, for
neglect or omission to perform the duties of his
office, for inattention to such duties of his office, or
incompetency to well and efficiently to execute the
same, any officer holding an office to which the
Mayor has the power of appointment absolutely, or
subject to the confirmation of the Common Coun-
cil. After such suspension, notice must be given
to the Common Council at its next meeting. The
President, within five days, notifies the Recorder and
the Law Committee of the said city of such fact,
and that they are required to meet with him at a
time and place designated. At the time and place
the President, Common Council, Recorder and
Law Committee are to meet. The Recorder pre-
sides. Ten days' notice must be given the offi-
cer suspended. The President, Recorder and Law
Committee form a commission for the trial of the
officer suspended or removed upon written charges
to be made by the Mayor. The Clerk of the Com-
mon Council attends the meetings as Clerk of the
Commission. The record of its proceedings is
filed with the Clerk of the Common Council. In
the event of no dismissal, the city shall pay the
cost and expenses of the officer so tried.
482
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
City Officers Appointed by the Mayor. — The
following officers are appointed biennially by the
Mayor : a Chamberlain, Receiver of Taxes, City
Engineer and Surveyor, Street Commissioner, City
Marshal, Inspector of Weights and Measures,
Overseer of the Poor, Superintendent of the Alms-
house, and one City Physician. These appoint-
ments (except the Chamberlain and Receiver of
Taxes, which shall be made on the eve of the Fast-
day of St. Michael the Archangel) shall be sent to
the Common Council for confirmation at the next
regular meeting after their appointment.
He also appoints the Assessors of the city. He
also appoints, within three months after his elec-
tion, a Corporation Counsel, six District Physi-
cians, four city Bell-ringers, and such clerks and
subordinates, not exceeding two, as he may re-
quire. Such Bell-ringers, clerks and subordinates
hold their position at the pleasure of the Mayor.
He shall also appoint a Janitor, who shall have
the care of the city buildings on South Pearl street.
The Janitor may appoint an assistant.
Corporation Counsel. — The Corporation Coun-
sel acts as the legal adviser of the Common
Council and of the several Officers, Boards, and
Commissioners of the City, who shall not employ
other counsel. His salary is $6,000 per year, and
he receives no fees. He gives bonds for the faith-
ful performance of all his official duties. He may
appoint an assistant, whose salary is to be paid by
him. The Corporation Counsel may, with the
written consent of the Mayor, employ other coun-
sel in the management of important cases in which
the city is interested.
Chamberlain. — This officer receives all the
money due or payable to the Corporation, and
collects all assessments, apportionments, and rents.
He receives and disburses all moneys raised by
tax in the city, including money raised by county
tax for the maintenance of the Alms-house therein.
His salary is $3,500 per year, payable monthly.
He has authority to appoint a Deputy Chamberlain,
with the approval of the Mayor. His salary is
$1,500 per year.
Both these officers must give heavy bonds for
the faithful discharge of their duties.
The Mayor, Chamberlain, and President of the
Common Council constitute a Board of Audit, and
examine, audit, adjust, and settle all accounts,
claims, debts and demands payable out of the
moneys in the Chamberlain's hands appropriated
for the Alms-house. Before these demands are
audited, the Board is authorized to issue subpoenas
to the claimants, or any other person, to compel
their attendance before the Board for examination
touching said demands.
These are among the duties of the Chamberlain.
They, with his other duties, render his office one of
the most important connected with the city govern-
ment.
Receiver of Taxes. — It is the duty of this offi-
cer to receive all taxes provided by law, and to
retain, in his possession the assessment rolls and
waiT.ant.s which shajl from time to time be delivered
to him by the Supervisors; to enter daily, in suit-
able books kept for that purpose, the sums received
for taxes, respectively with the name of the person
on whose account the same may be paid, and the
ward for which received; and he shall, at the ex-
piration of office hours, exhibit such entries to the
City Chamberlain, the amount received by him on
such day, and pay over to that officer the amount
so received.
It is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprison-
ment not exceeding six months, and fine not ex-
ceeding five hundred dollars, for the Receiver of
Taxes, or any person in the employment of the
city, or for the County Treasurer, or any person in
the employment of the county, to enter in his
books any payment of taxes or water rates on a day
different from that on which the same is paid; or
to accept any less sum for such tax or water rate
than the amount by law required to be paid, when
such tax or water rate is in fact paid; or to throw
off or deduct from the sum due any interest collect-
able thereon; or to make any false or untrue entry
with respect thereto.
Thus we see how carefully the city government
guards its interests against fraud and peculation.
The Board of Supervisors of the county causes
the corrected assessment roll of each ward in the
city to be delivered to the Receiver of Taxes for
said city on or before the tenth day of December
in every year, with a warrant, under the hands and
seals of the members of the Board of Supervisors,
or a majority of them, commanding such receiver
to collect from the several persons named in the
rolls the several sums mentioned in the last column
of said roll opposite their respective names, and to
pay over the same in manner directed in such
warrant
The County Treasurer examines the account of
the arrears of taxes received from the Receiver of
Taxes, and shall reject all taxes on land that shall
there be imperfectly described, and on all taxes
erroneously assessed in form or substance.
The duties of the Receiver of Taxes in case of
non-payment thereof are admirably defined, and
are more fully considered in the history of the
Board of Supervisors.
The County Treasurer receives, as compensa-
tion for his services, an annual salary to be fixed by
the Board of Supervisors. He is not to receive
any interest, fees, or compensation for his ser-
vices, except in proceedings for the sale of land
for unpaid taxes. In cases where payments are
made after first publication of the notice of sale, or
on the sale, he shall receive five per cent on the
amount, to be addded to the tax. The County
Treasurer transmits to the Comptroller an account
of unpaid taxes assessed upon corporations, or
upon the lands of non-residents or unknown
owners, in the City of Albany, on any collector's
affidavit thereto.
Board of Finance. — ^The Common Council,
under the Charter, at its first meeting in Januar}',
1884, appointed a citizen of the city, not an office
holder, to act with the Mayor and Chamberlain
MUNICIPAL HISTORY OF THE CITY OF ALBANY.
483
as a Board of Trustees of the Sinking Fund of
the city. Every third year after the first day of Jan-
uary aforesaid, there is to be a new appointment.
The members are a body corporate, who, together
with the President of the Common Council and
one Alderman, to be designated by the Common
Council, constitute a Board of Finance for the city_
Banks Designated for Deposit. — The Board of
Finance designates, after notice duly published
twice in each week, for two weeks, in the Corpora-
tion newspaper, two banks in the city, who are to
give security, in which all moneys received by
the Chamberlain shall be deposited, and shall fix,
by agreement with the banks, the amount of in-
terest to be paid on such deposits. The Board has
power, after publication of the like notice, to change
the banks.
CrrY Tax Budget. — Among the duties of the said
Board is that of annually preparing a city tax bud-
get, which includes all sums required for every
municipal purpose during the year next following
the first day of January after such budget was pre-
pared, and shall report the same to the Common
Council.
Board of Contract and Apportionment. — This
is a very important Board, and in its practical work-
ing admirably protects the interests of the city.
It consists of the Mayor, Chamberlain, Street Com-
missioner, City Engineer and Surveyor, and Presi-
dent of the Common Council. The Corporation
Counsel or his assistant has a right to be present
at every meeting. The Board meets on the first
and third Monday of each and every month be-
tween the hours of 9 a. m. and 5 p. m. Reporters
of newspapers may be present at most of the meet-
ings.
This Board has charge, under the direction of
the Common Council, of all the altering, regulat-
ing, grading, paving, repaving, flagging, curbing,
guttering, cleaning, opening, draining, repairing
and lighting the streets, roads, places, alleys and
avenues; of fencing and filling building lots; re-
pairing and lighting docks, wharves and piers; and
of constructing and repairing public streets, drains,
alleys and bridges.
It issues all proposals, receives all bids and
awards all contracts for doing the foregoing work.
All contracts, however, except for lighting the city,
can be made for a longer period than two years.
Contracts are let to the lowest responsible bidder,
who presents with his bid the bond required by law.
All contracts and bonds are approved by the Cor-
poration Counsel as to form and validity. The
Board appoints biennially a clerk at a salary of
$2,000 per annum. He keeps all records and ac-
counts of said Board.
It is the duty of this Board to apportion and assess
all the expenses for work, labor and services per-
formed and all the materials furnished, with the in-
cidental cost and expenses attending the same.
Such apportionment must be duly verified by the
Street Commissioner, City Engineer and Surveyor,
and ratified and approved by the Board of Contract
and Apportionment. The provisions of the Char-
ter in regard to the duties of said Board are nu-
merous, but we have given a synopsis of its most
important duties.
The Street Commissioner appoints, with the ap-
proval of the Mayor, two Superintendents of Streets
and one Superintendent of Lamps, who shall hold
office during the pleasure of the Commissioner.
He is entitled to the services of the Clerk of the
Board of Contract and Apportionment, when not
engaged in the work of said Board. He may also
employ, when necessary, not to exceed six day-
laborers, to hold their places during his pleasure.
Such Superintendents perform such work as shall
be required of them by the Street Commissioner.
Day-laborers are paid out of the Street Contingent
Fund semi-monthly by the Chamberlain.
The Street Commissioner's salary is $3,000 per
year; that of the two Superintendents $1,200 per
year respectively. The Street Commissioner re-
ceives the further sum of #500 per year for the
maintenance of a horse and wagon, to be used by
him in the discharge of his duties.
If necessary, he has power to employ not to ex-
ceed two teams, to be paid out of the Contingent
Fund. He has power, from April ist to November
15th in each year, to employ not to exceed four ad-
ditional day-laborers. He has charge of lighting
the city and to determine the position of lamps, and
to see to all defects in the lighting the city.
All the oil, gas and electric lights of the city are
supplied under contracts let by the Board of Con-
tract and Apportionment.
City Engineer and Surveyor. — This officer
appoints one deputy engineer and surveyor, with
the approval of the Mayor; also one draughtsman
and one rodman. These officers hold their office
at the pleasure of the City Engineer. This official
receives a salary of $3,000 per year. His assistants
receive $1,000 per year and the rodman $1,200.
The City Engineer and assistants are fence vieweis
for the city.
The City Engineer makes all surveys, measure-
ments, maps, profiles and diagrams necessary for
the taking of any land by right of eminent domain,
or for the widening, paving, repaving or otherwise
altering or improving any street, avenue, alley,
lane, square or lot in the city. He also decides
all disputes between owners of land on each side
of division fences, touching the method of con-
struction or repairing such fences. The division
of the fence between such owners, or the part
each is to bear respectively in the expense thereof,
shall be decided by the Deputy Engineer and Sur-
veyor.
City Physician. — It is the duty of this officer
to visit the Alms house at least once in each
day; to attend and administer medical assistance to
the sick in the Alms-house, hospital, pest-house
and other permanent or temporarv buildings now
erected, or hereafter to be erected, on the Alms-
house Farm. He appoints one resident physician
to assist in the discharge of his duties. He reports
on the first day of each month, and oftener if re-
quired, to the Mayor, of the condition of the pau-
484
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
peris m in the Alms-house; the persons admitted to
the Pest-house, Lunatic Asylum and Hospital; when
sent and by whom. He receives a salary of $1,200
per annum, payable monthly, out of the Alms-
house Fund. His assistants receive $200 per an-
num.
SUPERINTENDENT.0F THE ALMSHOUSE. This oflfi-
cer has charge and control of the poor and insane
committed to the Alms-house, and of the real and
personal property used for such purposes, and of
the farm and appurtenances belonging to the same.
He must give his undivided personal attention to
the duties of his office, and cannot engage in any
other trade or occupation.
All persons arrested upon charges of insanity shall
be sent to the asylum attached to the Albany Alms-
house, and it is the duty of the Superintendent of
the Alms-house to transfer the said person or per-
sons from the said asylum, when directed so to do
by either of the Police Magistrates or the Chief of
Police. The Superintendent must reside at the Alms-
house in the city. He receives a salary of #2,500
per year and provides his own table and that of
his assistants, who reside at the Alms-house, from
the money appropriated to the support of the Alms-
house.
The Overseer of the Poor is the chief official
connected with the charities of the city. He has
the power of appointing one assistant, with the
approval of the Mayor. It is one of his duties to
make diligent inquiry as to the necessities of the
persons applying for relief, and exercise his own
judgment in granting or withholding relief. If
he knows of any person disabled, sick or en-
feebled, so as to be unable to work to maintain
himself, with no visible means of support, about to
become a public charge, it is the duty of the Over-
seer to investigate the antecedents of such person,
whether he or she has any relatives legally bound
to support such person; what his or her last place
of residence was; and from what place he or she
came into Albany County. If such poor persons
have friends legally bound to take care of them, the
Overseer institutes proceedings to compel them to
take care of them. His salary is $2,000. He can,
with the approval of the Mayor, appoint one assist-
ant at a salary of $900 per annum, and may em-
ploy one additional assistant at a salary of not
more than $50 per month.
The City Marshal assists the Clerk of the Com-
mon Council in the execution of that oflBce. He
receives a salary of $1,500 per year.
Inspector of Weights and Measures. — This
officer receives no salary from the city. He is,
however, entitled to such fees as the Common
Council may ordain.
Fees and Salaries of Other City Officers. —
Each City District Physician receive a salary of
$400 per year, and shall reside in the district for
which he is appointed. The Mayor's Clerks re-
ceive respectively $1,500 and $900 a year. The
Bell-ringers, $60 each. The two operators of the
Lawrence Street Bridge receive, during the season
of navigation, such compensation as the Mayor
deems sufficient; not to exceed the sum paid by
the State of New York for similar services.
Taking Private Property for Public Use. — No
part of the Charter of the City of Albany exhibits
more wisdom, none more carefully protects the
rights, privileges and immunities of the Municipal-
ity and the citizens, than that part contained in
Title XVII of the Charter, which provides for
taking private property for public use. It gives the
Common Council, whenever it shall deem it neces-
sary, the right to take, within the city, any ground or
real estate, with the appurtenances, belonging to
any person or persons, or corporation, for the
purpose of laying out, opening, extending, straight-
ening, widening, or altering any street, road, avenue,
park, square, wharf or slip; or for the purpose of
laying out, constructing or maintaining any drain,
sewer, culvert or aqueduct; or for any other public
purpose or use. But at the same time it gives
property owners an easy, early and equitable mode
of obtaining compensation for their lands taken
under this section, and for all damages sustained
by such taking.
The General Provisions of the Charter. —
These are contained in Title XVIII of the Charter,
which is divided into sixteen sections, eight of
which are provisions for the punishment of city
officials for receiving any fees, perquisites, compen-
sation or commission, in addition to their salary, for
the performance of any official duty; for the giving
of ample security for the faithful performance of
their respective duties; for accepting bids or award-
ing contracts to any person or persons in arrears to
the Corporation upon debt or contract, or who is
a defaulter, as surety or otherwise, upon any obli-
gation to the Corporation; for the punishment of
any person who shall, in manner or form, offer any
city official any moneys, goods, rights in action
or other property, or anything of value, or any pe-
cuniar}' advantage, present or prospective, with in-
tent to influence his vote, opinion, or judgment or
action on any question, m alter, cause or proceed-
ing which may be then pending, or may by law be
brought before him in his official capacity. The in-
fraction of this law is punishable by imprisonment
in a penitentiary not exceeding two years, or by a
fine not exceeding $5,000, or both, at the discre-
tion of the Court Any member of the Common
Council, or other city official, who accepts any such
offer for the purpose above mentioned, shall, upon
convicuon of such an offense, be disqualified from
holding office, and imprisoned in a penitentiary not
exceeding two years, or by a fine not exceeding
$5,coo, or both, in the discretion of the Court; or
for willfully violating or evading any provision of
said Charter; or for swearing false to any material
matter in any oath or affirmation required by the
same.
Eight of said sections are provisions for the pro-
tection of the streets against damages to the city
through the negligence occasioned by the use of
citizens, on permission of the Common Council to
make drains or sewers, culverts or basins — to com-
pel all persons or corporations maintaining a cov-
NAVIGATION OF THE HUDSON
485
ering, sluice-way or surface drain at any street
crossing, or at tiie terminus of any street, sluice-
way or surface drain, etc. , etc. , to keep the same
in good repair, rendering such citizens alone liable
for any damage to person or property directly or
indirectly caused by the same.
Section 13 of the said Charter requires every
railroad operating by horse-power to clean snow
or ice from its track.
Section 14 requires every person presenting bills
against the city to use their own names or the
names of the firms of which they are members.
Section 15 provides for assessing and taxing all
manufacturing corporations, actually located in
the city, upon their real and personal property in
the same manner as individuals. The personal
estate of such corporations shall be assessed in
the town or ward where the principal office or
place for transacting the financial concerns of the
company is situated. If there is no such principal
office, then in the town or ward where the opera-
tions of such corporations are carried on. The
holder of stock in any corporation mentioned in
this section cannot be taxed as an individual for
stock.
Assessors. — ^The Board of Assessors of the City
are provided with a suitable and convenient office
in the City of Albany by the Board of Supervisors
of the County, together with the requisite books
and stationery, lights and fuel. Their office is to
be kept open during the usual days and hours.
The books, maps, assessment roll and other papers
shall be public records, and at all reasonable times
open to inspection. They receive an annual salary
of $3,000 each, payable by the Chamberlain in
monthly payments. They appoint a clerk, w,ho
takes charge of the books, papers, assessment roll
and records pertaining to the office. Tlie appoint-
ment is in writing, signed by the assessors. The
clerk remains in office at their pleasure; his salary
is $1,000 per year, payable by the Chamberlain in
monthly payments.
Prevention of Fires. — No municipal govern-
ment in the nation has more wholesome and suc-
cessful regulations for the prevention of fires than
the municipality of Albany, found in Title XX of
the City Charter. Every citizen should thoroughly
understand this section. The duties of the Fire
Commissioners and the police under this title, are
full, easily understood and practiced.
Election of City Officers. — The officers of the
city, elected by a general ticket at the Charter
election, are : The Mayor, Recorder, two Alder-
men from the city-at-large, Police Justices, Jus-
tices of the Justice Court, Police Commissioners
and members of the Board of Public Instruction.
The electors in each ward elect, at each annual
Charter election, one Supervisor and one Constable,
who shall hold their office for one year. Every
second year an Alderman is elected at the Charter
election. The annual Charter election is held on
the second Tuesday of April in each year, and the
municipal year commences on the first Tuesday oi
May following.
Title XXII repeals all statutes of the State and
ordinances of the city inconsistent with the pro-
visions of said Charter.
1884. — ^A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor; Norman L.
Snow, President of Common Council; Norman L.
Snow, Robert H. Moore, Aldermen-at-large.
Aldermen : Augustus Whiteman, First Ward ;
Jeremiah Kieley, Second Ward; Thomas F. Cor-
coran, Third Ward; James Lyons, Fourth Ward;
Thomas E. Dearstyne, Fifth Ward; Galen R. Hitt,
Sixth Ward; JohnMullon, Seventh Ward; Thomas
J. Judge, Eighth Ward ; Patrick Cahill, Ninth
Ward; James Rooney, Tenth Ward ; George R.
Tice, Eleventh Ward ; Patrick McCann, Twelfth
Ward; Samuel C. Harris, Thirteenth Ward; David
J. Norton, Fourteenth Ward; James Thornton, Fif-
teenth Ward ; Richard Hunter, Sixteenth Ward ;
John H. Adams, Seventeenth Ward.
Executive Department : A. Bleecker Banks,
Mayor ; Henry Bronk, First Clerk; Robert H.
Waterman, Second Clerk.
Board of Health : A. B. Banks, ex officio. Pres-
ident; Dr. A. Vanderveer, Dr. S. B. Ward,
Thomas H. Dwyer, Albert Gallup, R. H. Bing-
ham, John McKenna; Dr. D. V. O'Leary, Health
Physician; E. H. Long, Clerk; James Rooney,
Lawrence Carey, Edward Brennan, Inspectors.
Board of Audit : A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor;
Norman L. Snow, President of Common Council;
Charles A. Hills, Chamberlain; Albert Hessberg,
Assistant Corporation Counsel; Lewis Balch, City
Physician.
NAVIGATION OF THE HUDSON.
THE navigation of the Hudson River to and from
Albany, neither in carrying passengers nor in
transporting merchandise, amounted to much until
after the middle of the preceding century. In 1 7 50,
the only vessels used were small sailing crafts or
yachts, all of which, says Peter Kalm, belonged to
Albany owners. At this time there were no docks
or quays for loading the yachts. The vessels came
as near the shore as possible, and were reached by
means of canoes tied together, and forming a pon-
toon bridge by boards or planks laid across them.
The first stone docks or quays were built by the city
in 1 766, the Assembly having granted the Corporation
the right to use the stone wall built for defense on
the north side of the city. The North Dock was
constructed nearly opposite the stone wall at the
foot of Steuben street, and was eighty feet long and
forty broad. The Middle Dock was built at the
486
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
foot of Maiden lane, and was eighty feet long and
thirty broad. The South .Dock was constructed
opposite the old City Hall, and was of the same
dimensions as the Middle Dock. The city soon
after built a fourth dock, which, with the other
three, were sold at public auction March 28, 1767,
to Gysbert Marselis and John Allen, at a yearly
rent of ^^70, they being permitted to charge wharf-
age for the use of them.
The principal obstructions to the navigation near
this city were the sand-bars or "overslaughs." The
first was situated about three miles below Albany,
near Mill's Island, and the other, eight miles below
Albany, sometimes called Winne's bar. The lower
overslaugh had seldom more than eight feet of
water upon it, even in the spring-time. In 1787
the Legislature passed an act to remove obstruc-
tions at the overslaugh. At this time Henry I.
Bogart, Daniel Hale, and Abraham Ten Broeck
were appointed commissioners to superintend the
work. In 1790 a similar act was passed. Both
of these acts simply provided for removing the ac-
cumulations of sand on these two bars, a work
which afforded merely temporary relief, as each re-
turning spring found a similar deposit of sand on
the bars. In 1790, an act was passed which al-
lowed the proprietors of Mill's and Papskinea Is-
lands to erect a dam to prevent the passage of
water between them, and thus throw it into the
main channel. Between the years 1797 and 1818,
1148,707.95 was raised by lottery for improving
the navigation of the Hudson. In 1828, the most
extensive improvements were made at the over-
slaugh. The channel was excavated 150 feet in
length and 160 in width, affording 10 feet of water
at the lowest state of the river. Eleven hundred
scow-loads, of 24 cubic yards each, were removed
and deposited on the west side of the river. Almost
every year the Legislature made an appropriation
to improve the navigation of the Hudson. In
1864, over $200,000 was expended for this pur-
pose.
Sloop and Schooner Navigation. — From 1760
to 1 770, there were a number of sloops and schoon-
ers engaged in carrying on trade between Albany,
New York, Boston and several other cities; but, as
yet, none had gone to any foreign port It was not
till November 3, 1 770, that the sloop Olive Branch,
commanded by Captain Abraham Bloodgood, made
the first voyage from this port to the West Indies.
The account of the Albany merchandise carried on
this vessel shows an assorted cargo, consisting of
flour, herrings, horses, one negro man, and a great
variety of the products of this county. In exchange
ior which were brought back eighty-one pounds of
cotton — a much rarer commodity than now — some
cash, and much rum.
These ventures to the West Indies seem to have
been more common from Lansingburgh and Hud-
son, after the revolution, than from Albany, from the
fact that the editor of the Albany Gazette, in 1790,
marveled that the citizens of Albany should remain
inactive spectators while their neighbors on the
north and south were " participating in all the
blessings of this valuable trade."
The most remarkable of all the early expeditions
from this port was the voyage of an Albany sloop
to China, in 1785. In the fall of this year the sloop
Experiment, eighty tons burden, commanded by
Captain Stewart Dean, was fitted out for this cruise,
which, at this time, was considered a hazardous
voyage for so small a craft. She was loaded with
an assorted cargo for a regular trading expedition,
and was the second adventure from the United
States to China, the first expedition having been
made from the port of New York, February 22,
1 784, in the sloop Empress of China. The Exper-
iment left New York December i8th, and was ab-
sent eighteen months. Her return trip was made
in four months and twelve days, with a cargo con-
sisting principally of tea. China-ware and silk.
Among some of the descendants of the early citi-
zens of Albany, are still treasured as curiosities ar-
ticles which were brought from China on this sin-
gular trip.
It was a matter of surprise to the Europeans, in
those seas traversed by the Experiment, to see so
small a vessel from a country so remote and un-
known. At some of the ports where the sloop
landed she was an object of alarm to the inhabit-
ants, who mistook her for a tender to a fleet of men-
of-war. On the arrival of the Experiment at New
York, April 22, 1787, she was visited by large
crowds of citizens, very few of whom had expected
her return. Captain Dean made several trips to
Chma after this first trip, and became well known
in European poits. He was at one time a resi-
dent upon Arbor Hill. Dean street was named for
him. He died at an advanced age.
After the successful trip of Captain Dean, the
sloop business grew rapidly. April 12, 1791, it
was announced in the Albany Gazette, as a con-
gratulatory event, that 40 sloops had arrived in this
port in one day. That 18 vessels, of which 16
w ere of from 40 to 80 tons, lay at the port of Lan-
singburgh, and that the sloop Nancy had performed
the trip to New York and back in seven days. In
November, of the same }'ear, it was again announ-
ced, as an extraordinary occurrence, that 4 2 sloops,
of from 30 to 100 tons, principally above 70, were
at anchor in the. Albany port
Among other feats of sloop navigation at this
period, we are told that Captain William Van Ingen,
of the sloop Cincinnati, sailed from Albany on the
5th December, 1794, and arrived in New York on
the 9th, disposed of his cargo, took in a valuable
freight, and returned to this port on the i6th.
The examples of speedy voyages which were
boasted of in the last century, read a little oddly
now. But yet it must be remembered that the
sloops, under a good wind, were an even match for
the steamboats for a long time after the latter made
their appearance on the river. In 1 794, a sloop
made a journey from Albany to New York and
back in little more than four days, including a day
and a half stop. This feat was a matter of wonder
at the time, and fully up to the time made by the
early steamboats.
Many contests of speed, between Albany and
New York, took place between the early steam-
NAVIGATION OF THE HUDSON.
487
boats and the sloops, in which the latter were fre-
quently victorious.
In 1795, about ninety sloops, of about seventy
tons each, were engaged in the Albany trade. Half
of them were owned in Albany, and the remainder
in New York.
Ten voyages, or twenty trips, were the average
number per annum. These vessels were each
navigated by a crew of four persons, consisting of
a captain, a pilot, a seaman, and a cook. At this
time wharfage was sold by the Corporation at
|2. 50 per foot, and an annual rent of $8. 1 2|-.
Shortly after the trip of the Experiment to China,
it was mentioned that an Albany sloop, of forty
tons, had twice visited the Cape of Good Hope
without loss, which was considered the most diffi-
cult and dangerous part of the route to China.
In 1800, five Albany capitalists formed a com-
pany and built the sloop Experiment, to be used
as a packet boat between Albany and New York,
for carrying passengers. In 1 807, they built an-
other sloop to be used for the same purpose.
These sloops proved very profitable at first, but
were finally driven from the river by the steam-
boats. They were sold, and abandoned as pas-
senger boats in 1 8 13.
In 1813, there were 206 sloops engaged in the
Albany trade. In 1838, this number had been in-
creased to 249 sloops and 129 schooners, of a total
tonnage of 20,634. In 1848, 331 sloops were en-
gaged in the trade, and 284 schooners, representing
a tonnage of over 40,000.
The following shows the number of vessels, with
their tonnage, documented at the Port of Albany for
the quarter ending June 30, 1885:
Tonnage.
53 sailing vessels 3,832.66
113 steam " 23,692.68
175 canal boats 16,767. 1 1
86 barges 16,968.63
427 61,261.07
The above report represents the number of ves-
sels engaged in trade belonging to owners within
the territory between Newburgh and Rouse's Point,
and does not include all the vessels which visit the
Port of Albany, many of which are registered at
other ports.
STEAMBOATS.
An account of the progress of steam navigation
on the Hudson, with which Albany is so intimately
identified, and a history of the boats themselves,
and the experiments of the energetic men who
built and controlled them since the days of Fulton's
triumph in 1807, would fill a volume. The Hud-
son River will always occupy a commanding place
in history, not solely for its grand scenery, but as
being associated with that successful experiment
with steam navigation which resulted so gloriously.
Here was launched the pioneer of that host of
floating palaces that now enliven every navigable
river in the world, and plow the waters of every sea.
The Clermont, the first practical steamboat in
the world, was built by Robert Fulton, and first
shown to be a successful sailing craft in August,
1807. As originally constructed, she was lOO feet
long, 12 wide, and 7 deep. In 1808 she was
lengthened to 150 feet, and widened to 18 feet, and
had her name changed to the North River.
The Clermont.
The first advertisement of the steamboat in the
■Albany Gazette, dated September 2, 1807, was as
follows:
"The north river steamboat will leave Paulus'
Hook Ferry [now Jersey City] on Friday, the 4th
of September, at nine in the morning, and arrive
at Albany on Saturday, at nine in the afternoon.
Provisions, good berths, and accommodation are
provided.
"The charge to each passenger is as follows:
" To Newburg, $3, time, 14 hours.
" Poughkeepsie, 4, " 17 "
" Esopus, 5, " 20 "
" Hudson, 5I " 30 "
" Albany, 7, " 36 "
In a supplement to the Gazette of September 7,
1807, is the following notice of that important
event — the arrival of the first steamboat:
"This morning, at six o'clock, Mr. Fulton's
steamboat left the ferry stairs at Courtland street
dock for Albany. She is to make her passage in
36 hours from the time of her departure, touching
at Newburg, Poughkeepsie, Esopus, and Hudson
on the wa)'. The steamboat arrived at Albany on
Saturday afternoon, and this morning at nine
o'clock again departed for New York, with about
forty ladies and gentlemen."
Thus insignificantly was announced the com-
mencement of the career of the steamboat, which
has revolutionized the water travel of the world.
The Clermont continued her trips with great ex-
actness till October ist, on which day it was
announced in the New York Evening Post that the
steamboat had arrived from Albany in twenty-eight
hours, with sixty passengers! The same paper
of October 2, contained the following notice:
"Mr. Fulton's newly-invented steamboat, which
is fitted up in a neat style for passengers, and is
intended to run from New York to Albany as a
packet, left here this morning with ninety passen-
gers, against a strong head wind, notwithstanding
which it was judged that she moved through the
water at the rate of six miles an hour."
488
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
At this time, although the time promised in the
advertisement was thirty-six hours, her trips were
usually performed in less than thirty.
In the spring of 1808, the Clermont made her
appearance, as before stated, entirely remodeled
and enlarged. Her accommodations were ample
for over one hundred passengers. In her original
construction she had a strange appearance. Her
paddle-wheels were without houses, and cross-heads
connected with the pistons, instead of the walking
beams now in use. A countryman who first saw
her at Hudson, told his wife he had seen the devil
going to Albany in a saw-mill. Shortly after the
successful trip of the Clermont was made, a com-
pany was formed called the North River Steamboat
Company, but generally known as the Fulton Line,
to which the Legislature granted the exclusive right
to navigate the Hudson River by steam. This
company in 1809 built the Car of Neptune, 295
tons. From this date to 1817, the Hope, Perse-
verance, Paragon, Richmond, Firefly, and Chan-
cellor Livingston were placed upon the river by
the Fulton Line. The last of the boats, the
Chancellor Livingston, was the largest by ovei
150 tons of any boat which had been yet used,
having a carrying capacity of 495 tons. The
Chancellor Livingston in 1821 brought up a band
of music for the entertainment of her passengers.
This was the first introduction of that peculiar
attraction on the North River boats.
In 1824, the Fulton Line put two more steamers
on the river — the James Kent and the Saratoga.
October 29, 1821, the Chancellor Livingston
grounded on the overslaugh and remained there
twenty-nine hours. The editor of the Daily Ad-
vertiser in speaking of this event, called upon the
citizens to exert themselves to deepen the channel,
lest the canal which was fast approaching the city
should be carried down below these obstructions.
In 1 82 1, the fare from Albany to New York had
been advanced to |8. In 1819, the Fulton Line
carried 16,000 passengers, the company paying
|i each to the State for canal purposes.
At this time, and until the pier was built, the
steamboat landing was at the foot of Lydius street,
now Madison avenue. The pier was used for this
purpose until 1878, when the present landing place
was established. Until the present improvements
were made in the channel of the river at the over-
slaugh, it often happened that the river was so low
that the boats were unable to come within three
miles of Albany. In such cases it was the practice
to go down to the steamers on the Greenbush side
in stages.
For many years preceding 1824, no subject was
more generally discussed among Hudson River
boatmen than the injustice of the exclusive right
granted by the Legislature to the Fulton Line
Company to navigate the Hudson by steam. The
validity of this right was finally contested in the
courts. In March, 1824, the decisions of the Su-
preme Court made the navigation of the Hudson
free, and abrogated the rights of the North River
Steamboat Company, and affirmed the rights of
others to navigate the river from certain points
with vessels impelled by steam. Soon after the
rendering of the decision in 1824, the Union Line
was started in opposition to the old line, and the
first year of its existence built and began to run
the Olive Branch, United States, William Penn,
Bristol, and Sandusky.
In 1825, the Hudson River Line was established,
and in this year placed the Constitution, Constel-
lation, and Chief-Justice Marshall on the river, and
in 1827-29 added to the list of their steamers the
Independence, Ohio, and Sun. The latter boat
was the first that ever made the trip from Albany
to New York from sun to sun, all other boats up
to this date requiring from fourteen to fifteen hours
to make the trip.
The bursting of the boiler of the Constitution in
1825, when opposite Poughkeepsie, created much
distrust in the safety of steamboats, and led to the
use of safety barges, and in 1826 the barges Lady
Clinton and Lady Van Rensselaer were built.
They were towed by the steamboats Commerce and
Swiftsure. Both were fitted up exclusively for pas-
sengers. For safety and comfort they were un-
equaled by the steamboats of this period, but
lacking speed they soon became unfashionable and
went out of general use, although several are still
used as excursion boats.
The North River Line was established in 1826
by John and Robert Stevenson. The boats used
by this company between 1826 and 182S were the
New Philadelphia — the first boat that ever had
boilers on the guards — the Albany, North Ameri-
ca, Victory and De Witt Clinton. The De Witt
Clinton was the first steamboat entirely built at
Albany. She was 380 tons burden, and made her
first trip September 29, 1828.
In 1827 anew steamboat, called the Emerald,
commenced running between Albany and New
York, but to what line she belonged we are unable
to say. About this time there appeared the follow-
ing article in the Daily Advertiser: "One who is not
an eye-witness of the fact can scarcely imagine the
number of persons who daily arrive at and depart
from this city in steamboats, and the vast quantity
of produce that is shipped from our wharves and
conveyed to market by steam and wind. Last
Sunday evening [August 26th] within one hour
there arrived six steamboats with passengers, three
of these having in tow barges, each with freight
and passengers. Together they must have landed
some 1,600 passengers. There never were more
sloops than at present employed on the river, and
they all go hence fully freighted."
The South America was also in use at this time.
She was one of the largest steamers plying on the
Hudson at this date, being 266 feet long, of
640 tons, cost $83,000, and was furnished with
294 berths and had accommodations for 450
persons.
The Reindeer was also a celebrated craft at this
period, and considered a model of beauty, and, in
the language of a writer of this date, was a
"steamer which might challenge comparison with
anything that swims, beginning with a naiad and
leaving off with a dolphin."
ALBANY FERRIES.
489
In 1832 the Troy Line was established with the
Champlain and Erie, the former of which was fur-
nished with two engines and four boilers.
At this same period the steamboat Novelty was
engaged in carrying passengers. She had a high-
pressure boiler, and was the first to use coal for
fuel.
About 1833 the North River Line, the Hudson
River Line and Troy Line consolidated and formed
the Hudson River Association Line. This com-
pany ran a day and night line. The steamers Al-
bany, Champlain, Erie and Novelty were used as
day boats, and the North America, Clinton and
Ohio as night boats.
The People's Line was established in 1834 as a
day line and as an opposition to the Hudson River
Association. The late Cornelius Vanderbilt was
largely interested in this venture. The first boat
used was the West Chester, which was followed, in
1835, by the Nimrod and Champion.
In 1835 the People's Line was sold to the Hud-
son River Association for $100,000 and $10,000
yearly for ten years. But in 1836 the People's Line
was revived as a night line by Daniel Drew, who
purchased the West Chester and Emerald. During
this same year the Rochester was built by this com-
pany, and in the following year the Utica. In
1844 the Knickerbocker was built, in 1845 the
Henry Hudson, in 1846 the Isaac Newton, in
1864 the St. John, in 1866 the Dean Richmond,
and in 1867 the Drew.
The present day line of steamers was started by
John McBride Davidson in 1864, who bought the
Drew and Armenia. In 1866 the Chauncey Vib-
bard was put upon the river by this line, and in
1 88 1 the Albany. This line at present use the
steamers Albany and Daniel Drew, while the night
line employ the Drew and Dean Richmond.
At frequent periods of steam navigation the com-
petition between the several lines has been very
great In 1837 this was especially true. One
night several boats would leave, crowded to suffo-
cation, at fifty cents a head; the next night a soli-
tary boat would depart at three dollars a head.
■The conveyances by water between this city and
neighboring ports have been brought to the highest
perfection. The steamers that ply between Albany
and New York may be properly termed floating
palaces, affording all the elegant accommoda-
tions of a first-class hotel. In 1800 it was the
boast of a sloop captain in Albany that he had re-
ceived $1,675 for carrying passengers in one
year; now this would hardly be considered a large
receipt for one day.
The Pier. — After the completion of the Erie
Canal, the necessity of a basin where canal boats
and other smaller crafts could be safely stored, was
apparent. To provide such a place in Albany
Harbor, the Legislature authorized the construction
of a pier. This was begun April 5,1823, and com-
pleted in 1824. It is 4,400 feet long, 80 feet wide
and 20 feet high, and cost $130,000. It incloses
a basin of about 32 acres,capable of harboring r,ooo
canal boats and .50 vessels of a larger class. July
27, 1824, the Pier was divided into 132 lots and
sold at public auction. In this way $199,410 was
realized, each lot ranging from $1,200 to $2,625.
The Pier is now covered with valuable warehouses
and stores, and is reached by two bridges. The
opening in the Pier at the foot of Maiden lane was
authorized in 1836. The Pier affords an extensive
wharfage, while the docks or qua3's now extend
almost two miles along the Albany shore of the
river.
Towing Lines. — As soon as canal navigation
began to assume much proportion, the business or
towing boats from Albany with steamboats became
very lucrative. For many years it was done by
tugs or steamboats owned by private individuals,
but in 1848 the Schuyler Steamboat Tow Line
was started, and now employs eighteen boats,
used exclusively for towing canal-boats. Thomas
Schuyler is President of this line, and T. V. Wol-
cott, Secretary.
The Cornell Steamboat Company was started
about the same time as the Schuyler Line. This
company has only a branch office at Albany, the
principal business being done between Rondout
and New York. Between the latter places not
only towing is done by this company, but three
passenger boats are run, being the City of Kings-
ton, Mary Powell, and the Cook. About seven-
teen propellers and steamers are used by this line.
Thomas Cornell is President of this Company, and
S. D. Coyendell, Vice-President.
The Ronan Towing Line was started in 1885, and
now employs four propellers.
ALBANY FERRIES.
The exclusive rights of ferriage across the
Hudson between the original four wards of the
city and the opposite shore of Greenbush, was vested
in the Corporation of Albany by the Dongan
Charter of 1868. By the present City Charter the
power, right, and privilege of the Corporation is ex-
pressed in the following language : "The right of
ferry granted by the Charter of the said city to the
Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty thereof, should
be so construed as to vest in the said City of
Albany the sole and exclusive right of establishing,
licensing, and regulating all ferries on each side
of the Hudson River, leading from Greenbush, op-
posite the east bounds of the original four wards of
the said city, to the said city, and from the four
original wards of the said city to Greenbush."
The first ferry across the Hudson at this point
was established in 1642. By some authorities it is
said to be the oldest in the United States. The
landing on the Albany side was at a point a little
nonh of the Bever Kill, which flowed into the river
where now is the eastern termination of Arch street.
The Greenbush landing was directly opposite this
point.
The first ferry-boat was a rude scow, propelled
by hand by means of poles. This was used for the
transportation of teams and wagons, while a sim-
ple boat or a batteau was employed in carrying
passengers. The first ferry-master was Hendrick
Albertsen, who died in 1648-49. He built the
490
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
first ferry-house erected on the Albany side of the
river. Albertsen was succeeded by Jacob Janse
Stall, who came to Beverwyck in 1630. He re-
mained as ferry-master until 1657, when he removed
to Esopus.
The history of this early period fails to show that,
at this date, any consideration was demanded by
either the Dutch or English proprietors for the right
of ferriage. Even many years after the Dongan
Charter, no record exists in the Common Council
proceedings proving that the ferry rights granted
the city were considered of such value to the Cor-
poration as to demand remuneration for their use.
But later the city took exclusive charge of the
Greenbush ferry ; established the rates of ferriage ;
made regulations governing the means of conduct-
ing it ; and decided who should have the right to
run it
In 1754 the following rates of ferriage were
adopted by the Common Council:
For every person, if single 3 coppers
" " " if more than one .. . 2 "
" " " head of cattle 9 "
" " " cwL of beaver or skins . 4 "
The ferry-masters to run their boats from sunrise to
eight in the evening.
At this time the ferry was in charge of Barnardus
Bradt and Johannes Ten Broeck, who had paid the
city ^5 for its use. From this date until 1786 the
names of Barnardus Bradt, Harme Gansevoort,
Philip John Schuyler, Johannis Ten Broeck,
John Courtney, John Bromley, Thomas Lotridge,
Dirck Hansen, and Baltus Van Benthuysen appear
as ferry-masters at different times. It was the cus-
tom of the Common Council to advertise a certain
day when the right of ferriage would be sold to the
lowest bidder. From 1754 to 1786 the amount
paid for this privilege ranged from ^"5 to X'SO,
the latter amount being paid in 1786. In 1786
the Corporation issued a schedule of ferry rates as
follows :
Man or horse, ox or cow gd.
A calf or hog 2 coppers.
A sheep or lamb 2 "
For every wagon, or two horses with
its loading, providing the same re-
mains on the wagon 2s.
For every cart or wagon drawn by
four horses or oxen, with or with-
out loading 3s.
And 6d. for every ox or horse above
that number.
For every chaise or chair or horse. ... is. 6d.
' ' full chest or trunk 4 coppers.
" empty " " 2 "
" barrel rum, sugar, molasses,
full barrel 4 "
During 1786 a new ferry-house, 40 by 50 feet,
was built by Baltus Van Benthuysen, who was to
reimburse himself at the rate of ;^i50 per annum,
the yearly rent of the ferry. Up to this time no
longer lease than three years was granted by the
Corporation, and it was the common practice to
lease each side of the river to separate individuals.
Until about 18 17 the only kind of ferry-boat
used at the South Ferry was an ordinary scow,
guided by means of a rope stretched across the
river, to which the scow was attached by a rope and
pulley, the boat being propelled by hand. About
this time what was known as the horse ferry-boat
came into use at the South Ferry. This kind of
boat was peculiar to America, and of most singular
construction. A platform covered a wide, flat boat.
Underneath the platform was a large, horizontal,
solid wheel, which extended to the side of the
boat. Here the platform or deck was cut through
and removed, so as to afford sufficient room lor
two horses to stand on the flat surface of the wheel,
one horse on each side, and parallel to the gun-
wale of the boat. The horses were harnessed in
the usual manner for teams, the whiffletree being
attached to stout horizontal iron bars, fixed, at a
proper hight, into posts, which were a part of the
fixed portions of the boat. The horses looked in
opposite directions, one to the bow, the other to
the stern; their feet took hold of channels or
grooves cut in the wheel. As they pressed for-
ward, although they did not advance, their feet
caused the horizontal wheel to advance in a direc-
tion opposite to that of their own apparent motion.
The motion of this wheel, by a connection of cogs,
moved two vertical wheels on each side of the boat,
similar to the paddle-wheels of steamboats, pro-
ducing the same effect, and propelling the boat for-
ward. The inventor of this kind of boat was Mr.
Langdon, of Whitehall.
The number of horses on the first boat used was
two only, but this was governed by the size of the
boat. As business increased at the ferry, larger
boats were required. In 1825 as many as twelve
horses were used on the boat at the South Ferry.
In 1827 the subject of procuring a steamboat for
the South Ferry began to be agitated. John Towns-
end, a member of the Common Council, was es-
pecially prominent in connection with this scheme,
and procured the passage of a resolution to pur-
chase a steamboat. At a meeting held June 6,
1827, a short time subsequent to the passage of
this resolution, an attempt was made to have the
act reconsidered. Estimates were offered to show
the economy of horses over steamboats, but Towns-
end succeeded in defeating the opponents of steam
ferry-boats. In 1828 the Chancellor Lansing was
purchased, and began to ply between Albany and
Greenbush.
At the time of the advent of the horse-boats, the
South Ferry was leased to " One-armed " Bradt,
for a term of ten years. He was succeeded, in
1828, by Benjamin Patrick, who remained for two
years, succeeded by George Stanwix. Stanwix was
succeeded in 1846 by Lansing D. Able. Samuel
Schuyler became Ferry-master in 1854, succeeded
by McEvoy & Moore in 1864. The last Ferry-
master at the South Ferry was George Marks, who
leased the ferry in 1874, and remained in that posi-
tion until the right of ferriage was sold by the city
to the Greenbush Bridge Company. This com-
pan)', in 1876, began the construction of a bridge
at this point and completed it in 1882.
At several periods in the history of the South
Ferry, the city authorities, instead of leasing it, em-
ployed a Ferry-master and kept it entirely within
^OMZ^-ph Sntci^^ftct^.
ALBANY FERRIES.— JOSEPH MATHER.
491
their control. In 1805 it was conducted in this
way. In the papers of this year an announcement
was made that the Corporation had licensed James
Wynkoop to conduct the ferry, "that he had good
scows and boats, and that he would employ only
sober and obliging ferry-men. " The rates of fer-
riage were announced to be as follows:
Foot passengers 2 cents.
Man and horse 6 "
Wagon and two horses. 12^ ' '
" loaded with firewood 4 "
Chair, sulky or chaise I2j/^ "
Each saddle-horse 6
Mail stage, two horses 25 "
Each additional horse 3 "
Horse and cart 6 '•
Double ferriage from one hour after sunrise to day-
break, except for the mail carriages.
After the revolution, business began to increase
rapidly at the South Ferry, and in 1792 it was
leased to Mr. Wendell for the sum of $5,890,
whereas only ten years previous it had only yielded
a revenue of a trifle over /"loo. In 1830 the re-
ceipts of the ferry amounted to nearly 19,000.
The last boat used at the South Ferry was the
John Adams.
The North Ferry, now in operation between this
city and Bath, with a landing in Albany at the foot
of North Ferry street, was established many years
after the Greenbush Ferry, and, as near as can be
ascertained, during the first quarter of the last cent-
ury. It was originally outside of the city limits,
that point being, until 1815, in the town of Colonie.
The territory along the river where a landing was
made, belonged to the Van Rensselaer grant, which
included all ferry privileges. By the early Patroons
the right of ferriage was leased for a certain sum,
and the heirs of their estate still retain exclusive
control of the ferry rights at this point.
For many years batteaux were the only kind of
boats used at this ferry. Even a rope-scow was
not used until about 1800. A horse-boat was first
used about 1 831. A sleam ferry-boat was first em-
ployed in 1 84 1. The business done at the North
Ferry was light compared with that at the South
Ferry. For many of the early years not much can
be learned of those who operated it. Among them
were Clark & Van Alstyne and John Vanden-
burgh. About 1840, William P. Van Rensselaer,
son of the old Patroon, took charge of it him-
self, and for two years employed a ferryman. With
this exception it has been leased. For a number of
years the Dearstyne brothers Qames, Samuel and
Cornelius) operated this ferr}'. They were suc-
ceeded by Samuel Schuyler, whom Fitchett &
Smith succeeded. It is now leased by the firm of
Costello & Kiernan.
The Boston and Albany Ferry was established in
1842 by the Boston and Albany Railroad, and runs
from a point a little north of Maiden lane to the
depot of this company in Bath. Before the railroad
bridge was built this was a very important ferry, all
the freight for the Boston and Albany Railroad be-
ing taken across the river at this point.
Since the South Ferry has been abandoned, a
small tug-boat has been employed in carrying pas-
sengers from the foot of State street to Greenbush
and Bath.
The following are the most serious accidents .
that ever occurred at these ferries: In 1807, the
scow which was used at the South Ferry was
swamped and thirty-three persons were drowned.
In 1852, the boat of the Boston and Albany Ferry
upset. At the time it contained fifteen or twenty
persons, all but five of whom were drowned.
JOSEPH MATHER.
Joseph Mather, familiarly known as Captain
Mather, came from the old colonial family of that
name, being a lineal descendant of the Rev.
Richard Mather, who was grandfather of the cele-
brated Rev. Cotton Mather. This family furnished
ministers for three generations to the Old North
Church in Boston — the Revs. Increase, Cotton
and Samuel, whose united ministries covered a
period of one hundred and twenty-five years. The
Rev. Increase Mather was one of the earliest
Presidents of Harvard College, and the first one in
this country upon whom the tide of D. D. was
conferred.
Joseph Mather was born at Lyme, Conn., May
8, 1 8co. While he was yet a mere boy, his parents
removed from his native place to Otsego County,
N. Y. In so doing they sailed up the Hudson
River, the beauty of whose scenery so impressed
the youth, that he at the time formed and expressed
a determination to become actively engaged in the
navigation of the Hudson when he should be-
come older. This early resolve was one which he
never forgot, as subsequent events proved.
With his father's family he removed from Otsego
County to a portion of Ontario County, which has
since been set off to form Livingston County, where
he passed his youth.
He was yet a very young man when he came to
Albany, and connected himself with the river navi-
gation. For many years he commanded a sloop
which plied between Albany, New York, and inter-
mediate points. It was during this period that he
came to be known by the tide " Captain," which
clung to him all his life, to his often expressed dis-
taste. Later, as a member of the firm of Greene
& Mather, he was engaged in the towing business,
the line being known as the Eckford Line, and
having its office on Quay street, about where the
Dunlop elevator has since stood.
Something over thirty years ago, when the New
York Central Railroad Company established a sta-
tion at West Albany, Captain Mather was selected
by Hon. Erastus Corning as agent; and, much
against his inclination, was prevailed upon to ac-
cept the position, which he foresaw would be one
involving great responsibity. A business was to be
built up at West Albany, and whether it was more
than a measurably successful one would depend
largely upon the energy, enterprise and application
of the agent in charge. The success which at-
492
HISTORY OF THE COVNTF OF ALBANV.
tended Mr. Mather's administration was remark-
able. His time of service embraced a period dur-
ing which West Albany grew from the smallest
beginning to its present importance, both com-
mercially and in point of population. His habits
and physique gave him robust health, and his life
was singularly free from many of the ills which
afflict the majority of men. As advancing years
came upon him, he delegated some of his most
onerous duties to another, but he retained his po-
sition and exercised a pleasant supervision over the
business of the station. It was his wish that he
might "die in the harness." This wish was liter-
ally fulfilled. While hastening to board a car at
the corner of State and Pearl streets, February 25,
1884, he fell in crossing the street and expired al-
most instantly. It was the opinion of physicians
present that his death was caused by concussion of
the brain. He was then past eighty-three, and so
lightly did his years rest upon him, that he was as
erect and apparently as vigorous as he had been
twenty years before. He was one of the most genial
and sociable of men; and for years his had been a
familiar figure to the residents of Albany, where no
man was more widely acquainted or more highly
esteemed. His loss was felt deeply, not merely in
his own family circle, but by men of all classes who
had come to regard him as friend or benefactor.
No man ever enjoyed in a higher degree the confi-
dence of his fellow-citizens. It was remarked by a
prominent resident of Albany after his death, that
he had been one of whom all his acquaintances
were proud — a man of unflinching devotion to right,
with no compromise with wrong; a man who had
handled 1170,000,000 for a great corporation and
promptly accounted for every cent of that immense
sum.
Mr. Mather was married in Lima, Livingston
County, N. Y. , to Miss Chianna Brock way, of
that town, in 18 19. They walked hand in hand
adown the pathway of life for sixty-one years, to be
temporarily separated by Mrs. Mather's death on
the 26th of December, 1880, only a little more than
three years before the death of Mr. Mather. They
left two surviving childen, a son, Frederick W.
Mather, now a resident of New York, and Mrs.
George W. Gibbons, of West Albany. Baptized into
the Episcopal Church at an early age, by the cele-
brated Father Nash, of Otsego County, he was
identified more or less closely with that religious
body ever afterward.
Early in manhood, Captain Mather became an
adherent to the principles of the great Whig party
of the United States. He was one of those who
felt the deep importance of the transition which cul-
minated in the organization of the Republican
party. He became an earnest and active supporter
of the war, throwing his influence in favor of the
suppression of the Southern rebellion, and aiding
the Northern cause by every means in his power,
sending his son into the thickest of the fight. He
was not, in the common acceptation of the time,
which is often a term of reproach, a politician; but
no man watched the course of events more closely
than he, and none with more intelligent solicitude
for the public weal. Open-hearted he was; open-
handed and helpful in all good causes. He was
wisely benevolent, and many a man in Albany is
glad to say that he owes his start in life, his ad-
vancement, his position, to Captain Mather.
WALTER WINNE.
The well known barge and transportation line
of Winne & Co. recalls to the citizens of Alban}',
especially to such of them as are engaged in com-
merce, the name of Walter Winne, its founder.
There are few of the old-time merchants of the city
who have not personal recollections of Mr. Winne,
who was born in Albany, September 10, 18 15, and
died September 26, 1871. He was a son of Fran-
cis D. and Cornelia (Groesbeck) Winne. The
Winnes are a family both numerous and highly
esteemed throughout Albany County at the present
time; and the Groesbecks were among the early
settlers along the Hudson, and, generations back,
had numerous representatives in Albany.
Deprived of the protecting care of a father at an
early age, young Winne was compelled to shift for
himself from a period in life at which most such
boys are laying the foundation of an education.
He became a cabin boy on board a vessel which
navigated the Hudson His sterling qualities man-
ifested themselves, and he was advanced gradually
until he became master of a vessel. But even this,
then, responsible and important position did not
satisfy him. He saved a little money, and, with a
friend, also a very young man, who had saved a
little more, became joint owners of a vessel. They •
immediately engaged earnestly and industriously in
the transportation of lumber. This partnership
soon terminated, and Mr. Winne became sole
owner of the business, in which he continued suc-
cessfully until his death, and which is now carried
on, by members of his family chiefly, under the
firm name of Winne & Co. Gradually he estab-
lished a line of large barges which plied between
Albany and the most important Eastern ports.
During the War of the Rebellion he was quite
largely engaged in the transportation of raw cotton.
Mr. Winne was married January i, 1838, to Miss
Harriet E. Rouse, of Pittstown, Rensselaer County,
N. Y., who survives him. They became the parents
of ten children, of whom seven are living. He was
a quiet, unassuming, earnest man, who attended
strictly, and to the exclusion of other general inter-
ests, to his growing business. His interest in pub-
lic affairs was intelligent; but he never mixed in
politics, though he favored and voted with the Re-
publican party. He was for about thirty years a
member of the Methodist Church, and for some
time a trustee of the old Hudson avenue Church
of that denomination. About two years before his
death he became a member of the First Congrega-
tional Church of Albany. The same earnestness
which characterized him in business was manifested
in his relations with his brethren in the Church.
He was zealous, active, liberal and thoughtful.
He was charitable as well, helpful to the struggling,
and more than generous to the deserving poor.
^cvtUz WiM^^e.
ALBANY BRIDGES ACROSS THE HUDSON.
493
ALBANY BRIDGES ACROSS THE HUDSON.
The first bridge over the Hudson in the vicinity
of Albany was completed in December, 1804. It
spanned the river at Waterford, and was 800 feet in
length, 33 feet in its greatest hight, and 30 feet in
width. At that time it was considered a model of
architecture.
In January, 18 14 the subject of building a bridge
across the Hudson was largely agitated. It was
bitterly opposed by Troy, whose citizens insisted
that the construction of a bridge at Albany would
obstruct the navigation of the river from their cit}'.
The introduction of a bill into the Legislature
providing for the construction of the bridge over
the Hudson at Albany, led to a bitter fight in the
Assembl}'. March 11, 1814, Mr. Harmanus Bleeck-
er, from the special committee on this bridge, re-
ported adversely to the project. Early in January,
1 83 1, the matter was agitated again, without any
particular result.
On February 4, 1835, a meeting was held at the
Eagle Tavern to consider the project of a bridge
across the Hudson, and a committee of thirty was
appointed to draw up a petition. No decisive ac-
tion was taken. On February 11, 1836, another
meeting was held at the City Hall to consider the
project of a bridge over the Hudson. Erastus
Corning presided. Resolutions and memorials
were of no avail in the Legislature. On March 1 1,
1836, the Assembly Committee reported adveisely
to the bridge project, causing great indignation
among the citizens of Albany.
After this defeat, the question of a bridge did not
rest. It was continually agitated in the local papers
and otherwise until January 30, 1841, when another
meeting of the citizens was held at the Young Men's
Association rooms. The Mayor presided, and the
meeting was addressed By General Samuel Stevens
and Hon. John V. L. Pruyn.
A bill in the Legislature met the usual opposition
from Troy and the ferry companies at Albany. On
March 26, 1841, the Assembly Committee on the
Albany bridge over the Hudson reported adversely.
But at last the Hudson is spanned at Albany by
three great bridges.
The Hudson River Bridge Company was incor-
porated April 9, 1856, for the purpose of erecting
and maintaining a bridge, for the purpose of rail-
road travel and transportation, across the Hudson
River from some proper point on the westerly side
or shore of said river, in the City of Albany, to
some proper point on the opposite side or shore of
the said river, in the County of Rensselaer. The
site was to be determined upon by the Commis-
sioners, among whom was Moses H. Grinnell, of
New York, Chairman; J. D. Monell, of Hudson;
Palmer V. Kellogg, Utica; Jacob Gould, Rochester;
James W. Wadsworth, Geneseo; Albert H. Tracy,
Buffalo.
On the 2d of February, 1856, a remonstrance
against passing an act authorizing the building of
the bridge, signed by over four thousand citizens of
Albany, was presented to the Legislature, notwith-
standing which the above-described bill was passed.
The capital stock was $500,000. The bridge
was to be constructed at an elevation of at least
twenty-five feet above common tide water, so as to
allow under it the free passage of canal-boats and
barges without masts, with a draw of sufficient
width to admit the free passage of the largest vessels
navigating the river.
An act was passed April 28, 1868, relating to
the Hudson River Bridge Company, directing the
bridge erected to be demolished and a new one
constructed by the same company. It directed
that a bridge be constructed across the Hudson, at
or near the foot of Exchange street, Albany, to
some suitable point on the eastern bank of said
river to be selected by the said Bridge Company.
The act directs ' ' the new bridge to be constructed,
maintained, used, and enjoyed in all respects as
provided by the act entitled, 'An Act Authorizing
the Construction of a Bridge Across the Hudson at
Albany,' passed April 9, 1856, except in so far as
they are modified and amended by this act.' The
act provided, that as soon as the bridge was ready
for trains and foot passengers, carriages, etc., to
pass, the Bridge Company should demolish and en-
tirely remove the other bridge, and that if the com-
pany failed to demolish it entirely, the Common
Council of the City of Albany or the City of Troy,
should have a right to cause the bridge to be de-
molished and removed at the expense of the Bridge
Company.
It also provided, that before commencing the
erection of the new bridge, the Hudson River Bridge
Company, the New York Central Railroad Com-
pany, the Hudson River Railroad Company, and
the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, stock-
holders in the Hudson River Bridge Compan}',
"shall jointly and severally execute and deliver
a bond to the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty
of the City of Troy, and the same Board of the City
of Albany, in the penalty of at least $600,000.
Conditioned for the removal of the old bridge and
the piers thereof, and to completely restore the
navigation of the river at that point, within nine
months after the crossing of the first train of cars
over the new bridge."
By an act passed May 10, 1869, the Hudson
River Bridge Company was authorized to build
another bridge across the Hudson, at a hight not
less than that of the previous ones, and upon a line
to be selected by the said company, beginning on
some point on the west side of the river between
State street and Maiden lane, and from thence
across the river. Said company was clothed with
all the privileges and powers used or enjoyed by it
in reference to the construction, maintenance, use,
and enjoyed by the bridge described under the act
authorizing the construction of a bridge across the
Hudson at Albany, passed April 9, 1856, so far as
they were applicable to the new bridge. The capi-
tal stock of the company was increased to $2,000,-
000. The Act of 1856 appears to be the founda-
tion law of the bridges now crossing the river at
Albany.
On April 18, 1872, the Legislature passed an act
authorizing the construction of a bridge across the
494
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Hudson at Albany, and incorporating the Albany
and Greenbush Bridge Company, for the purpose
of erecting and maintaining a toll bridge; for travel
and transportation across the Hudson River from
some point on the westerly side at Albany to some
point on the opposite side in Greenbush.
The site was determined by Commissioners
Thomas W. Alcott, Charles Van Benthuysen, Vol-
kert P. Douw, of Albany, James M. Ring, of Green-
bush, Alexander Morris, J. T. Davis and John H.
Pratt, of East Greenbush. The bridge was to be
constructed at least twenty feet above common tide-
water, and with a draw of one hundred feet in
width.
On April 23, 1872, the Legislature passed an
act authorizing the construction of a bridge across
the Hudson at the City of Troy, incorporating the
Troy and West Troy Bridge Company.
Acts to compel the maintenance of lights on
swing-bridges across the river were passed by the
Legislature, June i, 1880.
The time when these three bridges were com-
pleted, their equipments, and general description
of them, is given in "Phelps' Hand-book of Al-
bany," as follows:
"The first or upper bridge, now used exclusively
for freight trains, was opened February 22, 1866,
after thirty years of the most steadfast opposition,
Troy taking the lead. It is doubtful, however,
whether the bridges have really injured that city a
dollar; but they certainly have had a depressing
effect upon some kind of business in Albany,
carting especially. Before the bridges were erected,
all trains had to be unloaded in this city, and the
work then involved was very great; but now freight
goes through, without breaking bulk, from New
York to San Francisco. The upper bridge is sup-
ported by twenty-one stone piers. The bridge
proper is 1,953 feet long, and with the trestle-work
4, 253 feet Its cost, including necessary purchases
of real estate, was $1, 100,000.
"The middle bridge, also for railroads, is 1,940
feet long, or, with approaches, 2,665 ^et, that is,
twenty-five feet over half a mile. The spans num-
ber twenty-two. The draw weighs about 400 tons.
Work of construction began in May, 1870, and the
bridge was first used in 1872. The total cost of
the two bridges was $2,532,357.43, of which the
Central Hudson paid $1,173,133.80; the Boston
and Albany, $351,485; the rest by the companies
who have had the earnings of the bridges.
' ' Over sixty men are employed upon them. The
toll on both bridges for foot passengers is three
cents; fifty tickets for one dollar.
" A third bridge across the river was begun in
1876, but for several years progressed very slowly,
except in litigation, of which there was plenty. It
was finally completed, and opened for teams and
foot passengers January 24, 1882. It is at South
Ferry street, below the steamboat landing. Its
length, including approaches, is 1,669 f^^'i twenty-
nine feet above low-water mark. The draw, 400
feet long, weighs 1,500 tons, and is worked by a
thirty horse-power engine. It is owned by the
Albany and Greenbush Bridge Compan}'. Tolls
are charged as follows: Foot passengers, two cents;
double teams, fifteen cents; single teams, ten cents.
It will eventually be used as a railroad bridge, the
top being arranged with that in view. "
SQUIRE WHIPPLE, C. E.
Is an Honorary Member of the American Society
of Civil Engineers; inventor of the Whipple iron
bridges; and the first to introduce and successfully
practice the construction of iron truss bridges. He
was born in Worcester County, Mass., September
16, 1804. His father, James Whipple, followed
the occupation of farming for the most of his life;
and, starting without inherited capital, by industry
and prudent management, aided by a careful and
energetic partner of his fortunes, he raised a nu-
merous family in comfort and respectability. But
of course it was necessary for the several members
of the household to make themselves useful ac-
cording to their strength and abilities, and Mr.
Whipple, to the age of about twenty, spent his
years mostly in farm labor on the homestead, with
the exception of about five years, from 181 2 to
18 17, during which the family resided in the ad-
joining county of Hampshire, Mass., the fiither
having engaged in the erection and running of a
small cotton factory in the early days of cotton
manufacture in this country.
Here the boy, when not at school or at play, was
occupied in labor, suited to his age and strength,
about the factory. He was also brought in con-
tact with the operations of the machine shop,
which assisted in developing a natural taste for
mechanical pursuits, which became conspicuous
in his after life. But subsequent years, spent prin-
cipally in farm labor in Osego County, whither
the family removed in 1 8 1 7 — the interest in the fac-
tory having been disposed of — aflForded only such
opportunity for mental improvement as could be
derived from the common country school, and
that only available for three or four months in the
year. Still Mr. Whipple had made such advance-
ment at the age of seventeen or eighteen as to pass
the examination required for common school
teaching, an occupation which he followed for a
few winter terms, as a temporary means of acquir-
ing funds to pay the expense of continuing his
studies. From 1822 to 1828, he was enabled to
spend a term or two, first at the academy at Hart-
wick, Osego County, and subsequently at the
academy at Fairfield, Herkimer County, as he
could manage to raise the necessary means by his
own exertions ; for he was unwilling to draw from
the paternal resources, and in 1830 he graduated
from Union College, having spent the senior year
there.
At that time the profession of civil engineering
in this country was in its early stage. But the
Erie Canal had been constructed, and some few
other public works of that class, and the countri'
had got pretty well excited upon the subject of
railroads. It seemed that the civil engineer was
to be an important factor in the development upon
this continent. In pursuance of the adxdce of
•V-
»- .••'^
SQUIRE WHIPPLE, C. E.
405
friends, as well as in accordance with his own in-
clination, Mr. Whipple decided to turn his atten-
tion to engineering, as a profession promising suc-
cess. His first practical experience in the field
was as a rod-man, and subsequently as a leveler
upon the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1830
and 1832. In 1833 he came near losing his life
by a virulent attack of small-pox. From 1833 to
1836 he was engaged in surveys for fixing the
boundaries of lands necessary for the use and
maintenance of the Erie Canal, and in surveys and
estimates for the Erie Canal enlargement, under
the direction of the late Holmes Hutchinson, of
Utica, as chief engineer. In 1836-37 he was em-
ployed upon the eastern division of the New York
and Erie Railroad as resident engineer, under the
direction of the late Edwin F. Johnson of Middle-
town, Conn., who was one of Mr. Whipple's most
valued friends. The preceding, with five or six
preliminary surveys and estimates (from 1837 to
1850) of railroad and canal routes in different
sections of the country, constitutes most of his
experience in general field engineering.
Like some other engineers, Mr. Whipple was
not always successful in finding a demand for his
services upon public works. In such limes his
taste and talent for mechanics induced him to
turn his versatile hand to the manufacture of en-
gineering field instruments. Included in such man-
ufacture were twenty to thirty leveling instruments,
and several transits and theodolites, all of which
proved correct and satisfactory in use. About
1840 he designed a plan and constructed a model
of a scale for weighing boats of three or four
hundred tons upon the enlarged Erie Canal; and
subsequently built, by contract, the first enlarged
weigh-lock scale upon that work. The scale
operated satisfactorily, and served as a model, as
to general feature?, for three or four others after-
wards built, one of which was by !Mr. Whipple.
They were probably the largest weighing machines
ever constructed. In the same year, 1840, Mr.
Whipple designed and constructed his first model
iron bridge truss, or girder, for which he obtained
letters palent, and subsequently built a large
number of his patent iron arch truss bridges, of
seventy to one hundred feet span, over the Erie
Canal. This was the first decidedly successful
attempt at the construction and use of iron truss
bridges, and the result fully demonstrated the
practical adaptability of iron as the principal ma-
terial in bridge construction. Still the innovation
was looked upon with doubt and suspicion, and
no great progress was made in iron bridge build-
ing in this country till after the year 1850, when
some thirty iron bridges were in use, mostly upon
the Erie Canal, and, with few exceptions, con-
structed by Mr. Whipple.
In the meantime Mr. Whipple had built several
short and unimportant iron railroad bridges for
the New York and Erie Railroad, which were
thoroughly tested and succe.ssfully used for several
months under railroad traffic; but were subsequent-
ly removed, in deference to a panic excited against
iron railroad bridges by the breaking of a bridge
of a different construction, and of different pro-
portions, upon the same road. The broken bridge
was similar to one that had been examined by Mr.
Whipple, and publicly announced to be of in-
adequate proportions in important parts for a safe
and reliable structure. Still its failure was the
cause of serious hindrance to progress in the use
of iron bridges for railroads.
In 1847 Mr. Whipple prepared and published a
small elementary and practical work, upon bridge
building, in which were pointed out and illustrated
the principles governing the construction of bridge
trusses or girders, and also rules and formulae for
estimating the exact maximum strain upon each
part or member of the truss in the various con-
ditions of a given maximum load; thus enabling
each part to be proportioned according to the work
required of it, whereby the greatest possible econ-
omy of material could be secured; whereas the
practice in that respect had theretofore been essen-
tially a matter of mere empiricism. Mr. Whipple's
book also explained methods for accurately de-
termining the relative economy of different com-
binations and arrangements of the parts of the
truss; and the plans he then recommended as the
bett, are those now almost universally adopted by
the best builders, although strenuous effort has
been made to discover or invent better combina-
tions— sometimes by modifications of the same
fundamental principles, and sometimes by the
adoption of arrangements which Mr. Whipple had
considered and discarded. Of the latter category
is the truss known as the Bollman; and of the
former, the so-called Warren girder, in which is
dropped one set of diagonal members from the
Whipple trapezoidal without verticals. This Mr.
Whipple had previously done in the construc-
tion of skeleton floor beams and short trusses
of twenty to thirty feet, and again by restoring
the members omitted in the Warren girder, as an
improvement on the latter. Mr. Whipple claims
no originality in the use of diagonal or oblique
members between parallel chords, with or with-
out verticals, which had long been a common
practice. But the proportioning of parts accord-
ing to accurate calculation of the strain upon each,
and the adoption of the trapezoidal form of truss,
by the use of a triangular panel at each end, are
devices first employed by him; and in these consist,
principally, the distinction between modern scien-
tific bridge building and the empirical practice of
former times.
In 1852-53, Mr. Whipple built a wrought and
cast-iron bridge of 150 feet upon the then Albany
Northern, now the Renssalaer and Saratoga Rail-
road, which was in constant use for thirty years,
and is believed to have been the oldest iron railroad
bridge of considerable span in this country, if not
iri the world. Although probably the lightest
iron railroad bridge of like span ever built, and
containing sixty per cent, of cast-iron in the trusses,
it was subjected to as severe a test load, perhaps,
as ever has been applied to any iron bridge of like
span and weight of truss. This bridge contained
75,000 pounds of iron (three-fifths cast-iron), ex-
496
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
elusive of floor beams and track-stringers, which
were of wood. Although bridges are now built of
spans more than three times as great, the one here
referred to was at that time regarded as an achieve-
ment of no inconsiderable importance. Still iron
bridge building made no marked progress for sev-
eral years after the erection of the one in question.
The last twenty-five years, however, have witnessed
a remarkable revolution in this respect, insomuch
that iron is now almost universally and exclusively
employed in the construction of important bridges.
In 1872, Mr. Whipple published an enlargement
of his work on bridge building, which has reached
the third edition, although other valuable works
upon the subject have lately been placed before the
engineering profession. In 1872, letters patent were
granted to Mr. Whipple for a lift draw-bridge, hav-
ing a counterpoised floor suspended from an ele-
vated stationary truss-bridge, and movable vertically
by means of a system of sheaves, cables and shaft-
ing, whereby the flooring can be raised to the
truss-chords for the passage of boats in the water-
way beneath, and lowered to near the water surface
for the transit of land traffic. In 1873-74 the in-
ventor built the first patent lift draw-bridge over
the Erie Canal at Utica, which has been in satis-
factory use during eleven seasons of canal naviga-
tion. The movement is effected by a five hundred-
pound weight, wound up about fifteen feet by one
minute's work of one man, which in descending
effects the required movement of the platform, up
or down, in ten seconds. This invention is very
useful and convenient in many localities which will
not admit of the use of swing draw-bridges, and
has been adopted in other places upon the Erie
Canal, namely, in Rochester and Syracuse, with no
profit to the inventor however, as the builders and
users of his patent bridges have not had the fair-
ness to voluntarily adjust his rights and claims, and
he has forborne to prosecute.
In fine, the relation of Mr. Whipple to iron
bridges may be fitly compared with that of Watt to
the steam engine, Fulton to the steamboat, Morse
to the electric telegraph and Bell to the speaking
telephone, with the exception that, whereas most
of these have derived great wealth from the results
of their ingenuity and labors, Mr. Whipple has only
secured a comfortable competence for declining
years. Though he has sometimes felt himself
treated with illiberality, he does not complain, as
he has had no morbid hankering for costly display,
and holds the opinion that enough should suffice,
and that the fitting wages of labor should be gauged
by the time of duration, together with the damage
by wear and tear, mental and physical, sustained
by the performer, and not by fortuitous conditions
and straits, which may render a particular service
of vital importance, to the beneficiary. But the
limits of this sketch will not admit of elaboration
upon questions of this character in this connection.
As an evidence of the estimation in which Mr.
Whipple's labors are held by his fellow-engineers,
may be cited the fact of his being hailed among
them as the ''father of iron bridges," as well as
the following extract from the annual address to the
American Society of Civil Engineers, published in
the Transactions of the Society in June, 1880.
Speaking of the progress in bridge construction, the
address says: "While, however, our English breth-
ren, thirty years ago, were building plate girders
and tubes, our venerable honorary member. Squire
Whipple, was studying the subject and, with char-
acteristic modesty, laying down the principles of a
science of bridge construction based upon deter-
mining the action of the forces in skeleton struc-
tures by rigid mathematical calculation. His book,
. printed in 1847, contains nearly all that is vitally
important connected with the theory of fixed spans,
and his bridges stand to-day as monuments to his
skill and as reminders to us of the debt we owe to
that distinguished engineer."
In 1837 Mr. Whipple was married to Miss Anna
Case, of Utica, a lady of refined tastes and excellent
womanly qualities. Having resided in Utica,
where much of his life labor was performed, from
1833 to 1850, he removed to Albany in the latter
year, where he has since resided. The last few
years have found him mostly engaged in such
mechanical and scientific labors, studies and ex-
periments, in a private way, as are congenial to his
tastes. Though not without a keen relish for pleas-
ant social intercourse, he has, through life, found a
large share of his enjoyment in the exercise of his
own faculties of thought and action; and his cabinet
of models, instruments and apparatus for the illus-
tration of different branches of physical and mechan-
ical science, mostly made by himself, and largely
of original design, has elicited expressions of ad-
miration from many who have given it inspec-
tion. Withal, Mr. Whipple has turned his hand
to amateur printing, and has printed many short
essays upon various subjects, mostly promulgating
original thoughts characteristic of his idiocrasy,
which is somewhat radical; for, in other directions,
as well as in regard to his speciality of bridge
building, his bent is to go down to fundamental
facts, principles and evidences upon which to base
his conclusions and practices.
DOCKS, WHARVES, AND BASIN OF
ALBANY,
WITH MANY HISTORIC EVENTS AND REMINISCENCES OF
OLDEN TIMES.
By General S. V. Talcott.
[This able paper was kindly prepared for us by General
S. V. Talcott, a distinguished citizen, now venerable in
years, who has held many posts of duty with advantage to
his native city and State, and credit to himselt His knowl-
edge of local history — of many of the events in which he has
been an eye-witness — and his skillful use of facts, well estab-
lished by public documents and the testimony of the men of
his childhood days, make his reminiscences and other state-
ments valuable. We are are sorry to be compelled to omit
some of the legal and other documentary matter for want of
space. — J. T.]
Professor Peter Kalm, a Swedish naturalist of
distinction, from the University of Upsala, visited
Albany in 1749. He says, in his report, that the
' ' Hudson River at Albany is from twelve to twenty
feet deep; that there is as yet no quay made for the
landing of yachts, because the people feared it
DOCKS, WHARVES AND BASIN OF ALBANY.
497
would be swept away in the spring; that the vessels
come pretty near the shore and receive their car-
goes from two canoes lashed together."
It appears from the records of the Common
Council, that as early as 1727 the building of suit-
able wharves for the accommodation of the vessels
navigating the river was contemplated. On Octo-
ber 24th an ordinance was passed "requiring the
freeholders of the city who held lands or ground
fronting on the east near or to the Hudson River,
be directed to produce their titles to the same, in
order that the Common Council may be better
enabled to consider of finding out the proper ways
and means for docking and regulating of streets
on the east thereof, along the Hudson River, and
that such titles be produced in Common Council
at the City Hall on the loth day of November
next. "
About one hundred and fourteen years ago, that
is, in 1770, a survey of the City of Albany was
made by Robert Yates, which gives its frontage on
the Hudson River, from a point near the foot of
Quackenbush street at the north, to the present
steamboat landing at the intersection of Broadway
and Quay street at the south. These were the
north and south boundaries of the whole inhabited
part of the cit}' Those of the east and west were
the river and the fort near Lodge street. On the
map projected from this survey, the river has a
great bend to the westward from the islands above
the city to the steamboat landing; it then turns
and runs in a more easterly direction. On the flat
lands bordering the deepest part of this bend, the
first settlers planted the little colony of Rensselaer-
wyck. Most of their dwellings were on the street,
now Broadway, near the river, with gardens run-
ning down to the water. Few resided above
Orange or below Beaver streets, where the stock-
ades were. The channel of the river, following its
curve, kept close to the shore, and by its good
depth of water formed the harbor of the city, where
the vessels navigating the Hudson received their
cargoes. In 1770 there were four docks used for
this purpose: one above Columbia street, near
where Foxenkill empties in the basin, called the
Arsenal Wharf; one at the foot of Mark lane (Ex-
change street) in the shape of a T, called the
Middle Wharf, which was enlarged and extended
in 1774 to 90 feet in length and 32 feet in width;
another at the foot of Hudson street, of the same
shape, but somewhat smaller, called the City Hall
Wharf; and one at Kilby lane (now Hamilton
street), near where the steamboat landing now is,
called Kilby 's Wharf, later known as Hodges'
Dock. All four extended to the channel of the
river near its western bank. Division street, which
came to the river between the last-named wharves,
was then called Bone alley. The original shore
line, as represented on this map, was as far west as
Dean street, then called Dock street. Subsequent
filling brought out the water line to its present
position on the east side of Quay street. At
Quackenbush stfeet the west bank of the river was
about 380 feet east of Broadway; at Foxenkill
about 200 feet; at Exchange street abut 70 feet; 3,t
63
State street about 80 feet east of Dean; at Hudson
street about 160 feet; and at Division street about
175 feet east of Broadway.
It appears from a map projected from a survey
of Hudson street made in 1791, that the land on
the north side of that street had been extended, by
filling into the river, not quite two hundred feet;
and that Ruttenkill, now known as Beaver street
sewer, which emptied into the basin at the north-
east corner of Hudson and Quay streets, was de-
flected from its course, crossed Hudson street at
nearly a right angle, and emptied into the river
about eighty feet south of that street. The filling
having been carried on irregularly, and more rap-
idly on the north than on the south side of the
street, deflected the stream from its original course.
The Ruttenkill is not laid down on the map of
1770. Only two are there represented: Foxenkill,
which empties into the river above Columbia street,
and Beaverkill, which now passes through the
Arch street sewer.
In 1795, the Due de Liancourt, who had visited
Albany, stated that there were in the Hudson River
trade 90 sloops — 45 owned in Albany and 45 in
New York — of about 70 tons each. They made
on an average 20 trips in a season. The freight on
grain was 1 2I cents per cwt. ; passage to New York,
$1.25. He states, also, that sloops were built in
Albany for I27. 50 per ton; that the Corporation
of the city sells the wharves at $2. 50 per foot front-
age, reserving an annual rent of $8.12-^ per lot.
Labor was 56^ cents per day, and in harvest time
87!^ cents. Batcher's meat, 12^ cents per pound.
The title to the river front, out to the channel,
was vested in the Mayor and Commonalty of the
city. As early as 1 793 they began to lease in per-
petuity, chiefly to those persons whose property
extended to the river, and was bounded by it, the
water lots in front of the same. The annual quit
rent required was one shilling per running foot.
Most of these leases have been commuted, and
the titles transferred, by quit claim deeds from
the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty, to the
purchasers of the lots from the original leasers.
The water lots north of the city, in what was called
the Colonic, were held under titles derived from
Van Rensselaer, the Patroon, as were also the
lands embraced within the bounds of the Colonie,
extending from Patroon street (now Clinton avenue)
and Quackenbush street on the south, to the Pa-
troon's Creek on the north, and from the river on
the east to and including Arbor hill on the west.
A Dock Association, composed of the proprietors
of the dock between the center of Maiden lane and
the north side of State street, was formed in 1794.
This was probably the first regular dock, extending
from street to street, that was constructed, and the
Association was probably formed on its completion.
At a meeting held February 2, 1796:
" Resolved, That the Trustees are hereby author-
ized (if they judge conducive to the interests of the
Association) to admit the proprietors of the quay
south of Bone lane [Division street] and north of
Kilby lane [Hamiltorj street], parties to the agree^
jnent. "
498
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
James Caldwell and Stephen Van Rensselaer were
admitted as members, and their wharves taken into
the common stock, January 23,1803.
At a meeting of the proprietors at Moody's Tav-
ern on Thursday evening, February 3, 18 14, the
Trustees stated to the Proprietors present, that the
written agreement executed on the 13 th of March,
1794, under which the Association was originally
organized, would expire on the 13 th of March
next. It was
^'Resolved, unanimously, that the wharves lying
south of Steuben street and north of the watering
place [foot of Columbia street] as it is now situated,
shall continue under the same regulations and man-
agement as has been adopted for the past year. "
In 1795, the wharfage the first year was £'i'So
7s. od. The amount of dividend per foot, 5! per
cent.
February 10, 1873, the gross wharfage of the last
year of the Association was $820.26; commis-
sion, $165.05; net, $655.22; dividends, $1 per
foot; number of feet, 607^^
Abraham Bloodgood was the first wharfinger,
1794; succeeded by Abraham Eights, 1793 to 1819;
Edward Brown, 1820-41; John L. Hyatt, 1841-
70; WiUiam Eaton, 1870-71; F. A. Shepard, 1871-
73-
The 13th of February, 1873, the Association ad-
journed sine die.
Andrew E. Brown was Secretary from i6th Feb-
ruary, 1831, to the 13th of February, 1873 — forty-
two years.
A ferry from near the foot of Kilby's lane (Ham-
ilton street) was established at an early day. Prob-
ably before 1767, as the right to maintain a ferry
was granted to Guysbert Marcelis for £']o per an-
num, on the 14th March of that year; and on
March 3, 1781, the Deputy Quartermaster-Gen-
eral, Dirk Haden, was granted the privilege "to
land with the ferry-boat at the Old Dock at the
store-houses until further ordered." This was
probably Kilby's Dock, for on April 24, 1783, the
Common Council passed an ordinance directing
that "the stones of a part of the dock at the stores
be appropriated to complete the City Hall Dock
and the next Northern Dock: to wit, the [stones
ofj south pier of said dock [at the stores] called
Kilby's Dock.
September 25, 1783, "the resolution to appro-
priate the stones of the lower pier of Kilby's Dock,
to complete the City Hall Dock and Middle Dock,
is reconsidered.'''
The Court House or City Hall, a plain three-
story yellow brick building with a belfry on top,
having a door and four windows on the first story,
and five windows on each of the other stories, oc-
cupied the comer of Court street (Broadway) and
Hudson street, fronting on the former. It was the
center for all public purposes and occupied by the
Legislature until the Capitol on the hill was erect-
ed. The courts were held in it; public meetings
were addressed from its steps; when a fire occurred
the citizens were directed to assemble there, each
>yith a given number gf leather fire-buckets, which
they were required to keep hanging in a conven-
ient place in the halls of their dwellings — for there
were no fire-engines in those days. When an
alarm was given, each sturdy Dutchman in knee-
breeches, cocked hat and wide-skirted coat,
hastened to the Court House with his buckets,
crying, "Brand! brand!!" (Fire! fire!!) as he ran.
Or, when the ice began to move in the river, at the
sound of the bell at any moment, midday or mid-
night, the whole population rushed to the Court
House for instruction and a leader — arousing the
sleepers, if it was night, with their startling shouts
of "Ys gang!!" (The ice is going!) It required
the energy and assistance of all the available citi-
zens, so rapid was usually the rise of water and
flow of the ice when once started, to get the fami-
lies and the effects of those residing near the river
out of danger. After the Old Court House had
served its time for State and city, Harry Trow-
bridge took its upper stories for a museum, and
moved his collection of curiosities into it, the main
floor being occupied for commercial purposes.
The first museum was established on the corner of
Green and Beaver streets in 1798. There is no
evidence to show that Trowbridge was the propri-
etor of this; but, from the fact thatnothing is heard
of it after he opened the New York State Museum
in the Old Court House, it is probable that he was.
It is known that he had a museum as early as 1809,
called the Albany Museum. This was probably
the name of the one on the corner of Green and
Beaver streets. There were great attractions for
the small boys and girls in the museum on the
corner of Hudson street and Broadway in those
days — the monstrosities excited their wonder; the
phantismagoria and the wax figures their delight.
The collection of the latter was a remarkable one
indeed. Arrayed in full costume, and in various
attitudes, were Charlotte Temple, Daniel Lambert,
Punch and Judy, Louis the XIV, Jael driving the
nail into the head of Sisera, and many others of
equal note. But the crowning wonder of all, an-
nounced by the ringing of a small bell, was the
raising of the ghost of Samuel, by the Witch of En-
dor, for the humble and awe-stricken Saul, who
stood near in full armor of steel. The spirit slow-
ly rose through the top of the tomb — which was
an upright box not unlike the pedestal that sup-
ports the bust of Dr. Armsby in the Park — re-
mained with half its body above the opening for a
minute, and then as slowly returned to its place.
There was a landing-place for batteaux and
small boats in the rear of and not far from the
dwelling of the late Judge Jacob J. Lansing, on the
corner of Broadway and Quackenbush streets. At
this landing, just before the battle of Saratoga,
while the British troops were slowly approaching
Albany, the alarmed inhabitants of the Colonie
had collected a small fleet of batteaux, anticipating
the possible defeat of the continental forces, and
were prepared at the first intimation of disaster to
flee, with their families and such effects as they
could hastily gather, to the oppcfeite shore of the
river. They were filled with great fear when they
heard the battle had begun, and expected each
DOCKS, WHARVES AND BASIN OF ALBANY.
499
moment to hear that the "red-coats" were on
their way to the city. While engaged in loading
their boats as rapidly as possible, a single horseman
was seen approaching from the north, gesticulating
and furiously whipping his horse as he drew near.
Men, women and children rushed out to hear what
news he brought from the armies, expecting of
course that the enemy was close behind him. He
shouted as he came up and passed along: "Ber-
gine is talcen! Bergine is taken!!" So astounded
and incredulous were the people as they followed
him to the City Hall, on the corner of Broadway
and Hudson streets, that they cried: " Gy liegen!
Gy liegen!! " (You lie! you lie!!) Great was their
relief and gladness when the news was confirmed
by the dispatch brought by the messenger and read
by the Mayor to the assembled crowd. The switch
which the messenger had used to urge his horse
along, he threw away as he passed the corner of
North Lansing street and Broadway. It was
piclced up by Mrs. Teunis G. Visscher, a daughter
of Mr. Christopher Lansing, and planted in front
of her father's house, where she resided at that time.
The switch grew to be a sturdy elm, long remem-
bered and pointed out as a monument to commem-
orate the end of the revolution. It passed from
youth to manhood and to old age, lost its beauty
and strength, and at last yielded up the remnant of
its life to the demands of progress, and was re-
moved to make room for the railroad viaduct
across Broadway.
Diagonally opposite the residence of Mr. Lans-
ing, on the northwest corner of Broadway and
Clinton avenue, there was, until removed to make
a place for the drug store of Messr.-. Clement &
Rice, an antique Dutch residence with its pointed
gable fronting on Broadway, built of Holland
bricks painted yellow, with a door on Broadway
used only to carry the dead through, and a front
door on Clinton avenue cut in halves transversely,
as were all the doors of those early Dutch houses.
The house was erected about a. d. 1700, and
stood some four or five hundred feet beyond the
northern stockade, which crossed Broadway near
Orange street, and had a gate opening on the road
leading north through the Colonie. In this house
lived one of the old Dutch families somewhere
about the time of the French War. The Indians
who were prowling about the outskirts of the town
were not over-friendly, and the gates of the stock-
ades were always closed about sundown to keep
them out. The residents beyond the stockades
were careful to get to their homes before dark, lest
they might lose their scalps some unlucky evening.
Nearly every family kept a good watch-dog. This
family in particular had a large mastiff in their
house who was kind and gentle with those he was
accustomed to see, but a terror to the Indians, for
whom he had no love. A middle-aged daughter
of the family was in the habit of visiting her friends
in the town, enjoying their society and the hospitable
cup of tea which formed a prominent feature in
all entertainments among the old Dutch families.
One evening, staying inside the stockade longer
than usual, it was almost dark when she was passed
through the gates. As she crossed the road she
observed an Indian following her. She ran in
great fear. He followed, and as she reached her
home and the handle of the door, he caught her by
the hair and brandished his scalping-knife above
her head ready to take her scalp. With a scream
she threw open the upper half of the door. The
faithful mastiff, hearing her cry, sprang over the
lower half, seized the Indian by the throat and there
held him till he was captured. This dog never
after that led -a dog's life — in the common accep-
tation of the term.
A door like the one above mentioned on Broad-
way, as used only on funeral occasions, was com-
mon to most of the old Dutch residences, and was
called the ' ' dood door. " It was connected with the
"dood kamer" (death chamber). On the occasion
of a death in the family, the corpse was removed
to this room, and invitations to the funeral were
given to the relatives and friends of the deceased
through the " aanspreeker" (sexton), to attend the
funeral from the house at a specified time. When
assembled, a tankard of hot spiced wine and a
tray of "dood koekjes," a flat round cake, about
four inches in diameter, made of material similar
to those used for New Year's cakes, were handed
round. Then the usual ceremonies of prayer, re-
marks about the life and death of the departed,
and an address to the afflicted relatives, followed;
after which all were expected to take a last look
into the coffin. Then it was removed from the
' 'dood kamer, " through the ' 'dood door, " to the bier,
and was carried to the grave-yard by the bearers.
On the return from the burying ground, the guests
again assembled at the house of the deceased and
partook freely of the hot spiced wine. This very
ancient custom was not abandoned till some years
after the beginning of the present century.
Albany Basin. — As early as 1822, and perhaps
earlier, when there was on an average from eighty
to two hundred sloops and schooners daily lying
at the docks in front of the city, the project of con-
structing a basin at the termination of the Erie and
Champlain Canal was seriously considered. The
matter was referred to the Canal Commissioners,
and on February 11, 1823, they made the follow-
ing report :
"In obedience to the resolution of the Assem-
bl}', passed the 14th ult, instructing the Commis-
sioners to report a place for the construction of a
basin at the termination of the Erie and Cham-
plain Canal at the City of Alban}', reported that
Benjamin Wright, one of their engineers, who was
instructed to examine the matter, had proposed a
plan and made a communication on the subject,
together with a map of the contemplated basin.
The Commissioners believe that a basin may be
constructed on the said plan for about $100,000,
and that such a basin would be extremely benefi-
cial to the trade of Albany. They have declined
to make basins along the line of canals, believ-
ing that mercantile capital and enterprise would
find sufficient inducements and interests to furnish
these local accommodations to trade, and that to
600
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
expend the public moneys would not be just. They
think, however, that it would be proper to con-
struct a sloop lock at the southern termination of
the basin, as the connection of boat and sloop
navigation at the arsenal lot will cost nearly as
much as the said lock; and, in case of the construc-
tion of said lock, it would be reasonable for the
State to receive tolls on the lertgth of the basin as
part of the canal."
Upon this report, the Legislature passed an act
authorizing the construction of the Albany basin,
April 5, 1823, the principal features of which were
as follows :
That from the report of the Canal Commission-
ers, it appears that a basin at the termination of
the canals would be a great benefit to commerce
and to trade. The following gentlemen, William
James, John R. Bleecker, John Townsend, Elisha
Jenkins, Benjamin Knower, Allen Brown, Israel
Smith, Tennis Van Vechten, John Trotter, John
Spencer, Asa H. Center, William Durant, Peter
Boyd, Joseph Alexander, Charles R. Webster,
John H. Webb, John Shotwell, Joseph Russell,
William Caldwell, Ralph Pratt, Russell Forsythe,
William Marvin, William McHarg, Jellis Winne,
Jr., Abraham Van Vechten and Gideon Hawle)',
were appointed Commissioners. They were au-
thorized to raise subscriptions to construct a mole
or pier within the bounds of the City of Albany,
opposite the docks fronting the harbor, so as to
comprise a basin extending from the arsenal dock
to a point opposite Hodges' Dock, in the line of
Hamilton street, with a sloop lock at the Hamil-
ton street end, to be completed within two years.
The act authorized the building of bridges from
the dock to the pier, and the Canal Commission-
ers to give title of the land under water covered by
the pier to the Pier Company.
No toll should be exacted, or wharfage or other
charges for boats, other craft or rafts of lumber,
entering from the canal and passing through the
basin, unless the same shall be revested in the
people of the State.
It regulated the wharfage to be paid by vessels,
boats and other crafts navigating the river, for the
season: Vessels of five tons or under to pay |2. 1 2I
per ton; if above that burden, at the rate of
54 cents per ton. If for less time, for five tons or
under, 25 cents per day; twenty tons or under, 4
Cents per ton per day; over twenty, under forty, 3
cents per ton per day; over fifty, 2\ cents per ton per
day. One-half to go to the proprietors of the pier.
The proprietors of the pier to have the right to col-
lect wharfage from outside of pier same as collected
from inside docks.
It directed that the pier be divided into lots,
which should be sold at public auction.
It directed that the Canal Commissioners
should charge toll on all canal boats, craft and
lumber which should enter the basin from the
canal, or leave the basin for transportation on the
canal, computing the entire length of said basin in
the same manner as if it were a part of the canal.
The money collected, after deducting expenses, to
be paid over to the State Treasurer.
It provided for damages by reason of overflow
caused by the guard or sloop dock.
It directed that the act should be void unless the
Corporation of the city filed their assent to the act
in the office of the Secretary of State within sixty
days after its passage.
The assent referred to was filed April 8, 1823.
The Albany Pier was completed, under the act
above mentioned. May 27, 1825, inclosing a basin
capable of harboring 1,000 canal boats and 50
vessels of a larger class. The Commissioners ap-
pointed under the act divided it into 123 lots, and
sold them at public auction on the 17th July, 1825,
excepting lots i and 2, which were reserved, and
after a time taken for an opening into the river.
The 121 lots brought the aggregate sum of $188,-
510. Of these William James purchased 48, John
T. Norton, 14, and Israel Smith 7 ; other pur-
chasers were Gideon Hawley, Harmanus Bleecker,
Chas. R. Webster, Robt. Boyd, Isaiah Townsend,
Samuel Ward, of New York, Chas. D. Cooper, E.
Backus, Elisha Jenkins, Isaac H. Bogart, E. C.
Delavan, John Tayler, Henry S. Webb, John
Meads, Abel French, Francis Bloodgood, James
Goold. The lowest price paid for a lot was $1, 200,
and the highest, $3,550. The pier was 4,323 feet
long, 85 feet broad, and unbroken from the canal
to Hamilton street, containing 8J acres of land.
The basin contained an area of 3 2 acres.
Bridges with draws were constructed across the
basin, at the foot of Columbia and State streets, by
the proprietors of the pier, and a sloop lock was
built by the State at Hamilton street.
Sept. 25, 1823, the first water was passed through
the lock at the head of the Albany basin. An eel
three feet in length came through the gate and
was hailed as the first passenger ; it was caught, and
the skin preserved in the Museum of the Lyceum
of Natural History. But the canal was not com-
pleted until the fall of 1825.
When the first water from the finished canal
came into the basin, the sloop lock-gates were
closed, and the citizens gathered in great numbers
on the docks to see the basin filled with water,
which they did not doubt would rise to the crest of
the pier, and possibly overflow the docks. After
waiting anxiously for several hours, they began to
wonder why the water did not rise and what had
become of it. Their patience having been ex-
hausted, as it grew dark the assemblage adjourned,
hoping to see the basin full on the morrow. Much
to their astonishment they were disappointed, the
pier having been built in parts of cribs filled with clay
and other soils, together with loose stones where
rock bottom was found, and resting in other places
on piles, permitted the water to escape into the
river under the cribs and between the piles. Why
this was not known before a sloop lock was con-
structed, does not appear.
On the 26th of October, a day that should be re-
membered throughout all time, the first canal
boat from Lake Erie, through the great canal pro-
jected by Governor De Witt Clinton, reached the
Hudson River at Albany at three minutes before
II o'clock A. M., and passed through the lock into
DOCKS, WHARVES AND BASIN OF ALBANY.
501
the Albany basin. The event was announced by
a discharge of cannon, which formed a line within
hearing distance from Buffalo to Sandy Hook. The
return fire from New York was received at five
minutes before 12 o'clock noon.
The basin having been constructed without a
free outlet for the current to pass through, became
a nuisance in consequence of the great accumula-
tion of silt in it. In June, 1834, the Corporation
of the city was indicted by the Grand Jury for not
abating it. The Recorder, Hon. James McKown,
was instructed to defend the action, on the ground
that the bulkhead at the lower end of the basin had
been placed there by the Pier Company, under the
sanction of an act of the Legislature, and being
private property, the Corporation could not be
bound to abate the nuisance. The Albany Court
of Sessions decided against the Corporation; but
the Supreme Court reversed the decision. On the
9th of February following, a public meeting was
held at the Capitol for the purpose of making an
application to the Legislature to pass an act direct-
ing that the bulkhead be removed, and for other
purposes. On the 27th of April, 1835, the Legis-
lature passed an act to improve the navigation of
the Albany basin, which directed that the bulkhead
be removed in part, that the sloop lock be taken
away, and a bridge built from the abutment at
Hamilton street to the pier. It also authorized the
Mayor and Common Council to order and direct
the excavation, deepening and clearing of any part
of the basin that was found to be necessary, and
directed the Governor to appoint a Commissioner
to appraise and assess the cost of the same, on all
the building lots, wharves, docks, and pier lots
benefited by the improvement, specifying in said
appraisement the names of the owners, and taking
into consideration the benefit to the Pier Company
by the annual receipt of one mile toll received by
them as part of the Erie and Champlain Canals.
Under and by the authority given in this act, the
Mayor and Common Council proceeded to carry
its provisions into effect.
The act of the Legislature passed April 14, 1836,
authorized the Corporation of the City of Albany to
make an opening in the pierbetween the Columbia
and State street bridges of sixty feet in width,
which had already been decided upon as necessary
by an ordinance of the Common Council, dated
the 28th of March previous, and to repair any
damage to bridges or property on the pier caused
by said opening, and assess the costs of the same
on the property benefited. In 1837, owing to the
great increase of business on the pier, the Pier
Company asked the Common Council for authority
to widen the pier fifteen feet; their petition was
denied. The act passed May 16, 1837, directed
the Canal Commissioners to clear the obstructions
from the basin, and draw upon the Mayor and
Common Council for the cost, and allow the ex-
cess above the amount of toll on the one mile of
basin, which was considered as part of the canal,
to be charged to the State.
The dredging proceeded so slowly, that the Com-
mon Council directed the Navigation Committee
to inquire into the cause and report what had been
and what remained to be done. On the 17th
September, 1838, the Navigation Committee re-
ported that $96,090.55 had been expended in im-
proving the basin; that there j-et remained 105,000
cubic yards of excavation to be made, which would
cost $36,250.
Another act of the Legislature, passed April 20,
1841, directed the Common Council to cause the
opening in the pier to be enlarged to a width of
not less than 126 feet, the expense of said opening
to be assessed upon the property benefited; and
by an act passed April 14, 1849, '^^y were em-
powered to make a further enlargement. These
enlargements were rendered necessary by the in-
creasing demands of commerce, and the enlarged
size of the vessels used in transportation on theriver.
After the works were completed, the Commis-
sioners assessed the cost upon the property ben-
efited, as directed by the several laws passed by the
Legislature. This proceeding raised a great com-
motion among the dock and pier- owners, which
resulted in a controversy as to the constitutionality
of the law under which the work was done. The
Legislature passed an act on the 14th April, 1849,
" in relation to certain expenses incurred in ex-
cavating the basin, and the tolls received thereon, at
the eastern terminus of the Erie and Champlain
Canals." This law directs the Canal Commissioners
to pay to the City of Albany $121,462.63, with in-
terest from February 20, 1823, for the expenses
incurred by the city for excavating, clearing and
cleaning out the basin, and also the sum of $30,000
to be paid to the owners of the pier in lieu of tolls
as heretofore paid to them. This act to be a final
settlement of all claims against the State in favor of
the City of Alban)', or in favor of any citizen there-
of, and also of the pier-owners under the several
acts passed April 5, 1823, April 27, 1835, April
14, 1836, and May 16, 1837.
At this time, and until the War of the Rebellion,
the property on the pier was very valuable. The
portion above the Columbia street bridge was
covered with lumber and staves, piled very high for
want of room, while below the bridge, on both
sides of the cut to its southern extremity were
large and commodiously built warehouses, occu-
pied by the leading shipping merchants of the
city and the proprietors of the large tow-boat lines.
The Swiftsure and Albany and Canal lines each
had offices below the State street bridge, and their
barges occupied berths on both the inside and out-
side of the pier.
Hart & Hoyt, in order to facilitate the transporta-
tion of the merchandise they received, erected on a
raft or float in the basin, a large wooden structure,
familiarly called the "Ark,"which took up much
room and was a great annoyance to the other
shippers, beside being an eye-sore and great
obstruction to the free navigation of the basin. It
became so much of a nuisance that the Common
Council ordered them to remove it. They declin-
ing to do so, the Corporation undertook to make
the removal themselves, but were enjoined by the
Court from proceeding with its demolition. The
502
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
case was carried to the Court of Chancery, and by
the Chancellor the injunction was dissolved. Hart
& Hoyt appealed to the Court of Errors. It was
held by this Court that the appellants had utterly
failed to establish a right lo erect and continue the
floating warehouse in the basin; that it was not
lawful for individuals, without grants, to construct
or moor a floating warehouse or vessel for receiving
and delivering any goods in any river-port or har-
bor, or in the basins or docks thereof, and is an
obstruction to free navigation.
The "Ark " was therefore removed, and the busi-
ness on the pier and in the basin was thereafter unob-
structed. At this time, beside the large barges em-
ployed in the carrying trade to New York, all sorts
of craft came to Albany for freight, from a clam-
boat to a three-masted schooner. Frequently,
more than two hundred sailing vessels might be
counted at the pier and docks of the city, hailing
from Maine to Florida. From the East were
brought sperm and whale oil, rum, fish, apples,
and Yankee notions; from the South, Georgia
pine, cotton, sugar, and fruit; and lumber, staves,
potatoes, and the various kinds of grain were taken
away. These days and years of an active and
profitable trade came to an end on the pier, docks
and basin, on the completion of the system of
railroad communication from Boston and New
York to the Western States, and the opening of
the lumber district between the river and canal a
short distance above the Bath feriy.
Soon after the completion of the canal, a line of
packet-boats was established to transport passengers
from Albany to Utica. This was a wonderful im-
provement over the old stage-coach at certain
seasons of the year, when the wheels would sink to
the hubs in the mud, and the passengers would
often be called upon to help, with a fence-rail, to
pry them up. The packets were sharp-bowed,
trim-looking boats, drawn by three horses on a
trot, and averaged about nine miles an hour, some-
times more. The cabin extended almost the en-
tire length of the boat, with a short deck at the bow
and stem; the seats were arranged like those in an
omnibus, and so constructed that they could be
converted into two tiers of berths. A curtain di-
vided one cabin into two unequal parts, the smaller
reserved for the ladies. The baggage was all car-
ried on the deck above the cabin. The choice
seat in the daytime was on the forward low deck.
It was dangerous to sit on the deck above the
cabin, on account of the lowness of the numerous
bridges. The helmsman was constantly warning
those passengers who sat there by the cry of ' ' bridge
ahead," when each one would be obliged to duck, or
if the bridge was very low, to lie down flat. These
packets left Albany from the little basin just at
the head of the lock, between the canal and the Al-
bany basin, with flags flying, bugle music, and
shouts of the people collected to see the start
There were soon opposition companies, which
made lively times, and packet-boats became the
fashionable mode of travel between Albany and
Bufialo. These too were abandoned as fast as the
railroads were opened to the West.
On February 13, 1861, there occurred one of
the most disastrous freshets ever known to the in-
inhabitants of Albany. The ice damming up oppo-
site the Boston ferry, caused the water to flow over
the pier, and sent the current down through the
basin, carrying large cakes of ice with great velocity
against the boats, vessels and bridges in the basin,
which were swept down and destroyed in a brief
space of time.
April 8, 1 86 1, the three bridges from the main-
land to the pier having been carried away by the
freshet and destroyed, a controversy arose between
the Pier Company and the Common Council as to
which should construct the new ones.
The Pier Company claimed that by the Act of
April 14, 1836, authorizing the Corporation of Al-
bany to make an opening in the pier between the
State street and Columbia street bridges of 60 feet
in width, and to repair any damages to bridges or
property on the pier by reason of said opening,
and assess the expense of the same upon the prop-
erty benefited; and by the act of the Legislature,
passed April 20, 184 1, directing the Corporation to
enlarge the opening to the width of not less than
126 feet; and by a further act, passed April 11,
1849, the said Corporation was authorized to make
a still further enlargement; that the rebuilding of
the bridge clearly devolved upon the city, and
asked that they be rebuilt without delay.
The bridges were rebuilt without draws, as the
opening between Columbia and State streets ad-
mitted vessels to the middle basin.
The building of the pier caused great dissatisfac-
tion to the owners of the dock and property on
Quay street. It deprived them of their right to the
channel of the river, decreased the amount of their
dockage and the value of the property on Quay
street, by affording wharfage on the outside of the
pier, and space for building upon it. The vener-
able and distinguished jurist, Abraham Van Vech-
ten, whose memory is revered by the few now left
who knew him, could not accept the appointment
as one of the Commissioners named in the act of
1823, because he believed the act to be not only
unjust to the dock-owners, but decidedly uncon-
stitutional. But opposition was of no avail. The
same means that are supposed to be successful
in carrying bills through later Legislatures, may
have been successfully used in 1823, and possibly
were so used to pass this act.
In 1873, when the Dock Association adjourned
sine die, active business on the pier and Quay street
had about come to a standstill; buildings which
had formerly rented for seven or eight hundred dol-
lars per annum, would scarcely command three or
four hundred, and many remained unoccupied.
Storage of produce brought down by canal-boats
too late in the fall to ship for New York or Eastern
or Southern ports by vessels, was a large item of
profit which was cut off" by the transportation af-
forded by the completion of the Central and Hud-
son River and the Boston and Albany Railroads.
The merchants who did a heavy business on the
pier or Quay street, either retired from business or
removed to Broadway, where they escaped the an-
SEWERAGE.
503
nual freshets in the river, and obtained more com-
fortable quarters.
The wharfage which had been collected pretty
equally from the various docks under the control
of the Dock Association, was now earned by but
few of them, and a majority of the members were
unwilling to continue to divide the receipts with
those whose docks contributed little or nothing to
the Association. Hence the resolution to adjourn
sine die.
Since 1873, the basin has been filling up with
silt from the river and sewage from the fifteen city
sewers that empty their foul contents into it; and
it has become one of the greatest nuisances in the
county. It is hoped that it will either be dredged
ou tby the State authorities or filled up, as it has
passed its days of usefulness.
SEWERAGE.
Prior to 1854, and previous to the appointment
of R. H. Bingham as City Engineer and Surveyor,
there was no regular system of sewers for the
city. In that year the first brick and cement sewer
was constructed in Madison avenue, then Lydius
street. Laws had been passed for making drains
in detached portions. Some had been made in
several streets leading to the river, east of Eagle
street. Some had been laid as early as 1800. These
last were constructed of common building stones
about one foot in the clear.
It appears from the records of the Common
Council, that attention was given very early to sur-
face draining. Water-courses were dug on the side
of the streets, under direction of the City govern-
ment, by the owners of adjacent houses or lots,
which were to be kept open and clear so as "to
vent, dry and drain the said streets." In 172 i, it
was "ordaind, publishd and declard, that all
and every person within this City before whose
houses and lotts y° water has no vent, shall forthwith
ditch and drain y' water to give it passage that y"
highways may be dry and useful for y' Inhabitants
of s'' Cit}', and that all y' Streets and lanes be
sufficiently pavd, y' earth be dugg out and Carted
away" under penalties for neglect. Such was the
primitive drainage. Subsequent to this time, ordi-
nances directing the making of drains and keeping
them open were often made. Sometimes they
were made to empty into creeks or kills. But,
after all, the streets of the city were -often very full
of mire and filth.
Since 1854, in the leading streets to the river,
the old drains have been replaced with brick and
cement sewers varying in diameter from three and
a half to six and a half feet in the clear.
The combined system of sewerage, conveying
both house drainage and surface water, required
larger sewers than the surface system which conveys
only the house drainage.
The combined system became necessary in con-
sequence of the slope and steepness of the streets
leading to the river. In the westerly portion of the
city the separate system has been adopted, vitrified
pipes have been used varying from ten to thirty
inches in diameter, according to the quantity of
house drainage to be carried. Most of the thickly
settled streets have been sewered.
The old creek beds of the city leading to the
river — four in number — have been covered with
stone arches from six to ten feet in diameter, and
adopted as outlet sewers for the westerly portion of
the city, into which many of the street drains empty.
The creeks thus adopted as outlet sewers, are as
follows: Beaver Creek, in the southerly portion of
the city; Ruttenkill and Foxenkill in the cen-
tral portion of the city; and Patroon's Creek in the
northerly.
The extent of the water-shed flowing into Beaver
Creek is about 1,300 acres; Ruttenkill, about 200
acres; Foxenkill, about 200 acres; Patroon's Creek,
about 5,000 acres.
Space will not permit us to give any more than
the leading or principal sewers in the city. That
in Madison avenue is 4 feet in diameter; Hamilton
street, 3 feet 6 inches; Hudson avenue, 5 feet;
State street, 6 feet; Quackenbush street, 5 feet;
Livingston avenue, 4 feet 6 inches; Maiden lane,
4 feet; Steuben street, 4 feet; Van Woert, 4 feet.
Patroon's Creek sewer is 12 x 8 feet in diameter;
Foxenkill, 6 feet; Ruttenkill, 6 feet; Beaver Creek,
8 feet. In the other streets in the city the sewers
run from 4 feet to 18 inches in diameter.
The expense of the construction of the street
sewers in Albany are paid by levying special assess-
ments upon the property benefited by it and lying
adjacent to it. Many of these sewers have been
constructed at large expense. For instance: Hud-
son avenue sewer, from the river to Eagle street,
cost $20, 1 50; State street, from river to Eagle street,
$21,289; Patroon street, from the river to North
Pearl street, $48,718.
The cost of these sewers are $9 per lineal foot
for 6 feet; |6^, for 4J feet; $6|-, for 4 feet; %^\, for
3^ feet; $5^, for 3 feet; and $4f, for 2\ feet.
These are laid about \2\ feet below the surface, to
accommodate house drainage.
Vitrified-pipe drains are laid about 9^ feet from
the surface. For 20 inches in diameter they cost
$2 per lineal foot; 18 inches, f 1.60 per foot; 15
inches, f i per foot; 12 inches, $1.00 per foot.
The system of collecting assessments for the con-
sti notion of the sewers, relieves the citizens from a
bonded debt for their construction to which many
other cities are subjected.
This system of sewers already constructed extends
north and south, along the river front, the entire
width of the city — about two miles; and westerly,
about the same distance.
R. H. Bingham, the present able City Engineer
and Surveyor, has for thirty years uninterruptedly,
and with credit and fidelity, held the position, a
just tribute to his sterling worth and ability. He
is a native of Stillwater, Saratoga County, and was
educated at the Academy in that town, and sub-
sequently at the Normal School in Albany, where
he graduated in 1845. He was for five years Pro-
fessor of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in
Jonesville Academy; was admitted to the Bar in
504
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Albany County in 1848, and practiced his profes-
sion with decided success until 1854. His natural
ability in the direction of engineering inclined
him to the study of that science in every detail.
In 1855, he planned the first brick and cement
sewer constructed in Albany, his plan being ap-
proved by the municipal authorities. From 1868
to 1872 he was interested in the construction of the
Park, being engineer in charge. The granite block
pavement was first laid under his direction in 1868.
He was appointed Assistant Engineer on the
Rochester and Buffalo Division of the Erie Canal
in 1 840, and for two years was engaged in the work
of its enlargement. In 1854 he was called to the
position he now so ably fills. A thorough master
of his profession, and a man of ripe experience and
expanded views, he has, in his official capacity,
contributed his full share to the prosperity of the
city, and has honored the position which he has so
long filled.
STREETS OF ALBANY.
The first traders at Albany clustered around Fort
Orange, near the foot of Lydius street. For two
reasons this fort was changed to higher ground
farther north along the present Broadway: first, to
avoid high water, which in 1656 washed away a
great part of Fort Orange, and secondly, to give
space around the fort for free range of the guns.
jC',a
PLAN OF ALBANY, 1676.
The simple diagram above is a facsimile
of the oldest plan of the city known, and gives
an idea of Beverwyck in 1676, after the fort
had been removed from its original location. It
embraces that part of the city now bounded by the
river on the east and Steuben street on the north.
But two streets are designated on the map, Joncaer
street, now State, and Rom street, now Maiden
lane. Broadway is represented by parallel lines.
The earliest name given to it was Handlaer street,
as appears on a map made some years later. The
guard-house occupied the old Elm tree corner on
North Pearl street. It will be seen that the settle-
ment extended only a short distance beyond North
Pearl street on the west, while its northern bound-
ary was Steuben street, and its southern Hudson
street.
The following map of Albany was made in
1695 by Rev. John Miller, a chaplain in the
British Army, and shows the line of palisades built
soon after the removal from the vicinity of old Fort
Orange about r656. It is undoubtedly a true
picture of the form, boundaries and streets of the
city as they were about two hundred years ago,
reaching from Hudson to Steuben streets on Broad-
way, and from the river west to Lodge street, in
circumference about six furlongs. The fort desig-
nated on this map was known as Fort Albany, and
was built after the surrender of the province to the
English in 1664, at the head of old State street,
west of the present Lodge street. Fort Orange,
soon after the completion of the new fort, was
abandoned, and the land around it divided up into
gardens. The dwellings were mostly located, for
safety, within the palisades. The church at the
junction of State and Broadway was built in 1664,
after the one near Fort Orange had been aban-
doned. This church was used until 171 5, when
another was erected on the same site. This church
in the middle of State street caused the great width
STREETS OF ALBANY.
506
of both State street and Broadway at this point.
Broadway, as will be seen by reference to the map,
as it approached the north gate and main guard
was reduced to a single cart path, and in fact
at the palisades the houses on opposite sides of the
street came so close together as to form a Fuyck, a
name very often applied to the village instead of
Beverwyck.
1. The Fort.
2. Dutch CaJvintst Church.
3. German Lutheran.
PLAN OF ALBANY, 1695.
4. Its Burying Place.
5. Dutch Calvinist Burying Place.
6. Stadt House.
7. Block Houses.
9. Great Guns to clear a Gully.
10. Stockades.
11. City Gales, six in all.
At the date of this map there were about 200
houses in Beverwyck, built principally on four
streets, viz. : Broadway, from Hudson to Steuben;
State, from Broadway to Chapel; North Pearl, to
Steuben; and Chapel, from State to the palisades.
Beaver, Norton, State, from Broadway to the river,
called Staat's alley; Exchange and Steuben, which
extended only from Broadway to North Pearl, con-
tained but a few dwellings. Hudson, from Broad-
way to Green, simply the rondwegh, and James
street, a mere alley, had no dwellings. Lots front-
ing on any street west of Broadway, the highest
being Berg, now Chapel, street, were said to be
on the hill. The contracted space within which
the village was crowded led to a very minute di-
vision of land in the best streets, and lots of only
15 or 20 feet wide and of a corresponding depth
were common.
Chevalier De Calliers, Governor of Montreal
in 1689, speaks of Albany as being "about as
large as Montreal, surrounded by picquets, at one
end of which is an earthen fort defended by pali-
sades, and consisting of four small bastions. There
is a garrison of 1 50 men, of three companies, in the
Fort and some pieces of cannon. Said town of
Orange [Albany] may contain about 1 50 houses and
300 inhabitants, the majority of whom are Dutch,
and some French refugees, with some English. "
By observing the septangular form of the pali-
sades, we can see how the curvatures and diagonal
lines presented by many of the streets in the lower
portion of our city had their rise. A more ex-
tended line of palisades was afterwards constructed,
bounded by Hamilton street on the south and
crossing Broadway on the north, near Orange and
Van Tromp streets. The north gate was placed
there, and was the line, as late as the early part of
the present century, dividing the City of Albany
from Colonic, which was a separate town until
1815. It was a century after Miller's draft of the
city was made before it began to increase very
rapidly in territory or population. In 1688, it con-
506
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
tained but 300 persons, and a century after only
about 4,000.
So little had the City of Albany changed from its
appearance in 1695, that in 171 8 it was described
by a tourist as little else than a fortified village,
with unpaved, dirty and irregular streets. Most of
the residences were situated on the margin of the
river, the lower end of State, and on Court, now
called Broadway. It was in fact only a small
town, with less than 1,000 inhabitants. A few
stores and trading places were located in the pres-
ent Chapel street. In the middle of State street
and in Broadway were all the public buildings, viz. :
the Town House, two churches, English and Dutch,
the Guard-house and Public Market. On the river
were three docks: Lower or King's Dock, Middle
and Upper. Here vessels were unloaded by the
aid of canoes.
Probably the best description of primitive Albany
is contained in Mrs. Grant's "Memoirs of an
American Lady," published in 1764, in which she
says: "The City of Albany stretched along the
banks of the Hudson. One very wide and broad
street lay parallel to the river, the intermediate
space between it and the shore being occupied by
gardens. A small but steep hill rose above the cen-
ter of the town, on which stood a fort, intended
(but very ill adapted) for the defense of the place
and of the neighboring country. From the foot of
this hill another street was built, sloping pretty
rapidly down till it joined the one before men-
tioned, that ran along the river. This street was
still wider than the other. It was only paved on
each side, the middle being occupied by public ed-
ifices. These consisted of a Market-place or Guard-
house, a Town Hall, and the English and Dutch
Churches. The English Church, belonging to the
Episcopal persuasion, and in the diocese of the
Bishop of London, stood at the foot of the hill at
the upper end of the street. The Dutch Church
was situated at the bottom of the descent, where
the street terminated. Two irregular streets, not so
broad, but equally long, ran parallel to those, and
a few even ones opened between them. The town,
in proportion to its population, occupied a great
space of ground. The city, in short, was a kind of
semi-rural establishment. Every house had its gar-
den, well, and a little green behind. Before every
door a tree was planted, rendered interesting by
being coeval with some beloved member of the fam-
ily. Many of these trees were of prodigious size
and extraordinary beauty, but without regularity,
every one planting the kind that best pleased him,
or which he thought would afford the most agree-
able shade to the open portico at his door, which
was surrounded by seats and ascended by a few
steps. It was in these that each domestic group
was seated in summer evenings to enjoy the balmy
twilight or the serenely clear moonlight." Such is a
picture of ancient Albany as it appeared seventy-six
years after it had become a city; a period when it
had all the appearance of a quiet, staid village,
with unpaved, grass-grown streets, and all the rural
simplicity of rnany a town now in the interior of
the State,
Peter Kalm, speaking of the streets of Albany
in 1749, said : "The streets are broad, and some
of them are paved. In some parts they are lined
with trees ; the long streets are almost parallel to
the river, and the others intersect them at right
angles. The street which goes between the two
churches is five times broader than the others, and
serves as a market-place. The streets, upon the
whole, are very dirty, because the people have their
cattle in them during the summer nights." Indeed,
so muddy were the streets in rainy seasons, that it
was no uncommon sight for foot passengers and
wagons to become mired in the mud, requiring as-
sistance to be extricated. In the records of the Com-
mon Council, March 12,1694, it appears that the
streets were so muddy that it was almost impossible
for foot passengers to use them, and it was ordered
that " every householder shall make, or cause to
be made, eight foot ground before his own house,
fronting on the streets, paved with stone, under a
penalty after the first of June, of every week, of six
shillings." The reference of Kalm and other tour-
ists before the beginning of the present century to
the paved streets, refers to this manner of pave-
ments. The sidewalks merely were paved, not the
streets proper.
Numerous references are made in the early Com-
mon Council Records to paving the sidewalks.
In 1695, ;^50 was raised for this purpose; and, in
1 7 1 7, a number of streets were ordered to be paved,
and in Rom street, now Maiden lane, and in all
the other streets existing at that time, the pave-
ment was ordered to be repaired.
Many laws were passed by the Common Council
in the early history of Albany referring to the
streets. In 1686, a law was passed that every
Saturday morning each inhabitant should clean the
street in front of his dwelling, and also that no filth
should be thrown in the street. A few years later,
the following ordinance was passed :
' ' Resolved, That an ordinance be issued forth that
all the respectable inhabitants within said city do
severally clean the streets from the dung, dust,
chips and filth before their houses or lots in the
said streets; and that all wood and stone, except for
present building, or cooper's wood, be removed out
of the said streets before the 15th of April next
ensuing, on penalty of paying for every default
afterwards by them made, the sum of six shillings
to the use of the Sheriff or any Constable who shall
sue for the same. And tha^t hereafter, if any dung,
dust, chips or filth shall be found (on any Saturday
after twelve o'clock noon) lying in the said streets
against the house or lot of any person within the
said city, that such person shall pay, also, for such
default and contempt, the like sum of six shillings,
to be sued for as aforesaid. And that hogs or swine
belonging to any of the said inhabitants be ringed
with one ring in the nose before Saturday night
next, and remain ringed from that time; and if the
hog or swine of any person as aforesaid shall be
found not ringed, the owners of such hog or swine
shall pay for every such default or neglect the sum
of six shillings to thg Sheriff or Constable who shall
sue for the same."
STREETS OF ALBANY.
607
A law was passed forbidding any person to drive
through the streets faster than a walk under a
penalty of three shillings. The spirit of this law
was often enjoined upon the inhabitants by the
early city fathers. Another law which was after
enacted required that all hogs which ran at large
should be properly ringed; but it seems that this
injunction was not very carefully regarded, for
more than a century after, Elkanah Watson, who
had been elected Constable, as a joke, attended to
his duties in earnest, and created a great sensation
by attempting to enforce it by driving all hogs not
ringed to the public pound.
On the early maps of Beverwyck, the names of
but few streets are given; but in early conveyances
the following names appear: Broadway was called
Cow, de breede, or Broad, Lower Handlaers, and
Brewers street; Hudson, Spanish street; Green,
south of Beaver, Esplanade or Plain street; and
north of Beaver, the Voddemarl or Rag market, and
Cheapside ; Chapel, Berg street ; State, Jonkers
street; South Pearl, DeKlyne street.
After the charter was granted, in 1686, the city
was divided into three wards; the first embraced
all that part of the town south of State and Ex-
change streets; the second lay north of State and
West of James street; and the third contained that
portion lying north of State and Exchange and east
of James street.
y State street and Broadway are the two oldest
streets in Albany. State street, when it was first
laid out, was made of unusual width for that day,
originally to accommodate the old Dutch Church
which stood near Broadway in the center; but after-
wards a line of public buildings were erected there.
They were not all removed until the beginning of
the present century. From a map of State street
made in 1792, it was represented as being 149 feet
wide at Pearl street, and gradually extending in
width until it became 158 feet wide at Lodge
street. The old English Church, which stood in
the center of the street opposite Chapel, was
erected in 171 5. From the river to Broadway it
was a narrow avenue, but beyond Broadway it
opened to a liberal width and extended about
1,900 feet to the brow of the hill, the original as-
cent being about seven feet in one hundred. State
street usually impressed the tourists, who visited
Albany in its primitive day, most favorably. John
Lambert, in 1807, described it as resembling the
Haymarket in London. In Spafford's Gazetteer,
published in 18 13, it was described as a grand
avenue into the heart of the city, and that it was
regarded as the grand central point of Albany,
" where its opulence is to be displayed, where taste
shall vie with taste, architect with architect, age
with age, in perpetual succession. " Until the close
of the last century its original grade had not been
much reduced, and being still unpaved was usually
incumbered with mud, rendering traveling extremely
difficult In 1792, the wagon of Philip Schuyler
became buried in the mud in front of Green street,
-requiring assistance to extricate it. It was paved
from Broadway to the Capitol Park in 1796, and
in 1828 pavement was extended from this point to
Lark street. In 183 1, from Broadway to the Quay,
it was widened to seventy feet. The width of this
part had been only thirty-five feet at Market
street, and forty- three feet at Quay. The buildings
on each side, at this period, were mostly of wood,
and in a wretched condition. The present width
of State street is 133 feet at Broadway and 157 feet
at the foot of the Capitol Park.
Broadway, north from State street, was called
Market street on the early maps, from the fact
that the public market was situated in its center
between Maiden lane and State street. The
Market house was built in 1791, at an expense
of ;^2 2 2. It was removed many years ago,
before the street was named Broadway. The mar-
ket was a great gathering place for the inhabitants
of the neighborhood on warm afternoons, when
the butchers had departed. They took their chairs
there, and smoked and gossiped for hours. South
of State street, Broadway was known as Court street;
but until near the beginning of the present cen-
tury it only extended to Lydius street, from which
point only a common road extended along the
Ijank of the river to the ferry. West of Court
street, beyond Lydius street, the Dutch Reformed
Church owned considerable land, used as pasture;
and in 1791 the consistory directed that this por-
tion of the church domain be laid out into lots.
At this time a gate swung across Lydius street at
the end of Court street, and it was considered the
southern extremity of the city. Only a common
road extended through the pasture land. At this
time Court street was extended and a number of
streets were laid out in this section, several of these
being named after the early Dutch ministers.
They have since been filled in to a considerable
extent and rendered valuable, although when laid
out, and the land converted into building lots, the
church realized less than one hundred dollars per
lot. There were comparatively few lots built upon
south of Lydius street, between South Pearl street
and Broadway, as late as 1840, though now it is
one of the most densely settled portions of the cit)'.
Court street was changed to name of South Market
about the beginning of the present century. The
name of Broadway for both North and South
Market streets was adopted in 1840. At one time
Court street was considered the most fashionable
part of the city.
At the present time Broadway extends from
Gansevoort street to the northern boundary of the
city, and thence into the Troy road. No street in
the city presents such a varied aspect. At the
south end it is lined with manufacturing establish-
ments. Near the steamboat landing it is given up
to hotels and restaurants; then follows a line of
stores to State street. North of State street it
widens into one of the handsomest streets in Al-
bany, having on it hotels and many large commer-
cial buildings; from Columbia street to Clinton
avenue it decreases in width and commercial
activity; north of Clinton avenue it is a street of
substantial residences till the new viaduct is reached,
beyond which are several manufacturing buildings.
Court street was paved in 1796.
508
ttt'STOky OF THE COVNtY OP ALBAMY.
The Broadway Viaduct was built in 1882-83 to
obviate the danger of crossing the tracks of the
Central Hudson railroad on Broadway and Col-
onie street. The grades of Broadway and Colonie
and North Lansing streets were depressed and the
tracks carried over upon iron bridges. The work
was done by the railroad company at an expense
of $128,765; but the damage to adjacent property
owners had to be met by the city, and has been
assessed at $134,237.
The street next in importance to State street and
Broadway, during the earlier history of Albany, was
North Pearl street, which ran from State street to
Chnton square. North from this point it was pre-
viously called Orchard street. South of State street,
this street on the early maps was named Washington
street, but is now called South Pearl. Pearl street
now, as in the past, has always been an important
business street. In the early part of the last century
it contained many private dwellings and some busi-
ness houses. Succeeding years and the growth of
the city have made it one of the most popular and
thriving business streets in the city. Old houses
have given place to stores. Especially is this true
for a considerable distance on both sides of State
street.
North Pearl street has been widened and greatly
improved within a few years, and now presents
the appearance of a grand avenue. Division street
was the extreme southern boundary of South Pearl
street as late as 1850, since which it has been
extended, and is now thickly populated as far as
Gansevoort street. One of the curious features of
the olden times affecting this street, was a law
passed by the Common Council in 1793, which
provided that two chains be stretched across the
street, one on each side of the First Presbyterian
Church, to prevent the passage of vehicles during
church services, effectually barricading that edifice
from the passage of all but foot passengers. These
chains were not removed until 1832.
Chapel street is another very ancient street of
Albany. In early times it was a verj' important
business thoroughfare. It was the most westerly
and highest street of the city when laid out, and
for that reason was called Berg street (that is. Hill
street), which in time came to be written by the
English, Barrack street, from the Dutch pronun-
ciation, bar-rg, as though it were two syllables. It
was chiefly occupied, for many years, by houses of
Indian traders.
Lydius street for many years formed the extreme
southern boundary of the city, and extended from
Lodge street to Broadway. It was named after
Rev. Johannes Lydius, a Dutch Reformed Minis-
ter, who came to Albany in 1700. In 1867, the
name Lydius street was changed by the Common
Council to Madison avenue, which at that time
provoked much opposition from the Dutch citizens.
Where Lydius street was laid out was once the camp-
ing and training ground of the British army when
commanded by Abercrombie and Amherst. Madi-
son avenue has been gradually extended westward,
now reaching from the river to its junction with
Western avenue. It forms one of the longest streets
in Albany; contains many fine dwellings of recent
erection; and is considered one of the most fash-
ionable and desirable locations for private residences
in the city.
Hudson avenue is another of the early streets of
Albany, and in early days of the city only extended
as far as Eagle street. It has been called by vari-
ous names, the earliest, as previously stated, being
Spanish street, then Prideaux, Buffalo and Hudson
streets, and finally, Hudson avenue. The valley
through which it runs was the course-way of the
Ruttenkill. In 1832 it was filled in, and paved from
Eagle street to Hawk street. Hudson avenue on
account of its easy grade, being the least precipitous
of all the streets leading up the hill, has become
one of the principal thoroughfares of Albany, and
is lined with some very fine residences. In 1 88 1-8 2,
this avenue, from Broadway to South Pearl street,
was widened and straightened, at a cost of $74,965.
Green street and Maiden lane are on the list
of original streets in early Albany. The ancient
names of Green street have been given before.
Before it received its present name it was known as
Van Driessen street. Its present name being in honor
of General Greene, of the revolution, ought to
be written with a final e. The earliest name given
Maiden lane was Rom street. This was one of the
first laid out in Beverwyck, appearing on the first
map of the city in existence. In the early history
of Albany it was an important business street.
From Broadway to North Pearl street it is now a
thoroughfare of considerable importance. Extend-
ing from the river to Eagle street it is very narrow,
and the shortest and steepest route from the rail-
road depots to the Capitol.
Ferry street, now known as South Ferry, was
opened to Washington, now South Pearl, in 1789,
by arrangement made by the Common Council
with the Consistor}' of the Dutch Church, which
owned the land in that vicinity.
This concludes our account of the principal
streets of Albany of much importance up to near
the close of the last century, at which period, it
must be remembered, this city had not been ex-
tended much beyond the limits of the old palisades.
All business then centered around the river. State
street. Pearl street, and Broadway. Even as late as
1796, our city was only a good sized village, with
5,000 inhabitants and not more than one thousand
houses. It was not until a number of years after
the revolution that Albany showed signs of rapid
growth.
Says Gorham A. Worth :
"The City of Albany, in 1800, though the cap-
ital of the State, and occupying a commanding
position, was, nevertheless, in point of size, com-
mercial importance, and architectural dignity, but
a third or fourth-rate town. It was in 1800 an
old town, but the face of nature in and around it
had been but little disturbed. All was antique,
clean, and quiet There was no putting up nor
pulling down; no ill-looking excavations; no lev-
eling of hills; no filling up of valleys. The stunted
pines still covered the hills to the very edge of
the town, and the ravines and valleys were clothed
STREETS OE ALBAiVF.
509
with evergreens, intermixed with briars and span-^
gled with the wild rose."
In 1819 the city extended but two miles north
and south, and but one mile in the widest part east
and west. Until 1793 not a street had been paved,
and most of them were in a filthy, neglected con-
dition. Even State street, now a most spacious
and beautiful avenue, was then not only without
pavements and ungraded, but in many places
broken, and some parts even precipitous, while the
slightest rain upon its clayey soil rendered travel-
ing most unpleasant and difficult. In those days
the staid Dutch settlers were slow to make im-
provements, and the influx of strangers in this,
even then, ancient town, who were in favor of
schemes to improve and beautify the city, excited
strong hostility in the feelings of those who were
opposed to all innovating projects. The most
progressive stranger who came to Albany about
this time, was Elkanah Watson, who came from
Plymouth, Mass., in 1789, and to whom early
Albany owes as much for improvements as to any
one man. At the time of his arrival, Mr. Watson
said in his journal: "No street was paved, no
lamps, no library; not a public-house of any de-
cency; and water-spouts, projecting from the eaves
of the houses, deluged unwary night travelers sunk
in mud and darkness." To the mind of Mr.
Watson, familiar with the elegancies and advance-
ment of European cities, the various defective
arrangements in the city of his adoption were seen
and appreciated; and, soon after becoming a resi-
dent, he engaged earnestly, through the press and
by personal efforts, in suggesting and urging local
improvements connected with these subjects. His
efforts received bitter opposition. The following
amusing incident, taken from his journal, will ex-
hibit the state of feeling he had excited:
"Just after State street had been paved at a
heavy expense, I sauntered into it immediately suc-
ceeding a heavy thunderstorm, and whilst regret-
ting the disturbance in the sidewalk, and to
observe the cellars filled with water [for in that
section, which was near the present locality of the
State Bank, the street grading had been elevated
some feet], I heard two women, in the act of clear-
ing their invaded premises from the accumulation
of mud and water, cry out, ' Here comes that in-
fernal paving Yankee ! ' They approached me in
a menacing attitude, broomsticks erect. Prudence
dictated a retreat to avoid being broomsticked by
the infuriated Amazons, although I did not run' as
some of my friends insisted, but walked off at a
quick pace." In subsequent years, Mr. Watson
received many generous tributes of acknowledg-
ment and thanks from those who, in their progress,
had opposed his efforts to improve and embellish
the city.
It was not before i860 that the last vestige of
the original wide domain of Hendrick Halenbeck
was obliterated in this city. This consisted in the
removal of the burial ground on the southwest cor-
ner of South Pearl and Hamilton streets, set apart
by Halenbeck in the middle of the last century as
a private burial ground. It was near the north
line of his farm, which extended from Plain street
to Beverkill at Arch street, where it joined the
farm of General Schuyler; the south line at Pearl
street being designated by a cannon, which re-
mained in the ground until a few years ago.- The
boundaries of this property east and west are un-
certain, but are claimed to have extended from
Eagle street to the river. It is also claimed that
South Pearl street was laid out by Halenbeck
through his propert)', and given by him for a
street. Through this farm the present Grand street
was laid out in the fore part of the last century,
and called Halenbeck street. In 1829 the City
Surveyor presented to the Common Council a pro-
file of this street from Hudson to Hamilton streets.
Although it had, nearly a century before, been laid
out and named, no vestige of a street had yet been
made there. A portion of it south of Lydius street
was used only as a lane leading to the farm of
Oliver Kane (now the site of Ash grove Church),
across which swung a gate. It was laid out sixty
feet wide, as though it was expected to make it a
more important avenue than South Pearl street,
which was then only forty-five feet in width. In
1838 the Common Council was petitioned to have
it paved from Hudson to Lydius street. In 1835
but one house was located on this street, at the
northeast corner of Hamilton and Grand, which
stood alone like an outpost upon the western verge
of the city. All was open barren pasture and clay
hills beyond, as far as the eye could reach, and so
continued until Hamilton street was dug out, leav-
ing a high wall of clay on either hand. In process
of time the name of Halenbeck street was changed
to Grand, an outrage upon the generous donor of
the land through which it originally passed.
Pavements. — From the best information, we are
led to believe that Watervliet street, which began
at Columbia, where Monlgomery now is, and ran
diagonally to where Broadway and Patroon (now
Clinton avenue) intersect, was the first street paved
in Albany, the work having been begun and nearly
completed in 1793. During this and the succeed-
ing year, rapid progress was made in paving streets.
Th^ Albany Register oi September 29, 1794, tells us
that the paving system had been prosecuted with
so much vigor, that only Pearl and a few cross
streets remained to complete the enterprise. Said
the Register : "The contrast in so short a time
from one of the filthiest to one of the cleanest cities
in America is truly astonishing, and must be pleas-
ing to every citizen, especially when we take in con-
templation that noble extent of pavement, now near-
ly completed, through the whole extent of Watervliet
street to the bridge, the very idea of which a few
years ago would have been thought to have been
the hight of madness.!' It was also said that prop-
erty had risen in value in consequence. It was
found that a mistake had been made in pkving the
sidewalks with small stones.
From 1793 to 1804 many miles of pavement
were laid. Church street, parts of Lydius, Van
Schaick, Westerlo and Sturgeon streets, and parts
of Bass and Herring lanes, and all the lots from
Court street westward to Dallius street, and from
510
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Ferry street northward to the north bounds of the
church pasture, were filled up and leveled, pre-
paratory to paving. In 1 804 the Common Coun-
cil ordered that parts of State, Lion (now Wash-
ington avenue) and Washington (now South
Pearl), which remained unpaved and greatly out of
repair, should be immediately paved by the owners
and occupants; the work to be completed within
eight days after notice from the City Superintendent,
showing the rapidity with which this important
improvement in the streets was pushed at this date.
It will be almost impossible, as well as uninter-
esting, to give in detail the names of the streets
(and the dates) paved from the beginning of the
present century. It would be a task requiring
much research, and would take greater space than
we are able to use in this article. A diligent in-
spection of the Common Council records will show
how rapidly the work of paving progressed in
the city after it was commenced in 1793. From
1820 to 1833, probably more miles of pavement
were completed than during any corresponding
years of the city's history. During this same pe-
riod many streets were extended and many new
ones laid out Space forbids our giving any de-
tailed account of the rapid growth of the city at
this period, which the records of the Common
Council so plainly indicate.
Until the year 1 869, no other kind of pavement
had been laid but the round cobblestone still so
generally used. During this year, Broadway, from
Hudson avenue to Wilson street, was repaved with
wooden blocks of Canada pine, called the Nichol-
son pavement. In 1870, Hudson avenue, from
Broadway to Willett street, was paved with this
kind of pavement; and also Green street, from State
street to Madison avenue. But it was soon proved
that this style of pavement was unfit for the heavy
trucking done on these streets. After five years of
use it was substituted in Broadway by the granite
block, which in 1874 was laid from Hudson
avenue to Wilson street. The wooden pave-
ment in Hudson avenue and Green street was
soon after replaced by the granite block. Since
then granite block pavement has been laid in
Western avenue, from Livingston to the Boule-
vard; Ten Broeck, from Clinton avenue to Living-
ston avenue ; First street, from Ten Broeck to
Hawk; Third street, from Ten Broeck to Hall
place; Hall place, from First to Third; State, from
Swan to Lexington avenue; James, from State to
Columbia; Steuben, from Broadway to Eagle; Elk,
from Eagle to Hawk; Second avenue, from Sloan
to Delavan avenue; South Pearl, from Gansevoort
to Mount Hope; Willett, from State to Madison
avenue; Columbia, from Broadway to Chapel;
North Pearl, from State to Clinton avenue; Clinton
avenue, from Broadway to North Pearl; Knox,
from Madison avenue to Morris; Steuben, from
Broadway to North Pearl. Contracts have been
let for similarly paving State, from Eagle to Lex-
ington avenue; Eagle, from Spruce to Myrtle
avenue; Washington avenue, from Eagle to Lex-
ington avenue; Broadway, from Hudson avenue to
South Ferry; and South Pearl, from State to Gan-
sevoort. Broadway, from Wilson to Livingston
avenue is paved with the Weehawken bluestone,
the only pavement of that kind in the city.
Albany at the present time has more than forty-
eight miles of paved streets, of which about forty
miles are paved with cobblestone, and, with the work
now in progress, eight miles of granite block. In
Washington Park, a little m^ore than a mile of
Telford, macadam road has been laid.
In 1813, Albany contained about 1 1,000 persons,
having more than doubled in population in about
fifteen years, while in public and private building,
and extent and condition of its streets, it had made
even more remarkable progress. In a description
of Albany in 18 13, published in Spafford's Gaz-
etteer, appears the following account of its streets
at that date:
"The principal streets of Albany are parallel
with the river, except State street, a spacious and
central one, that extends from the Hudson to the
Capitol. Court street extends from the Ferry, at the
southern' extremity of the compact part, and near
the southern bounds of the city, to State street It
has a large share of population and business.
Market street opens opposite to this, and extends
from State street to the northern bounds of the
city, though continuous, except in name. These
streets extend across the city nearly parallel with
the Hudson, between which are several streets,
less extensive, as Dock street, Quay street, etc.,
principally occupied with store-houses, shops, etc.,
the seat of immense commercial business * * *
The public square, an open space of liberal extent,
spreads a handsome area on the east side of the
Capitol; and from the west side of this, Lion street,
spacious and level, extends westward in a right line
on a commanding plain, to the junction of the
Great Western Turnpike." The eastern end of
this turnpike, Lion street, now Washington ave-
nue, from Lark street, was for a long time known
as the Bowery, now Central avenue. It has under-
gone many changes. Before the completion of
the Erie Canal in 1825, it was the great thorough-
fare to and from Western New York. Some of the
large store-houses until lately remaining about
Townsend Park, attest the commercial character of
the street at that time. A continuous line of
vehicles crowded its pathway every day. Em-
igrants from New England to Central and Western
New York usually took this in their route. In
the zenith of the prosperity of the street the Erie
Canal was built, and the business interests of the
street were gone. In 1865 it was paved, much im-
proving its character and condition.
"North Pearl street extends north from State
street to the northern extremity of the city, just on
the brow of the river hill, and next west of Market
street * * * Of all the principal streets, it is
at present the most compact, populous and prob-
ably, the most wealthy."
In 1823, the Daily Advertiser, to show the prog-
ress the city had made in ten years, had the follow-
ing:
' ' Ten years ago and the now proud and beauti-
ful Academic square was a barren clay bank, varie-
STREETS OF ALBANY.
51]
gated by an occasional saw-pit or a group of re-
clining cows; then the whole of the upper part of
Columbia street was a high hill, unoccupied and
impassable as a street, and the greater part of
Chapel street was, in rainy weather, a complete
mud-hole.
" Ten years ago, of the whole row of handsome
dwellings now standing on the south side of the
Capitol square, only one was erected. Then Dan-
iel street did not exist, and the whole south part
of Eagle street was a most unpromising ravine.
"Ten years ago and juvenile sports used to
shoot snipe and other small game where now the
Erie Canal pours its water into the Hudson. Of
all that city which has since sprung up in that
neighborhood, not a house was then standing;
while, in the south pasture, over whose vacant
fields the various city regiments used to maneuver,
we now see orderly platoons of handsome brick
houses and battalions of streets ' dressed ' with a
beautiful regularity unattainable by their animated
predecessors. In short, every quarter of the city:
north, south, east — and even the despised west —
give tokens of sound and healthy growth."
The part of the hill on the south side of the Fort,
and West of South Pearl street, was in 1760 called
Gallows Hill. July, 1762, the Common Council
sold the land where the gallows stood in acre lots.
In the Surveyor's office is a map of this part of
Albany, entitled, "New lots laid out on Gallows
Hill." The north bounds of the city, at this date,
was the south line of Patroon street, now Clinton
avenue. Proceeding thence, southerly, we next
have Wall street, then Howe street, next Queen
street. King street. Prince street, Prideaux street,
Quiter street, Wolfe street, Pitt street, at the junc-
tion of which with Duke street, now Eagle, was
Gallows Hill, where All Saints Cathedral now
stands. The above streets ran westerly. The Fort
is laid down, with its burying ground immediately
north; its walls extended north, nearly to Maiden
lane; south, to about the center of State; west, to
near Eagle; and east to Lodge street. A cemetery
occupied the block between State and Lancaster,
and Eagle and Hawk. The streets on the hill
running north and south were called Duke, Hawk,
Boscawen, Warren and Johnson.
Albany streets have had their names changed
frequently, and, it must be admitted, not always for
the better. In 1790 the names of several were
changed, among them the following : Duke to
Eagle, Boscawen to Swan, Warren to Dove, John-
son to Lark, Gage to Swallow, now Knox; Sche-
nectady to Snipe, now Lexington avenue; Scho-
harie to Duck, now Robin. The next parallel
street was called Pigeon, now Perry; the next
Turkey, now Quail; the next Sparrow, now On-
tario. Wall street was changed to Hare, now
Orange; Howe to Fox, now Canal; King to Lion,
and afterwards to Washington street, now Washing-
ton avenue; Prince, west of Eagle, to Deer, now
State; Prideaux to Tiger, now Lancaster; Quiter,
so called to perpetuate the Indian name of Peter
Schuyler, was changed to Buffalo, now Hudson
avenue; Wolfe, named after the Hero of Quebec,
was changed to Wolf, afterwards to Lydius, now
Madison avenue; Pitt to Otter, then to Westerlo,
now Elm; Monckton to Mink, then to West Ferry,
now Myrtle avenue.
In 1805, the Common Council, in consequence
of the extension and improvement made in some of
the streets, changed the name of the following :
Kilby, which from a small alley had then become
a spacious street, extending from the Hudson River
to Washington street, now South Pearl, to the
name of Hamilton; Bone lane, which extended from
Hudson River to Green, and was to be extended
to South Pearl, to the name of Division; Cow lane,
extending from the intersection of Grass lane with
Hudson to Ludlow's property adjoining Lydius,
to the name of Liberty; Nail, extending from
Washington to Eagle, to the name of Lutheran,
now Howard; Barrack, extending from State to
the north boundary of the city, to the name of
Chapel. Since 1805 many other changes have
been made in the names of streets. Of those not
already mentioned, Capitol has been changed to
Park; Mark lane to Exchange; Middle lane to
James; Frelinghuysen to Franklin; Dock to Dean;
Bass lane to Bleecker; Store lane to Norton; Sand
to Lafayette; Van Driessen to Green; South to
Gansevoort ; High to Ten Broeck; Macomb to
Broad; Embargo alley to Dennison; Whitehall road
to Whitehall avenue, now Second avenue; Van
Vechten to Third avenue; Delaware Turnpike to
Delaware avenue; Elizabeth to Second; John to
Third; Van Schaick to Monroe; Lumber to Living-
ston avenue; part of Perry to Lake avenue. Of
the present streets, Dean acquired its designation
from Captain Dean; Montgomery was named after
the heroic soldier who fell before Quebec; Steuben
obtained its title from that bluff and brave soldier
of the Revolution, who aided so much in giving dis-
cipline to our army. The chivalrous Lafayette
lives in our history by like means. The Dutch
Admiral Van Tromp, who swept the sea with his
broom, has a street named to his memory, humble
though it be in its pretensions.
Street Department. — From the granting of the
Dongan Charter to 1826, the sole charge of open-
ing, laying out, repairing and cleaning the streets
was vested in the Mayor and Aldermen. At the
latter date the office of Street Inspector was created.
The duties of this officer were confined to seeing
that the ordinances of the Common Council re-
lating to streets were carried out, and were some-
what similar to those now enjoined upon the
Street Commissioner. He receives his appoint-
ment from the Common Council.
The laws relating to the superintendency and
general supervision of the streets were passed
in 1870. Under the provisions of the Charter, the
Street Department includes four bureaus : Board of
Contract and Apportionment; Bureau of Street
Commission; Bureau of Engineering and Survey-
ing; and the Bureau of Lamps, Gas and Electric
Lights.
The Board of Contract and Apportionment con-
sists of the Mayor, the Chamberlain, the Street Com-
missioner, the City Engineer and Surveyor, and the
512
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
President of the Common Council. This Board,
under the direction of the Common Council, has,
in the language of the City Charter, charge "of the
altering, regulating, grading, paving, repaying,
flagging, curbing, guttering, cleaning, opening,
draining, repairing and lighting of the streets, roads,
places, alleys, and avenues; of fencing and filling
lots; of building, repairing and lighting docks,
wharves and piers; and of the construction and re-
paving of public streets, drains, roads, alleys and
bridges." This Board issues all proposals, receives
all bids, and awards all contracts for the work
ordered to be done to the streets by the Common
Council. It also apportions and assesses the cost
of street and drain improvements. The Board
appoints a Clerk, who also acts as Clerk to the
Street Commissioner. The present Cleik is Thomas
J. Lanahan.
Bureau of Street Improvements has for its
chief officers the Street Commissioner, appointed
by the Common Council on nominations by the
Mayor. The Commissioner appoints two Street
Superintendents and one Superintendent of Lamps.
The present Commissioner is Owen Golden. Street
Superintendents, Lawrence Wetzel and Michael
J. Hayden; Superintendent of Lamps, Thomas
Powers.
Bureau of Engineering and Surveying. — Chief
officer. City Engineer and Surveyor, appointed by
the Common Council on nominations by the May-
or. The Engineer appoints a deputy and two as-
sistants, with the approval of the Mayor. The
present Engineer is Reuben H. Bingham; Deputy,
John J. O'Hara.
Bureau of Lamps, Gas and Electric. — The
chief officer of this bureau is the Street Commis-
sioner, although the Superintendent of Lamps
may perform all the duties of the office.
WATER SUPPLY.
One of the most important factors in the health,
convenience and comfort of the people of any com-
munity, is a sufficiency of pure and wholesome
water.
At what precise date the first settlers obtained
water from other than the natural sources of the
Hudson River, or the springs and small creeks
which abounded in this region, we are unable to
learn; but that soon after the first year of settle-
ment, public and private wells were built, is evident
from reference made to their existence in the very
earliest documentary records. These public wells
were supplied with water, as early as 1670, from a
fountain or pond, formed by constructing a dam
across a creek, or near the outlet of a spring on
the hill adjacent to the present Capitol. Water
was conducted from this fountain to the wells by
means of wooden spouts.
In 1686 a fire occurred in the city, and in subdu-
ing it the water from the public wells, supplied in
the manner described, proved of valuable assist-
ance. In the city records of August 3 ist of this year,
appears the following testimony:
' ' It has been found by experience that the bring-
ing of water of the fountains from the hill has not
only been of great use to the inhabitants for water,
but the only means of quenching the late fire,
which otherwise, by all probability, would have
destroyed the whole town. "
The number and exact locations of the public
wells built in early Albany is difficult to determine.
In 1695, a well was built in Jonker (now State)
street. In 1 7 1 2, one was constructed in the First
Ward, about twelve yards from the east side of the
Market-house, and, at the same time, another on
the north side of Cross street, opposite the resi-
dence of Gysbert Marselis. Two years later, three
were built, one in each of the three wards, but the
precise locations cannot be learned from the city
records.
Besides the public wells, nearly every dwelling
had its private well. But even this apparently suf-
ficient means of water supply was either inadequate,
or of a quality not fit for general use, for evidence
is abundant that river water was quite extensively
used for culinary and laundry purposes many years
prior to the beginning of this century.
The quality of the water obtained from the Al-
bany wells a century ago was a matter much dis-
cussed and hard to be determined.
One of the earliest writers upon Albany well
water was Peter Kalm, a Swedish naturalist, who
came to this country in 1748 on a scientific expe-
dition from the University of Upsala. In giving a
detail of his researches, he thus speaks of the water
of Albany:
"The water of several wells in this town was very
cool about this time, but had a kind of acid taste
which was not very agreeable. On a nearer exam-
ination I found an abundance of little insects in it,
which were probably monoculi. Their length was
different; some were a geometrical line and a half;
others two, and others four lines long. They were
very narrow, and of a very pale color. The head
.was blacker and thicker than the other parts of the
body, and about the size of a pin's head. The tail was
divided into two branches, and each branch termi-
nated in a little black globule. When these insects
swim, they proceed in crooked or undulated lines,
almost like tadpoles. I poured some of this water
into a bowl and put near a fourth part of rum in
it; the monoculi, instead of being affected with it,
swam about as briskly as they had done in the
water. This shows that if one makes punch with
this water it must be very strong to kill the mo-
noculi. I think this water is not very wholesome
for people who are not used to it, though the in-
habitants of Albany who drink it every day say they
do not feel the least inconvenience from it. I have
several times been obliged to drink water here, in
which I have plainly seen monoculi swimming; but
I generally felt the next day something like a pea in
my throat, or as if I had a swelling there, and this
continued about a week. I felt such swellings this
year, both in Albany and other parts. My ser-
vant, Yangstroem, likwise got a great pain in his
breast, and a sensation as from a swelling after
drinking water with monoculi in it; but whether
WATER SUPPLY.
513
these insects occasioned it, or whether it came from
some other cause, I cannot ascertain. However, I
have always endeavored to do without such water
as had monoculi in it I have found monoculi in
very cold water, taken from the deepest wells in
different parts of this country. Perhaps many of
our diseases arise from water of this kind which we
do not sufficiently examine. I have frequently ob-
served abundance of minute insects in water which
has been remarkable for its clearness. Almost
each house in Albany has its well, and the water
of which is applied to common use; but for tea,
brewing and washing they commonly take the water
of the Hudson, which flows close by the town.
This water is generally quite muddy, and very warm
in summer; and on that account it is kept in cel-
lars, in order that the slime may subside, and that
the water may cool a little. "
In Morse's American Geography, published in
1796, appears the following:
"The well water in this city (Albany) is ex-
tremely bad, scarely drinkable by those not accus-
tomed to it. It oozes through a stiff blue clay and
it imbibes in its passage the fine particles common
to that kind of soil. This discolors it, and when
exposed any length of time to the air it acquires a
disagreeable taste. Indeed all the water for cook-
ing is brought from the river, and many families
use it to drink. The water in the wells is unwhole-
some, being full of little insects, except in size,
like those which are frequently seen in stagnated
water. "
Numerous criticisms, similar to the preceeding,
may be found in the writings of many of the tour-
ists who visited Albany during the latter part of the
eighteenth century. But John Maude, an English-
man, made a visit to the United States in 1800; he
says, in regard to the impurity of the water in Al-
bany:
"As for being obliged to use the dirty water of
the river, I will beg leave to observe to Mr. Morse
that a very great proportion of the city do not use
the river water, which said river water is far from
being dirty, rather remarkable for its purity, being
a pleasant, wholesome beverage. Great part of the
city is supplied with water from a well in the main
street, but the water is from a pump to the west-
ward of the Episcopal Church. It is a water that
my palate cannot find fault with, nor my eyes
perceive in it those animalcules Kalm speaks of;
neither could I discover them in the well water."
Certain it is that no record exists tracing to the
use of Albany water any unhealthfulness of its in-
habilants, or that it was the cause of any specific
disease.
In 1832, cholera was especially prevalent in this
cit}', and many attributed it to the peculiarity of
the city well water. Accordingly the Board of
Health had the water of fourteen wells examined
by Drs. T. Romeyn Beck and Philip Ten Eyck,
two reliable and expert physicians, the latter of
whom still lives in Albany. They pronounced
them all free from any impurities which could be
injurious to health.
The first action taken by the Corporation of Al-
bany relating to a larger and better water supply,
other than public and private wells, occurred in
1794, when an advertisement appeared asking for
proposals for supplying the city with water by
means of an aqueduct to extend from a spring
at the Five-Mile House on the road to Albany.
No further reference to this proposed plan is found
in the city records.
In 1796 an act was passed by the Legislature to
enable the Corporation to supply the city with
water by means of conduits, which also failed to be
carried out.
The first private individual to undertake the task
of supplying the city with water was Benjamin
Prescott, who, in 1797, received from Stephen
Van Rensselaer a grant of the Maezlandt Kill.
Under Mr. Prescott's management a line of wooden
logs was laid from the fountain head. But he
must have failed to fulfill some part of the contract,
for a few years after all his rights in the Maez-
landt Kill were transferred by Van Rensselaer to
the Water Company.
In 1 802 the Albany Water-works Company was
incorporated, with a capital of $40,000. The orig-
inal Trustees were Stephen Lush, Philip Van
Rensselaer and John Tayler. Work was com-
menced almost immediately, by laying mains of
iron and wooden logs through the principal streets.
Water was drawn from the Maezlandt Kill, which
continued to be the principal source of supply
until 1837, when this stream failed to meet the de-
mands made upon it, and another source of supply,
the Middle Creek, was procured by the company.
In a few years the two streams combined were
found to be inadequate. In 1845 ^ P^-rt of the
Patroon's Creek was purchased from Mr. Van Rens-
selaer by the Water Company. In 181 1 this com-
pany built a receiving reservoir on the spot now
occupied by the High School, which was supplied
by an iron main from the Maezlandt Kill. This
main is still used, and from it consumers in North
Alban)', and many upon Broadway, north of Clin-
ton avenue, and North Pearl street, from Clinton
avenue to Columbia, are supplied. This water is,
in quality, what is known as very hard.
In 1844 the capital stock of the Albany Water-
works Company was increased to S8o,ooo. Dur-
ing this same year, a company known as the Al-
bany Hydrant Company was incorporated, with
John Townsend, John K. Paige, Bradford R.
Wood, James D. Wasson, Barnum Whipple, Rufus
W. Peckham and Peter Gansevoort as Trustees.
The latter company caused extensive surveys to be
made, with the purpose of devising a better system
of water supply; but beyond this work, nothing of
a practical nature was attempted.
For many years preceding the adoption of the
present mode of water supply, there had been a
growing sentiment among the citizens of Albany
that the city should own and control its own sys-
tem of water-works. This sentiment culminated
in the Corporation submitting a bill to the Legisla-
ture, which became a law April 9, 1850, by which
the Common Council were empowered to ap-
514
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
point five persons to be known as Water Commis-
sioners; such Commissioners to consider all mat-
ters relative to supplying tlie city with water, and
to report to the Common Council the most feasible
plan for the construction of city water-works, not
to exceed in cost the sum of $600,000, the amount
to which the Common Council was limited. The
Water Commissioners appointed under this act
were James Stevenson, Erastus Coming, John
Townsend, John Taylor and Robert E. Temple.
The Water Commissioners, soon after their ap-
pointment, caused examinations to be made of the
Hudson, the Patroon's Creek, the Normanskill,
and the lakes on the Helderbergs. But finally they
settled on a plan which met the approval of the
Common Council.
The first of these means of city water supply was
carried into effect August 23, 1850, by purchasing
all the sources of supply owned by the old Water
Company for $150,000. The wooden mains of
the old company were in many instances replaced
by iron pipes; but the sources and method of ob-
taining water — by the gravitation plan — was for a
number of years continued in use, the Maezlandt
Kill branch being still retained, although the
method of obtaining water from the Patroon's
Creek and Middle Creek adopted by the old com-
pany had been abandoned.
A further source of supply was adopted by the
Water Commissioners and carried into effect in
1851. This consisted of a dam being built about
six miles westward of the city, where three streams
met and formed the Patroon's Creek, thus creating
a body of water which has since been known as
Rensselaer Lake, covering, when full, forty acres of
land, and holding about 200,000,000 gallons of
water. This work was successfully completed
under the supervision of William J. McAlpine as
engineer. From this lake water was conducted
through a brick conduit, egg-shaped, four feet high
and nearly four miles long, to Bleecker Reservoir,
west of Ontario street, capable of holdmg 30,000,000
gallons. During this same year (185 1) two other res-
ervoirs were constructed a short distance this side
of West Albany, by dams thrown across Patroon's
Creek, and called the Upper and Lower Tivoli
Lakes, the upper being for storage and subsiding,
and the lower for distribution. These were sup-
plied from the water that entered the creek east of
Rensselaer Lake. A 24-inch main, about 7,000
feet long, was laid from the lower lake to the inter-
section of Van Woert and North Pearl streets, at
which point the water enters the distributing mains.
Rensselaer Lake supplies, through Bleecker Res-
ervoir, all that part of the city west of Pearl; Tivoli
Lakes, all east of, and including North Pearl street.
This was the system of water supply in use up to
1875, with iron mains running through all of the
principal streets east of Bleecker Reservoir.
But meanwhile, as the city grew westward, it was
found that a considerable portion of the popula-
tion lived above Bleecker Reservoir, and was there-
fore without water supply. In addition to this, in
consequence of an increased population east of the
Bleecker Reservoirj and the necessities pf addi-
tional manufactories, Rensselaer and Tivoli Lakes
failed to meet the consumption, and, as a result,
several water famines occurred.
To remedy these defects, the Water Commission-
ers, after careful examinations, aided by chemical
analysis, extensive surveys and reports of distin-
guished engineers, in 1873 fixed upon the Hudson
River as the source of additional supply, as the
most exhaustive investigation proved to them that
the two principal factors — quantity and quality —
were found in this source. Their recommenda-
tions were adopted by the Common Council and
their plans carried into effect in 1875.
By the system then adopted, water is taken from
the river outside the pier, opposite Quackenbush
street, where the channel current strikes. In the
center of the pier is a well-chamber, 6 feet in di-
ameter and 80 feet deep. Into this the water,
screened by copper-wire, 100 meshes to the square
inch, pours through a culvert below low-water
mark. A tunnel, 5 feet in diameter and nearly
900 feet long, extends from this well-chamber,
under the basin, to the pumping works, comer of
Quackenbush and Montgomery streets. Here are
two engines capable of sending up to Bleecker
Reservoir, 245 feet above tide, 10,000,000 gallons
of water every twenty-four hours. The force-main
through which it goes is 30 inches in diameter,
7,723 feet long, and is laid under Quackenbush
street and Clinton avenue. The pumps were first
used September 14, 1875.
The completion of this means of river supply
proved most successful, and gave an abundance of
water to the people living east of Bleecker Reser-
voir, but still the more elevated portions of the
city received no benefit. Accordingly, in 1878,
another reservoir, with a capacity of about 7,000,000
gallons, was built on Prospect hill, a sand-knoll
north of Central avenue and east of Colby street,
55 feet above tide. At Prospect-hill Reservoir, an
engine capable of pumping 5,000,000 gallons of
water in twenty-four hours was put in operation Feb-
ruary 6, 1878, and through a 2-foot main, run-
ning to a well-chamber like that on the pier,
pumps the water from Bleecker to Prospect-hill
Reservoir.
Albany is at present divided into three services
of water supply: the upper service, which, fi-om
Prospect-hill Reservoir, supplits all west of Lark
street; the middle service, which, from Bleecker
Reservoir, supplies Lark street and all east to Pearl
street; and the lower service, which, from Tivoli
Lakes, supplies Pearl street and all territory east.
With the completion of the system of securing
river water, none of the old methods of supply
were discarded, so that to-day Albany may be said
to have an abundant supply of water as unfailing
as the Hudson. Should the Tivoli Reservoir run
short, water can be sent down the creek from
Rensselaer Lake or direct from the Bleecker Reser-
voir, into which the pumps at the river can send
their io,ooo,coo gallons daily. It is designed to
hold a reserve always in Rensselaer Lake, in case
an accident should occur to both engines at once,
and to impound in each year, in the months of
STREET LIGHTING.
615
February and March, enough water to supply the
city when the river is turbid with the spring fresh-
ets. When at other times impurities appear in
Rensselaer Lake, the supply from that source can
be shut off entirely and only river water be used.
Thus it is seen how complete is the system, and
how difficult to cause a complete failure of the
water supply.
Much discussion has been had in the daily
newspapers concerning the wholesomeness and
purity of the water drawn from the Hudson, and
prejudice against its use exists in the minds of
many citizens of Albany. But the Water Commis-
sioners assert, on the authority of repeated analysis,
made by expert chemists, together with nine years'
daily use of the water without an epidemic, that
the water is perfectly free from objectionable or un-
healthy matter, and that no city in the United
States has a better or purer supply of water than
Albany.
Another feature in favor of the water-works has
been the remarkable diminution in destructive fires
since the adoption of the present system. Previous
to 1850 Albany was scourged by several extensive
fires, notably in 1848, when $2,000,000 worth of
property was destroyed. The efficiency of the Fire
Department, aided by an unfailing source of water,
has prevented the repetition of such a catastrophe.
In 1 85 1 there were but 154 fire-hydrants, while at
present there are over 500.
Since 1851, when there were but 2.()^^ miles of
distributing and supply mains in the city, there are
now over 80 miles of pipes. The original cost of
the works from 1850 to 1857 was $850,000. The
additional supply, including pumping works, res-
ervoirs and mains, etc., $700, 000; making an aggre-
gate expense of $1,550,000. Of this sum, after
meeting all the expenses of maintenance, the city
has paid, up to May, 1884, $460,000, leaving a
debt of $1,090,000.
Water rents are collected the same as taxes, and
are assessed upon all real estate fronting on streets
through which the mains are laid.
By act of the Legislature of 1884, the Commis-
sioners were authoiized to expend $400,000.
Another pumping engine has been purchased, and
work is progressing to increase the water supply,
with special reference to the southern part of the
city.
The present Water Commissioners are Visjcher
Ten Eyck, Henry H. Martin, Michael Delehanty,
Erastus Corning, John M. Kimball; Superintend-
ent, George W. Carpenter.
STREET LIGHTING.
The early Dutch settlers in Albany were not ac-
customed to much artificial light, nor did their
simple habits of living require it. To the average
industrious burgher the approach of darkness in
summer was the signal for retiring, and at nine
o'clock the thoroughfares were usually entirely
deserted, with the exception, may be, of a belated
traveler, or the few night watchmen. The longer
evenings of winter, with little labor during the
day, were spent by the family before the blazing
light of the big grate fires of this period; the hus-
band, sons or friends enjoying the soothing pleas-
ure of their pipes, while the industrious wife and
daughters were engaged in spinning or knitting.
Spending thus their winter evenings, the rooms of
their dwellings were rarely illuminated by any light
save that from the blazing logs.
Tallow candles, or tallow dips, were probably
the only means used by the very earliest settlers,
when a light that could be carried about the house
was necessary; but even this mode of furnishing
light was considered a luxury, and rarely used.
Sperm and coal oil began to be used many years
after the settlement of Albany. Contrivances for
burning it were somewhat similar to those now
used in burning kerosene. But the expense of
either of these fluids made their use limited except
by the very wealthy citizens, and, with the excep-
tion of gas, candles remained the principal article
for lighting dwellings until the introduction of ker-
osene oil, about i860. The cheapness and super-
ior quality of this fluid, compared to others then in
use, made it rapidy supersede candles and all other
fluids used for producing light In 1 86 1 it came
to be generally used all over the United States.
Coal gas was first practically used in Albany in
1845, and the present system of electric lights in
1 88 1. This embraces all the different means,
worthy of mention, used in Albany from the earliest
to the present time.
Beyond the feeble light afforded by the lanterns
of the night watchmen, the streets of Albany, from
the earliest date to 1771, seem to have remained in
natural darkness during the night, as at the latter
date appears the first account in the city records
of an appropriation of money for lighting the streets.
In I77L twenty lamps were used and 150 gallons
of oil consumed.
In 1765, it was ordered by the Corporation, in
case of any alarm, outcry, attack, riot or fire, that
all citizens having houses facing on the street should
set three or more lighted candles in the front win-
dow, there to remain until daybreak, and refusal
to do so subjected the offender to a fine of three
shillings. Similar orders were issued at earlier
dates, and were intended to better secure the safety
of citizens and property, although in many cases
it would seem to have been a most injudicious pro-
ceeding.
It was not until 1793 that the subject of lighting
the streets at night with lamps began to be agitated.
Considerable discussion in the newspapers took
place during this year.
In 1795, the number of lamps used seems to
have been much increased; for, in November of
that year, the Albany Gazette said:
"The lighting of the city begins to assume a
regular and pleasing appearance, and if the Com-
mon Council would permit to be lighted at the
public expense the lamps which our private citizens
shall erect, on their paying into the public treas-
ury money sufficient for the oil, our city in this re-
spect would soon vie with the other principal cities
and towns in the United States. "
516
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
That the number of lamps rapidly increased
from the year 1795 is evident, from the fact that
during that year 257 gallons of oil were used;
while in 1796 it amounted to 344 gallons; in
1797 to 698 gallons; and in 1801 to 1,187 gallons.
In 1800, the lamp district embraced the city
limits one-half mile westward of the Hudson
River. This territory was gradually increased as
the city extended in area. In 18 10, the expense of
street lamps amounted to about $3,000, and in
1828 the number of lamps had increased to 586.
The burning of gas made from coal, for the pur-
pose of illumination, was successfully exhibited in
Albany in 181 7 by Henry Trowbridge, the proprie-
tor of a museum. One hundred and twenty burn-
ers were used, and many people visited the place
to see the new light Up to this date gas had
been practically introduced in but one city in the
world — London, in 18 13. It was next introduced
in Paris, in 1820, and in New York in 1825.
The idea of illuminating the streets and dwell-
ings of Albany by gas was attempted to be carried
out as early as 1825, when a company was incor-
porated, but through lack of substantial encourage-
ment, and needed capital, nothing was done. In
1833, another company was incorporated, which
also failed to accomplish anything of a practical
nature.
March 27, 1841, the Albany Gaslight Company
was incorporated, composed of Thomas W. Olcott,
James Stevenson, Henry L. Webb and Joel Rath-
bone. The capital stock, limited to |ioo,ooo,
was not subscribed until November 13, 1844.
During this year the site of the present works, cor-
ner of Arch and Grand streets, was purchased and
the erection of the necessary buildings commenced.
In 1845 the works, costing nearly $150,000, and
capable of producing 50,000 cubic feet of gas
daily, were completed, and mains to the extent of
about four miles laid through many of the principal
streets; gas being supplied to consumers for the
first time November 25th, and the streets lighted for
the first time November loth of that year.
So satisfactory to the Corporation was this means
of street light, that in 1845 a contract was made by
the company with the city to light the streets with
gas for ten years. Similar contracts, covering an
uninterrupted period of gas supply from 1845 to
1883, were made at different times for lighting
the streets. At the latter date the present electric
light was substituted. In 1846 this company had
136 consumers and supplied 90 street lamps.
The capital has been increased by Legislative
enactment twice, and now amounts to $250,000,
while improvements have been made upon the
works to such an extent, that at the present they
are valued at the sum of $1,250,000 and are cap-
able of manufacturing 100,000,000 cubic feet of
gas yearly, for which are consumed 10,000 tons of
coal. The territory supplied with gas by this com-
pany includes that part of the city south of Steuben,
Canal and Eagle streets and Central avenue. In
this area 48 miles of pipe are laid, supplying over
7,500 gas consumers, and for a number of years
previous to 1883, about 1,200 street lamps.
The first President of the Company was Henry
L. Webb, and first Superintendent, Joseph Battin.
The present officers are H. H. Martin, President;
A. Van Allen, Vice-President; S. W. Whitney,
Secretary and Treasurer; Isaac Battin, Superin-
tendent.
For a number of years preceding 1872, a spirit of
opposition was engendered against the Albany
Gaslight Company, which had practically a mo-
nopoly of the gas business of the city. This re-
sulted, in 1872, in the formation of a company
called the People's Gaslight Company, which
was incorporated with a capital of $1,000,000,
although but $700,000 were ever paid in. Large
and expensive works were soon erected on
the Troy road, near North Albany. All rivalry
between the two companies was in a short time
settled by compromise, and the city mutually di-
vided between them; the People's Gaslight Com-
pany receiving the territor)' north of Steuben and
Canal streets, above Eagle street and Central ave-
nue. But either mismanagement, or that the share
of business which fell to the new company gave
inadequate returns on the large capital invested,
caused the investment to fail to pay, and in 1879
the property was sold under foreclosure of mort-
gage, and purchased by George A. Wolverton and
George L. Steadman, the mortgagees, subject to a
bonded debt of $350,000. The new purchasers
soon reorganized a new company, which was in-
corporated January 31, 1880, with a capital of
$500,000, under the corporate title of the People's
Gaslight Company, assuming the old works, with
its bonded indebtedness. This company has 22
miles of pipe, with facilities for producing 200,000
cubic feet of gas per day. The present officers
are George A. Wolverton, President ; George L.
Steadman, Vice-President; H. Q. Hawley, Treas-
urer and Secretary; William F. Wright, Superin-
tendent
Electricity, as a means of producing light, has,
during late years, reached a remarkable degree of
perfection, and has been extensively adopted in all
the larger cities of the country. In the Munici-
pality of Albany this is particularly true. In most
all cases where this light is used in this city, the
electric current is produced by the Albany Electric
Illuminating Company, organized in April, ibSi.
The works of the company are situated at 71
Trinity place. Here five large engines, aggregat-
ing 650 horse-power, are used to supply the neces-
sary power to produce the electric current The
streets of Albany are all lighted by electricity, the
Corporation having entered into a contract with
this company to light the streets for five years from
June 21, 1881. Four hundred and seventy-three
street lamps are now in use, which are burned on
an average ten and a half hours nightly. Besides
these, about two hundred lights are used by private
parties. These lamps are reached through eight
circuits and nearly ninety miles of wire. A system
of storage batteries is also in use in connection with
the Swan incandescent light These batteries supply
from five to forty lights according to capacity, for
four hours each. The officers of this company are
PUBLIC PARKS.
517
W. F. Hurcomb, President; Walter Dickson, Vice-
President; J. Irving Wendell, Treasurer; Edward
A. Maher, Secretary and General Manager.
The Edison light system is used by several firms
in Albany, which employ their own motive power.
The electric light used in the State Capitol is an
independent system, and is produced by the neces-
sary machinery in the building.
PUBLIC PARKS.
The beautiful portion of ground in this city
known as Washington Park, is of modern origin,
though a portion of it has been public property
since it was transferred to the city in 1686 by the
gift of His Majesty James 11, being included in
the famous Dongan Charter. In 1 802 the ground
1. Swing.
2. Croquet Lawn-
3. Armsby MemoriaL
4. Rustic Shelter
5- Meadow.
6. Refectory.
7. Fountain Shelter.
8. Terrace.
9. Deer Paddock.
Deer Paddock Outlook.
, Lake House.
Site of proposed King Fountain.
13. Lake.
14. Foot Bridge.
15. Overlook Hill.
was set apart for the purposes of a powder-house,
and October 6, 1806, the ground between what is
now Madison avenue and State street, and Willett
and Knox streets, was dedicated as the Middle
Public square. Three years later the fancy for
changing the names of streets became almost an
epidemic in Albany, and extended to this square,
which was rechristened Washington Square. It has
since been known as Washington Square, Wash-
ington Parade Ground, and Washington Park.
The ground adjoining this section on the west was
made a public burial place in 1800, and was used
as such for more than half a century.
The project of a public park, on an extended
scale, was not accomplished in Albany without
much discussion and opposition. The newspapers
for years discussed the theme, while many of the
leading progressive men of the city made fruitless
attempts with repeated petitions to the Common
Council, setting forth the benefits of such a public
enterprise. But in 1869, the friends of the scheme
secured the passage of the State law under which
the present attractive park was established.
This act created a Board of Park Commission-
ers under whose charge the Park was constructed
and is maintained. It was passed May 5, 1869, and
set apart what was then known as the Burial
Ground property, before designated, the old Wash-
ington Parade Ground, the Penitentiary Grounds,
and the Alms-house Farm. By subsequent acts
the powers of the Board were extended over the
approaches to the Park, making it possible to insti-
tute the present system of boulevards.
The first meeting of the Commissioners was held
May 8th following, the Board consisting of John
Bridgford, Arthur Bott, George Dawson, Dudley
Olcott, William Cassidy, John Fair, Rufus W.
Peckham, Jr., Samuel H. Ransom, and John H.
Van Antwerp. Mr. Van Antwerp was made Pres-
ident, Mr. Olcott, Treasurer, and William D. Mo-
range, Secretary. These trustees were divided into
three classes: three to serve three years, three to
serve six years, and three to serve nine years.
Their successors are appointed by the Mayor, and
serve nine years.
The plans adopted by the Board were prepared
by Messrs. Bogart & Cuyler. The grounds em-
braced by these plans were included in that por-
tion of the present Park bounded by Willett street
on the east, Madison avenue on the south, State
street on the north, Robin street on the west for a
distance of about 632 feel, thence running west a
518
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
distance of about 132 feet The development of
the plans from 1869 to 1872 were under the super-
vision of R. H. Bingham as Chief Engineer, and
William S. Egerton as assistant Since 1872, Mr.
Egerton has had charge of the designs and super-
intendence.
In July, 1870, work was begun, and during this
year the Washington Parade Ground was nearly
completed, having been fenced, graded, drained,
and the walks and drive-ways also laid out and
graveled.
In 1 87 1, its monuments and tenants having been
removed to the Rural and other cemeteries, the old
burial ground was laid out and thrown open as a
part of this Park. In 1873 the development of the
plans was mostly confined to that portion of the
lake sections lying between Lexington avenue and
Robin street. In 1874, the work of construction
was confined to that portion of the Park bounded,
in part, by iVIadison avenue and extending to Lake
avenue and Robin street, embracing an area of
some fifteen acres.
In 1880, what is known as the Knox street prop-
erty, north of Madison avenue, comprising nine
acres, was purchased, its buildings removed, and.
improvements made.
In 1882, more land lying on Madison and Lake
avenues was added to the Park and improvements
begun. The gardener's cottage, propagating-houses
and storage-houses were built in 1883 upon a por-
tion of the Alms-house Grounds, near the Lexing-
ton avenue entrance to the Park. They continue in
charge of the faithful gardener, Michael Fink.
Western avenue, under the control of the Com-
missioners, extends from near the northwest corner
of the Park to the toll-gate. It is 8, 200 feet in length,
99 feet wide, and paved to a width of 40 feet with
granite block, curbed and sewered. The sidewalks,
29^ feet, are flagged to a width of six feet, bordered
with grass, and shaded by trees 40 feet apart. In
sleighing-time, this avenue is the favoriie resort of
owners of horses, and presents a lively appearance.
The improvement on this avenue was begun No-
vember 16, 1876, and completed in the following
year.
The Northern Boulevard extends from Western
avenue, east of the toll-gate, to the intersection of
Central and Clinton avenues, a distance of 5,525
feet It ranges from 150 to 66 feet in width. It
is paved with a combination of the Telford and
Macadam systems, and is greatly admired by pleas-
ure drivers. This road was completed in 1878.
It is intended to carr}- it on by Dudley Observatory,
to connect the fine drives beyond Tivoli Hollow on
the Rensselaer avenue and Loudonville and Shaker
roads.
The area of the Park is nearly eighty-two acres.
It contains three miles of the best possible drive-
ways and six miles of walks. Park lake is 1,600
feet long; average width, 136 feet; area, 5 acres.
It is well supplied with boats for summer, and the
ice is kept cleared of snow in winter for the throngs
of lively skaters who frequent it on pleasant even-
ings. ]\Iusic from our best band musicians, from
the lake-house, adds its charms on many an evening
in summer. The drives and walks are frequented
by all classes. It is the gymnasium and breathing
place of the city.
The special features of the Park, aside from its
charming landscape, with hills, dales, lake and
lawn tastefully laid out, are its noble elms and
other trees, many of which were there many years
before the Park was located. Works of art, it is
hoped, will ere long adorn the grounds. The late
Henry L. King bequeathed $20,000 for the erec-
tion of a fountain, yet to be seen. The statue of
Ceres is well enough, but the Armsby memorial bust
is bad apology for neglecting one of our noblest
citizens. Dr. James H. Armsby.
The Park lies west of the Capitol about one mile,
and on an elevation about two hundred feet above
the Hudson. It is surrounded more and more
every year by handsome residences, owned and oc-
cupied by some of Albany's best citizens.
The total cost of Washington Park, including
the Northern boulevard, city parks improved and
maintained since 1881, and all lands bought by
the Commissioners for construction, maintenance,
etc., to January i, 1885, is $1,366,878.89. The
real estate and construction of Washington Park
and Western avenue cost $1,073,020.91.
Academy Park, in front of Albany Academy, is
a delightful spot, consisting of about two acres of
sloping ground, adorned with majestic shade trees.
It was placed in the hands of the Park Commission-
ers in 1 88 1, and improved at a cost of $4,306 the
following year.
Townsend Park is located at the intersection of
Washington and Central avenues. It was first in-
closed with a fence in 1833, and was named, in
honor of Hon. John Townsend, a most worthy
man, formerly Mayor of the city. Area, 20,700
square feet
Bleecker Park is a small triangular inclosure in
front of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Concep-
tion. It was inclosed by an iron fence in 1835,
the city appropriating $1,000, the remainder be-
ing raised by subscriptions. It contains the first
public fountain erected in Albany, the g^ft of
William Fleming, dedicated in July, 1863. Area
16,275 square feet
Clinton Park, named in honor of De Witt Qin-
ton, is located on North Pearl, near Clinton avenue.
Area, 16,415 square feet Its cross-walk is more
convenient than ornamental.
Delaware square, east of Lark street anid ad-
jacent to Penitentiary Grounds, has an area of
64,000 square feet It has no inclosure or other
improvements.
Capitol Park embraced the well-trodden and
shaded ground in front of what was the Old Capitol .
It is included in the ground in front of the New
Capitol and contains 99,000 square feet
Hudson avenue Park, is a small plot of shaded
and path-traversed land on Hudson avenue, near
Broadway, with an area of 10,851 square feet
Beverwyck Park, located between Washington
avenue, Ontario and Partridge streets, contains
about five acres.
STREET RAILWAYS.— FIRE DEPARTMENT.
519
Van Rensselaer Park, west of Ten Broeck, north
of Second street, has an area of 42,400 square
feet
St. Joseph's Park, West of Ten Broeck, north of
First street, near St. Joseph's Church, has an area
of 42,900 square teet.
The total area of the small parks of the city is
about fourteen acres. They are all, with the ex-
ception of Capitol Park, under the control of the
Park Commissioners. The present Park Commis-
sioners are Erastus Corning, R. Lenox Banks,
John G. Farnsworth, John H. Van Antwerp,
Dudley Olcott. Robert C. Bruyn, Grange Sard,
Charles J. Buchanan and John H. Farrell.
Dudley Olcott is President, and W. S. Egerton,
Secretary, Engineer and Surveyor.
STREET RAILWAYS.
The Albany horse-railway system is operated
and controlled by two companies: The Broadway
and the Lumber District roads by the Watervliet
Turnpike and Railroad Company, and all the
remaining lines by the Albany Railway Company.
The Watervliet Turnpike and Railroad Company
was incorporated April 15, 1862, with a capital of
$240,000. All the rights and privileges at this
time possessed by the Watervliet Turnpike Com-
pany were purchased by the railroad company.
Work on the proposed route from South Ferry,
by way of Broadway to the Lumber District, was
commenced soon after the incorporation of the com-
pany, and completed in the following year. The
first car was run over this route — the first horse-car
railway in Albany — June 22, 1863. In 1864 this
road was extended to the Albany Cemetery, and in
1865 to Green Island.
This company has at present 7I miles of double
track, extending from South Ferry to Green Island,
and one mile of single track, from Broadway to the
Lumber District. Twenty-seven cars are used,
necessitating the use of one hundred and fifty horses
and about seventy-five employees, embracing con-
ductors, drivers and trackmen.
The officers of the road are John Cary, Vice-
President; Thomas P. Way, Treasurer and Sec-
retary; Amos Free, Superintendent. The affairs of
the road are controlled by a Board of Directors,
which at present is composed of the following
members: Charles Newman, James B. Jermain,
Dudley Olcott, J. W. Tillinghast, Evert Evertson,
F. A. Fayles, R. H. King and A. A. Sumner.
The office of this company is at North Albany.
North Albany, the Cemetery, Old Men's Home,
Island Park and Watervliet Arsenal are reached by
this line of street cars.
Albany Railway. — The Albany Railway Com-
pany was organized and incorporated September
14, 1863, with a capital of $100,000. Its firstdirec-
tors and officers, many of whom are now dead,
numbered some of the most reliable business men
of Albany. These Directors were James Kidd, George
X)awson, John K. Porter, Eli Perry, Hugh J.
Hastings, C. W. Armstrong, John Tracey, Thomas
Kearney, H. Crandall,G, I. Amsdell, M, Delehanty,
Paul Cushman and A. Van Vechten. President,
James Kidd; Secretary, John W. McNamara; Engi-
neer.Samuel McElroy; Superintendent, Henry Mix.
In the winter of 1863-64, work upon the new road
was commenced on what is known as the State
street route — extending from Broadway through
State, Washington, and Central avenue to Knox
street — and completed in February of this year, the
first car runing over this route February 22, 1864.
In 1865 this line was extended to West Albany.
At the same time a road was built through South
Pearl to Kenwood.
The next extension was make in 1866, from
State to Van Woert on Pearl street. In 1873, what
is known as the Clinton avenue line was completed.
This route extends from North Pearl street up
Clinton avenue, through Lexington avenue to Cen-
tral avenue. In 1875, what is known as the Hamil-
ton street line was completed to Lexington avenue.
In 1877, this route was extended to Quail street,
and in 1885, to Partridge street.
The capital of this company has been increased
twice — in 1869 and 1 873, and now amounts to $200,-
000. In the first report made to the Railroad Com-
missioners in 1865, this company had if miles
of double track and i\ miles single track, 12 cars,
and 69 horses. From a like report made in 1884,
we find the following: four miles double track, 18
miles single track, 44 cars, and 215 horses.
The present Directors are A. B. Banks, T. J.
Cornell, Michael Delehanty, WilUiam H. Johnson,
Daniel Manning, William P. Prentice, John W Mc-
Namara, Robert C. Pruyn, Joseph T. Rice, S. W.
Rosendale, Philip Ten Eyck, A. Van Vechten, Isaac
Waldman. President, Treasurer and Superintendent,
John W. McNamara; Secretary, James H. Manning.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
There is an old record of the existence of fire
officers in Albany as early as October 15, 1694,
called "Brant-masters."
"It is ordered, and found very Requisite y' y°
Aldermen of each respective Ward shall cause
to be made two Brantleere [fire ladders], a greate
one and a little one, with yron hooks, and y' in
time of one month, and cause to be brought to a
ready place in case of any occasion whaisome ever,
and then to bring in their accounts."
As early as December 7, 1 706, the city had a
kind of primitive fire department, consisting of
what were called " Fyre-masters. " Says the Council
record :
"It is resolved that the following Persons be
appointed Fyre-masters for y' ensuing yeare, until
y" 19th of October next: William Hogan, Anthony
Coster, William Jacobse, Joh' Claese, Jan Evertse
and Jacobus Schuyler, who are to view y° chim-
neyes where are fyres within y° city, and oye'
inconvenient places, one each fourteen nights;
and where they find chimneys extraordinary foule,
to fine y° owner in ye summe of three shillings,
and where fyres kept in unconvenient places, dan-
gerous to take fyre, to cause such fyre to be
broak doune."
520
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
These " Fyre-masters, " with like powers and du-
ties, were appointed for many successive years.
In 1726, the Common Council ordained that
if any person appointed fire-master refused or
neglected to serve, a fine of thirty shillings was
imposed for each offense. That year the following
persons were appointed:
Joh's Defreest, Egbert Bratt, Teunis Slingerlandt,
Gelyn Verplank, Gerret Lansing, Peter P. Schuyler.
At a meeting of the Common Council, November
24, 1730, it was ordered that "hooks and ladders
be made with all speed, and kept within con-
venient places within the city for avoiding the peril
of fire."
December 22, 1731, the Common Council re-
solved to purchase a fire engine, and on February
22, 1732, the city fathers resolved to purchase
the Richard Newsham engine, fifth size, with six
feet suction-pipe and forty feet leather hose-pipe.
In due time the engine was received in the city
with great rejoicing. It was an object of greater
curiosity, and gave a greater sense of security and
satisfaction, than the arrival, over a century after-
wards, of the first fire-steamer. It protected the
city against fire for many years.
In 1743, Robert Lansing, Barnardus Hartsen
and Michael Bassett were appointed managers of
the engine in case of fire, and were directed to
be always ready upon any occasion when it might
be wanted. They were each to make a key to
open the lock of the shed where the engine stood,
and to place the keys in some part of their houses
where they might be found when they were
absent; and they were each to receive for their
services a skepple of wheat each per year.
The shed where the engine was kept, stood on
the ground now known as the corner of Beaver
and South Pearl streets. This was the first fire
engine brought to the City of Albany.
In 1763, an engine was purchased by Harmse
Gansevoort in England, at a cost of $397.50.
This, probably, was the second fire engine ordered
by the city.
In 1792, another engine was owned by the city;
for the times, a very superior machine, one of the
only two manufactured by the elder John Mason,
in Philadelphia. Its mate was, for a long time,
in possession of the Diligent Fire Company of
that city. The engine-house in 1792 was at
the north-west comer of the old English Church
on State street.
In 1793, ranks were formed of people, consist-
ing of two lines opposite each other, one to pass
the water to the fire and the other to return the
empty buckets. It was not uncommon to see
both young and old, male and female, in the ranks.
In those days every house was required to have
three leather water-buckets hanging in its hall.
In case of fire the inmates were required not only
to bring them to the scene of the disaster, but
were compelled to go into the ranks. A fire
engine was a novelty in those days. Albany with
5,000 inhabitants boasted of two — one could
scarcely be called an engine. The largest one
was about as powerful as our present garden
engines, and the other, which was called a house
engine, was so light as to be easily carried by one
man. The engines were filled by buckets and
the water thrown by a pipe.
In 1839, a bell was directed to be placed in
the cupola of the jail to be rung in case of fire.
The expenditures of the Fire Department for six
years ending May i, 1840, were as follows: 1835,
13,477- 16; 1836, $5,679.69; 1837, $6,847-94;
1838, $3,834.60; 1839, $4,107.98; 1840, $10,-
950.30.
March 6, 1843, ^^^ Common Council passed a
law regulating the duties of Chief Engineer, and
fixed his salary at $600 per annum.
In January, 1846, the Chief Engineer of the
Fire Department reported that Albany had eleven
engine companies, two hook and ladder companies,
one hose company, and one ax company. In 1845
there had been forty-two fires and twenty-one
alarms; loss of property $57,232, on which was
insured $43,252.
The Common Council, October 2, 1848, favored
paying firemen $30 per year, and appointing a
Chief Engineer with a salary of $700, to devote
all his time to the duties of the office.
On the 27th of November, a new fire law was
passed entirely reorganizing the fire department.
It was ordered also that no wooden building,
wholly or partially covered with wood, should
thereafter be erected in any part of Albany east
of Lark street; and that eaves, cornices and gut-
ters should be made of metal.
The amount expended by the Fire Department
for the year ending May i, 1850, was $20,476.47.
Of this $2,528.57 were for the Hose Depot, $1,-
303.58 for new hose, and $890 for fire police.
In September, 1852, the first use of a fire anni-
hilator in Albany was satisfactorily made at a fire
which destroyed but one building. The amount
for the year ending November i, 1852, for the Fire
Department amounted to $16, 178.92.
In the year 1856, the losses by fire in Albany
amounted to the sum of $72,200.
The number of fires from July ist to December
27, was 27; alarms, 13; false alarms, 8; losses,
$26,285. During the corresponding period of
1856 there were 12 fires; 8 alarms; 3 felse alarms.
Losses, $72,200.
June 30, 1858, the Chief Engineer reported 37
fires during the past year; 2 1 alarms; and 7 false
alarms, making sixty-five times the department
had been called out The amount of property
destroyed was $45,064, of which $34,149 was in-
sured.
September 29tli, a firemen's jubilee was held in
Albany for three days. About three thousand fire-
men from six diflTerent States came to the city;
from Detroit, Providence, and Newark. Exempt
firemen to the number of 200, drew old "No. 4."
The old men became so enthusiastic as to cause
much sport. Becoming inspired with their old
ardor and giving the old cry " Hi yi ! give way boysl
give way! ' they dashed up State street, calling out
hearty cheers from the young firemen and the
spectators.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
521
On August 9, 1859, a resolution was passed au-
thorizing the sale of the old fire apparatus, with
the exception of two old engines and two hose-
carts.
The report of the Chief Engineer for the year end-
ing January I, i860, shows there were 10 fires where
companies were in service; 18 where companies
were not in service; false alarms, 8; amount of
properly destroyed, $11,537; insurance, $7,362.
Fire Department expenses for the year ending No-
vember I, 1861, were $18,641. 55.
April 23, 1 86 1, a resolution was passed by the
Common Council granting members of the several
engine, hose, and hook and ladder companies
who might join any mihtary organization to main-
tain the integrity of the Union, their full time dur-
ing their absence.
During the year ending June 30, 1863, the
Report of Chief-Engineer James McQuade shows
there were 29 fires; 20 alarms; and 3 lalse alarms;
amount of property destroyed $19,350, all covered
by insurance.
On July 13, 1863, the City Council authorized
purchasing a steam fire engine to be located on
Capitol Hill, at a cost not to exceed $3,500.
On April 25, 1864, J. C. Cuykr, William Mix,
Jr., William J. Shankland, Edward Leslie, James
Allen, William G. Weed, Jacob Fredenrich, Theo-
dore J. Cuyler, Oscar L. Hascy, J. Owen Moore,
William A. Sumner, Frank W Vosburgh, John
A. Goeway, Robert Harris, William H. Reid,
Henry L. Wait, Ed. A. Clapp, Charles F. Clapp.
John S. Dickerman, Harris Parr, George E. La-
tham, Thomas Hastings, Andrew G. White, James
D. Wilson, Theodore S. Comstock, Daniel Don-,
caster, William H. Taylor, James Main, John
Mahan, and Henry Lansing were appointed fire-
men as members of the Beaverwyck Steam Fire
Engine Company.
J. C. Cuyler was made fireman of the company;
William Mix, Jr., First Assistant; William J.
Shankland, Second Assistant; and Edward Leslie,
Clerk.
Chief-Engineer James McQuade, in a petition to
the Common Council in January, 1865, stated that
experience had proved beyond question that steam
engines must supersede those worked by hand.
All the principal cities and many large villages had
introduced steamers, and hand engines had been
abandoned. He also suggested that horses should
be substituted in doing the drag work, as the force
of men required to drag an engine to a fire was
beyond the number obtainable.
Albany in 1865 had three steamers: the James
McQuade, the Putnam, and the Thomas Kearney.
February 19, 1865, it was resolved to pay each
of the engineers of the several steamers the sum of
$75 per month; firemen and drivers to be allowed
$45 per month.
The amount paid by the city on account of the
Fire Department for the year ending November i,
1865, was $34,016.02.
March 29, 1867, an Act to Reorganize the
Fire Department of the City of Albany became a
law. The provisions of this law, with subse-
66
quent amendments, are easily accessible to every
citizen.
On February 19, 1872, the act reorganizing the
Department was amended by the Legislatuie in
some particulars
The powers and duties of the Chief Engineer of
the Fire Department are very large and responsible.
These duties are now, and have long been, most
ably performed by James McQuade.
In 1870 the number of alarms was 60; number
of fires in which the Department was in service, 23.
There were six Steam Fire Companies; two Truck
Companies, and 1,800 feet of hose in the Hose
Depot.
Gongs were placed in the residence of each As-
sistant Engineer. The working of this alarm tele-
graph did not fail in a single instance in transmit-
ting the alarm during the year, giving sure evidence
of its great value as a rapid agent for conveying fire
alarms and preventing destruction by fire through
delays.
In February, 1870, the incorporated Fire De-
partment leased the pleasant and commodious
rooms in the City Building, which have been com-
fortably furnished with every convenience and
comfort.
On September 2, 1870, the horses attached to
steamer No. 6 became unmanageable while coming
down Hudson avenue and ran away. Mr. Andrew
McGraw, the driver in charge, used every exertion
to check them, without success. They continued
at a furious rate to the dock, and dashed into the
basin carrying the driver and steamer with them.
The horses were drowned, and the steamer so badly
damaged as to render it necessary to send it to
Amoskeag Works to be rebuilt; it was placed in
perfect order and returned to the city in two
months. Mr. McGraw was not injured, although
the shock was a very severe one to him.
In the year 1875, the Board of Fire Commis-
sioners was as follows:
Hon. Edmund L. Judson, Mayor, President, ex
officio; Philip O'Brien, George E. Latham, Garret
A. Van Allen, Thomas Austin; J. C. Cuyler,
Secretary.
Engineers. — James McQuade, Chief Engineer;
J. C. Griffin, George E. Mink, John C. Mull,
William K. Clute, Assistants.
Fire Alarm Telegraph. — William J. Cull,
Superintendent; John M. Carroll, Assistant-Super-
intendent; John H. Nelson, James B. Finn, Oper-
ators; John Wilson, Janitor.
The losses by fire during the year aggregated
$335,000. Nearly all the fires were of incendiary
origin.
During this year incendiarism" was more extensive
than at any time since the organization of the
Department. The boldness of these crimes exhib-
ited daring and recklessness of most alarming
character. The most earnest efforts of Chief
McQuade and the police were made to detect and
bring to justice the perpetrators of these dastardly
deeds. The loss by fire in the building corner of
Green street, occupied by Rathbone, Sard & Co. —
522
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
which was an act of bold incendiarism as was ever
committed in this city — exceeded $100,000.
The Protective Association, an honor and a
source of untold safety in the protection of prop-
erty, was organized and supported by the insurance
interests.
In 1880, we find :
Insured losses on real and personal property. . $137,299.09
Uninsured,, „ ,, ,, .. 15,866.64
Total loss $153,165-73
Annual cost of maintaining Fire Department,
$74,677.96; total number of men employed by
Fire Department, 221; area covered by Fire De-
partment, 14^ square miles; population of Albany,
100,000. Nine lives were lost by fire during the
year.
On November 22, 1880, Steamer Company No.
5 was suspended, by order of Chief McQuade, for
neglect in the performance of duty at a fire. Not
one of the members, except the foreman, appeared
at the fire. On December 13, the company was
re-organized, with John J.Mee,the former foreman,
reappointed.
The Insurance Patrol is of great value to the
Department, and it is noticeable with what
promptness Captain Foster has responded to all
calls, as is the activity of the ofiicers and mem-
bers of the company when in service.
The total insurance on the Fire Department
property amounts to $59,350.06
The receipts from all sources for the fiscal year
ending October 31, 1880 71,517.60
Total $130,876.60
Disbursements for the year ending October 31,
1880 $74,677.96
Indebtedness of year ending October 31, 1879 10,596.61
Total expenditures $85,274.57
Steamer companies of Albany are as follows:
Steamer Comapny No. i, 12 members, 236 Wash-
ington avenue; Steamer Company No. 2, 16 mem-
bers, 157 Livingston avenue; Steamer Company
No. 3, 15 members, 895 Broadway; Steamer Com-
pany No. 4, 15 members, 69 Hudson avenue;
Steamer Company No. 5, 14 members, 289 South
Pearl street; Steamer Company No. 6, 1 5 members,
Jefierson, corner Swan street; Steamer Com-
pany No. 7, 16 members, Clinton avenue,
corner Ontario street; Steamer Company No.
8, 16 members, Broadway, corner North First
street. North Albany; Truck Company No i,
22 members, 57 Westerlo; Truck Company No.
2, 23 members, 126 Clinton avenue; Insur-
ance Patrol, 9 members, 41 Hudson avenue; Hose
Depot, 133 Hamilton street; Repair Shop, 34 Plain
street. Fire Alarm Telegraph Central Station, City
Building, South Pearl street, comer Howard.
During the year ending October 31,1882, there
were forty-two alarms of fire; the total loss, I147,-
970.05.
Fire-alarm Bell in City Hall. — The question for
a fire-alarm bell became a very interesting one in
the year 1882, during the erection of the new City
Hall.
For some time the bell in the Second Reformed
Church on Beaver street was used as a fire-alarm
bell. The congregation having moved into their
new edifice, the Department lost the use of one of
the best alarm bells in the city.
No provision had been made for a bell in the
imposing tower of the new City Hall. The Board
of Fire Commissioners, by authority of the City
Council, purchased of Meneely & Co., of Troy, a
bell sevenly inches at mouth, fifty and one-half
inches in height, five and one-tenth inches thick-
ness, of sound bore. Weight, 7,049 pounds.
This bell exceeds in size, weight and volume of
sound, any bell in the city. It was hoisted to its
place in the tower October 28, 1882. Within
two weeks after, the attachment to the fire-alarm
circuit was made.
The fire-alarm telegraph was first put in operation
in Albany in 1868.
The Board of Fire Commissioners in 1884. —
Hon A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor, President, ex
officio, Thomas D. Coleman, Andrew B. Uline,
John McEwen, James H. Lyman, Dennis A.
Ronan; Andrew B. Uline, Secretary; Lewis J.
Miller, Clerk.
James McQuade, Chief Engineer; Joseph C.
Griflfin, John C. Mull, George E. Mink, William
K. Clute, Assistants.
From the Annual Report of the Fire Commis-
sioners ending October 31, 1884, we gather the
following: the financial standing of the Depart-
ment is in a very favorable condition; the annual
expenses are about $85,000.
The Companies, having ten steamers, consist each
of a foreman whose salary is $300 per annum; eight
members at $200 each. The three Truck Compa-
nies have twelve members each, at $200 per annum.
The permanent employees are an engineer, $1,080;
fireman, $720; driver, $720, to each engine; a
tileman, $720; and driver, $720, to each truck.
The whole force, including the telegraph depart-
ment, numbers 145.
There are ten steamers, of which Nos. 9 and 10
are reserves, and, with the exception of the two
latter, were made at the Amoskeag Works, in Man-
chester, N. H., and with their hose-carts are valued
at $5, 1 50 each. The trucks, valued at $2, 250 each,
are drawn by horses worth $300 each, of which
there are thirty. The property of the Fire Depart-
ment is valued as follows:
Apparatus $45 000
Fire-alarm telegraph, apparatus fixtures
and supplies 56 000
Furniture, fixtures, etc 26 000
Hose, fixtures, leather, tools, etc 28 000
Horses, harness, etc. 14 000
Real estate 135 000
Repair Shop and Supply Department. . . 6 000
Total $310 000
The fire record of the year was below the average
in total losses. The record of incendiarism has
also been less.
THE ERIE CANAL AS RELATED TO ALBANY.
523
The salaries of the officers are as follows:
Chief Engineer, $3,000 per annum; Secre-
tary, $1,000; Clerk, $720; Superintendent
Fire-alarm Telegraph, $1,500; Superintendent
Hose and Supply Depot, $1,200; Relief Engin-
eer, $1,080; Veterinary Surgeon, $600.
The amount of insurance on the property of the
Department is $62,850.
'ihe Hose Depot is one of the most attractive
adjuncts of the Fire Department. The hose, with
extra tenders, wheels, fuel, etc., and extras of all
kinds, are stored. The hose is all brought to
the depot after a fire and is washed and dried, a
constant supply being always on hand in case of
need.
The Relief Fund, incorporated in 1883 for the
relief of disabled firemen, consists of the Mayor,
the Fire Commissioners and the Chief of the De-
partment as the body corporate. The fines paid
by firemen are placed in this fund, and are increased
by voluntary subscription. It now amounts to
about $2,000.
The fire-alarm telegraph was first operated in
Albany in June, 1868. There are now seventy-
seven alarm-boxes, seven church bells, the Cit}'
Hall bell, and the engine and truck houses con-
nected with ihis office by over seventy miles of
wire. The hammers and striking machinery are
independent of the tongues and ropes of the several
bells. The wires are tested every twenty minutes
in the twenty-four hours. There is also an exten-
sive telephone service in connection with all engine-
houses.
We may say, without question, that the City of
Albany has great confidence in all the officers and
men of its Fire Department, trusting fully in their
courage, skill, and fidelity.
THE ERIE CANAL AS RELATED TO
ALBANY.
In the early development of the canal system of
this State, many citizens of Albany took a promi-
nent part The first company formed to improve
the inland navigation of this State was called the
Western Inland Lock Navigation Company. It
was incorporated March 30, 1792. The object, as
stated in the act of incorporation, was to open a
water communication between the southern, north-
ern and western parts of this State. This was to be
accomplished by a system of lock navigation from
the Hudson River to Lakes Ontario and Seneca.
Another company was formed called the Northern
Inland Lock Navigation Company, to open naviga-
tion between the Hudson River and Lake Champ-
lain. The Commissioners in Albany to receive
subscriptions to the stock of $250,000, of each
company, were Abraham Ten Broeck, John Tay-
ler, Philip S. Van Rensselaer, Cornelius Glen and
John Ten Broeck. The first Directors of the West-
ern Company were Philip Schuyler, Leonard
Gansevoort, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, Elkanah
Watson, John Tayler, Jellis A. Fonda, William
North, Goldsbro Banyar, Daniel Hale, John
Watts, Walter Livingston, Dominic Lynch and
James Watson. The Directors of the Western Com-
pany were Philip Schuyler, Abraham Ten Broeck,
John Williams, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Jacobus
Van Schoonhoven, John Van Rensselaer, Abraham
G Lansing, Cornelius Glen, Henry Quackenbos,
Robert R. Livingston, Philip Livingston, James
Duane and Abraham McComb.
The plans as attempted to be carried out by these
companies were not very successful, but an account
of their efforts does not exclusively belong to a his-
tory of Albany County. This brief reference to them
is given to show the large percentage of Albany ca-
pitalists who were interested in them and who were
ever ready to lend their influence and wealth in
promoting the commerce of the State.
In i8io,the Legislature resolved that the agricul-
tural and commercial interests of the State required
that the inland navigation, from the Hudson River to
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, should be improved and
completed on a scale commensurate with the great
advantages to be derived from the accomplishment
of that important object. Doubting the resources
of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company
to be adequate to such improvement, the Leg-
islature appointed Governeur Morris, Stephen Van
Rensselaer, De Witt Clinton, Simeon De Witt, Will-
iam North, Thomas Eddy and Peter B. Porter,
commissioners for exploring the whole route, and
to examine the outlet to Oneida Lake, with a view
to deepening the channel to prevent inundations.
The opening of hostilities between this country
and Great Britain two years later, put an end to
this contemplated improvement.
No city on the line of the Erie Canal has been
more directly benefited by the opening of this
great water thoroughfare than the City of Albany;
nor was there a place, in the beginning of this
great undertaking, which furnished more men of
brains, character and wealth, who largely contrib-
uted to push forward this great work.
There may be some question as to who first con-
ceived the scheme of connecting the waters of Lake
Erie with the Hudson. Joel Barlow, a New Eng-
land poet, as early as 1787, published a poem
called "The Vision of Columbus," from which is
quoted lines that seem prophetic of our grand canal
system. Certain it is, the poem was published
when that magnificent project of the Erie Canal, if
it had any other place than in the imagination of
a poet, was probably regarded as the visionary
chimera of an enthusiast. But the printed scheme
of the poet may have awakened the attention of
some strong mind to undertake the task of carry-
ing out what we now behold in successful opera-
tion, foreshadowed in these words :
" He saw, as widely spread the unchanneled plain,
Where inland realms for ages bloomed in vain,
Canals, long winding, ope a watery flight,
And distant streams, and seas, and lakes unite.
"From fair Albania, tow'rd the falling sun,
Back through the midland, lengthening channels run,
Meet the far lakes, the beauteous towns that lave.
And Hudson joined to broad Ohio's wave."
534
tii^fokr ojF ±he co'mfr of albany.
Almost as early as the publication of this poem,
Elkanah Watson, born on Plymouth Rock, con-
ceived the practicability of a canal from Albany to
Lake Erie. In 1 804, writing to Peleg Wadsworth,
the revolutionary general and Member of Congress,
he says: "The dream of connecting the great
lakes with the Hudson has been my leading hobby
since 1788. Mr. Adams considered me an enthu-
siast in this vast object, and that the mania had
seized upon me with such force as to endanger a
due attention to my own interests, and cautioned
me as a friend to moderate my zeal. "
A writer in the Albany Daily Advertiser, under
the signature of Verdicius, ascribes the scheme of
uniting the Hudson River to Lake Erie by a nav-
igable canal to Elkanah Watson, offering in proof
the private journal of Mr. Watson, during a tour
from Schenectady to Geneva in 1791, when he care-
fully explored the ground, streams and small lakes
lying on the route. This journey is said to have
been made with a view of recommending to public
notice the project of uniting the two waters. The
progressive spirit, activity and energy of Mr. Wat-
son, united with the testimony of his contemporaries,
force us to regard him as the man whose mind orig-
inated the Erie Canal.
In this article we merely endeavor to give a
proper historic prominence to Albany, whose
leading citizens were so active in the canal pro-
ject, and who helped to carry it to a successful
completion.
Mr. Watson awakened many other citizens of
Albany to a belief in the practicability of this canal,
and who aided with their influence and wealth to
make its completion possible. Among them were
the Van Rensselaers and Schuylers, John and
Isaiah Townsend.
February 7, 18 16, a meeting was called at the
Tontine Coffee-House to urge the subject of a
canal upon the people and the Legislature, signed
by Archibald Mclntyre, James Kane, John Wood-
worth, William James, Charles E. Dudley, Dudley
Walsh, Barent Bleecker, John Van Schaick, Rens-
selaer Westerlo and Harmanus Bleecker. A com-
mittee was appointed in each ward to secure signa-
tures to a memiirial to the Legislature. This
seems to have been the first organized effort on the
part of the citizens to promote this scheme. In
April following, an act was passed to "provide for
the improvement of the internal navigation of this
State."
Under this act Stephen Van Rensselaer, De Witt
Clinton, Samuel Young, Joseph Ellicott and Myron
Holley were appointed Commissioners "to con-
sider, devise and adopt such measures " as might
or should be ' ' requisite to facilitate and effect the
communication, by means of canals and locks,
between the navigable waters of the Hudson River
and Lake Erie, and the said navigable waters and
Lake Champlain. "
The report of this commission was the subject
of much contest in the next Legislature, and the
act authorizing the construction of the canal was
not passed until the last day of the session, April
15, 1817.
October 8, 1823, the first boat passed through the
completed portion of the canal, east of Genesee
River, into the Hudson. The appearance of this
stranger was greeted by many demonstrations of joy.
Although the great work was not completed, the
people of Albany determined to celebrate the event
with appropriate ceremonies. The Common Coun-
cil appointed a committee, consisting of Aldermen
Gibbons, Baldwin, Humphrey, Cassidy, Ten Eyck,
and the Chamberlain, who had charge of the arrange-
ments. Solomon Van Rensselaer was Marshal of the
day. At sunrise a national salute was fired and the
bells rung. A large military and civic parade was an
important feature of the celebration. Business gen-
erally was suspended, and the entire population of
the city and thousands of strangers seemed to have
joined in the celebration. Speeches were delivered
by the Mayor, Charles E. Dudley, Ex-Governor De
Witt Clinton and many others.
Cadwallader Colden thus describes the scene pre-
sented on this occasion; " The pencil can do no
justice to the scene presented on the fine autumnal
morning when the Albany lock was first cpened.
Numerous steamboats and river vessels, splendidly
dressed, decorated the beautiful amphitheatre formed
by the hills which border the valley of the Hudson
at this place; the river winding its bright stream
far from the north and losing itself in the distance
to the south; the islands it embraced; the woods
variegated by the approach of winter, a beauty pe-
culiar to our climate; the wreathed arches and
other embellishments which had been erected for
the occasion, were all objects of admiration. A
line of canal-boats, with colors flying, bands of
music, and crowded with people, were seen com-
ing from the north and seemed to glide over the
level grounds which hid the waters of the canal
for some distance, as if they were moved by en-
chantment.
' ' The first boat that entered the lock was the
De Witt Clinton, having on board Governor Yates,
the Mayor and Corporation of Albany, the Canal
Commissioners and Engineers, the committees and
oth^ citizens. One, not the least attractive part of
the scene, was filled with ladies. The cap-stone of
the lock was laid with Masonic ceremonies by the
fraternity, who appeared in great numbers and in
grand costume.
"The waters of the West and of the ocean were
then mingled by Dr. Mitchell, who pronounced an
epithalamium upon the union of the river and the
lakes, after which the lock-gates were opened, and
the De Witt Clinton majestically sunk upon the
bosom of the Hudson.
"She was then towed by long lines of barges past
the steamboats and other vessels to a wharf at the
upper end of the city, where those gentlemen who
were embarked on board the canal-boats landed,
and joined a military and civic procession, which
was conducted by a large stage, fancifully deco-
rated, erected for the occasion in front of the Cap-
itol."
The system of canal navigation, as at this time com-
pleted, soon proved the wisdom of its originators.
During the summer of 1824 and 1825^ with occa-
THE ERIE CANAL AS RELATED TO ALBANY.
525
sional interruptions, arising from repairs and plac-
ing of new structures, the City of Altany began to
realize the benefits of canal navigation, and the
daily announcement of the arrival and departure of
canal-boats in the public journals, indicate the im-
portance that was attached to this great channel of
commerce.
October 26, 1825, the canal from Lake Erie to
the Hudson River was completed. It was decided to
commemorate the event by ceremonies the most
brilliant and impressive that could be devised, and
along ihe whole length of the canal, each place,
in proportion to its means, sought to outrival its
neighbor in expressions of joy upon this memorable
occasion.
The Common Council of Albany, October 17,
1825, appointed a committee, consisting of Alder-
men Denniston, Cassidy, Lush, Esleeck and Costi-
gan, to devise means to celebrate the event. A
public meeting of the citizens was held in the Cap-
itol, September 14th, over which Colonel Elisha
Jenkins presided. At this gathering twenty-five
citizens were selected to act as a committee to
adopt measures for celebrating the completion of
the great project. A similar meeting of citizens
and transporters was held a few days later. By
these public gatherings much enthusiasm was
aroused.
The passage of the first canal-boat from Buf-
falo into the Albany basin was announced by
the successive discharge of cannon, placed along
the canal between Lake Erie and the Hudson,
and along the Hudson between Albany and
New York. The Buffalo boat entered the basin at
three minutes before 1 1 o'clock, a. m. At five min-
utes before 12 the sound of "the return fire from
New York " reached Albany.
The celebration was general along the entire
line of the canal. The water pageant started from
Buffalo on the morning of October 26, 1825, the
boat Seneca Chief being fitted up for the dignitaries
leading in the triumphant passage. On the morn-
ing of November 2d it had reached Albany.
The proceedings at Albany we cannot detail at
length. They were thus described in the Albany
Daily Advertiser :
"At 10 o'clock the Seneca Chief, with the Gov-
ernor, Lieutenant-Governor, the Buffalo, Western
and New York Committees on board, came down
in fine style, and the thunder of cannon proclaimed
that the work was done, and the assembled multi-
tude made the welkin ring with shouts of gladness.
It was not a monarch which they hailed, but it was
the majesty of genius, supported by a free people,
that rode in triumph and commanded the admira-
tion of men stout of heart and firm of purpose. "
At 1 1 o'clock the procession was formed and
paraded through the principal streets of the city,
under the direction of Welcome Esleeck, John Tay-
ler, James Gibbons and Francis L Bradt, Marshal
of the day. After the procession reached the Cap-
itol, impressive services were held. An ode,written
for the occasion by John Augustus Stone, of the
Albany Theatre, was sung. Addresses were made
by Philip Howe, of New York; William James,
Chairman of the Committee of Citizens of Albany;
and Lieutenant-Governor Tallmadge. The exer-
cises were followed by a magnificent collation, pro-
vided for the guests by the citizens of Albany at the
Columbia-street Bridge. In the evening a grand
ball was held at Knickerbocker Hall, where, as
was said by an eye-witness, was congregated the
beauty of the city, and the expression of sparkling
eyes evinced that "the last, best gift to man " felt a
deep interest in the prosperity and glory of the
State.
Everything pertaining to the celebration of this
great event was conducted in the best manner and
commensurate with the greatness of the project. To
Albany in a special degree was the opening of the
Erie Canal a great blessing. On its commercial ad-
vancement it had a wonderful beneficent infi uence. A
few years after its completion the editor of the Daily
Advertiser asserted that the wholesale business of
the city had quadrupled during the two years since
the opening of the canal, and that Albany mer-
chants had opened a direct business with the man-
ufacturers of Europe. The construction of railroads
has materially lessened the commerce of the canals,
but still it forms an important factor in Albany's
commercial activities.
The dates of the annual opening and closing of
this canal will be valuable for reference: 1824,
opened April 30,closed December4; 1825, April 12,.
December 5; 1826, April 20, December 18; 1827,
April 22, December 18; 1828, March 27, December
20; 1829, May 2, December 17; 1830, April 20,
December 17; 1831, April 16, December i; 1832,
April 25, December 21; 1833, April 19, Decem-
ber 12; 1834, April 17, December 12; 1835, April
15, November 30; 1836, April 25, November 26;
1837, April 20, December 9; 1838, April 12, No-
vember 25; 1839, April 20, December 16; 1840,
April 20, Decemiser 9; 1841, April 24, November
30; 1842, April 20, November 28; 1843, May i,
November 30; 1844, April 18, November 26;
1845, April 15, November 29; 1846, April 16,
November 25; 1847, May i, November 30; 1848,
May I, December 9; 1849, ^^7 '> December 5;
1850, April 22, December 11; 1851, April 15, De-
cembers; 1852, April 20, December 16; 1853, April
20, December 20; 1854, May i , December 3; 1855,
May I, December 10; 1856, May 5, December 4;
1857, May 6, December 15; 1858, April 28, De-
cember 8; 1859, April 15, December 12; i860,
April 25, December 12; 1861, May i, December 10;
1862, May I, December 10; 1863, May 1, Decem-
ber 9; 1864, April 30, Decembers; 1865, May i,
December 12; 1866, May i, December 12; 1867,
May 6, December 20; 1868, May 4, December 7;
1869, May 6, December 10; 1870, May 10, De-
cember 8; 1871, April 24, December i; 1872,
May 13, December i; 1873, May 15, Decembers;
1874, May 5, December 5; 1875, May 18, No-
vember 30; 1876, May 4, December i; 1877, May
8, December 7; 1878, April 15, December 7; 1879,
April 8, December 6; 1880, April 16, November
21; 1881, Mayi2, December 8; 1882, April 11,
December 7; 1883, May 7, December i; 1884,
May 6, December i; 1885, May 11, December i.
526
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ALBANY INSURANCE COMPANIES.
The Albany Insurance Company was incorpo-
rated March 8, 1811, and authorized "to make all
kinds of insurance against fire, upon the inland
transportation of goods, wares and merchandise,
marine insurance, and insurance upon life or lives,
by way of tontine or otherwise, and generally to do
and perform all matters and things relating to the
said objects." The first Directors were Elisha Jen-
kins, Philip S. Van Rensselaer, Isaiah Townsend,
Dudley Walsh, Henry Guest, Jr., Charles Z. Piatt,
Simeon De Witt, Stephen Lush, Charles D. Coo-
per, Thomas Gould, John Woodworth, Peter
Gansevoort, and Christian Miller. The shares were
$100 each and not to exceed 5,000 in number.
Its duration was placed at twenty years. In 1828
the charter was extended to 1851, and the capital
stock reduced from $500,000 to $300,000, and
each share from $100 to $60.
The first President of this Company was Isaiah
Townsend. He was succeeded, in i844,by Teunis
Van Vechten. Garret Y. Lansing, Rufus H. King,
and Harmon Pumpelly were, in the order named.
Presidents at different periods. J. Howard King,
the present President, was elected in 1882.
The first Secretary was Gideon Hawley, who
held the office for many years. He was succeeded
by John E. Lovett, who held this position for four-
teen years. In 1847 Stephen Groesbeck was
elected, and was followed by Theodore Townsend,
who is now Vice-President of the Company. The
present Secretary is John E. McElroy.
This company has always been regarded as one
of the best institutions of its kind in the State. Its
affairs have been so conducted as to merit and
retain public confidence. During an existence of
three quarters of a century, it has had as directors
and officers many of the best business men of Al-
bany. During the years 1847 and 1848, the period
of the greatest fire that ever visited this city, it paid
out $367,000 in insurance in Albany and elsewhere
without material injury to the company, a fact
showing its financial solidity.
The Merchants' Insurance Company of Albany
was incorporated April 7, 1824, with a capital
stock of $250,000, to be divided into shares of $25
each. The first Directors were Allen Brown,
James G. Mather, James B. Douglass, Ralph Pratt,
Silvanus P. Jermain, Peter Bain, Jellis Winne, Jr. ,
Thomas Herring, Spencer Stafford, Erastus Corn-
ing, John Willard, William Fowler, William Mc-
Harg, James Mabbett, John T. Norton, Ephraim
Wilder, Jr., Friend Humphrey, Alexander Marvin,
Nicholas Devereaux, Ephraim Hart, Eleazer Hills,
Richard M. Bayley, Asa H. Center, Willard Warker,
William Durant, Joshua Tuffs, David E. Evans,
Thaddeus Joy, John Stillwell, Benjamin F. Butler,
and Thomas W. Olcott
The first President of this Company was Charles
E. Dudley. He was succeeded by Russel Forsyth.
John W. Ford was made Secretary. The exact
length of time this company was in existence we
were unable to learn, but in 1 844 it was still doing
business in this city.
The Clinton Insurance Company of Albany was
incorporated May 4, 1829, with a capital stock of
$300,000 in $100 shares. The first Directors
were Francis Bloodgood, Isaac W. Staats, James
McKoun, Oliver Kane, Peter Gansevoort, S. De
Witt Bloodgood, William C. Miller, Samuel Pruyn,
John B. Van Schaick, Richard Varick De Witt,
Joshua J. King, William Seymour, Charles D.
Townsend, Gerrit W. Ryckman, and Elihu Rus-
sel. The duration of the charter was twenty-one
years. Whether this company ever went into active
operation we do not learn.
The Fireman's Insurance Company of Albany
was incorporated April 23, 1831. The books for
subscription were opened January i, 1832, when
$112,000 was subscribed in six hours. James
Stevenson was its first President and Richard Van
Rensselaer, Secretary. The first Directors were
George J. Loomis, Enoch McCammen, James Ste-
venson, Lansing Pruyn, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
Harmanus S. Van Ingen, Dyer Lathrop, Lansing
G. Taylor. Abraham F. Wilson, George Young,
Thomas McElroy, Levi Silliman, Philo Booth, and
Aaron V. Fryer. The same, with the exception
of James Stevenson, were commissioners to receive
subscriptions to the capital stock, which was fixed
at $150,000 in 15,000 shares. Its charter was to
run until June i, 1861. January 18, 1849, the
company was authorized, in order to make good
the impairment of its capital occasioned by a
fire on August 17, 1848, to call upon the stock-
holders for such sums as would make the capital
equal to the sum required in the charter. This it
seems the stockholders were unable or unwilling
to do, and business was in consequence suspended.
The Mutual Insurance Company of the City
and County — office No. 446 Broadway. This com-
pany was organized in 1836, under the General
Insurance Law of the State of New York, on the
mutual plan. The following gentlemen were the
original incorporators: Barent P. Staats, Rufus
Brown, Christopher Hepinsall, Eli Gould, James
L'Amoreaux, Levi Phillips, Daniel Conklin, Jr.,
Eli Perry, Matthew Brown, John Hermans, Gay-
lor Sheldon, and John Van Valkenburgh. The
company insures for a small cash premium, receiv-
ing from its patrons premium notes as additional
payment. Its note capital now amounts to about
half a million dollars. These notes are liable to
assessment to pay fire losses in case all other assets
are exhausted. The assets of the company, other
than its premium notes, amount at this date to
about $125,000, which is invested in United States
Government bonds and real estate, beside cash on
hand for immediate use in case of fire. In 1848
the charter of the company was amended by an act
of the Legislature, granting the company the right
to issue policies for a cash consideration only, and
without a premium note. The present Board of
Directors of the Company comprise some of the
most prominent citizens of Albany, and are:
Henry H. Martin, John F. Rathbone, William
McElroy, Daniel Weidman, George Cuyler, Ed-
mund L. Judson. Archibald McClure, Edgar Cot-
rell, Benjamin F. Baker, Daniel Leonard, George
BANKS AND BANKERS.
527
H. Treadwell, James M. Warner, and David A.
Thompson.
The present officers of the company are: Presi-
dent, Henry H. Martin (elected Director in
1846); Vice-President and Treasurer, George Cuy-
ler (elected Treasurer in 1852); Secretary, George
N. Cuyler (elected in 1872).
The Commerce. Insurance Company was organ-
ized 1859, with a capital of $200,000. Its capital
was increased to $400,000 in 1865, and reduced
to $200,000 in 1 87 1, because of losses in the great
Chicago fire of that year.
The following are the officers since organization —
Presidents: Silas B. Hamilton, 1859-61; Adam
Van Alien, 1861-84; Garret A. Van Allen, elected
1884. Vice-Presidenls: Adam Van Allen, 1859-
61; Thomas Schuyler, 1861-66; Garret A. Van
Allen, 1866-84; Chauncey P. Williams, 1884.
Secretaries: Garret A. Van Allen, 1859; Robert
M. Hamilton, 1866; Richard V. DeWitt, elected
1872. Present Officers: Garret A. Van Allen,
President; Chauncey P. Williams, Vice-President;
Richard V. DeWitt, Secretary.
The office of this company is at 57 State street,
in the Commerce Insurance Building. It enjoys
public confidence and patronage in a large degree.
Since its organization it has paid over $2,500,000
of losses by fire.
The Albany City Insurance Company was organ-
ized December 8, i860, with a cash capital of
$100,000. The office of this company was first
located at 446 Broadway, afterward removed to the
old Museum Building. The first President was
William Tilhnghast. In 1869 he was succeeded
by John V. L. Pruyn. Colonel Frank Chamber-
lain succeeded Mr. Pruyn in 1874. The first Sec-
retary was John H. Rice, who was followed by
W. A. Young in 1869, the latter remaining as such
until 1874, when James F. Cassidy was elected.
At the present time this company is not in exist-
ence.
The Capitol City Insurance Company was incor-
porated in 1865 with a capital of $200,000. Frank
Chamberlain was its first and only President. It
was continued but a few years.
The Atlantic Mutual Life Insurance Company
was incorporated in 1869. Robert H. Pruyn was
elected President and Louis B. Smith, Secretary. In
1874 Walter Brown was made Secretary. Soon
after 1874 it ceased to do business.
A great many first-class foreign insurance com-
panies do business in Albany. The insurance
agents and brokers generally are men of business,
energy and inlegrity. Some of them are known
among the leading men of Albany in most matters
of public enterprise and interest.
THE ALBANY PROTECTIVES, OR INSURANCE PATROL.
This organization was effected April, 1872, and
by act of Legislature incorporated March 20, 1873.
First duty performed September 20, 1872.
This organization is supported entirely by the
Albany Board ofUnderwriters, and is no expense
to the City of Albany. They are looked upon by
the citizens as indispensable, and hy the Chief and
Fire Commissioners as a valuable auxiliary to the
Fire Department.
They formerly occupied the premises No. 41
Hudson avenue, and for the first thirteen years
were cramped for room, as no available location
could be secured. In 1884 they leased from the
Hon. Erastus Corning, 21 and 23 Howard street,
and to-day they have a house second to none in
the country. The Superintendent, Mr. J. N. Foster,
has been with them since its organization, and
Superintendent since 1874; previous to that time
Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Thomas Austin being
the chief officer up to 1874.
The company consists of eight men, seven men
being on duty each night. They carry fire ex-
tinguishers, rubber covers, brooms, scrapers, lan-
terns, axes, ropes, ladders and other necessary ar-
ticles for the extinguishment of fires. They have
been known to have spread atone fire alone 36,000
square feet of canvas, thereby saving a vast amount
of property. They removed at one fire $70,000
worth of property, consisting of leather stock, and
it is estimated by those interested that the patrol
save many times their cost of running each year.
The present roll consists of the following: J. N.
Foster, Superintendent; William Scheffler, E. J.
Dayton, W. H. Kingsbury, James R. Melick, F.
H. Weatherwax, B. E. Crehan, R. R. Coleman.
Officers of the Albany Board of Underwriters: A.
Douw Lansing, President; Stephen L. Foster, Vice-
President; A. E. Batchelder, Secretary; Frederick
B. Hubbard, Treasurer.
BANKS AND BANKERS.
An account of the rise and progress of banking in-
stitutions in Albany forms a very interesting chapter
in the history of this city. Here the second bank
chartered in the State and the fourth in the Union
was established, and here have dwelt and operated
many of the foremost bankers in the early history
of this country. A history of the banking interests
of Albany from 1792 to the present, shows the
progressive strides in the city's trade, manufactures,
and commerce made in nearly a century's growth.
For some time preceding the year 1792, the
need of a banking institution for the northern part
of the State was apparent to the capitalists of this
section. In Albany the scheme was much discussed.
A few had much faith in it, while many violently
opposed the enterprise. On the 3d of February,
1792, a meeting was called at Lewis's Tavern to
discuss the project. At this meeting were gathered
the ■ leading capitalists of Albany at that date.
There was but one bank in the State, the Bank of
New York, the stock of which was 50 per cent,
above par. It was decided that the interests ofthe
northern part of the State required the location of
a bank at Albany. Some one writing for the news-
papers at this period, confidently asserted that a
hundred thousand dollars could be subscribed for
the new project in the city alone; but it was liber-
ally resolved that the neighboring places should
be permitted to share in the honors and emolu-
528
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ments of the enterprise. At a subsequent meeting
the outhnes of a plan for the establishment of a
bank were presented. It was decided that the name
of the institution should be the Albany Bank;
the capital $75,000, to be divided into 500 shares
of 1 50 each, $15 to be paid on subscribing, and
the remainder in three instalments; thirteen Direc-
tors to constitute the Board of Directors, nine of
whom should be residents of Albany. Jeremiah
Van Rensselaer, Jacob Van Derheyden, and Bar-
ret Bleecker were to open the books for subscrip-
tions in the week following, and to close them as
soon as 500 shares should be subscribed. February
1 7th the books were opened, and the stock was over-
run in amount in less than three hours. After the
books were closed, offers of 10 per cent, advance
were made on the stock; and, on the Saturday follow-
ing, it rose to 100 per cent. cash. Application was
immediately made to the Legislature for a charter,
and here the project received considerable opposi-
tion from the law-makers of that day. As the
prospects of a charter being secured became more
or less doubtful, the price of the stock rose or fell,
creating no little excitement and speculation in
this region, where stock transactions were quite a
novelty. At one time it is said to have stood at
1 1 00 premium on a share upon which only $15
had been paid.
Towards the close of the session, by the most
strenuous efforts of the friends of the enterprise, the
act of incorporation became a law. The first elec-
tion of Directors was held June 12th, at the City
Tavern, and resulted as follows : Abraham Ten
Broeck, Cornelius Glen, Stephen Van Rensselaer,
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, John Maley, Abraham
Van Vechten, Henry Cuyler, John Stephenson,
James Caldwell, Jacob Van Derheyden, Golds-
boro Banyar, Daniel Hale, and Elkanah Watson.
The last-named was, as in all public matters, the
first in the project and the most active lobbyist.
At a meeting of the Directors, Abraham Ten
Broeck was elected President. The bank was
opened for deposits on the i6th of July, and began
to discount on the 17th. The rate of interest was
six per cent In September, notice was given that
notes of 45 days only would be discounted. The
act of incorporation limited the capital stock to
$260,000, each share to be 400 Spanish milled
dollars, or its equivalent.
In February, 1794, in accordance with the pro-
visions of the charter, the capital of the bank was
increased $540,000, in 135 shares of $400 each.
By subsequent enactments of the Legislature, and
by subscriptions on the part of the State, the capital
of the bank was increased to $320,000, and it con-
tinued at that amount until 1820, when the surn of
$100 on each share was returned to the stock-
holders, thus reducing the capital of the bank one-
fourth. In 1832, the charter of the bank was ex-
tended to January, 1855, when, for the purpose of
more widely diffusing the stock, the par value of the
stock was reduced to the sum of thirty dollars, and
the number of shares proportionately increased.
The Albank Bank was first located in an old-
fashioned Dutch edifice in North Pearl street.
third north of State street. In February, 1794,
the bank erected a building on the lot now north
of the Merchants' Bank, and remained there until
1 8 10. In 1 8 ID the bank was removed to anew
building, erected by the bank on the corner of
State and Broadway, which was occupied until
1832, when it was torn down for the purpose of
widening State street. In 1832' the bank was re-
moved to No. 42 State street, where it was located
until the present Merchants' National Bank build-
ing was erected. Here the bank remained until
its failure in 1861.
The Presidents of this bank from 1792 to 1861
were: Abraham Ten Broeck, 1792-98; Jeremiah
Van llensselaer, 1798-1806; Philip S. Van Rensse-
laer, 1806-10; Dudley Walsh, 1810-14; John
Van Schaick, 1814-20; Barent Bleecker, 1820-
40; Jacob H. Ten Eyck, 1840-61. During
this period of seventy years there were only four
cashiers, namely : Garrit W. Van Schwaick, 1792-
18 1 5; John Van Zandt, 1815-32; JeUis Winne,
Jr., 1832-49; E. E. Kendrick, 1849-61.
James Van Ingen and Harmanus P. Schuyler
were the first clerks. Elkanah Watson was one of
the most efficient advocates of the establishment
of this bank, and to his tact, experience, and busi-
ness habits, it in no small way was indebted for its
early success. The affairs of the bank were long
managed with prudence and ability, and at one
time in proportion to its capital, it possessed more
specie than any other bank in the country. For
years among Albanians when anything was called
"as good as the Bank of Albany," it was consid-
ered good enough.
The failure of this bank. May 11, 1861, was a
genuine surprise to the people. Just before the
failure $100 shares were sold for $150, and the
utmost confidence prevailed in the institution.
Even the President of the Bank, Jacob H. Ten
Eyck, was ignorant of the coming disaster, he alone
losing $100, 000. It would be hard to attribute its
failure to any particular cause. It was a combina-
tion of difficulties under which four Albany banks
failed this year. A general stagnation of business
and the unsettled state of the country caused by the
war, made the year 1861 a memorable one in the
financial affairs of Albany. Abraham Van Allen
was appointed receiver of the bank. At the time
of the failure the capital of this bank was $540,000.
New York State Bank. — This bank owed its
origin almost wholly to the exertions of Elkanah
Watson. It was incorporated and went into opera-
tion with a capital of $460,000 in 1803. Its orig-
inal Directors consisted of the State Comptroller,
Elisha Jenkins, John Tayler, Thomas Tillotson,
Abraham G. Lansing, Peter Gansevoort, Elkanah
Watson, John R. Bleecker, Francis Bloodgood,
John Robison, Gilbert Stewart, John De Peyster
Douw, Richard Lush and Thomas Mather.
At a meeting of the Directors on March 25, 1 803,
John Tayler was chosen President, and John W.
Yates, Cashier. It commenced business Wednes-
day, September 7th.
In 1804, the lot where the present bank stands
was purchased of Isaiah Townsend,and the erection
BANKS AND BANKERS.
529
of the new banking building commenced. This was
completed and first occupied May lo, 1804. This
building is still standing, presenting in front almost
the appearance of its primitive days. Philip Hooker
was the architect
The opposition to the establishment of this bank
was very bitter, and when the bill for its incorpora-
tion was before the Legislature, the opponents of
the project made strenuous efforts to defeat it. It
was openly charged at the time that money was
used by both friends and opponents to corrupt
members of the Legislature. The capitalists inter-
ested in the Bank of Albany were especially opposed
to the new bank; nor did their opposition cease
after it was incorporated and commenced business;
the Directors of the Bank of Albany even carrying
their spile so far as to refuse to supply the new
bank with paper on which to print their first notes.
By the act of incorporation, the State had the
right to subscribe 3,000 shares in this bank. It
was further provided that the Comptroller should
be one of the Directors.
John Tayler continued President until his death
in 1829. He was succeeded by Francis Bloodgood,
who died in 1840, the last survivor of the original
Board of Directors. Rufus H. King was elected
President in 1840, and remained as such until his
death in 1867. He was succeeded by General
Franklin Townsend. J. Howard King was elected
President in 1874 and still retains this position.
Mr. Yates died in 1828, and was succeeded as
Cashier by his son, Richard Yates, whose successor
was Aaron D. Patchin. J. B. Plumb succeeded
Mr. Patchin, who was succeeded by John H. Van
Antwerp. The present Cashier is D. W. Wemple.
In 1850 the charter of the bank expired, when
it closed up its business, paying back to its stock-
holders their capital with a handsome surplus.
Under the same name, with new articles of associa-
tion, and under the general banking laws of the
State, it commenced business on January i, 1851.
Nearly all the old stockholders subscribed for equal
amounts in the new association. In 1849 'he
capital of this bank was reduced to ^369,000. The
new bank began with a capital of $350,000, and at
present is in a flourishing condition.
The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, the third
bank established in Albany, was incorporated March
4, 181 1, and opened for business July 29, 181 1.
By the act of incorporation, the following were
named as Directors: Samuel Southwick, Benjamin
Knower, Elisha Dorr, Isaac Denniston, Benjamin
Van Benthuysen, William Fowler, George Mer-
chant, Thomas Livingston, Giles W. Porter, Will-
ard Walker, Walter Weed, Peter Boyd, Isaac Hut-
ton, Spencer Stafford and John Bryan. This bank
was chartered ostensibly for the benefit of the me-
chanics and farmersof Albany County, and its char-
ter provided that none but farmers and mechanics
should be elected as bank officers; but some years
after, application was made to the Legislature for
an amendment to the charter, so as to authorize
the election of President and Directors without ref-
erence to the pursuits or employments in which
they may have been engaged. The banking-house
was first located in what was then known as No. 6
Court street (now Broadway), on the site of the
present Post-office building. The building now
occupied by this bank, on the northeast corner of
State and James streets, was erected a few years ago.
A peculiar feature connected with the early his-
tory of this bank, and by the stockholders looked
upon with suspicion, was the fact that all the origi-
nal directors were Democrats in their political sym-
pathies. The first election of Directors occurred
June I, 1812. It was generally understood among
the stockholders, for some time preceding this elec-
tion, that two Federalists would be chosen; but
whose seats should be vacated for their admission
was not so easily agreed upon. The election
opened at 10 o'clock at Columbia Hotel in Court
street, and was contined to a late hour in the after-
noon. It was a warm and animated contest, and
finally resulted in the election of the original Di-
rectors with the exception of Spencer Stafford and
John Bryan, who were superseded by Peter Boyd
and Isaac Hutton, Federalists.
The first President was Solomon Southwick, who
filled the office until 1813, when he was succeeded
by Isaac Hutton. Isaac Hutton was succeeded
by Benjamin Knower in 18 17, who remained Pres-
ident until 1834, when financial embarrassments
having caused his resignation, he was succeed-
ed by Charles E. Dudley as President pro tern.,
February 3, 1834. At the election in June of
this year, Ezra Ames was elected President and
Charles E. Dudley, Vice-President This seems
to have been the first Vice-President ever elected by
this bank. Ezra Ames filled the office of President
until 1836, when Thomas W. Olcott having re-
signed the office of Cashier, was elected Presi-
dent, which office he held until his death in
1880. As a Clerk, Cashier and President Mr.
Thomas W. Olcott had been connected with the
bank for the long period of sixty-nine years, be-
sides two or three years passed in the Columbia
Bank of Hudson, N. Y., a period of time almost
beyond parallel in this country. At his death, in
1880, he was succeeded by his son Dudley, who
is now President There is no record of the elec-
tion of a Vice-President from the date of the
death of Charles E. Dudley in 1841, until 1844,
when Samuel S. Fowler was chosen. He was suc-
ceeded by William H. DeWitt, who held this oflSce
until January i, 1853, the date of the expiration of
the charter of the old Mechanics and Farmers'
Bank. From this period, until June, 1865, the
bank had no Vice-President, when Mr. Thomas
Olcott, resigning the position of Cashier, was
elected Vice-President, which office he held until
his death in 1873. From this date until January
I, 1879, there was no election of Vice-President,
when Dudley Olcott having resigned as Cashier
was elected to that office. He held it until March,
1880, when he was succeeded by John J. Olcott,
who now holds the position.
Gorham A. Worth was the first Cashier, which
position he held until 181 7, when he resigned to
accept the office of Cashier of the Branch Bank of
the United States, at Cincinnati, Ohio.
530
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Thomas W. Olcott was appointed to the vacancy
and held the position until June 7, 1836, when he
was succeeded by E. E. Kendrick. E. E. Ken-
drick held the office until February 23, 1849,
when he was succeeded by Thomas Olcott, who re-
signed the position in June, 1865.
Dudley Olcott was his successor in the office,
until January i, 1879, when he was succeed by
George G. Davidson.
At the time of the appointment of Thomas W.
Olcott as Cashier, in 181 7, the bank's capital had
become impaired, owing to the financial troubles
growing out of the depression following the close
of the last war with Great Britain; but from this
date, the financial history of the bank has been
one of unvarying prosperity.
The aggregate amount of dividends paid since
the organization of the bank is $3,600,000, which
will average about 15 per cent, since 181 1, be-
sides a surplus of $650,000 at date. At the ex-
piration of the charter of the old bank, January i,
1853, the stockholders received about 115 per cent. ,
besides their stock in the new bank, which was
$350,000. The capital of the old bank at this
date was $442,000, divided in shares of $17 each.
The first charter of this bank expired in 1833
and was renewed for twenty years. In 1853, upon
the expiration of its second charter, it closed up
its affairs, dividing, besides the par value of its
stock, fifty per cent, surplus, and went into opera-
tion again with its same officers.
During the War of the Rebellion it again wound
up its affairs and came under the National Bank
system, which, however, it abandoned in 1868,
and is now doing business under the general
banking laws of the State. This bank has been
conducted with signal ability and success.
Mr. T. W. Olcott, by general consent, was the
great banker of Albany. He was the son of
Josiah Olcott, of Stratford, Connecticut. Born at
Hudson, N. Y., May 22, 1795; died in Albany,
March 23, 1880. He came to Albany as Clerk in
the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank at its opening,
July 29, 181 1, and continued as Cashier from July,
1817; as President from June, 1836. During his
long career as a banker — for nearly seventy years —
with singular devotion, he attained a reputation as
a bank financier second to no one in the country,
and left large wealth and a name greatly honored for
benevolent deeds, broad public spirit and exalted
integrity. In 1863 he declined a flattering offer
from President Lincoln, of the position of First
Comptroller of the Currency; but he declined all
public office except such as related to the promo-
tion of education or other local interests. He
leaves one daughter and five sons: Dudley and
John J., now President and Vice-President of the
Mechanics and Farmers' Bank, Frederick P., late
State Comptroller; and Alexander and Theodore,
of Corning, N. Y.
The Commercial Bank of Albany is another of
the old and successful financial institutions of the
city. The first movement towards its incorporation
was made November 19, 1823, when notice was
given by Joseph Alexander, George W. Stanton,
Alexander Davidson, and David E. Gregory, that
an application would be made to the Legislature
for the incorporation of the Commercial Bank of
Albany, with a capital 01 $500,000.
On the 2ist day of January, 1824, a bill for its
incorporation, to expire July i, 1842, was reported
from the Committee on Banks and Insurance Com-
panies, and passed the Assembly January 29,
1824, but was defeated in the Senate.
The following year the application was renewed,
and this time with success, for the bill, granting a
charter to expire July, i, 1845, passed both branches
of the Legislature April 4th, and became a law
April 1 2th, 1825.
The capital stock was fixed at three hundred thou-
sand dollars, divided into shares of twenty dollars
each.
The following were named as Commissioners in
the bill, and constituted the first Board of Directors.
William Walker, Joshua Tuflfs, George W. Stanton,
Lewis Benedict, William Cook, David E. Gregory,
Seth Hastings, Ira Jenkins, Joseph Alexander,
Robert Gilchrist, Richard Marvin, John Townsend,
Asa H. Center.
The early days of the bank were not peaceful.
The petition for its incorporation had been signed
by hundreds of men of small means, representing
the middle classes, who urged the grant of a charter
on the ground that the stock of the three existing
banks was principally held by men who had re-
tired from business, and a new institution would be
of great advantage to the mercantile and manufac-
turing interests of the city.
The stock books having been opened for a sub-
scription of $300,000 in May, 1825, they were
closed after three days, when the amount sub-
scribed was found to be $1,500,000. The stock
not having been distributed to the satisfaction of
all the subscribers, the Commissioners were charged
with defeating the public expectation, and indigna-
tion was aroused to such an extent, that a public
meeting was called at the Capitol, June 10,1825.
This meeting was largely attended, and was pre-
sided over by Colonel John Stilwell. No action seems
to have been taken at this meeting to remedy the
supposed unequal distribution of the stock, but in
view of the large amount of surplus capital sought
to be invested in bank stock, it was suggested that
it might be expedient to apply for another bank, to
which the subscription of any individual should be
Strictly limited to fifty shares of twenty-five dollars
each.
The Directors of the Bank were, for a time,
enjoined from opening; but August 29, 1826, the
Chancellor decided that the bank might go into
operation so far as to issue bills and discount
notes, but prohibited any transfer of stock, or mak-
ing any loan or pledges on stock.
A meeting of the Board of Directors was held at
Knickerbocker Hall on the evening of May 23,
1826, at which all the Directors, with the exception
of William Cook, were present At this meeting
the Board was organized and Joseph Alexander
elected President July 13, 1826, Henry Bartow
was appointed Cashier.
BANKS AND BANKERS.
631
The bank began business September 5, 1826,
with a capital of $300,000, and continued until the
expiration of its charter, on July i, 1845, and
under an extension of its charter until July i, 1847,
when it was reorganized under the General Bank-
ing Law of the State. The capital stock was in-
creased to $500,000, February i, 1855.
On May 31, 1865, the bank was chartered under
the Act of Congress as a National institution, and
was reorganized and began business under that
act August I, 1865. It continued under this char-
ter for twenty years, until May 31, 1885, when an
extension of the charter was granted to May 31,
1905.
June 10, 1875, the capital was reduced to
$300,000, shares $100 each, the amount of the
reduction being paid to the stockholders. On Jan-
uary 13, 1880, the number of Directors was re-
duced to nine.
Mr. Alexander was succeeded in the office of
President by the following persons, who were
elected at the dates given: John Townsend, June 7,
1832; John L. Schoolcraft, August 31, 1854; Ezra
P. Prentice, June 13, i860; Robert H. Pruyn,
November 24, 1875; Daniel Manning, March 4,
1882; Robert C. Pruyn, May 23, 1885. Vice-
Presidents: Seth Hastings, June 18, 1836; John
L. Schoolcraft, October 28, 1839; Andrew White,
June 16, 1855. The death of Andrew White, in
1857, made a vacancy in the office until the elec-
tion of Robert H. Pruyn, November 2, 1872; Rob-
ert L. Johnson, November 24, 1875; Daniel Man-
ning, April 9, 1 881; Robert C. Pruyn, March 4,
1882; Nathan B. Perry, February 28, 1885.
The following Cashiers have been appointed :
Henry Bartow, July 13, 1826; James Taylor,
November 2, 1835; Andrew White, March 17,
1854; Powers L. Green, June 16, 1855; Visscher
Ten Eyck, July 7, 1858; Eliphalet Wickes, Au-
gust II, i86z; James Martin, February 24, 1866;
Edward A. Groesbeck, April 30, 1873.
This bank has been the depositary of the State
funds during the greater part of its existence, and
continuously for nearly sixty years, with the excep-
tion of two years, when the Know-Nothing parry
was in power. It has rendered very valuable ser-
vice to the Stale in the safe keeping of its moneys,
and in providing funds for the maintenance of the
various departments of the Government when
needed. It has also for some years been the de-
positary of the city funds. The present capital is
$300,000; surplus and profit, $510,000.
The bank from its organization has occupied its
present location at Nos. 38 and 40 State street.
The building was erected in 18 16, and was used for
some years as the Adelphi Hotel, a well-known
establishment in thoSe days. The banking-rooms
were at first located on the second floor, and con-
tinued there until the remodeling of the building
in 1851, when the addition now occupied was
built. At this time the upper stories of the front
building were refitted for the Young Men's Associ-
ation and the lower floor turned into stores. Pre-
vious to this change the building had been occupied
by the Commercial Bank, and the Albany City and
Canal Banks. The building was refitted in 1876,
and the banking-rooms refurnished and improved.
Canal Bank. — This institution was incorporated
in 1829, with a capital of $300,000. The first
Directors were John T. Norton, Jeremiah Clark,
Edward C. Delavan, Lyman Root, Israel Smith,
John I. Godfrey, Aaron' Thorpe, David Wood,
Henry L. Webb, James Goold, Alexander Marvin,
Edwin Croswell, James Porter, Richard V. De
Witt, Lyman Chapin.
From 1829 to 1835 John T. Norton was Presi-
dent. John Keyes Paige succeeded him, who a
short time after was followed b)' Joseph Russell.
The last President was Robert Hunter. Theodore
Olcott was the first and only Cashier of this Bank.
The failure of this bank in July, 1848, was
memorable as the first failure of a banking institu-
tion in Albany. It was closed by order of the
Comptroller, and a commission appointed to exam-
ine into the affairs of the bank. At the time sus-
picions of fraud on the part of the bank officers
were entertained by the people, but an investigation
failed to reveal such a state of affairs.
The Albany City Bank was incorporated April
30, 1834, with a capital of $500,000.
The Commissioners were : Erastus Corning,
Chauncey Humphrey, Martin Van Alstyne, John
Knower, Samuel S. Fowler, John L. Schoolcraft,
William Seymour, Peter Wendell, Garret W.
Ryckman, Anthony Blanchard, William Smith,
Thomas M. Burt, Albert Gallup.
The bank commenced business October i, 1834,
with the following officers: Erastus Corning, Pres-
ident; Samuel S. Fowler, Vice-President; Watts
Sherman, Cashier.
The City Bank at that time was located on the
south side of State street, in the Commercial Bank
Building, No. 38. At that time the Commercial
Bank was upstairs on the second floor. The stairs
and hall divided the building. The City Bank
occupied the east side; the Commercial Bank the
west side.
Charles L. Garfield, of Troy, was appointed
Clerk in October, 1836. In June, 1837, he was
appointed Teller, in place of Moses B. Wright,
resigned, a position he has held up to the present
time.
About 1840 the City Bank bought from Joel
Rathbone his store, 47 State street, which was con-
verted into a bank building. It was then the fin-
est bank building in this part of the country.
Watts Sherman continued as Cashier till 1847,
when, his health failing, the Directors granted him
three months vacation to visit Europe. Henry L.
Lansing, late Assistant-Cashier of the Ontario Bank,
N. Y., took his place during his absence. Octo-
ber, 1850, John V. L. Pruyn was elected Vice-
President
July, 1 85 1, Watts Sherman resigned as Cashier.
Henry H. Martin was elected in his place.
In 1857, during the heavy panic, the Albany
City Bank suspended specie payment, but not until
all the banks in New York City had suspended.
The Albany City Bank charter expired January
I, 1864, and was immdiately reorganized under
532
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the New York State Banking Laws, with the same
capital, $500,000, and the same officers.
Before closing the new State organization, it was
resolved by the Board of Directors to pay the
stockholders 80 per cent. — in addition to their regu-
lar dividends of 4 per cent, semi-annually — amount-
ing to four hundred thousand dollars. Forty per
cent payable April i, 1864; twenty per cent, pay-
able October i, 1864; and twenty per cent payable
Octobler i, 1865.
June I, 1865, the Albany City Bank organized as
a National Bank under the corporate name of the
Albany City National Bank, still retaining the
same officers and capital. Ninety thousand dollars
of the undivided profits of the old Albany City
Bank was carried as a surplus fund of the new
National Bank. December, 1870, Henry H. Mar-
tin resigned as Cashier, and Amos P. Palmer was
elected in his place. Bj' the death of Erastus
Coming, April, 1872, the bank lost an officer of
great and valuable experience, and to whose early
care and labor the bank is largely indebted for its
success. His son Erastus was elected in his place
as President The death of Ellis Baker, who had
been connected with the bank for thirty-five years,
occurred March, 1873.
In March, 1873, it was resolved to erect a new
banking-house on the same ground, 47 State street
E. L. Roberts, an architect from New York, fur-
nished the plans for the present bank building,
which is three stories high, with granite front, and
one of the finest public edifices in the city. Dur-
ing its building the bank occupied rooms in the
Exchange Building, on the north side of the main
floor.
June, 1874, the bank moved into the new build-
ing. February, 1874, the Board resolved to reduce
its capital from $500,000 to $300,000.
The death of John V. L. Pruyn, who held the
office of Vice-President, and was one of the oldest
ofiicers of the bank, occurred in November, 1877.
The Hon. Eli Perry was elected in his place.
The present Board of Directors consists of the
following, viz. : Erastus Corning, George H.
Thacher, A. P. Palmer, Selden E. Marvin," Amasa
J. Parker, Robert L. Banks, John V. L. Pruyn,
Jr., Amasa J. Parker, Jr., Erastus Corning, Jr.
The Albany Exchange Bank was incorporated in
1838, to continue for 662 years, with a capital of
$31 1, 100, privileged to increase it to $10,000,000.
It was among the earliest associations under the
General Banking Act passed in April of that year.
Its first Board of Directors was composed of John
Q. Wilson, who was elected President, George W.
Stanton, Alfred Douglas, Galen Batchelder, Fred-
erick K. Barnard, Lansing G. Taylor, John
Thomas, Robert Hunter, Oliver Steele, Henry
Greene, John M. Newton, James McNaughton,
Giles Sanford, Samuel Stevens, Robert L. Noyes.
Soon after organization, and before business was
commenced, John Q. Wilson and Robert Hunter
resigned as Directors, and Ichabod L. Judson and
Gaylor Sheldon were appointed to fill the vacan-
cies. A vacancy thus occurring in the office of
President, George W. Stanton was elected Presi-
dent, which office he filled until his death in April,
1849.
The early history of this bank is a record of unfor-
tunate speculations. Notably was the purchase of
$50,000 of the bonds of Arkansas, which proved
worthless, thus rendering one-sixth of the actual
capital of the bank wholly unavailable and unpro-
ductive. Besides this loss much money was lost by
other bank failures. So severely had the bank suf-
fered by losses, that at the outbreak of the Civil War
its stock was offered at seventy cents on the dollar
without finding buyers. But by careful manage-
ment on the part of its officers, they managed to
carry on its business, and when the affairs of the
bank were wound up in 1865, preparatory to
forming a National Bank, a creditable showing of
its financial affairs was made. This was mainly
accomplished by the wise efforts of C. P. Williams,
the present President.
Samuel Pruyn succeeded Mr. Stanton as Cashier,
and remained in this position until a National Bank
was formed. The first Cashier of this Bank was
Noah Lee, who was succeeded in 1853 by James
M. Lovett, who in turn was succeeded by Chaun-
cey P. Williams.
The Exchange Bank closed its business as a
State association January 31, 1865, and the Na-
tional Exchange Bank of Albany, having been
organized for that purpose, succeeded to its busi-
ness, and has done a prosperous and lucrative bus-
iness ever since. Its capital is $300,000. Located
at 450 Broadway.
The first President of this Bank was William
Gould. He was succeeded by Ichabod L. Judson,
who in turn was followed by Chauncey P. Will-
iams. Mr. Williams was succeeded by Stephen
H. Allen. In 1875, Chauncey P.Williams became
President, and has most acceptably filled this
position ever since. His entire connection with
the banking institutions of Albany has been most
creditable.
The first Cashier of this Bank was Chauncey P.
Williams. In 1875, Thomas L. Scott was Cashier
until his death in 1881, when he was succeeded
by Jonas H. Brooks, the present Cashier.
The Merchants' Bank was incorporated January
19, 1853, under the general banking law, with a
capital of $250,000. The first Board of Directors
was composed of John Tweddle, Billings P. Learned,
Richard Van Rensselaer, Matthew J. Hallenbeck,
Gilbert I_. Wilson, Maurice E. Viele, Henry P.
Pulling, Joseph N. Bullock, John Sill.
It began business at No. 59 State street, April
7. 1853, with John Tweddle, President, and John
Sill, Cashier.
It became a National Bank April 22, 1865, and
is now known as the Merchants' National Bank.
In 1869 it removed its location to its present quar-
ters, 458 Broadway. In 1876, Richard Van Rens-
selaer became President He was succeeded by
J. Wilbur Tillinghast Nathan D. Wendell was
made Cashier in 1869, and was succeeded by J.
Irving Wendell in 1874. Present capital, $200,000.
Union Bank. — This institntion was first organized
under the general banking law as the Bank of the
BANKS AND BANKERS.
533
Union, June 8, 1853. It began business January
I, 1854, at No. 35 State street, with a capital of
$250,000. The first Board of Directors was com-
posed of Billings P. Learned, Gilbert C. Davidson,
William N. Strong, Chauncey Vibbard, Amos P.
Palmer, Charles Coates, George H. Thacher, Will-
iam L. Learned, John H. Reynolds, Daniel D. T.
Charles, Alfred Wild, Le Roy Mowry and Adam
Cottrell. Billings P. Learned was the first
President of this Bank, holding the position from
the date of its organization to the time of his
death, April 16, 1884, when he was succeeded by
his son, Billings P. Learned.
Mr. Learned was born in Norwich, Connecti-
cut, June 24, 1 8 13; graduated from Yale College
in 1834; studied law and practiced his profession
for a short time at Lockport, N. Y., but soon after
abandoned it on account of poor health. He after-
ward engaged in business at Troy for a short time,
and then removed to Albany and engaged in the
manufacture of stoves with George H. Thacher.
When the Union Bank was established he was elect-
ed its President, and as a banker was known and
respected for integrity and upright business habits.
John F. Batchelder was the first Cashier of this
Bank, until he resigned in 1857, when he was
succeeded by Adam Van Allen, who resigned in
1 86 1, succeeded by Amos P. Palmer.
In the early part of the year 1865, the stock-
holders of the Union Bank decided to abandon
their organization under the State law, and organ-
ize under the National Bank Act; and March 8,
1865, it was authorized to continue business, under
the title of the Union National Bank of Albany, for
twenty years. At the expiration of its charter,
March 8, 1885, by agreement with the stockhold-
ers, this bank was satisfactorily closed and its affairs
liquidated in full. Shortly after its organization as
a National Bank, a bank building was erected at
No. 446 Broadway, which was occupied until the
expiration of its charter. The last Cashier was
James C. Cook, who held this position from 1870.
Bank of the Capitol was incorporated in 1853,
and went into operation April ist of this year, with
a capital of $300,000, on the corner of State and
James streets. Its first Directors were Thomas
Schuyler, M. H. Read, John G. White, Adam Van
Allen, A. D. Shepard, James Van Nostrand, Mat-
thew Vassar, Alfred Noxon and Noah Lee.
The first President was Noah Lee, who was suc-
ceeded by Thomas Schuyler, who was followed by
John G. White. Horatio G. Gilbert was its first
Cashier. He was followed by John Templeton.
This bank failed May 18, 1861, when Matthew H.
Read was appointed receiver.
National Bank. — This bank went into operation
in 1856, at No. 53 State street, with a capital of
$600,000. The first Directors were William E.
Bleecker, Albion Ransom, James C. Kennedy,
Richard J. Grant, Samuel W. Burnett, Charles Ad-
ams and Robert C. Martin. William E. Bleecker
was chosen President, and Robert C. Martin, Cash-
ier. Both of these officers remained in their
positions until the failure of the bank May 23,
1861, being the last of the four Albany banks which
failed during this month. James Edwards was ap-
pointed receiver.
The Bank of the Interior was incorporated under
the general banking law in i857,and went into oper-
ation at No. 61 State street July 22d of that year.
Josiah B. Plumb, its principal founder, was elected
President, and John F. Batchelder, Cashier, both of
whom were in office when the bank failed. May i,
1861. Orlando Meads was made receiver.
The First National Bank of Albany was organized
January 26, 1864. Commenced business at its pres-
ent location, Nos. 35 and 37 State street, February
25, 1864. It was the first bank in Albany organ-
ized under the laws of the United States, and be-
came the financial agent of the Government for the
receiving and disbursing of its funds in this city and
vicinity.
Thomas Schuyler was its first President, Adam
Van Allen was its first Cashier. Its first Board of
Directors were: Thomas Schuyler, Garret A. Van
Allen, Matthew H. Read, Charles H.Adams, Frank
Chamberlain. Its capital in 1884 was $200,000;
its surplus, $207,000. Aggregate amount of divi-
dends paid to stockholders since its organization is
$564,150.
Matthew H. Read was President from 1869 to
his death, in 1883, when he was succeeded by Adam
Van Allen, who, upon his death, in 1884, was suc-
ceeded by Garret A. Van Allen. Ledyard Cogswell
is Cashier. The Directors are: Garret A. Van
Allen, Albert Wing, Jesse C. Potts, J. Townsend
Lansing, Joseph W. Russell.
Hope Bank was incorporated under the general
banking law of the State, and commenced business
at the corner of James and State streets in 1863.
Capital, $100,000. James Hendrick was made
President and William Young, Cashier. It was
continued under these officers until 1874, when it
was discontinued and its stockholders paid in full.
It was succeeded in 1874 by the Hope Banking
Company, which was controlled by a Board of Di-
rectors. James Hendrick was President of the com-
pany. It was discontinued in 1877.
Albany County Bank. — This institution was in-
corporated under the State banking law, and com-
menced business May 15, 1871, in Tweddle Hall
Building. Removed to present building January
16, 1883. Capital, $200,000. Its first Board of
Directors was composed of Jacob Learned, B. W.
Wooster, Theodore D. Smith, A. W. Brumaghim,
Royal Bancroft, Elvin Taylor, Francis M. Sill,'
Cornelius Smith, Joseph Mann, Henry A. Fonda
and John Templeton. Jacob Learned was Presi-
dent from 1871 to 1878, when he was succeeded
by B. W. Wooster, who still remains. John Tem-
pleton has been its only Cashier.
SAVINGS BANKS.
Albany Savings Bank. — In 1820, William James,
Charles R. Webster, Jesse Buel, John Townsend
and Joseph Alexander petitioned the Legislature to
be made a corporate body, under the name of the
Albany Savings Bank, that they might receive on
deposit such sums' of money as might be offered by
534
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
tradesmen, mechanics and others. An act of in-
corporation was passed March 25, 1820.
The first officers designated by the act of incor-
poration, consisted of Stephen Van Rensselaer,
President; William James, First Vice-President;
Joseph Alexander, Second Vice-President; John
Townsend, Third Vice-President; Charles R. Web-
ster, Jesse Buel, Thomas Russell, Volkert P. Douw,
William Durant, Douw Fonda, Simeon DeWitt,
Peter Boyd, John Spencer, John L. Winne, Will-
iam McHarg, Matthew Gill, Harmanus Bleecker
and Sylvanus P. Jermain, Managers, none of
whom received directly or indirectly, pay for their
services. The first meeting of these officers was
held May 16, 1820, at the Chamber of Commerce
room, when Sylvanus P. Jermain was appointed
Secretary; and a short time after, John W. Yates
was made Treasurer.
The first deposit was made June 10, 1820, the
money being received at the New York State Bank,
with which the Savings Bank had made arrange-
ments for the safe keeping of its funds. The de-
posits received this day amounted to $527. The
first depositor was Joseph T. Rice, a silversmith.
The arrangements made with the New York State
Bank continued until 1828, when a contract was
made with the Commercial Bank to keep and invest
the funds of the Savings Bank. In 1871 the busi-
ness of the Savings Bank was conducted in the
rooms formerly occupied by the First National
Bank. Its present elegant building. No. 89 State
street, was erected in 1874-75 and first occupied
May II, 1875.
The business of this institution has been con-
ducted in such a manner as to gain unbounded
public confidence. The amount of business done
has been steadily on the increase. In the second
year of its existence $14,333 were deposited, repre-
senting 297 depositors; in 1849, $707,595 were de-
posited, mostly in sums under $100; in 1874,
$3,456,598; and on the ist of January, 1885, the
deposits in the bank amounted to $8,237,161.03;
the assets, $9,592,005.18.
Mr. Van Rensselaer was succeeeded as Presi-
dent, in 1844, by John Townsend; in 1861, by
GarritY. Lansing; by Harmon Pumpelly, in 1869;
by Henry H. Martin, in 1882.
John W. Yates was succeeded as Treasurer, in
1844, by James Taylor; by Visscher Ten Eyck,
1861; James Martin, 1869; Henry H. Martin, 1874;
Theodore Townsend in 1882.
The Albany City Savings Institution was incor-
porated on March 29, 1S50, and began business,
and still continues it, in the Albany City National
Bank Building, 47 State street The first Trustees
were Erastus Corning, Sr., John Taylor, James
Maher, Lansing Pruyn, James Kidd, James Mc-
Naughton, John V. L. Pruyn, William Humphrey,
Watts Sherman, John T. Norton, James Goold,
Samuel Pruyn, Henry H. Martin, John Knower,
John McKnight, William Boardman, John G.
White, Ellis Baker, Christopher W. Bender and
Thomas Noonan. The first President was Erastus
Corning, Sr., who was succeeded by his son,
Erastus Corning. Watts Sherman was the first
Treasurer of this Bank. He was succeeded by
Henry H. Martin, who in. 1874 was followed by
Amos P. Palmer. The present Treasurer is Russell
C. Case. The amount deposited in this bank, Jan-
uary I, 1885, was $2,153,077.57; assets, $2,263,-
542.76.
The Mechanics and Farmers' Savings Bank was
incorporated April 12, 1855, and commenced busi-
ness in the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank Build-
ing. Thomas W. Olcott was its first President.
He was succeeded by his son, Dudley Olcott.
Thomas Olcott and Dudley Olcott have Isolh been
Secretaries of this institution. The present Secre-
tary is George G. Davidson. The amount de-
posited January i, 1885, was $1,312,588.05; assets,
$1,536,089.62.
The Albany Exchange Savings Bank was incor-
porated April, 1856, and commenced business at
450 Broadway. James McNaughton and William
G. Thomas have been Presidents of this Bank.
Isaac A. Chapman is the present President. Joseph
M. Lovett was the first Treasurer. Chauncey P.
Williams was elected in 1869, and has remained in
this position ever since. Amount deposited Janu-
ary I, 1885, $712,612.56; assets, $820,519.52.
The Hope Savings Bank commenced business in
connection with the Hope Bank in 1866, and con-
tinued to do business until 1877, when its affairs
were settled by paying its depositors in full and
suspending business. Officers: John Tracey, Pres-
ident; B. W. Arnold and Hamilton Harris, Vice-
Presidents; William A. Young, Treasurer.
The National Savings Bank was incorporated
May 6, 1868, and commenced business at No. 57
State street, June 28, 1869. Its first President was
Erastus Corning, Sr. , who was succeeded by John
H. Van Antwerp in 1872. Albert P. Stevens has
been Treasurer and Secretary ever since it began
operation. Amount deposited January i, 1885,
$3,344,369. 71; assets, $4,022,172.87. Presentlo-
cation, 59 State street.
The Home Savings Bank was incorporated May
10, 1 871, and commenced business at No. 40
State street Its first President was William White,
who was succeeded by the present officer, John D.
Capron. Edmund L. Judson is Treasurer, and
William Lacy, Secretary. Amount deposited Jan-
uary 1,1885, $506,926.47; assets, $536,887.80.
Albany County Savings Bank was incorporated
April 30. 1874, and commenced business in the
Albany County Bank Building, No. 7 1 State street.
James H. Pratt was its first President. He was
succeeded by Jasper Van Wormer, its present head
officer. Albert V. Benson has been Secretary, and
John Templeton, Treasurer of this Bank ever since
its organization. Amount deposited January i,
1885, $833,994.98; assets, $916,297.91.
The following Albany Savings Banks have been in-
corporated at the dates given, but either failed to
commence operations or continued business for a
short period: Albany Dime Savings Bank, 1854; Six-
penny Savings Bank, 1854; Mercantile Savings
Bank, 1855; and the Union Savings Bank, 1855.
Besides the incorporated banking institutions of
Albany, a number of individuals at a comparatively
WP21/^A/P
ERASTUS CORNING, SR.
535
early date conducted a private banking and broker-
age business in Albany. Among the earliest of
these private bankers were Jacob Evertsen, George
Jones, Washburn & Co., William Watson & Co.,
Thomas Squires, and Chauncey S. Titus. Prob-
ably the oldest private banker now doing business
in Albany is Evert Evertsen, a son of Jacob Evert-
sen, who commenced business in 1843. Henry
R. Pierson commenced a private banking and
brokerage business in Albany in 1876, in the Mu-
seum Building. May, 1880, he removed to 38
State street. In 1883, his son, Henry R. Pierson,
Jr., became a partner, under the firm name of
Henry R. Pierson & Son.
In 1872, Babcock & Robinson commenced busi-
ness. In 1882 the firm was changed to Robin-
son & Co.
A branch office of Spencer, Trask & Co. was
established here in 1880, on the corner of Maiden
lane and James street In 1881 it was removed to
the present location, corner State and James. The
business at Albany is successfully and prudently
conducted by George J. Peabody, a member of
the firm.
John F. Smyth commenced a banking and bro-
kerage business here in 1882; he failed in 1884, and
was succeeded by the present firm of I. B. New-
comb & Co.
ERASTUS CORNING, Sr.
The men who leave the strongest and most en-
during impressions upon the times in which they
live, are those who possess indomitable energy,
courage, and what may be called will-force, the
central power, giving strength and propulsion to
character.
' ' We often over-estimate the value of talent,
because it dazzles us and obscures its weakness.
We are apt to underrate the importance of will-
power and exertion, because their works are less
shining. Brilliant talents gracefully adorn life, but
it is will, energy, enterprise, and plain practica-
bility, without which apparatus of books, teach-
ers, criticism, ancient language and literature are
of little moment. Resolution to work, love of
work, and ability to work are substitutes to every-
thing except genius; they are, indeed, the rival of
genius. "
These remarks apply with great force to the char-
acter and career of Erastus Corning, who, with the
possession of qualities we have described, rose to
the front rank of distinguished men of the State of
New York.
He also possessed a practical mind, which gave
success to great financial schemes, to public im-
provements, and to large mechanical interests.
Many of these interests bear the impress of his
mind, and it can well be said that he has left upon
the City of Albany impressions of his public spirit
and influence that perpetuates his name and fame
as visibly as did the public spirit and energy of
Pericles on his native city, Athens.
Mr. Corning inherited his sterling mental and
physical qualities from a stalwart English ancestry.
who trace their genealogy far back in English his-
tory. Corning, originally spelled De Cornu, is a
striking example of obtaining family names from
trade, pursuit, or some special gift The name,
originally French, De Cornu, was acquired from
the horn of the hunter, as the origin of the family
was a famous hunter. After the edict of Nantes
the De Cornus, with many ancient families, were
compelled to leave the country and seek refuge,
some in Holland, some in England. Of the De
Cornus who went to England, some dropped the
French prefix De, calling themselves Cornus,
which, by a very easy transition, became Corning.
This is proven by many things, one of the strongest
being the horn of the hunter counterchanged on
the shield, divided per fess, or and -gules, with
the motto Crede Cornu, as their arms, thus proving
a common descent
Some of the Corning family entered ardently
into the support of Cromwell, and, after the Com-
monwealth was overthrown, one of the family most
distinguished in its support was compelled to flee
to America to avoid the vengeance of Charles II,
and settled near Boston. He was the progenitor
of the Corning family in America. From him
Samuel Corning, of Beverly, Mass., was a direct
descendant. He was a man of large influence and
distinction, as appears by the records of Beverly
as far back as 1641. He was one of those vigorous
and intelligent persons for whom Massachussetts has
ever been celebrated. The father of Erastus Corn-
ing was Bliss Corning, born in 1765, at Preston,
Conn. He was a lineal descendant of Samuel
Corning, inheriting all those virtues which charac-
terized his ancestor.
It will be seen that Bliss Corning was born at
that period of American history, amid those popu-
lar storms which were the preludes of the Revolu-
tionary War. When the stirring scenes of Concord
and Lexington awoke the colonies to a sense of the
great struggle before them, the deepest patriotic
ardor was aroused in Bliss Corning. He was then
too young to join his countrymen in the conflict for
freedom, but before four years of it were over he
became a soldier in the Continental army, in which
he manfully served during the remainder of the
war. How valiantly and faithfully he served his
country is evinced by the fact that a generous pen-
sion was assigned him, which he received down to
the time of his death.
Soon after the close of the war he was united by
marriage to Miss Lucinda Smith. The family of
Miss Smith was of the highest respectability ; her
father and two of her brothers served with distinc-
tion in the Continental army.
Not long after the marriage of Bliss Corning, he
removed to Norwich, Conn., where, on December
14, 1794, his son Erastus, whose biography we are
tracing, was born. He was one of eleven children
born to his father and mother.
When Erastus was thirteen years of age his
father removed to Chatham, and there devoted him-
self to agricultural pursuits. The boy began his
rudimentary education at Norwich, Corin. One of
his last teachers here was Peletiah Perit, who after-
536
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ward rose to distinction in the commercial circles
of New York, and who, at the time of his death, was
President of the Chamber of Commerce in that city.
After his removal to Chatham, the only institu-
tion of learning within the reach of young Corning
was the common district school. In it, under the
instruction of excellent teachers, he made the best
use of his advantages, acquiring an excellent prac-
tical business education.
It soon became evident to his father that Erastus
possessed a mind of uncommon business energy,
and that it took the direction of mercantile pursuits.
Fortunate advantages presented themselves for the
gratification of his ambition. While at school in
Chatham, his uncle, Benjamin Smith, was a promi-
nent hardware and iron merchant at Troy, N. Y. ,
doing business under the firm name of Hart &
Smith.
Mr. Smith's intuitive knowledge of character saw
the promising business qualities of his nephew, and
solicited his father to permit him to become a clerk
in his establishment. After the young man's edu-
cation was sufficiently advanced, the father con-
sented, and Erastus Corning became a clerk in the
firm of Hart & Smith.
Both members of this firm were leading citizens
of Troy, and his uncle held many important official
positions in its government Few young men,
therefore, ever had a more useful, or more exem-
plary guide for a successful business education than
young Corning had in his uncle.
When he first entered the employ of this firm it
was his business to clean lamps, sweep the store,
remove and replace the shutters, sleeping on a
bunk in the store. His employers at first feared
that on account of his lameness — being then com-
pelled to use crutches — he would not be useful in
the store. He soon taught them their error. From
the position we have described he worked himself
up to great usefulness and a conspicuous place, and
finally to a fortune. While at Troy, his uncle, Mr.
Smith, gave him permission to keep a box of
oranges and lemons on the front steps for sale, and
retain the proceeds of the sales. As he received
the fruit from New York by sloop, he managed to
secure a small income.
While in this establishment he laid the founda-
tion of his great fortune, exhibiting there the same
untiring energy and straightforward integrity which
characterized him through life. With quiet per-
sistence he began acquiring that knowledge of men
and books that in after life became so conspicuous
in him. Constantly engaged by day in the busy
scenes of mercantile life, clear headed and clean,
he devoted himself to the interest of his employers.
When the busy hours of the day were over, books
from the libraries gave him their richest treasures.
How usefully to himself and the public he subse-
quently used these treasures will be seen.
It was while with his uncle that young Corning
formed his political opinions, favoring the Demo-
cratic party. These opinions were strengthened by
his own convictions as he advanced in years, and
to which he firmly adhered during life, rendering
him a power in the political field, ever acting boldly
and conscientiously up to his convictions. With
him the Jeffersonian creed, "Is he honest? Is he
capable.?" were the cardinal principles he demanded
in office holders.
When the war of 1812 broke out, the firm ot
Hart & Smith was dissolved, Mr. Hart continuing
the business, young Corning remaining with him.
At length, desiring a larger sphere of action, more
commensurate with his abilities, in 1822 he dis-
solved his relations with Mr. Hart and accepted
the position of confidential clerk in the large hard-
ware film of John A. Spencer & Co. , of Albany,
N. Y. The confidence and esteem of the firm in
young Corning increased, and at the end of two
years he was admitted as a member of the firm.
Then came his first real business responsibilities:
the competitions of trade; the exercise of energies
bringing substantial rewards; the contest for greater
success, while holding securely those already at-
tained, resulting in the control and power which
made him a recognized leader, not only in his
adopted city, but in the great State he loved so well,
and whose interest he so strongly subserved. Few
young men ever assimilated themselves so easily to
the details of business as did Mr. Corning ; few
were more evenly balanced, under the sudden
emergencies and vicissitudes of the commercial
world than he ; if the tide was against him, he
breasted it courageously and hopefully ; if in his
favor, he was calm and complacent.
Erastus Corning did not drift into commercial
success and high positions ; he earned them by
the exercise of extraordinary ability and energetic
exertions. His history, therefore, presents an im-
pressive example of what unaided efforts may ob-
tain in this country, so full of rivalry and personal
achievements. When he became a resident of Al-
bany it was a comparatively small town, though
even then the center which radiated much influence
throughout the State, and somewhat great and
commanding influences throughout the nation. In
plainer language, it was just the place for him,
and he was just the man for the place. Here,
where legislators, statesmen and jurists assembled
and reasoned; here, where legislative and executive
wisdom and judicial learning showed its influence,
was the place for the vigorous, athletic, original
mind of Corning to apply itself to the commercial,
financial and business development of the citj-.
There was, therefore, a reciprocity of interest be-
tween the city and himself.
Before Mr. Coming's death the city had more
than double its population, and had become the
cenler of large commercial interests, of extensive
railroad facilities and other great public improve-
ments, largely the result of his enterprise and in-
fluence. Is it not natural, then, that Albany
should venerate the memory of her large-hearted,
energetic and gifted citizen, always a watchful
guardian of her interests ? Is it not also natural that
the State itself, whose interests were advanced and
enlarged by him, should share in this veneration.?
It would, perhaps, be the work of supererogation
to describe in detail his extended and varied career ;
but justice demands that we give some attention to it.
ERASTUS CORNING, SR.
537
Mr. Corning remained in the hardware and iron
business for nearly half a century. During that time
he had several partners ; among these was Mr.
John T. Norton, with whom he purchased the
rolling mill at Troy, N. Y., a successful adventure,
its success being accelerated by the lapse of time.
At the expiration of four years Mr. Norton retired
from the firm. The succeeding members of this
firm were James Horner, Gilbert C. Davidson, John
F. Winslow and his son, Erastus Corning, Jr.
Through all the changes of succeeding partners
the firm bore the name of Corning & Company.
After rivaling in importance all other establish-
ments in the country, it rose by the extent of its
transactions and its wealth superior to all others.
Though all its business was under the supervision
of Mr. Corning, the details of it were attended to by
his partners and clerks. One of the strong features
in the character of Mr. Corning was the keen
sagacity with which he read men and balanced
their capacity and characteristics. This he applied
successfully in his selections of partners and his
subordinates ; in this manner all his great business
enterprises moved on without friction, without those
jealousies and personal conceits which too often
mar and interrupt the operations of extensive busi-
ness affairs. In a word, Mr. Corning knew the
men he called about him, and he knew how to
place each man in his natural and appropriate
sphere. This gave him opportunity for the exer-
tion of his abilities in other important enterprises,
which soon extended not only in various pans of
this State, but into other States.
We have said it was a fortunate circumstance for
him and for Albany that he made that city his
home. As the house of Corning & Company was
growing in importance and wealth, the day of rail-
roads began to dawn over the country. These im-
provements found in the strong, adventurous pub-
lic spirit of Erastus Corning a powerful assistant,
and he embarked largely in their construction and
management. He invested his means largely in
ihem and became an extensive stockholder and
director in a number of the leading lines in the
country.
In 1831, when railroad projects were considered
little more than "the stuff which dreams are made
of," he was one of the projectors of the Mohawk
and Hudson River road, completed three years
later.
The connection of Erastus Corning with the
railroad interest of the country may be briefly
stated as follows :
He was one of the commissioners for organizing
the Utica and Schenectady Railroad Company;
its President from its organization till 1854, when
it was consolidated with the roads between Albany
and Buffalo. This arrangement was effected with
great difficulty and against much opposition ;
but the rapidly increasing business of the railroads
demanded it, and it found in Mr. Corning a
warm and able advocate.
When the Erie Railway was completed to Lake
Erie and the Pennsylvania Central had finished its
track, it was apparent that the several companies
which afterward composed the New York ^Central,
and which were operating under district organiza-
tions, could not successfully compete with those
great lines, unless they were consolidated and
managed by one controlling mind. Hence a con-
solidation was effected in 1854, under the name of
the New York Central, and it found in Erastus
Corning a controlling mind. On its consolidation
he was elected President of the road, discharging
the duties of that important position until 1865,
when he resigned. In the meantime, Mr. Corn-
ing had gained a national fame as a railroad man-
ager. When the project of constructing the famous
St. Marie Ship Canal, now connecting Lake Supe-
rior with the great chain of lakes, terminating with
Ontario, was committed to a company and the
contract for constructing it awarded, Mr. Corning
became President of the Company. Associated
with him in this enterprise was J. W. Brooks, then
Superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad,
one of the ablest and most distinguished railroad
men of the time.
The work which involved the construction of a
Canal around the Falls of the River St. Marie was
rapidly pushed to a successful completion, proving
an important auxiliary to the commerce of the
lakes, aiding largely in the development of the
rich mining interests of Lake Superior. It was to
the ample resources and comprehensive mind of
Mr. Corning that the early completion of the Mich-
igan Central Railroad was principally due. This
road, one of the most important links in the great
line of railways connecting the Atlantic with the
Pacific, was undertaken by the State of Michigan,
but when completed as far as Kalamazoo, was
brought to a standstill for want of means.
At this juncture Mr. Corning, with Mr. D. D.
Williams, of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Com-
pany, and his former business associate, J. W.
Brooks, took an assignment of the road from the
State and completed it with great rapidity. Mr.
Corning became a large stockholder in this road,
and one of its Directors. He was also a Director
of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail-
road, of which he was one of the originators.
We have thus seen that he may, without affecta-
tion, in its literal sense be called a railroad mag-
nate.
We have already referred to Mr. Coming's polit-
ical sentiments, and to his connection with the
Democratic party.
It would be impossible for a man situated as he
was during his active business career, to avoid the
political arena. He was never the mere politi-
cian, the man of present or ephemeral policy; a
mere party manager, using the platitudes of the
partisan for his own ambitious desires. The same
enlightened, far-seeing qualities that governed his
business relations was the motor of his political
life.
He believed in the necessity of vigorous polit-
ical action, and the necessity of organized parties;
he felt that skill in party organization was an
acquirement dangerous to the public will, unless
accompanied by a high sense of honor and an
538
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
unselfish? devotion to the welfare of the country.
Though inflexibly devoted to his party, he never
wavered in his hostility to an institution or to
measures which, in his view, were violations of
human rights of honor and probity. He never
permitted himself to cherish any bitterness of feel-
ings, even when party strife was the highest and
most bitter; when high and great principles were at
stake, he forgot the politician and the partisan in
the remembrance that he was a citizen of a
republic, a man and a Christian. So it happened
that when he came to die, he left no personal or
political enemy, but was at peace with all man-
kind.
It was not till 1828 that Mr. Corning entered
public life. He was that year, with great unanim-
ity, elected a member of the Board of Aldermen of
the City of Albany, being re-elected to that oflRce
for several years. In 1834 he was chosen Mayor
of the City by the Common Council, serving by re-
election till 1837. The manner in which Mr.
Corning discharged the duties of Chief Magistrate
of the City of Albany has passed into history,
which enrolls his name honorably on the long list
of the honored names who have presided in the ex-
ecutive chair of this ancient city. His address on as-
suming the duties of his office, January i, 1836, was
particularly distinguished for its elevated and states-
manlike views in regard to the railroad interests of
the city; and in regard to the duties of the co-or-
dinate branches of the city government, it was
especially comprehensive and practical. Finally,
the whole message written to meet the particular
exigencies of the times, was regarded as a business-
like, able and dignified document
In 1833 he was elected a Regent of the University,
and subsequently Vice-Chancellor of the Board.
In the fall of 1841, Mr. Corning was elected to
the State Senate from the Third Senatorial District,
which consisted of the Counties of Albany, Co-
lumbia, Greene, Schenectady, Schoharie and Dela-
ware. His district colleagues were Alonzo C.
Paige, of Schenectady; Erastus Root, of Delaware,
and Henry W. Strong, of Troy. During all his
senatorial career his colleagues were the ablest
men in the district, and the history of that career
ranks him as the peer not only of his colleagues,
but of the most distinguished member in the
Senate. The differences in men are rarely to be
measured by their differences in purely intellectual
endowments; they consist more commonly in the
differences in zeal, physical and menial energy,
perseverance, devotion to duty to friends and
country, pride of success, love of honor, self-
respect, and a desire to do good. That Mr. Corn-
ing, in the discharge of his legislative duties,
possessed most, if not all, these endowments, is
exhibited indubitably by the records of the parlia-
mentary body in which he served.
He was a delegate to the Democratic National
Conventions held in Baltimore in 1848 and 1852.
At the latter he was President of the New York
delegation.
It needs no other comment upon the estimate
which the public placed upon his public services
than the fact that they opened the way for his nom-
ination and election in the fall of 1856, as a repre-
sentative in Congress from the Fourteenth Con-
gressional District of the State. He took his seat
December 7, 1857, serving until the close of the
35th Congress, March 3, 1859. During this term he
rendered important services as a member of the
Committee on Claims, and on Naval Affairs. In
1861 he was returned to Congress, and. was re-
elected the following term, thus serving in the
35th, 37th and 38th Congresses. The two last
were known as the " War Congresses."
He was a delegate to the Peace Convention held
in Washington, February, 1861. His experience
in legislative bodies, his high reputation for sound
sense and discrimination, gave him a prominent
position in this body. With other eminent members
he was in favor of making honorable concessions
to the South; but, when another policy prevailed,
he gave his influence, his means, and his every
exertion to the task of preserving the Union.
He was a Democrat — every inch a Democrat —
and yet the words of the great expounder of the
Constitution, "The Union now and forever; one
and inseparable," guided him in his congressional
career, and he gave his voice and influence in sus-
taining the authority of the Constitution and the
supremacy of the law. He saw that Constitution
and those laws vindicated; he saw those "who
rashly took the sword punished by the sword; he
saw the nation filled with the largest views of in-
tense nationality, and rejoiced that the heart of the
nation beat and throbbed in a united body politic."
On February 5, 1833, Mr. Corning was ap-
pointed a Regent of the University, a position he
held until his death. On April 21, 1870, he was
elected Vice-Chancellor of the Board of Regents.
It will be seen that he served on the Board ot
Regents for the period of thirty-nine years.
In his second and third terms in Congress, he
served on the Committee of Ways and Means.
"The great problem before the country at that
time, the solution of which devolved upon this
committee, was to provide a circulating medium
equal to the financial necessities of the country."
Mr. Coming's experience in monetary affairs had
not been extensive, but they had been intimate. In
1833 he was elected Vice-President of the New
York State Bank, but retired from that position
the following year to accept the presidency of the
Albany City Bank, which he retained through life.
He was, therefore, well acquainted with finance,
and brought to the deliberations of the Ways and
Means Committee a mature judgment which largely
aided in the solution of the difficulties presented,
providing a circulating medium for the country.
Mr. Coming resigned his seat in the House at
the opening of the Second Session of the 38th
Congress, determined to withdraw from public life;
but he was induced to accept the position as a del-
egate to the Constitutional Convention, which met
at Albany, June, 1867. His colleagues were Wm.
Cassidy, Amasa J. Parker, and James Roy. His
legislative experience, his mastery of public affairs,
and well-tried capacity rendered him one of the
ERASTUS CORNING.
539
most valuable members of that body. In private
life, those who knew Mr. Corning best felt for him
the sincerest affection.
At the age of twenty-five he was united in mar-
riage to Miss Harriet Weld, of Roxbury, Mass.
The family of this lady was one of the oldest and
most eminent in that State, tracing their genealogy
far back in English history. She was a woman of
culture and intelligence, in every sense qualified to
be the wife of a man like Erastus Corning. There-
fore in his domestic relations he was happy and
fortunate.
We have thus traced the public career of Mr.
Corning. A discriminAting writer has said, love of
business and a capacity to conduct business stand
next to affluence. In tracing the life of Mr. Corn-
ing from his youth to the great successes of his man-
hood, the truth of these words is fully demonstrat-
ed, for he possessed these qualities in a large
degree. They were the talisman which brought
his success.
His long career terminated by death on April 9,
1872.
He did the work of his maturer years with the
same good faith, the same steady energy and self-
reliance with which he filled out the tasks of his
youth and early manhood. It is no affectation to
say that his was an exemplary life ; a character
profitable to study; one which was its own eulogy,
and of which no just description can be given with-
out the use of some eulogistic language. In using
it, however, we are but speaking the words of truth
and soberness, and not undue panegyric.
Mr. Coming's moral and intellectual qualities
were in harmony ; his principles commanded the
respect and confidence of the legislative, commer-
cial and business circles in which he moved. In
private life he gained affection and esteem. He
was modest, claimed no merit, assumed no undue
importance, accomplished his purpose not so much
by reason of his great wealth, as by the strength,
manliness and probity of his character. And
thus, while his influence was almost unbounded,
the people for whom he labored so long and effect-
ually unite in the plaudit of ' ' good and faithful
servant " as they look back upon his long and use-
ful career, feeling that " it is well " with any peo-
ple when from its institutions, modes of life and
thought, can spring a character like that of Erastus
Coming's.
ERASTUS CORNING.
In the biography of Erastus Corning, Sr., we
have seen with what ability, determination and
success he established himself one of the chief mer-
cantile, manufacturing and public-spirited men of
the State, and perhaps in the nation.
We have seen that, subservient to his broad prac-
tical business policy, he developed the growth of
railroads and other internal improvements, and be-
came the founder of one of the greatest iron in-
dustries of the country. We have seen how, in all
his great public and private enterprises, signal suc-
cess attend him, and that he closed his life an emi-
nently fortunate man. But amid all the fortunate
circumstances of his life, not one could have been
more gratifying to him than that which gave him a
son who inherited those qualifications by which he
had worked out his own success in life. A son,
who, when he himself was past the period of his
activity, and when called to leave the things of
earth, would take his place and successfully carry
forward his great designs and business projects, and
give additional fame to the name of Corning.
Having sketched the life of the father, it becomes
our pleasant duty to trace the career of the son from
his birth to the present conspicuous place he now
occupies in the community.
Erastus Corning was born at Albany, June 16,
1827. He was the third son of his parents. He
first went to school in Greenbush in the house now
occupied by CoUender, the old fort; from there to
College Hill, Poughkeepsie, and completed it at
Union College. In his studies he was thorough
and practical, and they were peculiarly adapted to
the course of life that lay before him, with all its
responsibilities.
On leaving college he entered a vast business
school, under the tutorship of his father, where he
received a training which, it is not too much to say,
could not have been elsewhere acquired in this
country. Two requisites for success in life are in-
dispensable, neither of which can be counted on
prior to experiment. The first is opportunity; the
second is aptitude to turn it to the best account.
Both of these requisites Mr. Corning possessed.
At an early period he was brought into close com-
panionship with the most accomplished and culti-
vated financiers, manufacturers, legislators, and
statesmen. Hence he learned much from associa-
tion of this kind. These circumstances, favorably
turned by his own exertions and energy, soon
placed him in the front rank of manufacturers and
financiers, in which he displayed the useful charac-
teristics which marked the career of his father.
We have seen that at an early date the elder
Corning, in connection with John T. Norton, pur-
chased the rolling mills at Troy, which subsequent-
ly developed into the Albany Iron-works.
In nothing, perhaps, is the transforming power
of manufacturing industry — its ability to give to
crude ore entirely new forms and new qualities —
more strikingly evident than in the various ways in
which iron ore is molded into forms of usefulness.
It is impossible to exaggerate the utility or the
beauty of the materials thus wrought from it In
pausing to consider them, the intellect is almost
staggered at their^mmensity, the vast variety of
their usefulness, the subtlety into which they enter
into almost everything which tends to the comfort
and happiness of men.
It was reflections, doubtless, something like these
that prompted the elder Corning to enter the great
business of iron manufacture, and induced the son
to become equally enthusiastic in carrying them
forward to a state of perfection and success al-
most unrivaled. After several partners had suc-
ceeded Mr. Norton, and left the firm, Erastus Corn-
ing, Jr., became a partner in the concern, and the
540
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
firm was known as Erastus . Corning & Company.
In the meantime the transactions of the house be-
came more extended and important than those of
any other in the iron trade in America. The rela-
tions of Erastus Coming, Jr., with the firm con-
tinued until the death of his father, in 1872, when
he succeeded to the ownership of these iron-works.
Possessing a' vigorous constitution, with corre-
sponding mental powers, and much experience, he
was eminently prepared for the great responsibilities
which now rested upon him.
In writing a biography, it is in relating what a
man has done and achieved in life, rather than in
pleasing panegyrics, which places the reader in
possession of his true character and career.
"Permit me," said a great Athenian statesman,-
" to have my name carved on the public edifices
that ornament the city which I have aided in erect-
ing, and I will ask no other biography of myself. "
But the request was denied him.
In preparing our sketch of Erastus Corning, a
plain and truthful description of the various great
enterprises he has conducted will be the best pane-
gyric that could be given any man; indeed, in
looking over the wide extent of the enterprises
which bear his name, we feel, as did the Athenian,
that they are a sufficient biography without the in-
terposition of our pen; but as "history is philos-
ophy, teaching by example, " and as biography is but
the other side of history, we shall make a descrip-
tion of the manufacturing and other interests in
which Mr. Corning is engaged, the material for his
biography.
We shall begin with a description of the great
ALBANY IRON AND STEEL MANUFACTORIES.
From a very early period, to use the language of
another, the waters of the Wynantskill were utilized
as motive power by the Dutch settlers. In 1789
David De Forest erected a fulling mill at the foot of
the falls in what is now the Sixth Ward of the City
of Troy, but this was taken down to make way for
the hail factory of John Brinkerhoff, who, in 1807,
built a rolling-mill in the same glen. The opera-
tions of this little wooden rolling-mill were con-
fined to converting Russian and Swedish bar-iron
into plates, which were slit into narrow strips, cut
to the required length and made into nails headed
by hand. In 1826 BrinkerhofFs nail factory was put
up at auction and bought by Erastus Corning, Sr. ,
who gave it the name of the Albany Nail Factory.
In order to follow the history of these iron-works,
which must be interesting to all our readers, we must
repeat some instances which appear in the biog-
raphy of Erastus Corning, Sr.
Not long after purchasing the nail factory, Mr.
Corning, Sr., formed his partnership with Mr. Norton,
under the name and style of Norton & Corning.
In 1830 the establishment had increased to such an
extent that thirty-five persons were employed, with
an annual production of 825 tons of rolled-iron,
about half of which was cut into nails. That year
\ Mr. Norton withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Corn-
ing found an admirable partner in James Horner.
Slowly, but surely, the business increased, and in a
few years its daily production was six and one-half
tons of iron, a large portion of which was con-
verted into nails. Thus it continued till 1838,
when the firm was enlarged by the addition of
John F. Winslow, taking the firm name of Corn-
ing, Horner & Winslow, while the establishment
was called the Albany Iron-works. During the
following year the first puddling or making of
wrought-iron from pig iron in this city was done at
these works. The only other establishment in the
State where this process of manufacture was carried
on, was at the Ulster Works, in Ulster County. In
1849 the steam mill was built and put in operation.
The firm continued to grow and extend itself, in-
creasing its capacities for manufacturing, enlarg-
ing and extending its machinery, until it attracted
the attention of the nation.
At the breaking out of the Rebellion, it became
largely the resource of the North for productions
not obtainable at any other establishment. It man-
ufactured very largely for the Government the patent
solid lip railroad chairs, which were invented in
these works. Immense quantities of these chairs
were used upon the military railroads in Virginia,
Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and other States,
upon which the supplies for the army were trans-
ported.
As the war advanced, it was the fortune of the
Albany Iron-works to be connected with one of
its most brilliant and decisive events — an event
which not only relieved the nation from a fearful
peril, but revolutionized maritime warfare, not only
in this country, but in all the civilized world. This
was the building of the Monitor. As one reads
the history of that small but powerful craft, he
almost fancies himself in the realms of romance, so
singularly did entirely opposite and unexpected
circumstances unite to turn a terrible defeat and
impending ruin to the country to a wonderful and
almost fabulous victory.
Before and during the events to which we have
alluded, John A Griswold was at the head of the
Rensselaer Iron-works, and John F. Winslow, as
we have seen, was connected with the Albany Iron-
works. These gentlemen were profoundly im-
pressed with the inefficiency of the wooden vessels
of the United States Navy, and " earnestly urged
upon the authorities the construction of that novel
iron battery, the Monitor, invented by John Ericsson.
For not only did these men strongly advocate
the building of the vessel, but they had the courage
and enterprise to willingly hazard their reputa-
tion and money in building this experimental iron
war-craft. As has been truthfully said : ' They con-
tracted to furnish in a given time, and that a short
time, a shot-proof battery, such as had never before
been known, original not only in general design,
but in the arrangement of parts, with new methods
of mounting guns — heavier guns than had before
been used on shipboard — and they bound them-
selves to cause this novel vessel, with all her untried
machinery, to work in all respects to the satisfaction
of the department, or forfeit the money advanced,
and that 25 percent, of the whole amount they were
to receive should remain unpaid until the Secretary
ERAS TVS CORNING.
541
should be satisfied with the performance of the ves-
sel. As a necessar}' consequence of the contract,
the vessel was not accepted by the Government until
after the fight at Hampton Roads. ' "
Captain Ericsson had conceived the idea of build-
ing an iron ship ; and made applications to the
Secretary of the Navy for assistance. Some offers
were made him which he did not accept, and it was
not until C. S. Bushnell, John A. Griswold and
John F. Winslow took the matter in hand and went
to Washington, where, by President Lincoln's influ-
ence and that of several officers of the navy, they
secured the contract for building such a vessel as
Ericsson had planned.
In the report on iron-clad vessels made by the
board, September i6, 1861, it was decided to ac-
cept the proposition offered by these gentlemen in
regard to the vessel outlined by Captain Ericsson.
Immediately upon their return home, John A.
Griswold and John F. Winslow, as if they were
moved by Divine inspiration to build and complete
the vessel in the required time of lOO days, and to
clothe it with impregnable iron, began to make the
necessary preparations for manufacturing the iron
armor. Orders which could have been filled at
any other time were refused by the Albany Iron-
works to give preference to the manufacture of the
plates, bar iron, spikes, etc., for the Government's
vessel, and the other portions — the machinery, port
stoppers, etc. — were contracted for by the associates
of Captain Ericsson. The following extracts from
letters addressed to the inventor exhibit the patriotic
zeal, the practical purposes and constant diligence
of the Troy contractors in forwarding the work of
construction.
The building of the hull of the vessel was given
to Thomas F. Rowland, agent of the Continental
Iron-works at Greenpoint, L. I., the plates, bars
and rivets being furnished him from the Albany
Iron-works of this city. The Delamater Iron-works
were assigned the manufacture of the steam machin-
ery, boilers, propellers and internal apparatus of
the turrets. The "port stoppers " to Charles D. De
Laney, of Buffalo.
The contract with the Government was made
October 25, 1861, by and between Thomas F.
Rowland, agent in behalf of the Continental Iron-
works, Greenpoint, L. I., of the first part, and
Captain J. Ericsson, of New York, Messrs. John F.
Winslow and John A. Griswold, of Troy, N. Y.,
and C. S. Bushnell, of New Haven, Conn., parties
of the second part. The work on the battery be-
gan at once at Greenpoint, and was diligently prose-
cuted during the months of October, November,
December and January. The Monitor has been so
ofien described that a description here is needless.
On March 4, 1862, she was ordered to sea, and on
the afternoon of March 6 she left the lower Bay of
New York on an expedition that has given her
name to history.
As she passed Cape Henry at four o'clock on
Saturday afternoon, March 8, Captain Worden and
his crew listened to the heavy boom of cannon
coming from the engagement in Hampton Roads
between the rebel iron-clad Merrimac and the
United States ship of war Minnesota, announcing
to them that they and their little vessel were soon
to engage in a terrible conflict. While on her way
the Cumberland and Congress, two of the proudest
ships of our navy, were destroyed by the Merrimac,
the first of these vessels, having lost 1 17 men out of
800, sunk with her colors flying; and the second,
after the escape of her crew, blew up, the fire reach-
ing her magazine. It was nine at night when the
Monitor reached the roads and anchored near the
Merrimac. In the morning she engaged her for-
midable antagonist, flushed with the victory of the
preceding day, and drove her back, crippled and
disabled, from the scene of the contest. Thus we
may say the Monitor saved the nation.
We have thus alluded to the Monitor because,
through the mysterious ways of Providence, Erastus
Corning, Sr., by the establishing of the Albany
Iron-works, became instrumental in bringing about
the construction of it.
A history and description of the great establish- ■
ment of which Mr. Corning is the head, is inter-
esting to the iron trade and profession on account
of its high reputation for extent and quality of its
products; because it embraces one of the oldest iron-
works in the United States; and it is interesting to
the general public because it is the pioneer Besse-
mer works of America.
Here were tried many of those experiments which
have contributed to the development of its manu-
facture. Boiling was practiced at an early day ;
"puddled steel,'' as good as the imported article,
had its course ; spike, rivet and horseshoe machines
were the subject of constant improvement; Amer-
ican iron and refractory materials for the Bessemer
were tested; and the American system of Bessemer
plant was worked out.
The group of works forming the present estab-
lishment were originally independent of each
other. The Albany Iron-works grew up during sev-
enty-five years under the principal ownership of
Corning & Winslow. The Bessemer works were
started by Winslow, Griswold & Holley in 1865.
The Rensselaer works — a mile further up the Hud-
son— after thirty five years' growth, latterly under
the ownership of Corning & Griswold, were joined
to the Bessemer works. All the above mentioned
works, and two blast furnaces, to be further re-
ferred to, are now owned by Erastus Corning.
Their commercial affairs are administered by Mr.
Corning, General S. E. Marvin and Chester Gris-
wold; Mr. Robert W. Hunt is General Superintend-
ent These works, excepting two blast furnaces,
are in the City of Troy, in an important railway
center ; the New York Central, Boston and Albany,
Delaware and Hudson, Troy and Boston, Boston
and Hoosac Tunnel and Western roads radiate re-
spectively in every direction, to anthracite and bi-
tuminous coal fields, two hundred miles west ; to
Lake Champlain ore mines, one hundred miles
north ; and the immense deposit of the Hudson
River Ore Company, on the Hudson, opposite
Catskill.
During the last two or three years heavy and fast
roll trains^ economical engines and iniproved fur-
543
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
naces have been substituted for the older machinery,
and extensive enlargement of the converting plant
is largely completed. The distance of a mile be-
tween the bloom and the rail-rolling departments
is practically overcome by special railroad facilities.
The following is a description furnished us by Mr.
Hunt.
BESSEMER PLANT.
Before it was begun, various American irons had
been tried by the Bessemer process in Sheffield, in
1864, and a Lake Champlain iron, the Crown
Point, was found especially good. A two-and-one-
half-ton single vessel plant was started in February,
1865, and run till 1871, when it was changed into
the ingot mold foundry. This five-ton Bessemer
plant was started in 1867, partially destroyed by
fire in 1868; rebuilt in 1869, it again began work
in 1870. More recently, large cupolas, seven-ton
vessels, were put in.
The Bessemer building is of brick, 148 feet by
98 feet in plan, with a cupola house 80 x 39 feet.
This is the earliest specimen of the American type
of plant, with vessels set high and side by side, and
with three ingot cranes over a large shallow pit.
The 7-ton vessels have 6-feet internal diameter, and
1 5 tuyeres with 1 2f -inch holes. The vessel bot-
toms are interchangeable, and are removable by
means of lifts and of cars, which carry them later-
ally, for repairs, under the two side ingot cranes.
They are baked in adjacent ovens.
The blowing engine and pump-rooms are con-
veniently placed on the right of the vessels, and the
blooming mill comes next.
By means of convenient transporting apparatus
500 tons of hot ingots per twenty-four hours are
delivered by power into the blooming furnaces, and
are rolled, cut up, and chipped, under a 7-ton
hammer, and loaded hot on the rail-mill cars with
reasonable facility. There are two large Worthing-
ton compound duplex pressure pumps.
These pumps are used almost exclusively in
America for high-pressure pumping, and are em-
ployed to a greater extent than any other for the
water supply of towns.
The boilers of the Bessemer and blooming de-
partments are each cylinders r5 feet long and 5
feet in diameter, lying over a brick fire-place and
combustion chamber, and having thirty-eight 4^
inch return tubes. There are eight of these boilers
near the blowing engine, and six in an outside
boiler-house. There is also a 28^-feet x 80 in.
Galloway boiler of 112 horse-power, and one 87-
inch steel drop-flue boiler of the Mars type.
The blooming plant was started in January,
1871. This was the first American blooming train,
and, though extensive alterations have been made,
the housings and stores remain. On the original
tables the ingots were fed by hand. The Fritz
power-feeding tables were introduced, and later
Holley's system of actuating the feed rollers was in-
troduced. The original train rolled 1 2-inch ingots
to two-rail blooms ; the present train at 45 revolu-
tions rolls 15-inch ingots to 7-inch four-rail blooms,
by the labor of four men and boys, at the rate of
2,500 tons per week ; it can roll 3,000 tons.
The rail mill is a brick building, 375 x 98 feet,
with wings. There are ten coal-fired heating fur-
naces, each having a horizontal overhead boiler
5x22 feet, with return flues. There are five aux-
iliary boilers like those in the Bessemer department.
Materials and product are, at this group of works,
received and delivered by the New York Central
and Hudson River Railroad on one side, and by
the Hudson River on the other side.
The merchant steel mill, just below the rail mill
of the Rensselaer works, is a brick building 338 x
187 feet, with wings. The fast 16-inch, three-high
train is of the most improved type. Its product at
100 revolutions is 50 tons per turn of i^-inch 27-
feet wire-rod billets from 7-inch blooms. The
train is driven direct by a Porter-Allen engine of
22-inch cylinder and 3 feet stroke, to which is at-
tached a Bulkley condenser. In the yard of the
merchant and rail mills there is a large smith shop,
with two steam hammers; also, suitable pattern and
machine shops ; the latter has, among other good
tools, a lathe of ten feet swing, and a planer to take
in seven feet square ; also, a large and complete
merchant steel warehouse.
The Albany Iron-works merchant mill is of
brick, 329 x 156 feet, with wings and iron roof
The 18-inch merchant train, the Belgian train, with
their engines and Swindell gas furnaces; also the
axle hammer, are quite new, and of the most im-
proved type. This mill also contains a 400-pound
steam helve hammer of excellent type. It produces
60 railway axles from rolled blanks per twenty-four
hours. The nail factory contains 3 1 machines and
produces excellent steel cut nails. Notwithstand-
ing the pressure of business, especially in the nail
trade, the Albany works have manufactured over
100,000 kegs of spikes, nails, rivets and bolts, in
one year. To this department has been added
machinery for the manufacture of steel disks of a
very superior kind for a recently patented and highly
approved cultivator.
The firm manufactures special steels, gun-barrel
steel, receiver steel, cotton-roller steel, fork, hoe,
and rake steels. Large quantities of billets are an-
nually manufactured for barbed-wire fences, steel
fence-posts for wire fences, also guard rails. The
machine shop common to the Bessemer plant
and Albany Iron-works, is a two-story 97 x 66 feet
building, with a pattern shop in the upper story.
The Bessemer and blooming works and yard,
and the rail mill and adjacent merchant mill and
their yards, are lighted by the Brush apparatus. At
each of the two groups of works there is a sixteen-
light machine, driven by a 10x10 inch engine.
About half the lights are outdoor. The cost of the
apparatus was about $3, 600 for each works.
Production — maximum :
Tons per Week.
Ingots 3,000
Steel rails 2 000
Other manufactured steel '850
Merchant iron _"_'_' •j-^e
Men employed, 2,800, when the works are running full.
The blast furnaces at Hudson and Fort Edward
have been blown out, and steps are being uken to
ERASTUS CORNING.
543
erect three large furnaces at Troy, of the most im-
proved type, at a cost of about $600,000. The
monthly pay roll at present calls for about $50,000.
When in full operation it reaches $125,000 to
$150,000 a month.
Beside the large annual payment of money to
the workmen at Troy by this establishment, the
amount of taxes paid into the city treasury by the
Company is a very important item, consisting of
about one-fortieth of the sum collected.
Mr. Corning gives considerable attention to agri-
culture and the raising of blooded stock. A visit
to his beautiful farm of over seven hundred acres,
about two miles south of Albany, gives indubitable
evidence of his taste as an agriculturist
Here are seen flocks of Southdown sheep and
a splendid herd of Jerseys and Herefords. This
herd of Herefords is the oldest in this country, es-
tablished in 1840. He has also extensive stables
for his numerous horses, kept for stock purposes.
This farm has been under the superintendence of
Mr. John Vanderbelt for over thirty-four years. His
horse trainer has been in his employ for twenty-
one years, his coachman nineteen years, his herds-
man twelve years.
It. is delightfully located. To the east is seen
the Hudson, with its varying scenery; to the
north, from the rising ground is seen the great
State Capitol, looming in grand proportions above
the city; while all around the view is picturesque
and inviting.
Perhaps Mr. Coming's leading characteristic is
his natural love of flowers and his singular ability
and success in their cultivation. Possessing ample
means to gratify his fine taste, he has, at a vast ex-
pense, achieved a success as a floriculturist which
leaves him almost without a rival in the world.
The choicest floral productions of the world are
tributary to his immense conservatories. Here
bloom plants from the tropics, from the temperate
zones, and here, too, hang flowers from the high
mountains of Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Bogota,
Venezuela and Brazil, and from the Himalayas in
India, China and Japan. Madagascar, Borneo, and
other islands of the Pacific have here their floral
ofierings, while every choice plant in our own coun-
try and Europe is represented.
We have not the space to describe the many ex-
ceedingly choice varieties of roses, geraniums, pan-
sies, calcelarias, camelias and other beautiful flow-
ers found in these conservatories.
In the cultivation of orchids Mr. Corning is sin-
gularly successful. These have been so admirably
and learnedly described in an essay, read before
the New York Horticultural Society by Mr. Will-
iam Grey, gardener to Mr. Corning, that a few
extracts from it will be an embellishment to our
work:
When it is taken into consideration, says Mr, Grey,
the varied habitats where orchids are found growing, it is
really surprising to find so many do well under cultivation.
Out of over one thousand species and varieties in Mr. Com-
ing's collection I do not find three per cent. difHcult of cul-
ture. ~ Admitting from the little resemblance or affinity in
orchids found in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres,
in many instances all that is known of their native places
of abode is the East Indies or South America, which gives
much trouble to find out the necessary requirements of
plants terrestrial or epiphytal, which may have been found
on the cloud-capped mountains of Borneo, Luzon or Co-
lombia; the plains of Rangoon or Bogota; in the valleys of
Assam, Java or Magdalena; the wet, shady forests of Brazil
and Guatemala; the arid continent of Africa or hot lands of
Mexico, the temperature ranging from 30° or less to 1 10"
Fahrenheit or more in the shade, and in the sun the heat is
intense, with very bright light. In some orchid districts it
rains nearly every day; in others, often comparatively no
rain for months. Many species grow in the full sun; others
in partial shade ; a few in deep, shaded forests.
Speaking of orchid houses, Mr. Grey continues:
It is well known that many of those beautiful and gor-
geous floral windows — grotesque configurations of insects,
birds and animals — are well grown with store and green-
house plants, and the nucleus of all the large collections of
the United States were so grown twenty-five years ago.
* * * And only when the species increased in numbers
it was found necessary to erect houses for their special cul-
ture. Mr. Corning has pursued the culture of orchids with
much zeal for many years, and with the number of species
at present in cultivation, experience has taught that it is
necessary to grow them in six divisions, which are named
phalsenopsis, vauda, dendrobium, cattleya, oucidium and
north house, with a house to rest plants in after they have
done growing. The conclusions we have arrived at are,
that low, span-roofed houses, about twenty feet wide, inside
shelves three feet, paths three feet, center bench about
seven feet are best. As far north as Albany it is positively
necessary to have about four inches of space between the
front wall and shelf to allow the heated air to pass up at the
eaves and to prevent the hot current of heated air striking
the plants. A slate or board rests on the sheH reaching
and secured to the under side of the rafters. By this means
the hot air is conducted to the roof of the house and be-
comes ameliorated before coming in contact with the
plants. There is no wood used except in the roof; no up-
right glass; side wall carried to the eaves; height of side
walls to top of plate, four feet; center of house, ten feet; a
lantern runnmg the length of the house for ventilation in
winter, when all sash is frozen fast.
Mr. Grey then describes the manner of heating,
and governing the temperature and moisture. He
furnishes us with a list of the orchids grown in
Mr. Coming's conservatories, from which we men-
tion some that are very rare, and some found no-
where else in cultivation.
Of the tribe Vauda, the Aerides (growing on trees, air-
plant); Schrodii, a native of Bombay, is very rare;
Angr cecum major, very rare, Madagascar; Anguloa eburnea,
very rare, Colombia.
Of the tribe Epidendrea, the Cattleya hybrida is the only
plant under cultivation ; Mendilii, very rare, Colombia;
Citrina, very sweet-scented, Mexico; Cattleya Corningice,
only plant in Colombia; Dodgsonii, from Colombia (only
Mr. Lee, of England, has this plant besides Mr. Corning);
Tarvassagunshee, only plant in Colombia.
Of the tribe Malaxidece; the Dendrobium (growing on
trees); Corningii (nobile-litseijlorum], two choice varieties,
only plant.
Of the tribe VaudetE, the Oucidium Rogersii is the only
plant in Brazil, and the Phalcenopsis Corningiana is the
only plant in the Philippines; Fasciata is the only plant.
Mr. Corning has the best collection of Phalce-
nopsis in the world. In fact, we believe he has only
one rival, Mr. Lee, of England. Mr. Grey has been
in his profession for many years, having learned
and followed it in Scotland, England and Amer-
ica. He has been with Mr. Corning for the past
thirty years. To his courtesy we are under ob-
ligations for our information relative to the con-
servatories.
544
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ALL SAINTS CATHEDRAL.
The interest which Mr. Coming has taken in all
public improvements in Albany are proverbial; not
only in manufactories, but in churches, schools
and their edifices has his liberality been seen and
felt, but in no instance of public improvement has
he exhibited so much zeal and munificence as in
All Saints' Cathedral, now in process of erection in
Albany. Without referring minutely to the valuable
lands he has from time to time donated to this
cathedral, and the exceedingly prosperous institu-
tions connected with it, we shall give an outline
history and description of the cathedral from its
beginning.
The interest taken by Mr. Corning in the
Cathedral of All Saints at Albany, renders a brief
history of what is to be one of the most imposing
buildings in Albany, and perhaps in the State, very
appropriate in his biography.
The legislature of the State of New York incor-
porated the Cathedral by an Act passed March 27,
1873 (Chap. 149). The first section created the
following members "a body politic and corpo-
rate:" The Bishop, William' Croswell Doane,
John Ireland Tucker, John H. Hobart Brown,
Hiram H. Beers, Theodore Babcock, John Town-
send, Orlando Meads, Erastus Corning, Amos P.
Palmer, Walter A. Wood and James Forsyth.
The corporators are empowered by Section 3 "to
fill vacancies in their own number," and, by Sec-
tion 4, to adopt a constitution for the election of
new trustees. The object and purposes of the
corporation are, by Section 2, said to be "the es-
tablishment, erection, maintenance and manage-
ment of a cathedral church and its appurtenances
in the City of Albany;" and Section 5 declares
"the seats for the worshipers in the said cathe-
dral church shall always be free."
On All Saints' Day, 1872, the building at pres-
ent occupied, formerly an iron foundry, was first
used for Divine Service. It has been enlarged since.
On the festival of All Saints, 1881, the Bishop
announced to the congregation his purpose to be-
gin at once the execution of this one of the great
purposes for which the corporation was created, the
erection of a cathedral building, and laid before
them his plans. At a meeting of the Chapter,
held November 23, 1881, the following committee
was appointed to select a site; The Bishop, Hon.
Erastus Coming, Mr. Orlando Meads. It was re-
solved to endeavor to raise at once $150,000, to
meet the cost of the building exclusive of the site.
Mr. James Moir was appointed to act (under Gen.
S. E. Marvin, Treasurer of the Chapter) as treasurer
of the funds collected into the subscription books.
The committee on the site were then instructed
" to obtain plans for the cathedral."
On April 30, 1883, the plans of R. W. Gib-
son, architect, were adopted, with a modification
submitted to the Chapter on the 6th of June. On
November 28, 1883, the grounds given by Hon.
Erastus Corning, valued at $80,000, were ac-
cepted as the site, and, on motion of Mr. Coming,
it was
"Resolved, That, in the judgment of the Chap-
ter, it is expedient that measures be taken without
delay to begin the work of building the cathedral,
and that to that end preparations be made to re-
move the buildings now on the ground, and to
procure the working plans and estimates for the
excavation and laying of the foundations, and that
the work be proceeded with as fast and as far as
the means in the hands of the Chapter will permit "
At a meeting held March 22, 1884, it was re-
solved that the comer-stone be laid on Whit-
Tuesday, June 3, 1884. This stone, with appro-
priate inscriptions, is the gift of Margaret Doane
Gardiner, the Bishop's granddaughter. At the
same meeting "a special subscription was author-
ized for the columns of the new cathedral, to be
memorials of churchmen eminent in Church and
State." They are to be twenty- four in number, and
to cost $r,8oo each. Twenty-one have already
been appropriated. As the day appointed for the
laying of the comer-stone approached, the contri-
butions in money (distinguished from the gift of
land) were nearly $100,000 — no one gift exceeding
$7, 500, that of Hon. Walter A. Wood.
According to the modified plans presented by
the architect, the building to be erected for imme-
diate use is in every part, except the roof, a por-
tion of the completed structure and will be built
up to a height sufficient for a good appearance and
with accommodation for seating practically the
same. The style is Gothic, or pointed architecture
of the first period; the plan is a Latin cross formed
by the choir and nave to the east and west respect-
ively, and of a central crossing with transepts to the
north and south. The choir is ninety-one feet
long and thirty-five feet wide, and is planned in
five bays or divisions, the two eastern forming the
sanctuary. The nave is ninety-nine feet long,
forty wide, and has narrow side aisles its entire
length. The transepts are one hundred and ten
feet in breadth from north to south (including
crossing), and forty feet wide, forming; a square
crossing with the nave. The crossing has four
great arches corresponding with those of the nave
and transepts; and above them breaks by pen-
dants into an octagon, in the manner frequent in
the early Gothic cathedrals. The main features of
the interior are the great pillars made up of
grouped shafts and pieces in pure constructural
style; they are of unusual size and will give excep-
tional majesty to the perspective of the nave and
choir. The main arcade upon them is simple,
but can be at a future time enriched with carving.
A triforium of coupled arches is carried along the
nave and choir. Over this comes the clerestory
with large coupled lancet windows in the nave and
tracing in the choir; generally the choir has been
given richer character than the nave, leading up to
the traceried window in the square east end of the
sanctuary. The western end of the nave has a
rich circular window of radiating tracery. The
side aisles are to be used as passages only; the
nave is widened to the maximum, and the pillars
are so arranged that none of the congregation are
seated behind them. The heights of the interior
HON. ELI PERRY,
545
are, from floor of nave to springing of arches of
nave and transept vaults, forty-eight feet; to top of
vaults, seventy feet; to top of ceiling of lantern
over crossing, one hundred and thirteen feet; to
springing of arches of choir vaults, forty-five feet;
to top, sixty- six feet. The proportions and
methods of the octagon lantern are designed to
avoid acoustic difficulties. The exterior walling
is to be of Potsdam stone. The west front is
flanked by towers with belfries and spires. The
height to top of belfry is one hundred and thirty-six
feet, and to top of finial, two hundred and three
feet The central tower, or lantern over crossing,
is one hundred and forty-four feet high at top of
masonry, and one hundred and eighty feet to top of
finial cross. The seating capacity is for fifteen hun-
dred persons, and there are one hundred and fifty-
three stalls for the clergy, and fifty-four choir seats,
making a total of one thousand seven hundred and
fifty-seven persons. If crowded, the edifice would
hold two thousand.
We have seen in the biography of Erastus Corn-
ing, Sr. , that through life he conscientiously gave
his adherence to the Democratic party; that he
became a power and a leader in that party; and it
is easily seen that his son inherited the principles
of Democracy, which have been strengthened by
his own convictions as he has advanced in life and
studied the best interests of his country. He be-
lieves that the division of the people into parties
is essential to the balance of elective institutions.
Having, therefore, early selected for his support
the party that was, in his judgment, most conform-
able to the Constitution and the rights and liberties
of the people, he adheres to his choice with all the
tenacity of his nature. He has no confidence in
half-way methods and expedients; whatever is right
and proper, he holds is to be promoted by all legal,
equitable, and proper means.
It would be natural that such a man should
have large influence in the political field; and he
does. He has never, however, sought official dis-
tinction, although easily within his reach. As has
well been said: " He is reluctant to abandon his
business for the uncertain, and often unsatisfactory,
honors of the political arena." We believe the
only political position he has held was that of Dem-
ocratic elector for the Seventeenth Congressional
District, to which he was elected in the autumn
of 1884. Though adhering, as we have said, with
tenacity to his political opinions, he gives respect-
ful and courteous consideration to the opinions of
others. He is prominent in all that relates to the in-
terests of Albany and its citizens, who hold him in
the highest respect. His manners are unassuming;
he is true to his friends and to his duties. Unselfish,
he has secured the confidence and regard of the
people of Albany, and this confidence and regard
is largely shared by the people of the State. Be-
side his important business relations already de-
scribed, Mr. Corning is President of the Albany
City National Bank; the Albany City Savings In-
stitution; the Albany Rural Cemetery Association;
and the Fort Orange Club. Was formerly a Water
Commissioner and a member of the Albany City
69
Hall Commission. He has served as Alderman of
his Ward, but has held no other official position
except that of presidential elector before men-
tioned. It will thus be seen that he is prom-
inent in all that relates to the interests of Al-
bany. In the fall of 1885 Mr. Corning was elected
a Director of the New York Central and Hudson
River Railroad.
In 1850, Mr. Corning was united by marriage to
Miss Gertrude Tibbitts, of Albany, by whom he
had one son, his eldest child, Erastus Corning, Jr.
Mrs. Corning died in 1869. In 1873, Mr. Corn-
ing married Miss Mary Parker, daughter of Hon.
Amasa J. Parker, of Albany. By this union he is
the father of two sons and one daughter.
Mr. Corning is a practical man, and deals with
men in a practical manner; he molds the influ-
ences which surround him and subordinates all
minor matters to the object he desires to accom-
plish. In all that constitutes an active, intelligent,
and high-minded business man, the typical enter-
prising American, in the most laudable significa-
tion of the term, he stands in the very front rank,
pre-eminently the representative, public-spirited cit-
izen, an honor to the age in which he lives.
HON. ELI PERRY.
Hon. Eli Perry, a distinguished citizen of Albany,
Ex-Mayor of the City, and Ex-Member of Con-
gress, was born in Washington County, N. Y.,
December 25, 1799, and died in Albany, May 17,
1881. He was a third cousin of the gallant Com-
modore Perry, U. S. N. , whom he resembled some-
what in personal appearance. His early life was
passed in Montgomery County, where his parents
owned a fine farm and were considered prosper-
ous people. When Eli was still a youth, his father
sold the farm, and, with his family, removed to Al-
bany, where he opened a tavern at the corner of
Lion (now Washington avenue) and Swan streets.
While engaged in this occupation, he took a con-
tract to supply a portion of the American army
with beef and other provisions. After the terms of
the contract were fixed, the prices of provisions be-
came very high, but, being thoroughly honorable,
he held to the terms of his contract, and sacrificed
all the property he had in the world. Young Eli
was the eldest of six children — five boys and one
girl — and it became necessary for him to assist in
providing for the family. He cheerfully aided his
father in the performance of his contract and was
of great assistance to him for several years. He
then took service with Elisha Wilcox, who kept a
tavern in the old mansion formerly occupied by
Governor Tompkins. By extreme frugality he
saved from his wages, which were very small, dur-
ing one whole winter the sum of fourteen dollars,
and with this amount he determined to commence
business. Mr. Angus, then a well-known grocer,
encouraged the industrious and frugal young work-
er, and gave him a corner in his store in which to
open a butcher stall. Young Perry then hired an
old stable near Henry Y. Webb's malt-house,
where his neat cattle were killed, and proceeded at
546
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
once to prepare his market for the sale of fresh
meat. He attended closely to his business. Lim-
ited in means, of course his purchases of stock
were necessarily small. He bought from the ad-
jacent farmers and turned over his capital every
twenty-four hours. By care and good management
he not only supported himself, but saved enough
money to buy a horse and wagon, with the aid of
which he was enabled to supply with meat some
fifteen or twenty taverns, situated on the Great-
western Turnpike, then the only highway of com-
munication with the West His business increased
rapidly. Everybody liked to help the young man
who was so assiduous in helping himself; who was
so attentive to his business; who was so accom-
modating; and who never thought anything he
could do for them was any trouble. His business
had increased to such an extent, that he could not
always depend on the farmers to keep him supplied
with the quantity he desired, and it became his
practice to attend the cattle market at McKown's.
His purchases, however, were always very light,
compared with those made by others. One day,
his good friend, Mr. Fowler, told him to buy a
good drove of lambs and come and see him about
the payment for them. Eli went out to McKown's
and finding a nice drove, commenced examining
them with a view to buying. The other larger
dealers looked on in derision at young Perry com-
peting with them in the purchase of some eighty
or ninety head. They had already oflered 9s. 6d.
per head. Perry finally turned to Simpson, the
owner, and said: "I'll give you ten shillings a
head for them." He secured the lambs, and,
when driving off, the others were very anxious to
take his purchase off his hands at a premium. He
went to Mr. Fowler and informed him of his pur-
chase, when that gentleman sat down and drew a
check for $100, " payable to Sheepskins or bearer,"
on the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank. This was
the first time in his life that the boy had ever had
a bank check in his hands. Mr. Olcott paid the
money to Eli, who handed it over to Simpson, and
they returned to McKown's. Young Perry drove
his flock out of the yards before all the dealers
assembled there, feeling as proud and rich as John
Jacob Astor, and from that day no brother dealer
ever laughed at Eli when he proposed to buy stock.
Mr. Perry's business was constantly increasing, and
he found himself at times unable to accommodate
his customers as fully as he desired. John Cassidy,
father of the editor of the Albany Argus, was then
a heavy dealer in cattle. He also took an interest
in Eli, and told the drovers to "give that boy all
the cattle he wanted, and he would be his security."
Eli then applied to the Common Council for a license
for a market on the corner of Swan street and
Washington avenue, where Robert M. King's house
now stands. This was secured, and, through Mr.
Cassidy's aid, Eli soon had a market second to
none in the city. He was now on the high road
to fortune. He was prosperous in all his under-
takings, and soon took rank among the heaviest
dealers. Nevertheless, his business always received
his individual personal attention, early and late.
The packing of beef in Albany, at that time, was
done chiefly by John Russell and Ichabod Judson.
Mr. Russell's establishment being offered for sale,
Mr. Perry became its purchaser. He enlarged his
facilities from year to year until he employed some
seventy men. At times he packed from 80 to 100
head of cattle per day. It was while engaged in this
business that Mr. Perry laid the foundation of his
subsequent wealth. This business required large
amounts of ready capital, and the late John Taylor,
then carrying on the business of a tallow-chandler,
frequently came to the assistance of Mr. Perry by
indorsing his paper. Mr. Perry continued this
business for some twenty years, making it more
profitable each year. His business prosperity in-
creased his wealth to such a degree, that he found
himself possessed of a large surplus capital, which
it became necessary to invest. Having the interest
of the city in which he had so long been successful
at heart, he felt it to be his duty to invest his capital
in real estate. He entered upon these investments
with the same spirit, energy and judgment which
had characterized all his business transactions. He
carefully studied the city and all its advantageous
sites and localities. He took into consideration
the interests of the city, investigated its municipal
affairs, and made himself fully conversant with their
management and their wants and needs. He very
soon made himself master of these, and was recog-
nized as such. In April, 1845, his fellow citizens
of the Second Ward, appreciating his fitness for the
office, elected him to represent them in the Com-
mon Council. In politics he was a Democrat, and
was nominated on that ticket; and although the
Ward had given a Whig majority of 300 in the
previous election, Mr. Perry's personal popularity
was so great, that he succeeded in completely
reversing it, and obtaining a sufiicient number of
additional votes to insure his election. In 1850
he was elected to the Assembly, and, while holding
this office, was elected Mayor of the City of Albany.
This office he continued to hold at various times
for nearly twelve years, and during that entire
period not one breath of suspicion of wrong-doing
was ever charged against him. While Mayor of
the City he performed a service, in conjunction
with Mayor Kingsland, of New York, which
elicited wide-spread commendation and thanks
from all classes of citizens. A bad class of emi-
grant runners had banded themselves together for
the purpose of robbing emigrants. Their organiza-
tion exiended from New York to Buffalo, and the
ringleaders had their quarters in New York
and Alban}'. It was determined to break this
gang up. But to do this required the personal
action of Mayor Perry. Therefore, every morning
by daylight, he was to be seen on the dock,
with a few trusty policemen, driving away from the
emigrants the robbers, and taking charge of them
himself, sending or conducting them to honest
stopping-places. This course was successful, and
the disreputable business was broken up. Our
adopted citizens, especially, appreciated this action
very highly; but the runners, who held no little
political influence, made it a pretext for bringing
HON. ELI PERRY.
647
against him a strong opposition when he ran again
for office. But Mr. Perry's popularity was alto-
gether too great, and he was re-elected by a greater
majority than ever. Many stories are told of his
personal courage and daring, which alone would
fill a small volume. In the discharge of his duty
as Alderman, he was present on the occasion of a
fire in Green street. While directing the firemen,
a wall of hot bricks fell on him, completely bury-
ing him from view. The engines near by, in their
attempt to cool the bricks and thus save him from
being burned to death or sutfocated, poured such
a volume of water upon them, that before he could
be extricated he came very near death by drown-
ing. Shortly after the War for the Union com-
menced, a serious strike occurred among the
laborers of the New York Central Railroad Com-
pany; hundreds of armed men roaming the street,
and finally assembling at the freight yard, then
in Montgomery and Spencer streets, threatening to
destroy all the property found there. Had the
buildings been fired, as suggested by a few of the
leaders, millions of dollars' worth of valuable prop-
erty awaiting transhipment would have perished
with the cars and freight-houses. The Mayor was
at that time the head of the Police Force, and, with
a posse of men, he hastened to the rendezvous of
strikers, who were about carrying out the plans of
destruction suggested by the leaders. He fear-
lessly forced his way right into their midst; expos-
tulated with them about their proposed lawlessness;
and assured them that, while their rights would be
respected, he, as Mayor of the City, sworn to pro-
tect the peace and property of its citizens, would
shoot down the first man who dare apply the torch.
He remained with them the entire day, and the
next morning no strikers could be found in the
neighborhood of the company's depots. In a few
days thereafter the men were at work quietly and
peacefully. At a subsequent meeting of the ex-
strikers, resolutions thanking Mayor Perry for the
interest he had shown in their welfare, and for his
firm, though kind, action in restraining them from
deeds of lawlessness, and extending him pledges of
their confidence and good-will, were unanimously
adopted. How sacredly they kept this pledge was
shown by their repeated evidences of love and high
respect whenever ihey had the opportunity to man-
ifest them. Mr. Perry's record as a good and worthy
citizen — one who not only took a deep interest in
all charitable, religious, and educational institu-
tions, but performed a share of the labor that is
required to carry them on — is long and full. He
took an active part in organizing the Orphan Asy-
lum, which was started in the building on the cor-
ner of Washington avenue and Swan street. He
was a manager for a number of years, and until
after the new building near the head of Washington
street was completed. He was one of the first
School Commissioners under the new law, and
devoted twenty years of faithful service to aid every
measure for the improvement and education of the
children of the city. To this service he was partic-
ularly devoted, owing to his high appreciation of
the benefits of education. No expense, no facilities.
no encouragement, were, in his estimation, too great
for this purpose. During the War for the Union, Mr.
Perry took a very active part in the efforts in behalf of
the Government. He was Chairman of the War
Committee. He rendered great assistance, espe-
cially in raising Company B, 91st Regiment, which
company was commanded by Captain Stackhouse,
who was formerly in his employment. After Cap-
tain Stackhouse was wounded at Port Hudson and
died, Mr. Perry had his remains brought to Al-
bany and buried. He devoted much time and
money to the welfare of the soldiers recruited in
and about Albany, to whom he was well known.
In recognition of his valuable services in behalf of
the 43d Regiment, the following resolutions of
thanks were adopted unanimously at a meeting
of Company B of that command, held at Camp
Griffin, Va., January 30, 1862.
" Whereas, The Hon. Eli Perry has proven him-
self a warm friend of the Union, the Constitution
and the laws, by his many acts of patriotism, his
zeal and loyalty to his country; and
"Whereas, He has manifested so much interest
in the organization of the 43d Regiment, N. Y. S.
V. (visiting the barracks frequently and contribut-
ing freely to make us comfortable during our or-
ganization), and has been so particularly kind and
friendly towards Company B; therefore
"Resolved, That Company B of the 43d Regi-
ment, N. Y. S. v., recognize in the Hon. Eli Perry
the gentleman, the patriot, and a warm friend of
the Union, the Constitution and the laws of our
beloved county; therefore
"Resolved, That Company B of the 43d Regi-
ment, N. Y. S. v., shall hereafter be known and
reorganized as the Perry Guards of Albany, and
they do adopt that as the name of the company."
Mr. Perry was always regarded as a direct and
faithful representative of the people, unselfish in his
views, and with an eye to the advancement of the
public welfare, to which he never failed to give his
full support. Although a party man, he was so in
the best sense, and at no time allowed himself to
serve any clique or further any private interest.
Pecuniarily he was independent, and, possessed of
stern honesty, he stood far above the reach of any
ring influence. Hence the municipal affairs of
Albany were rarely better conducted than when
under his administration.
Mr. Perry was Ma3'or of Albany at the time of
the visit of Jenny Lind to America. On the ap-
pearance of the great cantatrice in Albany, he pre-
sented her to his fellow-citizens, and subsequently
paid her many courteous attentions. Just previous
to her departure from the city she called at his
office, and gave him a beautiful chain as a keep-
sake, and also the sum of $r,ooo for the poor of
Albany. At the time of the visit of Louis Kossuth,
the Hungarian Apostle of Liberty, to America,
Mr. Perry was also the chief magistrate of the city,
and in that capacity presided at the meeting to wel-
come the distinguished exile. Speaking for the
citizens of Albany, he said:
548
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
"Governor Kossuth: As chief magistrate of this
city, the agreeable duty is devolved on me of bid-
ding you a cordial welcome. The citizens of this
capital — the capital of the most powerful and most
prosperous State in the confederacy — rejoice at the
opportunity now offered them of receiving you as
their guest. They recognize in you the represent-
ative of a principle to which freemen are always
glad to do homage. They greet you as a distin-
guished advocate of political rights — as a brother
in the great contest for liberty — who has struggled
so powerfully for your country's cause. With deep
emotion they extend their arms to welcome you to
their hearts and their firesides. They watched with
intense interest the changes of light and shadow in
your national struggle. They rejoiced at your tem-
porary success, and they mourned, oh, how deeply,
the unfortunate issue of the conflict. But we have
confidence that the progress of human affairs is on-
ward. National and individual rights are becom-
ing more thoroughly understood and more highly
valued; and we trust the time is not far distant when
Hungary, free and republican, shall take her proper
place among the nations of the earth. On behalf
of our fellow-citizens, allow me again, sir, to wel-
come you to the capital of the Empire State."
Mayor Perry presided at the great welcome given
by the citizens of Albany to General McClellan,
just previous to the latter's nomination to the Presi-
dency. In Joel Munsell's excellent "Collections
on the History of Albany," mention is made of
a remarkable instance of Mr. Perry's generosity
in connection with the Washington avenue Baptist
Church. Though he had an opportunity of dis-
posing of his interest in the State street Calvary
Church at a great pecuniary advantage, he pre-
ferred to keep the sacred edifice in the hands of his
brother church-members, and accordingly donated
his entire interest in the building to the Washington
avenue Baptist Church, who at once removed to
State street. Again, in connection with the Pearl
street Baptist Church Building, the edifice had actu-
ally gone begging for a purchaser. In the mean-
time, work on the new edifice on State street lagged
for want of means, which the sale of the old House
of Worship would bring. Finally, the trustees
turned, as a forlorn hope, to Mr. Perry. He came
to their rescue at once, and paid them the price —
|35,ooo — at which the property had been in the
market for months without finding a purchaser. He
subsequently remodeled the building, and though
great inducements were offered to him for a lease
of the upper part of the building for theatrical pur-
poses, he answered in the negative. He would not
lend his aid in turning a church into a theatre. Mr.
Perry was nominated by acclamation for the Forty-
second Congress, and was elected by over 3, 000 ma-
jority. He was likewise nominated for the Forty-
third Congress, and again elected by about the same
majority. Mr. Perry's career in the National Legis-
lature was distinguished not only by his marked
devotion to the interests of his constituents, but
also by a careful attention to the interests of the
country at large. A most important bill presented
by him, in an able speech delivered in the House
of Representatives on the 13th of February, 1872,
advocated the erection of public buildings in Al-
bany by the National Government, on a scale com-
mensurate with the present and prospective wants
of that city. This speech, which embodied, in
terse but vigorous language, a statistical presenta-
tion of the population, industries, wealth, educa-
tional facilities and growing importance of the
capital of the Empire State, bore the impress of
profound thought in every sentence. Its admirable
common-sense view of the whole subject and its
unanswerable logic, won an appropriation of $350,-
000 for the purpose specified, the sole condition
imposed by Congress being that the City of Albany
should furnish the site. On the passage of the bill
granting the appropriation, Mr. Perry sent the fol-
lowing dispatch to the Postmaster of Albany:
"Washington, D. C, Feb. 13, 1872.
"Hon. Jno. F. Smyth, P. M., Albany,
" I have succeeded in the passage of my bill in
the House for $350,000 for a Government build-
ing, the City of Albany to procure a site.
"Yours truly,
"Eli Perry."
The satisfaction of the citizens of Albany at the
success of Mr. Perry's efforts was unbounded.
Men of all parties sent him their warm congratula-
tions, and the general sentiment was that he de-
served every praise. The Albany Argus, in an
editorial headed by the above dispatch, said:
" Mr. Perry has certainly earned the thanks of our
citizens for his energy in urging upon the attention
of Congress the necessity of a Government building
here. It is the first bill of the kind reported this
session, and though it met with some little opposi-
tion, on the ground that it was opening the door
to similar appropriations for other localities, it
finally passed the house without division." An-
other Albany journal, in announcing the passage
of the bill, said: " Mr. Perry has done in a month
what all our former Congressmen failed to do for
thirty years." On the 2d of June, 1874, the
House of Representatives having under discussion
a bill providing for the construction of the Girls'
Reform School in the District of Columbia, toward
which the National Government had been asked to
apply the Conscience Fund, the district authorities
agreeing to furnish the site, Mr. Perry delivered
a speech in favor of the measure, showing in his
remarks that Congress was not called upon to do
more than its bounden duty in making an appro-
priation for the carrying out of this measure, which
was called for by every honorable and philan-
thropic sentiment, and adducing as a precedent for
this application of a special fund in charge of the
Government, but not covered into the Treasury,
the employment, for the erection of the National
Soldiers' Home, of the unexpended sum (amount-
ing to |i 18,000) of the contributions levied upon
Mexican cities during the War with Mexico. Mr.
Perry was a man of large business capacity, and
had been prominently identified for many years
with several of the most important corporations in
Albany. Among these were the Albany City Bank,
i-'
HARMON PUMPELLY.
549
of which he had been a Director twenty-five years,
and was, at the time of his death, Vice-President;
the Albany City Savings Bank, of which he was
also Vice-President; and the Mutual Insurance
Company, with which he had been connected as
a Director since its incorporation, and of which he
was President. He was also a Director of the Al-
bany Gas Company, and one of the Inspectors of
the Penitentiary. He was a man of fixed principles
and strongly marked character, and always identi-
fied himself with the masses of the people, whose
best interests he at all times warmly supported and
championed. His death was universally lamented
in Albany, and wherever he was known.
HARMON PUMPELLY.
The late Harmon Pumpelly was born August
I, 1795, in Salisbury, Conn. His father, John
Pumpelly, was of English descent, and occupied a
prominent social and business position in the State
in which he lived. Mr. Pumpelly was one of four
brothers, all of whom were among the most influ-
ential of the early inhabitants of Owego, N. Y.
Their Christian names were James, Charles, Will-
iam and Harmon. The latter survived his three
brothers. At the date of the settlement of his fam-
ily in Owego he was only six years old. He early
learned to rely upon his own resources, and with-
out education, except what he gathered from a
constantly interrupted reading of books, he set out
in the battle of life with an equipment in which
sturdy energy and indomitable perseverance more
than compensated for any lack of educational train-
ing. He was an omniverous reader, and from
every book he read he gleaned some useful knowl-
edge and laid it by in memory's storehouse for
future use. Among other accomplishments of a
practical kind he gained a knowledge of surveying.
Long before he had reached his majority he had
begun to lay the foundation of that competence
which he afterward amassed. Together with his
brothers, he dealt in lumber and cattle, always
showing great business tact, and not unfrequently
clearing large sums in his transactions. Subse-
quently he became the accredited agent of a lot of
New York land owners, and by the sale of farm
and other lands in the southern tier of New York
County, still further increased his fortune. In
1 84 1 Mr. Pumpelly removed to Albany, and resided
in that city thereafter until his death. After that
date he never engaged actively in business, but
identified himself prominently with several well-
_ known Albany institutions, the great prosperity of
which was due in no small degree to his wise busi-
ness management, clear foresight and sound coun-
sel— for in business affairs he was quick, exact and
always reliable. He was successful in nearly all that
he undertook, and preserved all his mental facul-
ties to the very last day of his life; and up to with-
in a few days of his death he had alwavs enjoyed
excellent health, for he had been endowed by na-
ture with a wonderfully vigorous constitution, and
though always active and energetic, and capable of
a vast amount of continuous mental labor, he
never permitted himself to abuse nature's gifts, but
adhered to a systematic course of physical exercise.
A great lover of good horses, and an accomplished
equestrian, he undoubtedly prolonged his life sev-
eral years by his daily habit of horseback riding.
He never lost his love of books, and, notwithstand-
ing his diminishing eyesight, was a constant reader
until his fatal illness. He came of a family re-
markable for longevity, his father and grandfather
having lived to upwards of ninety years of age.
He died, after only a few days' illness, September
28, 1882, in his eighty-eighth year. He was then
President of three important corporations: the Al-
bany Gaslight Company, the Albany Savings Bank,
and the Albany Insurance Company. Af a meet-
ing of the Directors of the Albany Gaslight Com-
pany held soon after his death, the following resolu-
tions were passed:
"Resolved, That this Board learns with pro-
found regret of the death of Harmon Pumpelly,
who, for the last thirty-six years, has been the
President of the Board and chief manager of the
affairs of the company. Mr. Pumpelly was a man
of marked business capacity, of excellent judgment,
of stern integrity, and of great fidelity to his trust as
connected with this company. The prosperity of
the company is greatly due to him, and the Board
feel the loss of his counsel and long experience.
Mr. Pumpelly had not only the respect ahd confi-
dence of the Board, but the friendship and person-
al regard of all its members, and although his great
age advised them that this event could not long be
postponed, yet its coming saddens their hearts.
They sympathize with his bereaved widow and the
rest of his family, and feel that they have some
share with them in the grief occasioned by his
death.
"Resolved, That the Secretary communicate the
foregoing resolution as expressive of the feelings of
this Board.
"H. H. Martin, Vice-President.
" S. W. Whitney, Secretary. "
Similar resolutions were passed by the other cor-
porations with which Mr. Pumpelly was identified.
He never engaged actively in politics, but never-
theless in his younger days took a lively interest
in all political movements. He was originally an
old-fashioned Whig, but became a Republican upon
the organization of that party, and acted with it
during the balance of his life. For many years he
had been a communicant of St. Peter's Church,
and for a considerable time before his death served
that organization as Senior Warden. He was al-
ways munificent in his gifts to the church. At a
meeting of the vestry of St. Peter's Church to take
action touching the death of Mr. Pumpelly, the fol-
lowing minutes and resolutions were adopted:
"The death of Harmon Pumpelly, Senior Warden
of St. Peter's Church, removes from the vestry its
head. So long and so lovingly had he lived and
labored among us, that his death takes him away
ripe and ready for the harvest. His even temper,
his great sagacity, his unyielding fidelity, and his
genial manner, made him at once a wise counselor.
550
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
c^.<ArM^ot^
a discreet leader and a charming companion. He
loved the church and contributed liberally toward
its support. Though a man of strong will and
positive opinion, he was broad and charitable to-
ward those with whom he differed in deed or
doctrine. He left us the record of a life unsullied.
In character a true Christian gentleman, we shall
miss him as we miss a loving brother, and we
mingle our sorrow with that of the dear wife and
loving children, bereaved as they are bereaved.
"Resolved, That we will attend the funeral in a
body and wear the usual badge of mourning.
"Resolved, That these minutes and resolution be
published in the daily papers, and a copy sent to
the family of the deceased by the Rector.
" W. W. Battershall, Rector.
"John S. Perry, Clerk."
Mr. Pumpelly was twice married. His first wife
was Miss Delphine Drake, daughter of the late
Hon. John R. Drake, by whom he had two
children, Mrs. James Kidd, of Albanj', and Mrs.
John Meredith Read, whose husband was recently
American Minister at Athens and who now resides
in Paris. It was after the death of his first wife
that he removed to Albany. In 1841 he married
Miss Maria Brinckerhoff, of Albany, a lady be-
longing to one of the oldest and most distinguished
families of the State, who survives him. He had
no children by his second marriage. Even in his
old age he was remarkably youthful in his feelings.
and fond of having young people about him.
Socially, few men were more captivating or knew
better how to entertain. About two weeks pre-
vious to his death, the first symptoms of what
proved to be a fatal illness made themselves man-
ifest in an affection of the heart. For several days
his family and friends were prepared for the in-
evitable termination of his malady, and by the
ministrations of affectionate devotion they did all
in human power to render painless the end which
they beheld approaching all too rapidly, and
which came peacefully, and without a pang, amid
that unconsciousness with which kindl3- nature
often comes to the relief of flickering humanity.
His funeral was largely attended at St Peter's
Church, on Sunday, October i, 1882. His lot
^as . , , , , ,
' ' An old age serene and bright
And lovely as a Lapland night."
MATTHEW H. READ.
The late Matthew H. Read was born in New
Haven, Conn., on the 2d of September, 1804.
His father was Matthew Read, son of Matthew
Read, of Attlebero, Conn.; his mother, Lydia
Hotchkiss, daughter of Silas Hotchkiss, of New
Haven. His early education was limited, and he
began his active business life as a clerk in the store
of his father in New Haven, developing into a
hard-working, faithful and sagacious business man.
Until 1 840, when he removed to Albany, he was a
HON. JOHN TWEDDLE.
651
resident of New Haven, and was more or less prom-
inently connected with various important interests
in that city, He was a Lieutenant, and, dating
from May, 1832, ranked as Captain in the Gov-
ernor's Foot Guards, and was honorably discharged
from service in 1833.
Upon taking up his residence in Albany, he em-
barked in the flour and grain commission trade.
Once established, he bent his energies lo the task,
which he successfully accomplished, of making
the business one of the most extensive of its kind
in the country. His New England acquaintance
served him so well, that he was a large shipper to
Eastern ports; owned a line of schooners; and at
one time supplied almost the whole of New Eng-
land through his house.
The business was at one time carried on under
the firm name and style of Read & Ravvls, and
later under that of Matthew H. Read & Son,
Mr. Read's eldest son, Robert, having been taken
into partnership on the retirement of Mr. Rawls.
Mr. Read served as President of the Board of
Trade of the City of Albany, and was interested in
the leading financial corporations of the city. In-
deed, of some of them he was one of the originators
and incorporators. He was one of the incorpora-
tors of the First National Bank, and at the time of
his death had been its President during a period of
fourteen years He was an incorporator and one
of the Trustees of the National Savings Bank, and he
was also one of the organizers and directors of the
Commerce Insurance Company, and a member of
the executive committee of that corporation.
About twenty-five years ago, having amassed a
comfortable competence, and being desirous of
spending his remaining years in the peaceful retire-
ment of his home, he withdrew permanently from
commerce and was retired from business, except as
the corporations named claimed his counsel and
advice from time to time. In religion he was a
Congregationalist, and in politics a Republican.
But he was as unostentatious in the one as in the
other. Political life had no charm for him. His
mind was of too quiet a mold for active partisan-
ship, but his interest in the prominent issues of the
day was keen and intelligent. He was married early
in life, and a family, consisting of his wife, his
sons, Robert, William, Matthew and Daniel P., and
three daughters, survive him. His death occurred
September 7, 1883, at his residence. No. 60 Willett
street
HON. JOHN TWEDDLE.
There are monuments more enduring than mar-
ble, which are seen and known of all men, and
whose inscriptions are intuitively realized, not read.
Such monuments are reared by men who pass busy,
useful and blameless lives — lives whose imprint is
upon the communities in which they live, and whose
influence shall be recognized long after shaft of
granite shall have crumbled away to fade from view,
no more to mark the resting-place of a man that
has lived and died. Such a monument was built
up unconsciously and unosentatiously by the late
John Tweddle, whose death was a public bereave-
ment, and whose memory has grown bright through
an interval of nearly a decade since he passed from
earth to be seen no more of men.
Mr. Tweddle was born at Temple Sowerby,
County of Westmoreland, England, February 14,
1798, and died in Albany, March 9, 1875, in his
seventy-eighth year. Orphaned by the death of his
father when he was only nine years old, he was
early thrown on his own resources, and while
yet a mere lad entered earnestly upon the stern
battle of life. He became an apprentice to a
wheelwright in Carlisle, County of Cumberland,
England, where the remnant of his father's
family then lived, his mother having remar-
ried. He was employed at his trade, which yielded
him but a meager living in his native land, until
he had grown to manhood. As he approached his
majority, the determination grew stronger and
stronger within him to seek greater prosperity in
America. He was without means, but was enabled
to realize his desire by the loan of /^20, which he
secured from his step-father. It will be interesting
to note here that this was the only borrowed money
he handled during his whole life, and was repaid
with interest out of his first earnings in the United
States.
An ocean voyage was then (181 9) a more serious
matter than now. Seven weeks were consumed in
the passage. Young Tweddle disembarked at Phil-
adelphia, which was then a much more formidable
rival of New York than it has been during the last
third of a century. No opening presenting itself
to him there, he soon went to West Chester, Pa.,
with the intention of securing work at his trade as a
journeyman.
The advantages of opening a wheelwright shop
on his own account were manifest to him, and the
opportunity was not wanting. He was soon estab-
lished in business on a limited scale, though his
establishment comprehended a forge and he had a
blacksmith in his employ. He prospered, and after
a time found himself in possession of a limited
capital.
A brewery was for sale in West Chester on ad-
vantageous terms, and he concluded to buy it and
change his business for another promising larger
and more rapid profits. The young man's self-
reliance was now strikingly illustrated. He was
not a brewer. He knew nothing of the craft, but
he bought the brewery and learned the trade in it
under the tutelage of his own employees. He be-
came master of it; but before that was foreman
of the brewery, perfecting his skill as a brewer, and
at the same time protecting his interests as propri-
etor by a judicious oversight of his entire business.
He made money quite rapidly for a time, and
counted himself worth $20,000 at least. But West
Chester was not destined to be the scene of his fi-
nancial triumphs. Reverses came, and everything
was swept away. Its brewing interests had then
made the City of Albany well known to the entire
fraternity of brewers. Thither John Tweddle
turned his steps, with the hope of retrieving his
broken fortunes. It will be a surprise to many
552
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
■^Me^
who read this, to learn that he came to Albany
$7,000 in debt, though with sufficient ready funds
to begin business on a limited scale; but, placing
dependence on his good health as much as any-
thing, he started upon a career which placed his
name upon the list of Albany's most persevering
and successful businessmen. In 1847 he rented
the malt-house of John Taylor, and thus launched
propitiously upon the broad, uncertain sea of enter-
prise. His business qualifications were of a high
order, circumstances were not unfavorable, and he
succeeded where other men failed. His success
was all the more remarkable, in that it was not
marred by losses, for every year during his connec-
tion with the brewing interest he realized a profit;
sometimes it was small, but it was always a balance
on the right side. His business assumed such
proportions, that for years he had two large malt-
houses in Albany and two in New York.
As a citizen, the influence of Mr. Tweddle was
widely felt. He was for many years actively and
intimately connected with the commercial interests
of Albany. A man of spotless personal integrity,
he was singularly faithful in the discharge of cor-
porate trusts. From the date of the organization
of the Merchants' Bank in 1853, until his death
twenty-two years later, he was its President, and its
success was in no small degree attributable to his
sagacity, integrity, energy and admirable manage-
ment He occupied prominent positions in va-
rious civic organizations. As President of St
George's Society, he retained a strong bond of
sympathy with all resident citizens of English na-
tivity, and by his example and counsel aided them
to freely and fully enter into the spirit of all good
American institutions. He was also one of the
original, and later one of the most active and in-
fluential, members of the Albany Board of Trade,
and through his connection therewith, his counsels
were made effective upon the commercial pros-
perity of the city.
In various parts of the city are many visible and
tangible evidences of Mr. Tweddle's enterprise and
liberality, and, above all, of his love for Albany
and its people. The Tweddle chimes of St Peter's
Church recall his name to nearly a hundred thou-
sand citizens, though they were the gifts, after his
death, of members of his family. The massive tower
from which their voices issue forth, stands as an en-
during memento of his beneficence. Tweddle Hall
was long the most convenient and accessible as-
sembling place of Albanians, and on its site now
stands the Tweddle Building, the most sightly,
beautiful, commodious and elegantly-finished busi-
ness structure in Albany.
In his social and domestic relations, Mr. Twed-
dle was conspicuous for his urbanity of manner and
his devotion to his friends. His confidence, per-
Aoi
CU'0^<-
^ C^c^ Cc/^t^c
HON. ADAM VAN ALLEN.
553
haps not easily won, -was rarely alienated or shaken
when once secured. He was kind and affectionate
as a husband and father, genial as a friend and as-
sociate, and always safe as a counselor. The
foundation of his worldly success was his unques-
tioned and unquestionable purity of character. He
took no active part in politics, but he was firmly
grounded in the principles of the faith of the Re-
publican party. Only once was his name publicly
mentioned in connection with any official position.
That was in 1864, when he was chosen a Presiden-
tial elector, and thus became one of those who
placed the lamented Lincoln in the Presidential
chair for his second, short, and fatal term of service.
During the rebellion he was a liberal giver in
support of the Union cause, and was interested in
every question the solution of which, through
peaceful discussion or the arbitrament of the battle-
field, promised weal or woe to our country. He
was three times married: first to Sarah Dent, of
Carlisle, England; second to Clara Maria Pulling,
daughter of Dr. Pulling, of Amsterdam, N.Y. ; and
third to Miss Frances M. Warren, a descendant of
the old and patriotic Warren family, of New Eng-
land. His widow and six children survive him.
Mr. Tweddles benevolence is a subject which
deserves more extended treatment than can be given
it. In fact it seems to be impossible to do it sim-
ple justice. It was too unostentatious to be known
of all men to anything like the half of its bountiful
extent The few public benefactions he made
were regarded by him with less of satisfaction than
the many private ones, which proved him a friend
indeed to the poor and deserving. His spirit was
an essentially liberal and helpful one, and the in-
stances in which he aided his fellow-men to help
themselves were almost numberless.
Speaking of the "tower, and the chimes which
give it voice," of St. Peter's Church, the Rector,
Rev. W. W. Battershall, has beautifully said: ''I
wish here, however, in behalf of the parish, to ex-
press our appreciation of the munificence which
has secured the long-delayed completion of this
beautiful House of God. It is an illustrious exam-
ple of the reproductive power of a good deed. I
know not whether John Tweddle expected that his
dying gift would bear such instantaneous and gen-
erous fruitage. I know, however, that it was thor-
oughl}' characteristic of the man, thoroughly in
accord with his habit of broad and unselfish good-
doing, to make those whom he loved sharers in his
deeds of benevolence. And I to-day cannot resist
the impulse to utter for you, and as your voice, our
gratitude to Almighty God that, simultaneous with
the walls of our Sunday School and Parish Build-
ing, shall arise the majestic proportions of that
tower which shall crown this edifice with a coronet
of blossoming stone, and shall stand beside this
broad avenue of traffic and politics through the fu-
ture years as a tribute to the glory of Christ and the
merhorial of one who loved this church, and who
for many years of a worthy life worshiped at its
altar."
Of the congregation of St. Peter's, Mr. Tweddle
had for many years been a member, and during
70
most of the time he had served the parish as Ves-
tryman, and latterly as Warden. He had formerly
been actively connected with St. Paul's Church
when its place of worship was in the building on
South Pearl street, where the Opera House now
stands. His death cast a gloom over the entire
congregation of St. Peter's, and the large circle of
his acquaintances, both in social and business life,
lost a friend who had ever been true and trust-
worthy. He had lived a good, pure and useful
life — a life which had made his fellow-men better
for his existence — and he died, past the allotted
age, as die those who pass into eternity full of trust
in the promises of the Saviour of the world.
HON. ADAM VAN ALLEN.
Among the oldest and most highly respected
families of Albany County are those of Van Allen
and Winne, both of that Dutch stock of New York
which has furnished the most conspicuous exam-
ples, in successive generations, of all those qualities
which constitute true manhood and insure success-
ful careers to their possessors. The first of the
family of Van Allen in America came from Hol-
land about 1640, and located in New Scotland,
Albany County. There Garret W. Van Allen was
born August i, 1790, and died May 13, 1851.
His wife, Hannah Winne, was born October 20,
1790, and died March 8, 1874.
Adam Van Allen, one of the sons of Garret W.
and Hannah (Winne) Van Allen, was born in New
Scotland September, 20, 18 13, and died in Al-
bany August II, 1884. Born and reared on his
father's farm, he early acquired those principles
which combined to render him very successful in a
business life upon which he entered, poor and
friendless, at a very early age, after a very meager
schooHng, under the tutelage of Harman Van Huy-
sen, in one of the earlier public schools of his
native town — a schooHng which terminated when
he was only twelve years old. The succeeding six
months he passed at Athens, Greene County, where
he was an inmate of the household of his uncle, Peter
Winne. Returning to Albany County, he secured
employment as a clerk in the store of George
Crawford, at the southwest corner of South Pearl
street and Lydms street (now Madison avenue),
Albany, where he remained three years, at $60 per
annum. During this time he had demonstrated
his fine natural aptitude for business, and, incred-
ible as it may appear, saved a small sum of money
from his scanty earnings. Mr. Crawford now ad-
mitted him to a partnership in the business, which
existed four years when Mr. Van Allen desiring to
withdraw, sold his interest to his former employer
for $500. In May, 1835, he opened a dry goods
store at the corner of South Pearl street and Hud-
son avenue. In 1837 he took his brother, Conrad
Van Allen, as an assistant, and subsequently as a
partner; and after four years' successful trade, sold
the business to him outright, retiring permanently
from mercantile life.
Previous to this time, Mr. Van Allen's attention
had been directed to the manufacture of pottery
554
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
and fire-brick, which had come to be one of the
most prominent of Albany's industries, and in
1 84 1, in partnership with Jacob Henry, he em-
barked in the business on the south side of Hud-
son avenue, between Eagle and High streets,
investing as his share of the capital $4,000, which
he had up to that time been able to save from the
proceeds of his former enterprises. The establish-
ment was destroyed by fire two years later, and
Mr. Van Allen sustained a considerable loss; but,
nothing daunted, the firm purchased ground on
Hawk street and Hudson avenue, extending back
to Jay street, on which they erected suitable
buildings and appliances, and resumed the manu-
facture of firebrick and stoneware on a still greater
scale. This business was continued with success
until 1848, when faihng health compelled Mr. Van
Allen to relinquish it, and Messrs. Van Allen &
Henry sold it to John Gott & Amos P. Palmer.
Mr. Van Allen soon after removed, with his fam-
ily, to a farm of two hundred acres which he had
purchased in Bethlehem, known as the homestead
farm of Solomon Luke. With improved health he
returned to Albany in 1850, to be thereafter a per-
manent resident, and to still more closely identify
himself with several of the city's most prominent
interests. In connection with his former partner,
Jacob Henry, he purchased a two-thirds interest in
the old fire-brick establishment, the entire owner-
ship of which had previously passed to Amos P.
Palmer; and during the next four years the business
was conducted by Messrs. Van Allen, Henry &
Palmer, until the admission to the firm of Horace
B. Newton, after which the four were partners,
until, at the expiration of the period mentioned,
Mr. Van Allen disposed of his interest to Messrs.
Henry, Palmer & Newton. In 1854 he engaged
in the wholesale lumber trade in the Lumber Dis-
trict, which he continued successfully, doing an
average annual business of $300,000 to $350,000,
until the financial crisis of 1857 prostrated the
lumber trade in common with most other interests,
and rendered Mr. Van Allen's relinquishment of
his share in it advisable.
Meantime, Mr. Van Allen had become promi-
nent in connection with commercial institutions in
the city. Upon the organization of the Bank of
the Capitol in 1844, he was chosen one of its Di-
rectors. As such he continued until, in 1857, he
was appointed Cashier of the Union Bank. In
1 86 1 he resigned as Director and Cashier of the
Union Bank, and was elected Cashier of the Bank
of Albany. On assuming his new duties, he dis-
covered large defalcations, which had been perpe-
trated by his prececessor in office, which involved
the loss of the bank's capital and necessitated the
closing of its doors and the appointment of a re-
ceiver to wind up its affairs. By the unanimous re-
quest of the stockholders, Mr. Van Allen accepted
the appointment of receiver. On the first of the
following September, he was appointed Cashier of
the Albany Exchange Bank, but declined to ac-
cept the position. In October, 1861, he was made
Cashier of the National Exchange Bank. As he
had done upon entering upon his duties as Cashier
of the Bank of Albany, he discovered evidences of
serious defalcations and unwise management of
the affairs of this institution, which had caused the
loss of its surplus and fully one-half of its capital.
With the assent of the stockholders, Mr. Van
Allen secured the reduction of its capital stock
from $400,000 to $200,000, and so managed its
affairs that it was enabled to continue business and
retain the public confidence. Upon the organiza-
tion of the First National Bank in 1864, he was
chosen its Cashier, and resigned his connection
with the Merchants' Bank to accept the position,
which he held until he was made President of the
institution in 1883. At the organization of the
National Savings Bank in 1868, he was chosen its
Vice-President. As far back as 1854, he was
elected a Director of the Schuyler Line, and in
1864 he was chosen Director of the Albany Gaslight
Company, and became its President in 1882.
With Mr. Silas B. Hamilton, he was prominent
in the organization of the Commerce Insurance
Company in 1859; in i860 he was elected its Vice-
President; and at Mr. Hamilton's death, in 1861,
he succeeded to the Presidency and retained the
position during the balance of his life.
In early life, Mr. Van Allen was a Whig of the
school of Clay and Webster, and his first vote was
cast in 1834 for Hon. William H. Seward for
Governor. In 1836 he voted for William H. Har-
rison for President. Subsequently he adopted the
anti-slavery idea, as advocated by Mr. Seward,
and was one of the first and firmest supporters of
the principles of the Republican party. Though
never an aspirant for political preferment, he was
repeatedly chosen to places of public trust under
the Municipal, County and State governments. In
1838 he was elected Inspctor of Schools in the old
First Ward, and was several times re-elected. He
was Supervisor of his Ward in 1847, 1848 and
1850. In 1856 he represented the Second District
in the Assembly. The following year he was elect-
ed Treasurer of Albany County and held that posi-
tion three years. In 1862, and again in 1882, he
received the Republican nomination to the Mayor-
alty, but disliking political life and being engaged
in other pusuits more congenial to his tastes and
habits, he declined to be a candidate.
In early life, Mr. Van Allen had been familiar
with the forms, ceremonies and general features of
the Protestant Episcopal Church. When he came
to Albany, he became an attendant upon the ser-
vices of the Second Reformed Church. He united
with it in 1836, and was soon chosen one of its
Elders. In 1848 he was chosen one of its Trustees,
and as such served much of the time as President of
the Board for more than thirty years. In 1850 he
became Superintendent of its Sunday School, and
continued in the office during nine consecutive
years. In 1880, he became a member of St. Paul's
Episcopal Church, and his connection with it was
terminated only by his death. In his relations
with both of the churches named, he was ever zeal-
ous, liberal, kind and helpful.
February 18, 1834, Mr. Van Allen was married
to Miss Eleanor Slingerland, daughter of Teunis
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
555
Slingerland, of Onesquethau, in the town of New
Scotland.
To Mr. and Mrs. Van Allen were born ten chil-
dren, named Garret A., William H., Adam, Jr.,
Charles H., Magdalen, Anna M., Helen, Cornelia,
Christiana and Ella. Four of the daughters are
dead, the four sons and Misses Christiana and
Ella, with their mother, surviving. The family
home, No. 40 Lancaster street, was built about
thirty years ago.
Mr. Van Allen's death was sudden and unex-
pected, a shock alike to those nearest and dearest
to him, and to the large circle of warm personal
friends and business associates who had so long
known him. A man of high character, unstinted
benevolence, steady perseverance, lofty integrity,
and business capacity of an unusual order, he was
one of the most prominent and progressive citizens
of Albany and left his impress on its varied inter-
ests, with which he was identified from boyhood.
Though his energies were brought to bear chiefly
on the field of finance, where his ability and judg-
ment caused him to take high rank, he did not a
little toward developing Albany's commercial in-
terests and forwarding her general prosperity. He
will long be remembered as one who was instru-
mental in purifying the financial atmosphere of the
city at a time when some of her leading monetary
institutions were on the brink of shameful disaster;
for he was, above all, honest, and, as a banker,
conservative, safe and eminently trustworthy.
Courtly in manner, and possessed of fine literary
tastes, he was at once an agreeable and an instruct-
ive companion; and he reared up a home rich in
evidences of his appreciation of the beautiful in
art and literature, and of his love for those who
shared it with him. Far more beautifully than we
could allude to them, are the prominent traits of his
character referred to in the following extract from
a sermon preached by Rev. J. Livingston Reese,
Pastor of St. Paul's Church, of Albany, Sunday,
September 7, 1884:
"Since last we knelt round God's holy table,
the loving Lord has taken to himself from our
church family one whose honored name will long
be cherished by us all, and whose bright. Christian
example will long live to speak for that Master he
loved and served in life. Gentle in his affections
as a child, he was yet firm as a rock to his princi-
ples. He ever had the courage of his convictions
and never feared to confess them. Though it was
in the latter part of his Christian life he connected
himself with the Church whose services he attended
in his early years, he soon learned the spiritual
depths of the Church's liturgy, and its wonderful
power in developing and strengthening the charac-
ter. Loyal as a Christian to his adorable Christ;
loyal as a churchman to the forms and usages of
his Church; true in his friendships; upright and
honorable in his business; he has left to us and his
children, as his best legacy, the bright example of
one whose religion brought forth fruit, and that
fruit the daily doing of his duty both to God and
man. His big heart, while resting ever on the
love of those who leaned upon him in the endear-
ments of his bright and happy home, was yet ever
gathering to itself all that was beautiful and lovable
in the world of men and letters. Whatsoever
things were true and honest, and pure and lovely,
and of good report, these were his companions and
his delight. And when we think of his beautiful
life ended here, only to enter upon its enlarged
sphere of activity and work, where are ever fresh
treasures of wisdom and love, we must this day
lift the song of praise that nearer the great throne
he drinks of the living waters and tastes of the
joys which God hath prepared for them that love
Him."
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
ALBANY can hardly be called a manufacturing
city. Yet taking away the trade engendered
by its manufactories, and the commercial progress
has not, latterly, been remarkable. Commerce here
is now mainly dependent upon the productive
industries. Albany has changed from a purely
trading to more of a producing district. In the
manufactories of the city, with all the complex
interchange of labor, wage-money, and products,
we find Albany's firmest financial basis.
Albany has many natural advantages which help
make up an economical and successful manufac-
turing district. Its facilities for receiving and send-
ing by river, canal, and railroad are unusually
good. Cheapness and expedition, so necessary in
these competitive times to profitable business, are
thus secured.
In 1820, the domestic manufactories produced
carpeting, coverlets, blankets, milled cloths, coarse
and superfine flannels, coarse and fine linen;
beaver, castor, roram, napt, and wool hats; Leg-
horn and straw hats; sole, upper, harness, and
milled leather; hollow-ware and solid castings of
various kinds for machinery and other uses; pot
and pearl-ash, whiskey, molasses-rum, ale, cider,
and maple-sugar.
Except for family use there were no woolen
factories, and there was in the town of Watervliet
one cotton factory.
There were seventeen carding machines, as follows:
Bethlehem, 3; Coeymans, 2; Westerlo, 2; Berne, 3;
Rensselaerville, 3; Guilderland, i; Watervliet, 3.
The fulling machines numbered sixteen, viz., in
Bethlehem, 2; Coeymans, 3; Westerlo, 2; Rens-
556
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
selaerville, 3; Berne, 3; Guilderland, i; Water-
vliet, 2.
Grist-mills, thirty-four, viz.: Bethlehem, 6; Coey-
mans, 4; Westerlo, 4; Rensselaerville, 6; Berne, 5;
Guilderland, 2; Watervliet, 7.
Saw-mills, sixty-eight, viz. : Bethlehem, 1 1 ; Coey-
mans, 11; Westerlo, 9; Rensselaerville, 7; Berne,
21; Guilderland, 4; Watervliet, 5.
Tanneries, forty-three, viz.: Bethlehem, 4; Coey-
mans,3 ; Westerlo, 9; Rensselaerville, 9; Berne,
10; Guilderland, 3; Watervliet, 2; Albany, 3.
There were four breweries in the City of Albany,
as follows: Boyd & McCulloch, who brewed 3,000
barrels; Robert Dunlop, who brewed 3,000 barrels;
Fidler & Co., who brewed 1,500 barrels; and
Henry Birrel, who brewed 1,000 barrels; amount-
ing annually to 8,500 barrels; and four distiller-
ies in the county, as follows: Daniel Hale, Albany,
molasses-rum, 36,000 gallons; Roderick Sedgwick,
Bethlehem, whiskey, 40,000 gallons; Stephen
Willes, Berne, whiskey, 850 gallons; Asa Colvard,
Westerlo, whiskey, 11,000 gallons; amounting an-
nually to 87,850 gallons.
There were also four air furnaces for casting hol-
low-ware, cannon balls, shot, etc., in the city;
and a variety of solid castings for machinery were
made.
In the eastern district of the county, pitch and
white pine; black, white, and rock, or chestnut
oak; chestnut and hickory or walnut timber pre-
vailed. Elm was plentifully scattered over the
wet lands, and hemlock was often found near the
streams. The western district was timbered with
hemlock, beech, sugar-maple, black birch, bass-
wood, and white ash. The swamps afforded,
mainly, black ash and white or soft maple, and
some elm. One peculiarity in the distribution of
timber in this district was, that while the eastern
sides of the hills abounded with sugar-maple, beech,
basswood, and white ash, the ridges and western
aspects were covered with a greater proportion of
hemlock. Thus an abundance of lumber was sup-
plied.
In the eastern district, the natural growth suc-
ceeding the first clearing was nearly the same as
the first growth, but in the western, beech, black
birch, sugar-maple, white ash, a small quantity of
black cherry, and plenty of a species of wild red
cherry obtained.
BREWING.
Albany, as it is at the terminus of the canal and
the head of navigation on the Hudson River, is
well located for any manufacture. The hop and
barley districts are near by, and Albany has es-
tablished a national reputation in malt products.
This important industry had its beginning with the
infancy of the city, and the beer and ale interest
has grown immensely.
In 1 66 1, Arent Van Corlear was engaged in
brewing here, and some authorities have it that in
1635, a brewery was located at Rensselaerwyck.
In 1695, Ben. C. Corlaer and Albert Ryckman
"were authorized and directed to brew, for the use
of the Common Council, three pipes of beer at
;^io 13s." One of the prominent brewers of the
last century was Harme Gansevoort, who died in
1 80 1. His brewery stood at the corner of Maiden
lane and Dean street, and was demolished in 1807.
As late as 1833, when the dome of Stanwix Hall
was raised, the aged Dutchmen of the city compared
it to the capacious brew-kettle of old Harme
Gansevoort, whose fame was fresh in their mem-
ories.
About the beginning of the present century, a
Mr. Gill was proud of the fact that he produced
150 barrels of beer yearly. In this city, during the
year ending May i, 1884, there were manufactured
359,203 barrels of malt liquors, an increase over
the previous year of 26,409 barrels. The four
breweries in Albany in 1820, are named on a near
page.
Robert Dunlop was the first brewer in this city
known to persons now living. He started a little
brewery at the corner of Broadway and Quacken-
bush street. This was destroyed forty years ago.
Andrew Kirk's brewery on Upper Broadway, now
occupied by the Fort Orange Brewing Company,
dates back to 1838. James K. Carroll is Treasurer
of this Company; Edward F. Carroll, Secretary;
and D. McDonald, Brewer. The John McKnight
Brewery, on Hawk street, has not been used for
years, and the premises are now owned and used
by Thomas McCredie, maltster. Uri Burt started
a small brewery in a dwelling-house at the corner
of Colonic and Montgomery streets, having a ca-
pacity of about twenty barrels.
Of the old breweries now in use, the Albany
Brewiiig Company is one. It was founded in 1797
by James Boyd, and to this day the Boyd family
retain an interest in it. The original building was
24 by 30 feet. Its buildings now cover the block
bounded by Arch, Green, South Ferry and Frank-
lin streets, and are of brick, from two to eight
stories high, with fine cellars, their capacity being
150,000 barrels of ale and porter annually. Two
hundred thousand bushels of malt also are made
yearly, and 125 workmen find employment. The
Albany Brewing Company is the successor of Cool-
idge, Pratt & Co. The officers for 1884 were John
S. Boyd, President; James H. Pratt, Secretary and
Treasurer; J. M. Knapp, Member of the Executive
Committee. John S. Boyd is a grandson of the
founder of the establishment. Their products are
shipped through the New England States and to
New York City, in which they have a depot on
West street. G. W. Robinson is Brewer of this
Company, and T. C Rowe, Superintendent.
The Taylor Brewery was started October 12,
1822. Mr. John Taylor, its founder, erected the
present building on South Broadway in 1851 and
1852. Upon the death of Mr. Taylor in 1863,
the firm name was changed to John Taylor's Sons.
The Messrs. Taylor who now conduct the bus-
iness are not relatives of the founder. Their prod-
uct is shipped mostly through New England and
New York.
George I. and Theodore M. Amsdell Brothers are
brewers of ale and porter. Their father at one time
MANVFACTtrklNG INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
557
was engaged as a brewer at the Taylor brewery.
He afterwards started a little brewery in the
country. The present institution began in 1850,
and has increased until the area occupied by them
is 354 by 150 feet, on which are six large brick
buildings, five and six stories in hight. They
employ 150 men and turn out 80, coo barrels of
ale and 160,000 bushels of malt annuallj'. W. T.
Amsdell is Superintendent of this brewery, G. A.
Hargrave is Brewer.
What is now the Fort Orange Brewing Compan}-,
was established in 1839 by Mr Goewey. He was
succeded by Mr. Kirk. Messrs. Kearney & Mc-
Quade; Wilson & Co.; Smythe & Walker, who
remained until May, 1882, succeeded in turn,
when the present Company was formed. Alexander
Gregory, the President of the Company, is an ex-
perienced brewer.
The establishment of James K. Carroll and Dun-
can McDonald, at 900 to 912 Broadway, is two
stories, 50 x 120 feet, with an annual capacity of
30,000 barrels. They manufacture India Pale Ale
XXX, Amber XX, Cream Ales, Pale XXX, Amber
XX, Stock Ales and Porter.
Besides the above breweries are those of T. D.
Coleman & Brothers, at 132 to 154 Chestnut street,
and Granger's brewery, corner of Church and
Fourth avenue, of which George F. Granger is
proprietor. Ale is the only malt liquor brewed at
these two establishments.
Lager Beer.
The manufacture of Lager Beer in this country
is comparatively of recent date. In Albany the Be-
verwyck Brewery on North Ferry street is the largest.
This was started forty years ago by James Quinn,
who brewed ale on the same street In 1866,
Terence J. Quinn and Michael N. Nolan formed
a partnership, which continued until 1878, the year
of Mr. Quinn's death; since then the business has
been conducted by Mr. Nolan, the firm name re-
maining unchanged. The buildings on North
Ferry street are first-class. The cost of the Be-
verwyck Brewery was $350,000, and it is now
manufacturing 60,000 barrels of beer and over
50,000 barrels of ale annually. Mr. Nolan is Pres-
ident and Treasurer; Augustus Kampfer, Secretary;
M. Schrodt, General Manager; W. Hoffman, Su-
perintendent; and Alexander Hargrave, Brewer.
The Cataract Brewery was established in 1857,
between Park avenue, South Swan street and Myrtle
avenue, by Frederick Hinckel and A. Schimerer;
the former conducting the business until his death,
in 1882. His successors are his brother, A. C.
Hinckel, who is Business Manager, and his sons,
Frederick and Charles A., the latter being Treas-
urer. About 75 workmen are employed, and the
annual output is 35,000 barrels.
The following statement shows the number of
barrels of ale and lager beer manufactured in
Albany for the years ending April 30, 1883, and
April 30, 1884:
Ale.
1883 236,491 barrels.
1884 263,459 "
Increase, 26,968 barrels.
Lager Beer.
1883 95,743 barrels.
1884 94,475 "
Decrease, 1,268 barrels.
MALTSTERS.
The senior member of the firm of John G.
White & Sons, maltsters, 125 Hudson avenue, has
been engaged in this business for over 60 years,
as in 1823, he, with his brother William, first
began the industry in this city. The business
has enlarged until they have plants in New York,
Philadelphia, and in Bath, opposite Albany. Their
malt-house here is seven stories in hight, brick,
150 by 70 feet, with an L 30 by 50 feet, and an
annual capacity of 450,000 bushels. The malt-
house in New York is five stories, 200 by 80 feet,
capacity 350,000 bushels; and at Philadelphia is
six stories, 1 60 by 60 feet, with a capacity of 100,000
bushels. The business done by them is one of
the largest in this country, and their trade extends
throughout New York, Pennsylvania and New
England. The membere of the firm are John G.
White and his son, Andrew G. White. Matthew
White, another son, is manager of the house lo-
cated in New York, and Mr. William Little, of the
one in Philadelphia.
A leading; representative of the malting trade
of Albany is the house of J. W. Tillinghast,
which was founded in 1850 by the late John
Tweddle, the business coming into the posses-
sion of the present proprietor in 1870. Two
plants are operated by Mr. Tillinghast, one located
at No 105 Montgomery street, and the other on
the corner of State and Lark streets. The former is
a five-story structure, 195 by ico feet in dimensions,
the latter is three stories high and covers an area of
74 by 140 feet, the two having an aggregate capacity
for the production of about 300,000 bushels of
malt annually. The equipment of these malt-
houses embraces all the latest improved machinery
and appliances known to the trade, operated by
steam, employment being furnished to about thirty
skilled workmen.
Thomas McCredie, maltster, 34 Clinton avenue,
began his business in barley malting in 1847.
His productions have grown from a few hundred
bushels annually, to 250,000 bushels, the present
output. His four establishments are as follows:
first, on Canal, Orange and Hawk street, size 200
by 50 feet, six stories, brick; second, on Clinton
avenue, 50 x 200 feet, three stories; third, on Central
avenue, Robin and Bradford streets, two stories,
65 x 100 feet; and the last, on North Pearl street,
three stories, 50 x 140 feet. Twenty-five work-
men are employed.
The house of Messrs. Story Brothers was
founded in i8fi8. The present proprietors are J.
T., William and R. R. Story. The firm has two
malt-houses, one on Broadway and Cherry street,
which is four-stories high, 140 x 70 feet, with a two-
story addition, 35 x 35 feet; the other on Broad-
way and Plum street, which is two-stories high,
137 X 45 feet. The storage warehouse is four
stories, 137 X 35 feet in dimensions. The annual
558
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
product is 175,000 bushels. Fifteen workmen are
employed.
William Kirk, son of Andrew Kirk, one of the
earlier maltsters in Albany, is the proprietor of a
malt-house, 3 Kirk place.
WILLIAM APPLETON.
The life of William Appleton, of Albany, was
an eminently successful one, both from a moral
and a financial point of view. He was born in
181 1 at Goodmanham, Yorkshire, England, and
died in Albany, February 11, 1883. His father
and mother, springing from influential families,
occupied the farm which for generations back
had been in his mother's family. The town of
Goodmanham is one of the oldest in England,
and contains many quaint and interesting buildings,
among which is a small church constructed out of
what originally was a heathen temple, erected in
the year 627. The house in which he was bom
was a large, fine structure of graystone, with solid
beams and doors of oak, and windows of horn.
Though very old, it still stands, an example of
the substantial manner in which such structures
were built in those days. Mr. Appleton was un-
fortunate in losing his parents before his boyhood
had passed. Upon the death of his mother he fell
heir to quite a large landed estate. At this time
he was a mere lad, and those whom the law had
placed over him to control his property conspired
to deprive him of it. How well they succeeded
appears from the fact, that before he had attained
his majority it had all been taken from him, and
involved in such a manner that it was impossible
for him to regain it. Still this did not crush and
dishearten him, as it would have done many, but
served. rather to kindle the talent, energies and per-
sonalities which were to characterize him in his
after life. After having lost his heritage, anticipat-
ing the fruitlessness of any efforts that he might
make to regain it, he resolved to cast his lot in
America, where he fancied he could more success-
fully lay the foundation and rear the superstructure
of his after-life. Accordingly, in 1832, he left his
native soil and came directly to Albany, where he
determined to make his future home. He com-
menced business as a grain merchant on Washing-
ton street, and soon became widely known through-
out the States as being one of the best judges of
grain in the country. He was very successful, and
his advice was sought by merchants from far and
near. Soon he determined to extend his interests,
and in 1847 entered the malting business, which
proved so remunerative that he erected a large
malt-house on Washington street, near the place
where he had begun his business career. Still
later he formed a partngiship in New York City,
and there carried on the largest business in oats
done in the metropolis. He was also the proprie-
tor of a line of barges plying on the Hudson be-
tween Albany and New York.
Mr. Appleton acquired a large amount of landed
property, and, at the time of his death, was one of
the largest real estate owners in Albany. He was a
member of the Boards of Trade of Albany and New
York, and was connected as trustee and director
with a number of banks and other corporations.
He was a man of strong convictions and a decided
individuality, which in no small degree contributed
to his successful career. His life, though quiet and
retiring, was full of good deeds. He was, in an
unostentatious way, one of the most benevolent of
men, and many poor people of Albany, to whom
his death brought sadness, can testify to his kind-
ness and liberality. Highly esteemed by all who
knew him, he was one of the most welcome of
friends and companions; and his extensive knowl-
edge of a wide range of subjects made him very in-
teresting in conversation. He was a model husband
and father, and with his family he was exception-
ally liberal and painstaking. His home was the
place of all places where he loved to spend his
time, and upon it he lavished care and expense
without stint.
Mr. Appleton was married in 1844 to Miss
Jerusha, daughter of Luther Frisbee. Eight chil-
ren were the fruits of their marriage, five of whom
have died. The remaining three are Mrs. Clem-
ent H. Warren, Mrs. Clifford D. Gregory and
William Appleton, Jr. The latter is since de-
ceased.
Herewith is given as complete a list of brewers,
maltsters, and distillers, with the year in which they
commenced, as we are able to obtain.
(Abbreviation?. — B., Brewer; M., Maltster; D., Distiller.)
1816.— McLeish & Birrell, B., 38 North Pearl
street; Henry G. Webb, M., Schenectady Turn-
pike.
18 1 7. — Jacob Cole, B., 168 Washington street;
Joseph Ketcham, B., 206 North Market street;
Hathorn McCulloch, B. (partner of Robert Boyd),
Ferry street; William Wake, B. , Schenectady Turn-
pike; Abraham Slawson, M., 214 North Market
street; Daniel Hale, Jr., D,, 82 North Market
street; David Lent, D., 93 Washington street;
Charles P. Poinier, cordial, 254 Washington street
1825.— Boyd & McCulloch, B. (1819 to 1825);
Henry Birrell, B., North Market; Fiddler & Tay-
lor, B., 51 Hamilton street; John Gardner, B.;
Stephen Humphries, B., 236 North Market street;
Peter Sn3'der, B., Schuyler street; Charles Fields,
M.; Christopher Robertson, M., 85 Orange street;
James Oliver, cordial distiller and rum coloring.
South IMarket street.
1830. — William Amsdell, B. (father of Amsdell
Brothers), 14 Rose street; Patrick Connell)', B.,
52 Church street; Robert Dunlap, B., 208 North
Market street; John Gardner, B., Montgomery
street; Reuben Pearl, B., Franklin street; Sinclair
& Walsh, B., South Market and Hudson streets;
John Taylor, B.; John & George Birdsall, M.;
James Cahall, M., South Lansing street; T. Moun-
sey, M., Washington and Western Turnpike; Adam
Dows, D., \^'^ater street; J. Root, rectifier, 36 Dean
street.
1840.— Baker & Pruyn, B., 9 Dean street; How-
ard & Ryckman, B., 210 South Market street;
I
c;Nv"^:jJ$^ v^;$JJ--5S^'^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
559
Andrew Kirk, B., 17 North Market street; John
Taylor, B., 81 Green streeet; Simpson Bayo, M.,
417 State street; William Birley, M., 45 Van
Woert; James Breeman, M., 66 Franklin street;
James Buchanan, M., 41 Colonie street; George
W. Knowlton & Co., rectifiers of whiskey, 198
South Market street; Michael O'Sullivan, cordials,
North Market and Columbia streets.
1852. — Boyd & Bro., B. and M., Franklin, cor-
ner Arch; Eggleston & Mix, B. , 9 and 11 Dean
street; Appleton & Welsh, 309 Washington street;
A. A. Dunlop, B. and M., 28 Quay; Andrew Kirk,
B. and M., 904 Broadway; K. Kirkpatrick, M.,
415 State street; William A. McCulloch, M. ; John
McKnight, B. and M., Hawk and Canal streets;
Hiram Perry, M., 388 Washington street; John G.
White, B. and M., Quay, corner Bleecker; John
Taylor & Sons, M., Broadway, corner Arch; H.
Classen, D., 840 Broadway; Cyrus Edson, D., 11
Hudson street; H. Knowlton, D., 197 Broadway;
George Tweddle, M. , State, corner Lark street;
Uri Burt, B., Montgomery and Colonie streets;
James Chester, small beer. South Pearl street;
Sands & Pennie, B., 5 Steuben street; C.W. Schin-
dler, lager beer, 43 Division street; Amsdell
Brothers, B., Jay street.
1857. — Cyrus Edson & Co. , D. ; A. A, Dunlop,
D. (son of Robert Dunlop), 63 Quay street; J.
Evers, D., Chapel street; J. Tracey, D. ; J.William-
son & Sons, rectifiers; Amsdell Brotheis, B., Jay
street
1865. — John H. Trowbridge, rectifier, 12 State
street; Coolidge, Pratt & Co., B., Arch, corner
Franklin street; John McKnight's Son, B., Hawk,
corner Canal street; James P. Quinn, B. , 24
North Ferry street; Henry Weber, B. , 65 Bowery,
weiss beer; D. S. Wood & Co., B., Swan, cor-
ner West Ferry street; George W. Hoxsie, brewed
Hoxsie bottled.
1870. — IMichael Aud, B., 130 Chestnut street;
F. D. Coleman & Bro., B., 146 Chestnut street;
Frederick Hinckel, B., Swan street, corner Park
avenue; Quinn & Nolan, B., North Ferry street.
1875. — George Weber, weiss beer, 44 Third
avenue; J. Tracey & Son, D. ; Smyth & Walker, B.,
904 Broadway; John G. Schneider, B., 133 Fourth
avenue; McNamara & McLoughlin, B., 31 Central
avenue; Marshall & Rapp, B., 65 Central avenue;
Alexander Gregory, B., 70 Central avenue; J. F.
Hedrick, B., 422 Central avenue; John Dobler,
B., Swan and Myrtle avenues; Fred. Dietz, B.
Granger's Brewery, Fourth avenue, corner of
Church street, is under the sole proprietorship of
George F. Granger, formerly with the Albany
Brewing Company, He manufactures Cream,
Pale, India, Stock, and California Ales. He also
brews a brand called the Burton Ales.
John S. Dobler conducts an ale-brewing estab-
lishment at the comer of Swan street and Myrtle
avenue.
For a number of years Jacob Kirchner conducted
an ale brewery in Albany. He died a few years
ago, since which the business has been conducted
by his heirs.
Cook & Meutsch, 129 Fourth avenue, and Geo.
Weber, 42, 44, and 46 Third avenue, brews weiss
beer.
FREDERICK HINCKEL.
The record of a man's life is the most enduring
memorial that can be erected to his memory. The
story of his efforts to reach a place among the hon-
ored and successful men of his time must always
remain as a valuable and inspiring example, whose
far-reaching influence and ennobling effect testify
in strongest eloquence to the worth of well-directed
energies. Especial stress may well be placed upon
such a life history when the achievement has been
effected from the humblest of beginnings; in short,
when the man who accomplished such a work is,
in the strongest sense, a self-made man.
Frederick Hinckel, one of Albany's honored
German citizens, was such a man. He came of
that sturdy, staunch, and honored class from whose
members Albany has gained vastly in enterprise,
industry, and good citizenship. He honored alike
the race from which he sprang and the community
with which his life labors were identified, and
towards the development of whose prosperous in-
terests his ambition was directed. He was born
in Germany, October 29, 1832, and in his youth
passed through a rugged experience which while
bringing, mayhap, a volume of denials and strug-
gling efforts, surely established the foundation of
self-reliance and determined energy 'that worked
out the successful purposes of his later life. He
began the battle of existence a poor boy, but he
set before his feet the resolve to waste no oppor-
tunity that might help him along the pathway to
success. German thrift and industrious applica-
tion, joined with ambitious ardor, soon bore whole-
some and abundant fruit. In 1857, Mr. Hinckel
founded in a small way the business of beer
brewing, and once with his ground sure beneath
him, he pressed vigorously and confidently on-
ward. He looked to become ultimately a prominent
figure among the brewers of his time, and his
determination naturally and necessarily wrought
out that end. His progress and success were
rapid. Integrity and diligence were the watch-
words of his career, and by the light of their guid-
ance and counsel he moved forward, winning
not only prosperity as a manufacturer, but en-
during and substantial worth as a citizen. He
began in 1857 as a brewer, in a very humble capa-
city; in 1881, when he died, he was the owner of
one of the best equipped, as well as one of the
costliest breweries in the country. His business
had grown to such proportions that more than a
hundred men were required to conduct it, while in
far-reaching details it may be noted that his com-
mercial transactions extended over the entire State
of New York. Unhappily for him the last sum-
mons came to him just as he had reached the
culmination of his ambition, in the successful inau-
guration of the great enterprise that still bears his
name. He died October 29, 1881, and in that
year the present Hinckel Brewery was completed.
560
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
He saw, however, that he had won the triumph he
had worked for, and that was to him a proud
consolation. He passed away, if not full of
years (for he was still in the strength of vigorous
manhood), assuredly full of respect and esteem as a
citizen. As an employer he was more of a friend
to his people than a master, and thus it was that
he held in their affections a warm place. Many
of his servitors boasted with pardonable pride that
they had remained with him during the entire
period of his business career. Mr. Hinckel was
fully abreast the age as a citizen of public spirit,
and untiringly urged and assisted any project hav-
ing for its object the promotion of the popular
welfare. He was a member the community could
ill spare, and one whose absence will continue to
be felt for some time to come. His influence and
example live, however, and they will to much
worthy purpose albeit their author and builder has
laid down the burden of life for ever.
THOMAS McCREDIE.
Thomas McCredie, one of the oldest, most suc-
cessful and highly esteemed business men of
Albany, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, No-
vember 30, 1 808. His father, Thomas McCredie,
a wholesale wine and liquor merchant, and his
mother, Sarah (Gamble) McCredie, both died
when he was only four years old, leaving him
to the care and guardianship of an uncle and
an aunt, each posses.sing in full measure all the
distinguishing traits of Scottish character. With
them, his early youth was spent, in Ayrshire,
not in idleness, but in attending school, and in
learning to do and doing the innumerable things
so useful and necessary on a farm. Then and
there his faculties were exercised and sharpened,
and by precept and example he was taught lessons
of industry, economy, perseverance and self-re-
liance which he never forgot. When Mr. Mc-
Credie was young, parents thought it prudent that
their sons should learn some useful trade, the
better to qualify them, should circumstances re-
quire it, to earn a living and render them less
dependent upon others. Accordingly when he was
fourteen years old, his uncle apprenticed him for
three years and a half to a carpenter, to learn that
honorable trade.
There he developed mechanical and construct-
ive faculties which were of great service to him
later in life. He saw, however, a larger and a
better field open for him. Thinking of his father
led him to consider the business in which he
had been engaged, and then to gain all the knowl-
edge concerning it, in its various branches and
kindred subjects, that he could. The subject of
malting early engaged his earnest attention, and he
determined to learn it as soon as an opportunity
should offer.
Mr. McCredie had heard and read much about
America; its free institutions and the honors and
the rewards that were there open to competition
for all, and he determined to visit the United
States to learn about it for himself. The 30th day
of October, 1838, he reached Albany. It was
cold and gloomy; the ground was covered with
three inches of snow; and his first impressions were
quite unfavorable. Dear old Scotland seemed to
him dearer than ever before, and he wished him-
self back there. Soon, however, he made the
acquaintance of Peter Ballantine, a brother Scotch-
man, from near his own home, the famous maltster
and brewer, and by his advice he at once began
work in Howard & Ryckman's malt-house, where
he remained during that season. His next three
years were spent in the Kirk Malt-houses and
Brewery, two of them as Superintendent. Then
for six years he was the Superintendent of the
malt houses in West Troy owned by Robert Dun-
lop, another Scotchman, who, with all his pecu-
liarities, was in his business far ahead of his day
and generation. From West Troy Mr. McCredie
went to Philadelphia to superintend Mr. Paul's
large malt-house, and after remaining there one
season he was offered an interest in the busi-
ness; but a like offer having been made him by
Robert Dunlop, he accepted the latter and re-
turned to Albany. In 1848, he married Miss Ellen
Dunlop, youngest daughter of his partner. She
died two years later, an only daughter surviv-
ing her for a short time. The partnership of
Robeit Dunlop and Mr. McCredie continued three
years, when it was terminated by the death of the
former, when Mr. McCredie and his brother-
in-law, Archibald Dunlop, entered into a part-
nership of short duration. In settling up the
estate of his father-in-law, Mr. McCredie became
the purchaser of the Dunlop Malt-house on
Clinton avenue, which he has since owned and
operated. About the time of this purchase, an
arrangement was entered into whereby Mr. Mc-
Credie obtained sole management of the large
malt-house of John McKnight, at the corner of
Hawk and Orange streets. Mr. McKnight died
soon after, when that property passed into the
hands of the Albany City Bank, but was sub-
sequently purchased by Mr. McCredie, who still
owns and manages it. More than thirty years ago
Mr. McCredie had taken rank among the leading
maltsters, not only in Albany but also in the
United States, and although he kept increasing his
malting facilities, so desirable was the quality of his
malt that he could not fully supply the demand.
He now owns and operates four large malt-houses
in Albany, and another in Boston, Mass.
The career of Mr. McCredie justly entitles him
to a high rank among the leading self-made men
of our time, and should serve as an incentive and
example. He comes of a family remarkable for
many superior traits of character. He inherits a
good constitution, a cheerful disposition and a
warm and generous heart, and has developed an
excellent judgment in all business affairs. His
promptness, faithful attention to every detail, de-
votion and complete mastery of his business in
every department; his steadfast and unyielding de-
termination to excel in whatever he undertook, as
well as his inflexible integrity, fair dealing and un-
sullied honor, has won and retained for him hosts
*ff*
^* vl
^l^/L^e^oU^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
561
of friends, and enabled him to accumulate a very
large fortune and gain a widely extended and most
enviable reputation.
Kind and considerate of the welfare of his em-
ployees, he commands their respect and confidence,
and strongly attaches them to himself and his in-
terests. His hand is extended with cordiality to
the humblest as readily as to the highest, and a
cheering word, a God-speed, is given to all. For
a great many years he has been an active and
honored member of the First Reformed Church of
Albany; the President of its Board of Trustees;
and foremost among its liberal supporters. A
hearty hater of all shams and hypocrisy, he re-
gards good works rather than great professions of
goodness. In church, as in business and every-
where, he believes that God works by and through
human as well as other agencies, and that suitable
means must be used to attain the desired end.
Practical beneficence, helping others to help them-
felves, is a fundamental part of his religion. The
needy and suffering testify to his sympathy and
relief.
The Albany Hospital, than which no worthier in-
titution exists in this city, is, and for many years
has been, greatly indebted to Thomas McCredie,
the oldest in service as well as in years of its
Board of Governors, who has given so liberally not
only to. sustain it, but to increase its usefulness.
In the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank and in the
Mechanics and Farmers' Savings Bank, admirably
managed and successful institutions, he has long
been one of the most prudent of the Directors and
Trustees. One of the oldest members of the Board
of Trade of the City of Albany, he cherishes a
warm interest in its prosperity and has received its
highest honor. Repeatedly and earnestly has he
been urged to accept the highest municipal offices
in Albany, but always declined. Formerly a Whig
he regards himself a Republican, but entirely free
to vote for whomsoever he prefers and especially in
the administration of city affairs. An American in
its truest and best sense — ever willing and ready to
discharge all the duties the land of his adoption
imposes, and zealous for her prosperity and prog-
ress, he is none the less a lover of the land of his
nativity — the land of Wallace and Bruce, of Burns
and Scott, whose chivalric deeds and whose un-
surpassed imagery and glowing words ever animate
and inspire him. Burns, his favorite poet, he knows
by heart, and in apt illustration and quotation he
liberally draws on him, and his drafts are always
honored. Four times has he gone back to Scot-
land, there relighting all the Scottish fires in him,
and yet returned well content with and in the land
where such signal success has crowned his efforts.
Neither an absence of forty-six years, nor a dis-
tance of three thousand miles, has lessened his
love for the national game of Scotland. He is a
bonny good curler, right up to the Tee. For
many years he has been the President and the in-
spiradon and life of the Albany City Curling Club.
The St. Andrew's Society has no member more act-
ive or honored than Thomas McCredie, formerly
its President.
In 1854, Mr. McCredie married Miss Margaret
Smith, daughter of Peter Smith, of Albany, and
to them have been born two daughters and three '
sons, all now living except the eldest daughter.
The 'sons are all actively engaged with him in
his business, the elder two having an interest
therein, and all promise to be worthy successors of
their honored father.
DISTILLING.
In the early history of Albany quite a number of
individuals were engaged in distilling whiskey on a
small scale. In 1778, the attention of the Common
Council was called to this subject, and the follow-
ing resolution passed:
" Whereas, Divers Persons in this County pur-
chase large quantities of Wheat for distilling into
Whiskey, and sell the same at exhorbitant prices;
and whereas the Legislature of this State, in pursu-
ance of a recommendation by Congress, have now
under consideration the Regulation of the prices of
all Commodities, as. well as the necessaries of life;
"therefore Resolved, That no Wheat or other
Grain be distilled into Whiskey within this County
until the Legislature shall have regulated the
prices."
For many years after this date, distilling was
carried on in and around Albany; but it was not
until 1838, when John Tracy commenced the bus-
iness, that it began to assume much proportion.
Mr. Tracy carried it on for many years, and was an
influential and respected citizen of Albany. He
died a few years ago, and was succeeded by his
son. Colonel Charles Tracy.
MILLING BUSINESS.
The small creeks which abound in the vicinity
of Albany were early utilized in producing power
for grinding wheat and other grain. Milling was
among the first industries which engaged the atten-
tion of the early settlers. The products of these
mills were principally used for home consumption.
The transportation of flour and meal did not form
much of a factor in trade until the beginning of the
present century. After that date it began to form
quite an important part in the commercial affairs
of Albany, and continued so until the rapid growth
of the great West materially modified it. The bulk
of the milling business of the country is now con-
fined to the West, and in most of the Eastern cities,
as in Albany, it is not carried on very extensively.
The Columbia Steam Mill and Elevator of Cap-
ron & Woolverton was established by M. L. Crit-
tenden & Co. in 1857. John D. Capron became
associated with the business in 1870, and in 1882
the present firm was organized, C. B. Woolverton
having been connected with the old firm for twelve
years previously as book-keeper. The premises of
the firm, located on the Pier, consist of a mill
and elevator 1 80 by 50 feet in dimensions. The plant
is equipped with five run of stones, power being
furnished by a 250 horse-power engine. The ele-
562
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
vator has a capacity for handling about 2,000 bush-
els of grain per hour.
The leading specialties of the house are rye flour,
corn meal and feed. Their trade extends through
New York and New England, south as far as Wash-
ington, and west as far as Cleveland. They own
and employ four canal-boats in shipping their
products.
The Albany Feed and Plaster Mills of Franklin
D. Tower, consist of a four-story brick building,
90 by 180 feet in dimensions, equipped with a 40
horse-power engine, four run of stones and the usual
complement of milling machinery. About six men
are employed, including expert millers. A trade is
transacted which extends throughout the North and
Northwest. The products of the house are plaster
for agricultural purposes, and feed for horses and
cattle.
In 1878, Mr. Tower carried on the milling busi-
ness in the old stone mill near the Manor House,
North Broadway. This mill was erected by one of
the Patroons over two hundred years ago, and was
well known throughout the country as the Patroon's
Mill. In 1880 it was destroyed by fire, after which
Mr. Tower began the business in which he is now
engaged. He is recognized as one of the leading
flour and feed merchants of Albany. A more ex-
tended notice of his career will be found in the bi-
ographical sketch of him published in this volume.
The firm of John B. Cleminshaw & Son, manu-
facturers of self- raising flour. No. 1 1 Hudson avenue,
was organized in 1883. John B. Cleminshaw con-
ducted the business for seventeen years previously.
They are largely engaged in manufacturing self-
raising flour for buckwheat and wheat cakes. Six
men are employed at this factory, capable of pro-
ducing 400 barrels of flour and meal per week.
The products of the water-mill of John M.
Batterman, 344 Broadway and 22 Liberty street,
have gained an excellent reputation for quality.
Mr. Batterman has been engaged in the milling
business in Guilderland many years. His mill is
especially noted for its fine grade of Indian meal.
BAKERS.
No one subject was the cause of more legislation
by the early municipal authorities than the regula-
tion of the quality, size and price of bread. The
size, weight and price per loaf was determined by
city ordinances ; but infringrtnent of these laws
was frequent and occasioned much complaint and
litigation. The size of the loaves was formerly
much larger than at present Up to 1847 Aey
were required to. weigh three pounds ; after that
date two pounds was the legal weight. The law
requiring the latter weight was not repealed until
1855.
Probably the oldest living baker now engaged in
business is Thomas Mayes, located at 171 ^ladison
avenue. He came here in 1837 and became ap-
prenticed to John Hodge on Market street About
this time IMarcus Andrews, John Marshall, John
Hodge, William Pester, Jonas C. \^'ellington, John
S. Graves, J. Pallat, and Stephen Paddock were
engaged in the baking business. The firm of
Adams & Sprang for many years conducted a
bakery at 186 Washington avenue. They were
the first to introduce machines for making crackers,
and used to send teams out in the country with
their produce, a novel thing in 1840. John Os-
borne did quite an extensive business on South
Market street many years ago. He sold out in
1845. John Clarke, the father of the extensive
baker of the same name now located on Hudson
avenue, was for many years engaged in business
on the east side of Broad street
Owen McCarthy began the bakery business on
Van Voast street in 1842. In 1847 he moved to
Water Street, and in 1852 removed to his present
location, 70 Canal street
John Imrie opened a bakery on the corner of
Chestnut and Hawk streets in 1855. In 1864 he
built a store on the corner of Jay & Hawk streets.
He died in 1882, since which his wife has con-
ducted the business.
John Younger established a bakery at 405 South
Pearl street in 1865, which he has conducted
ever since.
The bakery of Mrs. Amelia Moench was estab-
lished in 1869 at 50 South Ferry street In 1881
she bought her present property, 28 South Ferry
street
L. Ebert began to conduct a bakerj' in Albany,
on Myrtle avenue, in 1875. He removed to his
present quarters in 1876.
George Frank began business in 1878 on Madi-
son avenue, where he remained for a year and a
half. He opened his present place in 1882.
Buehler Brothers, comer Alexander and Clin-
ton streets, bought their present business of Mr.
Schepper in t88o. He established it in 1859.
Fred Kahl began business in 1865 as a baker, at
323 Sherman street, and still continues at the same
place.
John A. Stock, baker, comer Green and Schuyler
streets, began business in 1877. He resides at 50
South Ferry street
William G. Ebel, baker, confectioner, etc., was
established at "Ji Green street, in May, 1877. Seven
years later, owing to increasing business, the prem-
ises 73^ Green street, and an extension, were
added. Ten hands are employed.
The Earing Bros. (Charles A. & Martin L.) es-
tablished their present business in 1879, at 372 Mad-
ison avenue. They erected their present building,
368 Madison avenue, and moved into it, in 1883.
It is three stories, brick, 2 1 by 166 feet in dimensions
They also opened a bakery at 10 Bleecker street,
which they still operate.
Charles Krien established a bakery at 683 Broad-
way in 1883. His building is 30 by 50 feet in
dimensions. He is a native of Prussia and has been
in this business for ten years.
Beside those already mentioned, the following
are at present engaged in the bakery business:
Henry Brimhall, Horace F. Brimhall, John Clarke's
Sons, Mrs. Michael Crummy, W. L. Greenman, F.
J. Harflinger, Lester Hulbert, Martin Iliohan, An-
thony Maxstadt, John Peel, Mrs. Michael Pet-
\
!.!■''
^-
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
563
tengill, Harmon V. Swart, Isaac A. Swart, and
many others.
MICHAEL PETTENGILL
was born at Newburgh, N. Y., December 20,
1 819. At the age of fifteen years he began to
work in the bakery of George W. Whiting, in
Greenbush. In 1836, with a partner, he went
into business for himself in Green street, Albany,
under the firm name of Pettengill & Metcalf.
From Green street he removed to Herkimer
street, and from Herkimer street to Washington
street The firm had now changed to Pettengill &
Emerson. In 1840, Mr. Pettengill bought Mr.
Emerson's interest in the business. About 184-
he removed to No. 9 ( Beaver street, and remained
there till February, 1852, when he occupied his
new house, No. 97 Beaver street, where he lived
and carried on his business until his death, which
occurred suddenly, April 22, 1882. He united
with the Emmanuel Baptist Church February 22,
1872, and was ever an earnest and active member
of that organization. He was much interested in
mission work, particularly at Paigeville, and at the
Home for the Friendless, where he was ever ready
to give words of counsel or comfort, and to do his
part financially.
THE LARRABEE BISCUIT WORKS.
The firm of E. J. Larrabee & Co., of Albany and
New York, has now become a hosehold word, so
excellent are the Larrabee Biscuits and so exten-
sive is the trade of this house. A brief historical
sketch will doubtless interest our readers, and call
attention to an industry that does honor to our
city.
It was started in 1861 under the name of the
Albany Aerated Bread Company, by Belcher &
Larrabee. They were the first to introduce that
process of bread-making north of New York
City. In 1862 they put in machinery and com-
menced in a small way the manufacture of the
common kinds of crackers or biscuits then in
use, and made by hand, using only the best ma-
terials. The demand for their goods increased so
rapidly, they were compelled, in 1866, to cast
about for more room, and purchased a large
corner building, once St. Joseph's Church; made
the necessary alterations in 1867, and built two
vast ovens.
Their business then took. a fresh start, steadily
growing to such an extent, that the firm ordered
from F2ngland a complete set of the most ex-
pensive machinery for their special line of goods,
being at that time far superior to any similar ma-
chines made in this country. Messrs. Larrabee &
Co. were then prepared to compete successfully with
English biscuits, at that time very largely imported
into this country. In 1871 Mr. Belcher died, and
W. G. Thomas became a partner with E. J. Lar-
rabee, the senior member of the present firm of E.
J. Larrabee & Co. Their business prospered and,
in 1872, property was purchased on the east, and
another building with four more ovens was erected
in 1873.
In 1876, Charles H. Thomas became a general
partner in the firm; new and improved machinery
was added to meet the requirements of their trade.
Yet such was the demand for their goods, that, in
r88i they were obliged to buy still more property
on the north, and enlarge their works, until now
they have three five-story buildings, all connected
and conveniently arranged, filled with the best and
most approved biscuit machinery that can be ob-
tained. The facilities of this house now enable
them to use annually 40,000 barrels of flour, 2,000
tierces of lard, 75 tons of butter, 450 barrels ot
molasses, 3,000 barrels of sugar, and other mater-
ials in corresponding quantities.
E. J. Larrabee & Co. employ about 350 hands,
and make over 300 different kinds of plain and
fancy biscuits. Their trade extends to nearly all
parts of the world. This house was the pioneer in
this country in the manufacture of fancy or Lon-
don biscuits, and their success has effectually re-
placed the English biscuits in the United States.
This firm has always received the highest awards
wherever they have exhibited their goods, both at
home and in foreign countries. At the Centennial
they received a medal and diploma; at the Paris
Exposition in 1878, the first and only gold medal
ever awarded to American biscuits. Their branch
house in New York City is managed by C. H.
Thomas, the junior partner. A business success
such as is shown by the house of E. J. Larrabee
& Co., clearly demonstrates the capabilities of its
founders and managers. It is an honor to Albany
and the State of New York.
BAKING POWDERS.
Cleveland Brothers, manufacturers of baking
powder, 911 and 913 Broadway, began business in
1870. 'They also manufacture flavoring extracts.
The factory is a five-story brick building, 44 by 100
feet in dimensions. A large number of workmen
are employed, and the annual sales reach many
thousands of dollars annually. The individual
members of the firm are George and Frederick
Cleveland. Those who use the Cleveland powder,
the sale of which is widely extended, desire no
better.
Walter McEwan, corner of Maiden lane and
James street, a large dealer in coffee and spices,
manufactures the National Baking Powder, a pure,
wholesome, and unquestionably reliable article.
Stephen H. Parsons, since 1877 sole proprietor
of the Coffee and Spice Premium Mills, 41 and
43 Dean street, also makes a baking powder of
undoubted merit, but does not make it the prom-
inent article in his manufacture.
BUTCHERING AND MARKETING.— BEEF,
MUTTON, AND PORK.
There were man)' butchers who carried on a
profitable trade in and about the city during the
period of the Revolution. From this branch of
564
HISTORY OF THE COVNTT OF ALBANY.
business large fortunes were gained. The ancestors
of some of the wealthiest families, in Albany ac-
quired the nucleus of their fortunes in the business.
During the Revolution, Albany butchers largely sup-
plied the American army with meat. This they did
also in the War of 1812. During recent years the
establishment ef the West Albany Cattle Market
has made Albany an advantageous location for
carrying on this trade.
Among the large and successful dealers in cattle
many years ago were John Cassidy, John Russell,
and Ichabod L. Judson. Eli Perry, a biography
of whom appears elsewhere, was very extensively
engaged in this business. Some account of the
once extensive West Albany Cattle Market ap-
pears elsewhere. Among the well-known meat
dealers were the Fredenrich family, a member of
which continues the trade on Beaver street John
Battersby, the present County Treasurer, is better
known by his first-class meat market, which
was established by his father in 1840. He
sells $210,000 worth of meat annually from his
store at corner of North Pearl street and Clinton
avenue. John Featherly, D. J. Hartnett, Joseph
McQuade, Ignatius Wiley, George Wiley, and
Ithamar Spencer, are long established and well-
known meat dealers. The Chicago dressed beef
has recently taken much from the local business of
beef butchering and dressing. Pork packing was
once carried on extensively by some firms, notably
by the senior George Schwartz. Among those who
still carry on the business are George Schwartz &
Co., 167 South Pearl street; Thomas P. Crook &
Co., 209 Hudson avenue; Bridge & Davis, 355
Broadway; John T. Carrier & Co., 7 Clinton ave-
nue; and R. P. Cornell, 288 South Pearl street.
COFFEE AND SPICE MILLS.
The Empire Steam Coffee and Spice Mills of
Bacon, Stickney & Co., Nos. 35, 37, 39 Dean
street, and 1 1 Exchange street, are the most ex-
tensive mills of the kind in the State outside of
the City of New York. It was established in 1833
by Mr. Froment. The subsequent changes in
proprietorship will be found in the biographical
sketches of Samuel N. Bacon and Leander Stick-
ney. The stores, warehouses and manufacturing
departments of the firm are comprised in a five-
story brick building, ico by 65 feet in dimensions.
The firm manufacture an extensive variety of
ground spices, coff'ee and mustard. They also
manufacture baking and soap powders, yeast cakes,
starch, extracts, oatmeal, being wholesale agents
for one of the largest oatmeal mills in the country,
with a jobbing trade immense in its proportions,
and extending throughout New York, New Eng-
land and other States. A large force of men are
employed at these works, which require the servi-
ces of twenty-nine superintendents in the various
departments.
The Coffee and Spice Mills of Stephen H. Par-
sons, Nos. 41 and 43 Dean Street and 12 Exchange
Street, known as the Premium Mills, were founded
in 1836 by John Thomas, fr., who was succeeded
in 1865 by Judson, Parsons & Haskell, and they in
turn by the present proprietor in 1877, who had
been connected with the business since i860. The
premises consist of a five-story brick structure, 40
by 60 feet in dimensions. Mr. Parsons grinds his
own spices, roasts and grinds coffee, and manu-
factures baking powder, cream of tartar, etc., and
deals in a general line of grocers' supplies.
The National Mills of Walter McEwan, corner
of Maiden lane and James street, were established
in 1 865, and came into the possession of the present
proprietor in 1872. The premises are comprised in
a four-story brick building, 25 by 65 feet in dimen-
sions. The products of this house consist of every
variety of ground coffee and spices. A special fea-
ture of the mills is the manufacture of baking pow-
der and flavoring extracts.
SAMUEL N. BACON,
of the well-known firm of Bacon, Stickney &
Co., dealers in coffees and spices, is a son of
Samuel and Alma E. Bacon, and was born in
Harvard, Mass., January 25, 1829. He lived
and worked on a farm until 1848, when he
came to Albany and found employment with
the formerly prominent merchant, Mr. L. A.
Chase, at thirteen dollars per month and board.
Mr. Bacon's attention to his duties, and his mani-
fest great business ability, won him such rapid pro-
motion that, in 1853, fi^e years after this humble
beginning, he was admitted to a partnership with
Mr. Chase, the business being continued under
the firm name of L. A. Chase & Co. Mr. Stickney
died early in 1857, and March 21st of that year
Mr. Bacon formed a copartnership with Messrs.
M. W. Stickney and L. Stickney, under the style
of Bacon & Stickneys; and soon afterward two
five-story stores (Nos. I'j and 39 Dean Street) and
a four-story store (No. 9 Exchange Street) were
built to accommodate increasing trade. In 1865,
Mr. James Ten Eyck was admitted to an interest
in the firm, the title of which was then changed to
Bacon, Stickney & Co. In March, 1881, follow-
ing the death of Mr. M. W. Stickney, the remain-
ing partners decided to continue the business un-
der the same firm name, a measure from which
they did not depart when, in March, 1882, Mr. L.
Stickney died, and the business was continued by
Messrs. Samuel N. Bacon, James Ten Eyck, H.
W. Stickney, and John L. Baldwin, as partners.
During the year last mentioned, the five-story store
adjoining the firm's Dean Street stores was added,
on account of the greatly increased demands of
their business, and they have since occupied Nos.
35, 37 and 39 Dean Street, together with No. 9 Ex-
change Street, which, combined, render their estab-
lishment one of the most extensive in Albany.
The motto of this old and always popular house
has been "Good goods at fair prices, and honor-
able dealing to all, with the closest attention to
business, " and it has been the practical demonstra-
tion of the sterling principles thus expressed, that
has rendered theirs one of the most successful
houses in their line outside of New York City.
-iKuvwvvX )jC^ ko^c^v^^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANT.
565
^^ cz/cf tyy^
Mr. Bacon, the now senior member of this firm, is
in all ways a self-made man, as the term is usually
applied. Without wealth or influence to aid him
in his early struggle, he has worked his way up
literally from the foot of the ladder. The only leg-
acy he ever received, to which he ascribes in any
degree his success in life, was the following advice
from his father, which he followed for many years,
and which he gratefully acknowledges has been
worth thousands of dollars to him : ' ' Never buy
anything until you have the money in your pocket
to pay for it. When you have the money, and it
is your own, buy anything you want." If all young
men of the present day would adopt this as their
rule of life, it is probable that many of them would
prove much more successful business men than the
statistics of a score of years hence will show them
to have become. Mr. Bacon is a member of the
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Alban}', of which he
was Trustee for twenty-one years, and was elected
Elder in 1883. In politics he is a Republican.
He married Miss Sarah E. Harlow, daughter of
Mr. George Harlow, of Lawrence, Mass., and has
a daughter and two sons. For seventeen years his
home has been in the beautiful and growing village
of Loudonville, four miles from Albany.
LEANDER STICKNEY
was born and passed his boyhood in Antrim, N. H.
In 1838 he came to Albany, and with character-
istic perseverance and energy set about the task of
carving out his own fortune.
He found employment as a clerk, and his abil-
ities were so marked that, in 1853, he was admitted
as a partner in the coff"ee and spice firm of L. A.
Chase & Co. Mr. Chase retiring in 1857, the firm
name was changed to Bacon & Stickneys, his
brother having also become associated with the
house. In 1866 another change in the firm made
it known as Bacon, Stickneys & Co.
A man of high character and the strictest integrity,
Mr. Stickney was quiet and unassuming in manner^
very devoted to his home circle, and benevolent in
disposition. He was never appealed to in vain in
the cause of charity, and his bounty was given with
that freedom from ostentation which characterizes
the true man. He was, when in health, a regular
attendant at the Hudson Avenue Methodist Epis-
copal Church. Soon after becoming established
in business he married Miss Mary Ellen Bowling,
who, with a son and daughter, survive him. He was
well and widely known, both in the business com-
566
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
munity and socially. He was taken ill in March,
1882, and was a patient sufferer until his death,
which occurred January 14, 1883.
The business of which Mr. Stickney was long
one of the recognized heads, takes rank among
Albany's leading mercantile interests.
VINEGAR.
Charles H. Burton, manufacturer of cider vinegar,
78 Green street. — This business was established
1839 at 73 Green street by Francis Vail, continued
there until 1867, when he purchased the old Univer-
salist Church at 78 Green street, and converted it
into a vinegar depot. The business was bought out
by Mr. Burton in 1882. It is the oldest cider vinegar
manufactory in the State, and one of the best The
manufacture is carried on under the immediate su-
pervision of the proprietor, and the product has a
large sale.
SOAP AND CANDLE-MAKING.
The making of soap and candles at one time was
an important local industry in Albany, but during
late years has measurably declined. This is due
principally to the fact that candles are largely super-
seded by other means of illumination, and soap man-
ufacture has been absorbed by the large factories.
The first soap and candle, manufactory of impor-
tance established in Albany, so far as we can find,
was started by Peter Van Heusen and Jacob Van
der Bilt in 1788. In an advertisement stating their
intentions to engage in this useful branch of in-
dustry, they say that such a factory had long been
wanted in the city. To induce the citizens to en-
courage these home industries, they offer these arti-
cles at New York prices.
The next factory of importance was established
by John Taylor, Jr., about 1820. A few years after,
Mr. Fidler become a partner, under the firm name of
Fidler & Taylor. This establishment was destroyed
by fire in 1829. Patrick Murphy about this time
had a factory in Albany. Agur Wells was for along
time, engaged in this business. He was succeeded
by his son, Thomas D. Wells, at 259 South Pearl
street.
In 1840 the business had grown to such dimen-
sions, that 1,330,000 pounds of soap and 660,000
pounds of candles were made. There were at this
time twelve factories, employing about 60 men.
Capital to the amount of $122,000 was invested in
this industry in the city.
The two principal firms now conducting this
business are those of Clinton Ten Eyck and Stein
& Co. The former begun this business many years
ago, and now employs steam in manufacturing
soap and candles. His factory is located on the
corner of Chapel and Canal streets. He makes the
Troy Laundry Soap, and bar and pressed cake soap.
Stein & Co. are successors to John M. Christian
& Brothers, engaged in this business many years in
Albany. Stein & Co. manufacture family, laundry,
chemical and pressed soaps. Their factory is lo-
cated at 16 and 17 Delaware avenue.
OILS.
In 1823, S. J. Penniman established what is now
the firm of Murphey & Liscomb, manufacturers of
oils, with warehouse at 13 Hudson avenue, and
factory on Colonic street.
Their factory with its various buildings covers \\
acres. They also have a four-story storage house.
The chief products are sperm, whale, elephant and
lard oils; machinery, cylinder and signal oils; argand
oil; and spermaceti and sperm candles.
The individual firm members are Elijah W.
Murphey and Orlando P. Liscomb, whose names
are favorably and extensively known in this line
throughout the United States.
STOVES.
Albany and Troy have long been prominent cen-
ters for the manufacture of stoves. The business,
as at first conducted, consisted in simply putting
together the castings, which were made at other
places, generally at blast-furnaces in New Jersey
and Pensylvania. The early castings were of great
thickness, and, compared with those of the present
day, were rough and imperfect.
Besides the well-known Franklin stove, the in-
vention of the eminent "early philosopher whose
name it bore, the first made was a box-stove; then
the oblong plate-stoves, such as are yet in use to
some extent for heating school-houses and churches.
The first advance towards a cooking-stove consisted
in making the last named with an oven, and the
first that deserves the name of a cooking-stove was
an oblong affair having an oven running the whole
length, the door of which was in front and directly
over the door for supplying fuel; having also a
boiler-hole and boiler on the back part of the top,
near the pipe. Then a stove similar in arrange-
ment, with swelling or elliptical sides, was made,
generally called the nine-plate stove. In Albany it
was known as the Philadelphia stove.
About the year 18 12, cooking-stoves were made
at Hudson from patterns made by a Mr. Hoxie,
who was the first to elevate the fire-box above the
bottom. This improvement was patented, and
sustained in suits against parties who elevated the
fire from the bottom. In Hoxie's stove the fire
was made above and upon the oven. He was the
first who made a stove in which the flame was made
to descend from the top to the bottom of the oven.
In 1815, William T. James, of Lansingburgh,
made the stove known as the "James " stove, which
not only continued a leading stove for nearly a
quarter of a century, but may yet be seen on board
small Eastern coasting vessels, where, being cheap
and durable, it supplies the place of a caboose.
James' stove is probably better known as the
"saddle-bags" stove.
In 1833, the editor of the Albany Daily Advertiser,
from observation and inquiry, formed the opinion
that the manufacture of iron castings was brought
to greater perfection in Albany than in any other
place in the country, or even in Europe. The
hollow-ware of Bartlett, Bent & Co. was preferred
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
567
to the best Scotch; the stoves of Dr. Eliphalet Nott
received the preference wherever they were known;
and the machinery castings of'Maney & Ward were
equal to those of any foundry in the world. The
quantity of castings were stated as follows:
Howard, Nott & Co i.cxx) tons.
Bartlett, Bent & Co 350 "
I. & J. Townsend 300 "
Rathbone & Silliman 200 "
Maney & Ward , 450 "
2,300
About one thousand persons were employed in
these establishments. Besides these productions,
the house of Heermans, Rathbone & Co. sold an-
nually 750 tons of stove-plates brought from Phila-
delphia, and Gill, Cooper & Co., about 300 tons
from the same place. From the best information
that could be obtained, it was found that about
2,300 tons were manufactured and sold in the
city, and about 1,250 tons imported and sold,
making in all 3,550 tons.
While, previous to 1836, some stoves had been
made in Albany, the bulk of them had been cast
direct from the ore in blast-furnaces in New Jersey
and Pennsylvania; they were shipped here in loose
plates to be mounted. At this time new and
lighter patterns were gotten up.
The oldest foundry in Albany was the one at 1 10
Beaver street, which was occupied by Treadwell &
Perry in 1843. It doubtless antedates the present
centurj'. In 1808, Warner Daniels was making
stoves there. In 1820, the firm became Spencer,
Daniels & Co. — Warren Spencer, John Daniels
and Thomas Gould. They were succeeded by
Erastus Corning and Norton in 1826; they by
William V. Maney and Ward in 1828, who con-
tinued until 1836, when Mr. Maney became sole
proprietor, he selling to Messrs. Treadwell & Perry
in 1843.
As early as 18 13, Warner Daniels, and, in 181 5,
Francis Low were conducting the Clinton Furnace.
In 1820, Spencer Stafford made stoves in a foun-
dry which was located at the junction of Washing-
ton and Central avenues.
About 1827, H. Nott & Co., composed of How-
ard Nott and sons of Dr. Eliphalet Nott, at the
junction of Washington and Central avenues, man-
ufactured the celebrated "Nott" stoves. These
works were subsequently removed to New York
City, becoming the Novelty Works.
In 1830, Joel Rathbone, W. B. Hermance and
Corning & Norton, under the firm name of Her-
mance, Rathbone & Co., began business. Upon
the death of Mr. Hermance, in 1830, Mr. Rath-
bone became sole proprietor. He continued with
various partners down to 1841, when he sold
to John F. Rathbone and Samuel H. Ransom, who
composed the firm of Ransom & Rathbone. They
continued till 1844, when they separated and formed
the separate firms of S. H. Ransom & Co. and
Rathbone & Co. S. H. Ransom & Co. remained
in business until 1881, when Clarence Rathbone
purchased the property of the firm, adopting the
present firm name of the Ransom Stove Works.
For more than thirty years, George P. Lynd has
been a Superintendent in the Ransom Works.
Peter Thompsoa is another old employee. E.
Myer, for over thirty years, has been connected
with the firm in the capacity of a stove-mounting
contractor.
The firm of Rathbone & Co., 1844 to 1854, was
composed of John F. Rathbone, James C. Ken-
nedy and Lewis Rathbone.
From 1854 to 1857, this firm was known as
Rathbone & Kennedy, composed of Lewis Rath-
bone, James C. Kennedy and John F. Rathbone.
From 1858 to i860 it was composed of Lewis
Rathbone, Theodore Townsend and Joseph P. San-
ford, under the firm name of Rathbone & Co.
From i860 to 1865, John F. Rathbone was the
sole manager and proprietor of this concern. At
the latter date Lewis Rathbone and Eben C. Beach
were admitted as partners. In 1868 the firm was
composed of John F. Rathbone, Lewis Rathbone
and Grange Sard,Jr.,and thus continued until 1873,
when the firm of Rathbone, Sard & Co. was estab-
lished, composed of John F. Rathbone, Robert S.
Oliver, Edward Bowditch and Grange Sard, Jr.
From 187610 1 883, William H. Sard was a partner.
In 1883 the corporation of Rathbone, Sard & Co.
was formed, with a capital of $800,000. The fol-
lowing are the officers: John F. Rathbone, Presi-
dent; Grange Sard, First Vice-President and
General Manager; William H. Sard, Second Vice-
President and Manager of Chicago branch; Edward
Bowditch, Secretary and Treasurer; Robert S. Ol-
iver, Superintendent; Walter P. Kellogg, Manager
of Detroit branch.
The extensive works of this Company are situated
in the upper part of the city. There are five mod-
eling floors and five cupola furnaces. Ninety tons
of iron are melted daily, and 75,000 stoves annu-
ally made. 950 men and 400 molders are em-
ployed, to whom are paid annually $450,000. The
yearly sales aggregate $1,500,000.
The cupola furnace was built by Joel Rathbone
in 1838, and was one of the first in this country for
making stove-castings. By this process, castings
were made smoother, and by dispensing with su-
perfluous materials were finished cheaper.
Josiah P. Eldridge and R. Horner for many years
have been foremen of separate departments in this
foundry. For many years William H. Van Loon
and John F. Hyatt, stove-mounting contractors,
have done work for this firm.
In 1833, and for a short time afterwards, Ben-
nington Gill, William Cooper, John Webster and
Maynard French, under the firm name of Gill,
Cooper & Co., although they had no foundry, man-
ufactured stoves.
In 1835, Thomas & Potts were established on
Hudson street. This is the first record we have of
the use of a cupola furnace for stove-castings in
the county. Before this they were cast in the fur-
nace on Beaver street, known as the Eagle air-
furnace. Thomas & Potts were succeeded by
Thomas* Wells in 1836, who continued until 1837,
when Mr. Thomas retired, the firm becoming Hoff-
man & Potts, which remained unchanged until 1847,
568
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
when Mr. Jesse C. Potts became the sole proprietor.
Mr. Potts continued as such until 1857, when he
became one of the company of Shear, Packard &
Co. In 1870 the firm was dissolved.
Jacob H. Shear and Mr. De Graff were in the
business in 1837.
In 1837, Messrs. Elisha N. Pratt and John G.
Treadwell, as Pratt & Treadwell, had stoves manu-
factured for them.
In 1838, Mr. S. B. McCoy had a foundry on
Water street. In 1839, the firm became McCoy
& Quackenboss; in 1846, McCoy, Clark & Co.;
and in 1852, McCoy & Clark. When Augustus
Quackenboss left the Water street foundry in 1846,
he opened another in Montgomery street, continu-
ing alone until 1855, when Mr. Wasson joined him.
Messrs. Borden & Stowe now occupy the premises
formerly used by S. B. McCoy.
From 1845 to 1848, Messrs. Low & Leake had a
foundry located on the dock.
From 1845 until 1857, Samuel D. Vose, Henry
and William E. Bleecker, as Vose & Co., had large'
foundries which they had erected at the lower end
of Broadway, below Ferry street.
In 1848, B. P. Learned & Co. occupied the
foundry now used by Thacher & Co., car-wheel
manufacturers. In 1851, the firm became Learned
& Thacher, and soon after discontinued this busi-
ness.
In 1852, Weller, Goodwin & Adams made a few
stoves in a foundry located on Washington avenue,
a little below Clark street. In 1843, and for a short
time previous thereto, William Cobb manufactured
a few stoves in the same foundry.
In 1854, the Temperance Furnace, at 53 Water
street, was controlled by O. G. De Graff and Henry
and Amos Adams, under the name of O. G. De
Graff & Co.
The Albany Co-operative Stove Company has
been in business since about 1863; 50 men are em-
ployed, and 5,000 stoves annually made.
The Perry Stove Company, doing business on
Hudson avenue, and at Sing Sing, is an old estab-
lished concern, the senior member, John S. Perry,
commencing in 1843. He then used the old foun-
dry at no Beaver street, his partner being William
C. Treadwell, the firm name Treadwell & Perry.
In i860, the firm was dissolved, and shortly
thereafter organized under the name of Perry,
Treadwell & Norton. Upon the dissolution of this
firm, Messrs. Treadwell & Perry and Ira Jagger
continued the business until 1864, when the pres-
ent firm was organized. The members are John
S. Perry, Nathan B. Perry, Andrew Dickey (of Sing
Sing) and John Hughes (of Chicago). The build-
ings now in use were built in 1856. The bulk of
the manufacturing is now done at Sing Sing.
The first stove manufactured by Treadwell &
Perry was in 1843, ^i^d was named the "Pre-
mium," but was more generally known as the
"Step Stove," from the fact of its rear boiler being
raised. They now make several leading kinds of
stoves.
Annually they make from 8, coo to 10,000 tons
of stoves, equal to 75,000 to 90,000 stoves, repre-
senting a value of $1,250,000. About 1,500
workmen are employed, including those working
at Sing Sing.
The firm now known as the Ransom Stove
Company was founded in 1836 by Joel Rathbone.
Mr. Rathbone retired in 184 1, and in 1845 was
succeeded by S. H. Ransom & Co. The firm was
then known as the Ransom Stove Works. In
1883 the present Company was incorporated.
The officers are: Clarence Rathbone, President;
Benjamin Butler, Vice-President; and Albion Ran-
som, Superintendent. The manufacturing plant
occupies four blocks, and is bounded by Mulberry,
Church and Cherry streets, and on the east by the
Hudson River. Three hundred workmen are em-
ployed, the weekly wage list amounting to about
$4,000.
William Doyle, 108 and no Beaver street, has
carried on stove manufacturing steadily for many
years. A patent was obtained by Edward H.
Doyle for a hot-air furnace, first used on a popular
stove, now manufactured by Mr. Doyle, called the
"America." He expends $50,000 annually in the
manufacture of stoves at this manufactory, and em-
ploys twenty-five workmen.
The Littlefield Stove Company was organized in
1865 by D. G. Littlefield, who was the inventor of
the first successful base-burner stove ever used, for
which he received a patent in 1854. The use of
this invention has demonstrated its superiority over
all heating stoves in use. Their plant, on the cor-
ner of North Pearl and Pleasant streets, covers an
area of three acres. Here twenty-five stoves per
day are manufactured. The Treasurer of the Com-
pany is H. C. Littlefield.
Albany Stove Company, Tivoli Hollow, was
founded in 1868, the proprietors being Messrs.
Carroll, Gutman and others. In 1880 the present
Company took control of the works. The officers
of the Company are: James H. Carroll, President
and Treasurer; William G. Schultz, Secretary; and
John Gutman, Superintendent The location in
Tivoli Hollow is particularly adapted to the Com-
pany's purpose. The works cover an area of two
acres. Here from forty to sixty molders and skilled
iron-workers are employed; from six to eight tons
of castings are daily made; and from twenty-eight
to thirty-five complete stoves put upon the market.
The foundry of Jasper Van Wormer, located on
the corner of Broadway and Arch street, was
erected in 1867. Mr. Van Wormer is the surviv-
ing partner of the firm of Van Wormer & McGarvey
formed in 1846. For twenty years they manufac-
tured stoves through contracts with other parties
owning foundries. In 1867 their business had
grown so extensive, that it became desirable, if not
absolutely necessary, to erect a building exclusive-
ly devoted to the manufacture of stoves, and the
present foundr)', which occupies an entire square,
was erected. Mr. McGarvey remained as partner
until his death in 1876, when his son, Charles M.
McGarvey, assumed his father's interest in the
firm, which continued until the latter's death in
1884, since which Mr. Van Wormer has conducted
the business alone. Mr. Van Wormer is one of
J^-^^.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
569
the oldest and best known men now engaged in
the stove business of Albany. The specialty of this
concern is the American base-burner, although a
general assortment of heating-stoves is made. The
biographical sketches of the Messrs. McGarveys
published in this work, furnish considerable val-
uable data in relation to this foundry.
The National Stove Association was formed in
1872, through the efforts of Mr. John S. Perry and
others. This association held its first meeting in
New York City during that year, Mr. Perry being
elected President. From that time semi-annual
meetings have been held. The object desired by
originators of this organization was to prornote
good feeling, extend acquaintances, and exchange
views as to the best means of securing a healthy,
natural trade. The result has met the expectations.
Mr. Grange Sard is now President of the Associa-
tion.
In i860, there were seven establishments in
Albany County for the manufacture of stoves, with
an aggregate capital of $1,013,000; employing 850
hands; paying $285,600 wages annually; manu-
facturing raw material worth $345,800, into prod-
ucts valued at $1,038,700. In 1870 there were
fifteen establishments; $3,022,800 capital invested;
employing some 1,946 men, whose yearly wages
were $1,209,873; converting raw material valued
at $1,004,208 into manufactured products worth
$3,216,431. In 1880 there were twelve establish-
ments, but the census statistics are exceedingly un-
reliable.
From the best authorities obtainable we give the
following statement, to show the present develop-
ment of the stove trade in Albany.
Capital invested $2,500,000
Producing annually 3,000,000
About 2, 700 workmen are employed, the result
of their labor being 24,000 tons of stoves, or about
220,000 stoves, annually.
MICHAEL McGARVEY.
The late Michael McGarvey long occupied a
leading position among the most enterprising
and successful business men of Albany. Born
in Albany, June 19, 1824, he was bred in his
native city, and grew to manhood with few of
the material advantages of this world. His parents
were poor, and at an early age he was obliged
to earn his own livelihood. Nearly forty years
ago, he and Jasper Van Wormer worked to-
gether as apprentices. They toiled at the same
bench and became more to each other than ac-
quaintances. Men of the same moral type, they
were earnest friends, and the tie that is often
nearer than that of relationship was severed only
by the hand of death. When the time of their ap-
prenticeship had expired, the two lads started busi-
ness on their own account at No. 12 Green street.
Their only capital was indomitable pluck and an
honest purpose; but those characteristics won, as
they always must, and it was not long before their
little retail shop blossomed out into an ambitious
manufacturing establishment. It was in the win-
ter of 1846 that they began business, and it is be-
lieved that, at the time of Mr. McGarvey's death,
the firm was the oldest in the city in a certain
sense, for it had been for nearly thirty years under
one management.
Mr. McGarvey was married in 1846 to Miss
Elizabeth Town, who survives him. A member
of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, he was munifi-
cent in his contributions for the completion of the
present House of Worship of that organization, in
the progress of the construction of which, during
his fatal illness, he took great interest. He was a
man of great moral force and of the very nicest
sense of commercial honor. His word was a bond
which was never broken. Unostentatious and ret-
icent concerning whatever he did for others, very
few knew the depth of his sympathies for the suffer-
ing or the extent of his benevolent contributions.
Such a character as his dignifies any department of
business and receives the homage of all honorable
men. He died October 12, 1876. The following
from the pen of one who knew him well, is a fitting
estimate of the man :
' ' During the years of his prosperity, Michael
McGarvey never forgot his early days. He was
always a workingman, proud of the dignity that
appellation should give. Unobtrusive in manner,
he was also a man of great decision of character,
firmness of will, and vigor of intellect. He was in
fact, an every-day man, without veneering or su-
perficial glitter, and won friends to keep. He was
not one to make a display of religion, nor was he
a stickler for sect. His creed was that of humanity;
and if benevelence is the soul of religion, then the
true metal was in him to a great degree. He was
not ambitious in the modern way, for political hon-
ors were repeatedly declined. His aim was to
respect his Creator, to love his wife, to educate his
children, and to pass an existence of simple but
honorable event. During his life he diff'used much
happiness, mitigated considerable distress, and
called down many a blessing from the stricken poor.
During his career we know of no great achieve-
ment, no gigantic success, no brilliant action to
be recorded for him; but George Eliot says the
world owes its greatness to unhistoric lives, and, re-
membering Michael McGarvey, we appreciate her
words. "
CHARLES M. McGARVEY.
The late Charles M. McGarvey was born in Al-
bany (a son of the late Michael McGarvey) July i,
1 85 1, and died April 26, 1884. He was educated at
the Albany Academy, and after his graduation was
for some years connected with his father's business.
At his father's death, being the eldest son, he nat-
urally took his place among the manufacturers of
Albany as a member of the firm of J. Van Wormer
& Co., which succeeded the old and widely-known
firm of Van Wormer & McGarvey, of which his
father had long been a member, a relation which
he continued creditably and successfully until his
death.
570
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Mr. McGarvey was possessed of a hearty friend-
liness and spontaneous geniality which endeared
him to all who knew him. No man was better
known in Albany business and social circles. In
one way or another, he was identified with most of
the popular interests of the town. The older mem-
bers of the Washington Continentals remember
him as one who served the prescribed time and
became a faithful and well-beloved member of that
celebrated organization. He was married Decem-
ber 13, 1876, to Miss Lydia D. Courtney of Al-
bany, who, with two children, survives him. He
Charles M. McGarvey.
had been ailing for several months, but his death
came suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly. His
funeral was the occasion of a demonstration of almost
universal sorrow, and tokens of respect were given by
relatives, friends, business and social organizations
and employers. Gathered around the house of
mourning were friends who had grown up with
him from boyhood — friends who could testify to
the geniality of his companionship, his warm-heart-
ed disposition and the manner in which he clung
to those he loved and respected. Every one knew
him, and all present had good words to say of him
who had passed from their midst. The bearers
were his brothers, William, Henry and Archie;
his brothers-in-law, William Van Wormer, Dickin-
son Courtney and Benjamin W. Wooster, Jr. ;
Joseph C. Barnes, for many years book-keeper of
the firm with which Mr. McGarvey had been iden-
tified; and J. Johnson, foreman of the molding-
shop. Mr. McGarvey was one of those whole-
souled, helpful men, whose words of kindness and
deeds of friendship are the most speaking epitaphs,
and whose prolonged earthly life could not but
have brought good to his fellow-men.
JOHN S. PERRY.
Albany is justly distinguished for the elevated
character, success, and liberal enterprise of its
business men; perhaps none of its sister cities
outrank it in this respect.
Her manufactories and manufacturers take a
high position, particularly in the manufacture of
stoves and other products of her foundries.
John S. Perry is not only eminent as a business
man, but as a citizen largely interested in things
touching the prosperity and advancement of the
city. He has occupied this position so long
and with such public respect, that a sketch of
his life naturally belongs to and makes a part
of the history of our city and county. Such a
history will always be read with interest and pleas-
ure, not only as an example of encouragement for
young men preparing to act in responsible and
honorable positions in life, but to those more ad-
vanced in a business career; because, the success
which one man has attained, others may hope to
achieve, by imitating his example, niaking true the
oft-repeated maxim, that biography is history and
philosophy teaching by example.
John Strong Perry was born in Farmington,
Conn., December 17, 18 15. This beautiful town
is situated on the river of the same name, with
scenery which has been the admiration of tourists,
and has excited the imagination of the poet and
painter for many generations. It is a lovely stream,
blending the pleasures of angling, fowling, boating,
and other aquatic sports, presenting to the young
advantages for physical exercise that develop the
health and strength of well-formed manhood. Mr.
Perry traces an honorable ancestry far back in the
annals of NewEngland history. His maternal grand-
father, a descendant of the Pilgrims, was Governor
John Tread well, LL. D. , of Connecticut, the last of
the Puritan line of Governors His paternal grand-
father was the Rev. David Perry, of Richmond,
Mass., who was settled over the Congregational
Church in that town for about forty years. Indeed,
his ancestors on both sides, including the Pome-
roys, of Northampton, Mass. ; the Lords, of Col-
chester, Conn.; and the Leavenworths, of Wood-
bury, Conn., are all of the old Mayflower stock.
Mr. Perry's Christian name, John Strong, is
derived from a relative, the Rev. John Strong, a
Puritan minister of Connecticut.
Mr. Perry is a self-made man, the successful
artificer of his own fortune, which he has carved
out by that indomitable energy and practicability
which to young men is of more value than wealth.
He began his education in the district schools in
his native town, where he made good progress in
his studies; so good that, when, at the age of thir-
teen, circumstances compelled him to leave school,
he was prepared to' enter a counting-house in
Hartford, Conn., where at that early age he began
his business career.
After remaining there for some time, he entered
the store of his uncle, John B. Perry, in Lee, Mass.,
where after spending several months, he came to
Albany, which was destined to be his future home.
,£\y-^i^^. -
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
571
Arriving in that city on the 23d of October, 1830,
he entered the crockery store of that old and well-
known firm composed of Henry L. and Charles B.
Webb and Alfred Douglas, honorable and high-
minded merchants, from whom he received during
thirteen years that rigid and thorough training that
tended so largely to his future success.
From 1843 to i860 he was largely engaged in
the manufacture and sale of stoves, but from well-
remembered causes, which wrecked so many
prominent houses at that time, his firm, known
under the name of Treadwell, Perry & Norton,
was compelled to suspend. This embarrassment,
however, did not discourage him; he still had the
confidence of the public, and what is, perhaps, of
equal value, unconquerable energy. These ad-
vantages soon enabled him to resume business,
and so successfully, that in a few years it far ex-
ceeded any former limits. It will be readily per-
ceived that this success was due to Mr. Perry's
habits and business capabilities. His experience
enlarged his views of the relations of business,
quickened his insight into difficult problems,
rendering him more vigilant in keeping well in-
formed in all the details of business life. Few men
are more accomplished in the particulars which
make the successful business man than he.
Notwithstanding the great demands upon his
time, he allows nothing to suffer for lack of atten-
tion. Having devoted, through many years, the
early hours of morning and late hours of the
night to his pursuits, he may justly be considered
one of the most industrious and laborious of men.
Promptness and method are among his most prom-
inent characteristics, and it is in a large dfgree
owing to these qualities that he has been enabled
to accomplish so much. By his quick perception
and intuition, his decisions, soon reached, are rarely
wrong.
Identified from an early period of his life with
the stove interests of the country, he has perhaps
done as much as any man to make that industry
a power of acknowledged influence. Chief among
the causes that have contributed to this result,
has been the formation of the National Associa-
tion of Stove Manufacturers, of which he held the
office of First President for several years, the object
being to cement more closely, both in business and
social bonds, the different members of the trade
throughout the United States. In the formation
and development of this organization, Mr. Perry
has been one of the chief actors and its early and
persistent advocate. He saw other trades rising
rapidly in wealth and influence by similar organi-
zations, and he asked the co-operation of the stove
trade for the same end, believing that the principle
of co-operation was a correct one, and that "in
the multitude of counselors there is wisdom."
Having thus determined upon the course to be
pursued, he was not content to sit and theorize,
but threw himself heartily into the work both by
voice and pen. Under his auspices six or more
important conventions were held in different parts
of the country, and more than twenty since under
his successors, and the result is that to-day the
stove manufacture is one of our most important
industries, and its history is replete with interest.
But it is not our purpose here to pursue it in
detail. It is a specialty of modern date, little be-
ing known of it sixty years ago. It was inaugu-
rated to a great extent by Joel Rathbone and
William V. Many & Co., in Albany, N. Y., some
fifty-five years ago, since which time it has con-
tinued to increase from year to year, until, in 1885,
not less than 300,000 tons of iron were converted
into over 2,500,000 stoves and various utensils,
for which some $40,000,000 was realized by the
manufacturers. At present there are in the United
States over 250 stove and hollow-ware foundries.
The headquarters of the manufacture in this State
may be said to be in Albany and Troy, these two
cities together probably manufacturing more stoves,
hollow-ware, furnaces and their appliances, than
any other two cities in the Union. Among the
great establishments in Albany which are regarded
as truly representative, is the house of Perry & Co.,
composed of John S. Perry and Nathan B. Perry,
of Albany; Andrew Dickey, of Sing Sing; and
John B. Hughes, of Chicago, 111., their works
being one of the oldest for the manufacture of
iron-castings north of the Highlands.
Warner Daniels, their early predecessor, made
stoves as early as 1813. The immediate succes-
sors of Mr. Daniels were William V. Many & Co.,
befere mentioned, who were also pioneers in this
business. Previous to 1835, stoves were mostly
made in blast-furnaces in New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania direct from the ore, instead of from the
pig metal as at present. In 1843, William B.
Treadwell and John S. Perry succeeded to the bus-
iness, and conducted it with some intervening
changes until 1862, since which it has been carried
on by Perry & Co. The offices and ware-rooms
of the firm are three, viz.: 115 Hudson avenue,
Albany; 84 Beekman street, New York; and
15 & 17 Lake street, Chicago, 111. The Albany
works employ about 250 men and produce 3,000
tons of stoves annually, and the works in Sing
Sing Prison employ 900 convicts and 200 citizens,
and produce in the same time 6, 500 tons, thus giv-
ing a total production of 9,500 tons, or about
90,000 stoves, representing in sales about $1,250,-
000. The market for these goods is not confined
to the United States, orders coming from almost
every part of the world — from China, Japan,
Germany, Norway, Turkey, Africa, South America
and other countries being of considerable im-
portance.
Such are Mr. Perry's manufacturing interests, and
such his extended relations to' this great American
industry, relations which, as we have said, give
Albany a place in the stove business second to
none in the Union.
We will now speak of his character as a citizen.
In 1846, he was united in marriage to Mavy J.
Willard, of Pittsburgh, N. Y. Eight children
were born to this marriage, four of whom survive.
Mrs. Perry died in 1 864.
His second marriage took place in 1867, to Mrs.
Mary Elizabeth Thompson, ofWoburn, Mass., by
572
tllSTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
whom he had one daughter. This lady dying in
1869, his third marriage took place, in 1871, to
Adaline L. Jones, of Brooklyn, N. Y., who still
survives.
His eldest daughter is the wife of Rev. William
Tatlock, D.D., of Stamford, Conn.
Mr. Perry has long been a member of St. Peter's
Episcopal Church, Albany, one of the oldest
churches in the United States, and is now Senior
Warden of that Parish.
He is a member of the Advisory Board of the
Young Men's Christian Association, and of the Al-
bany Philharmonic Society; also one of the Board
of Trustees of the Albany Railroad Christian Asso-
ciation.
He is a Director of the National Exchange Bank
of Albany, and a Trustee of the Albany Exchange
Savings Bank.
It is thus seen that Mr. Perry's life has not only
been active and enterprising, but useful ; devoted
to the promotion of religion, education, and what-
ever tends to the refinement and cultivation of the
capital city. He has never sought nor accepted
political preferment of any kind. He divides his
time, to a certain extent, in agricultural pursuits,
which tends largely to the preservation of his
health.
He is what may be termed a well-preserved man;
vigorous, both mentally and physically. He pos-
sesses many attractive social qualities and a fond-
ness for society, in which he is a favorite.
Mr. Perry is very fond of music and books, and an
appreciative and somewhat diligent reader of some
of the best authors. There are very few men whose
life, habits and associations tend more directly to
rational and high-minded enjoyments ; it is there-
fore no affectation to say that, in a work like this,
which contains a record of the men and of the
events which make up the history of the capital
city, no one is entitled to more honorable mention
in it than this gentleman.
NAIL WORKS.
In colonial days nails were manufactured alto-
gether by hand. Previous to 1 750, the rolling-
mills of New England were chiefly employed in
making nail rods, from which spikes, or large nails
were hammered out The farmers, in leisure hours,
made large nails for their own use.
The act of Parliament of 1750, prohibiting the
erection of slitting or rolling-mills in the colonies,
made the importation of nails necessary until the
Revolution. In 1775, Jeremiah Wilkinson, of Con-
necticut, commenced making cut tacks for his own
use, cutting them from sheet iron, and heading
them in a smith's vice. The process was afterwards
extended to small nails. In 1795 the Connecticut
Legislature regulated the manufacture of nails made
for sale or exportation, fixing their length and the
weight per thousand of each of the several sizes
from two to twenty pennies.
In 1787, Garret Whitbeck opened a nail factory
in Orange street, near the high Dutch Church,
making 8s and los at a shilling per pound, and
20s and 24s at eleven pence. In the same year
Stevenson, Douw & Ten Eyck erected a similar es-
tablishment in the city. Jacob Perkins' machine
for cutting and heading nails was patented Janu-
ary 16, 1795. The world is indebted to Thomas
Blanchard, of Massachusetts, for the wonderful
modern machinery for making all kinds of nails. In
181 9, John Brinkerhoif, of Albany, erected on the
east side of the river, now in Troy, a small rolling-
mill for making iron plates, that were cut into nails
and headed by hand. These works were among
the first then in existence in the State of New York,
and were afterwards bought by Coming & Norton,
of Albany, which firm subsequently became Corn-
ing, Winslow & Co. and Erastus Corning. The
works included rolling-mills, carriage-axle factory,
spike and nail factories, the annual product being
about 30,000 tons.
TOWNSEND FURNACE AND MACHINE-
SHOR
No single family has done more for the progress
of Albany's manufacturing interests, and the pro-
motion of its commercial welfare than that of Town-
send. The present furnace and machine-shop was
founded by Isaiah and John Townsend, who were
born at Sterling, Orange County, where were
forged, during the Revolution, the links of the
chain which was to have been stretched across the
Hudson River to prevent the ascent of the British
ships of war. A part of this chain can now be seen
in the State Geological Hall. Mr. Townsend ac-
quired a knowledge of the iron business from his
relative, Solomon Townsend, an iron merchant in
New York. His brother John, in 1 804, became as-
sociated in the foundry business, and together they
were the pioneers in this industry in this part of the
State. This partnership was terminated in Febru-
ary, 1838, by the death of Isaiah. They were
prominently identified with many of the enterprises
by which this city has been benefited. They were
in intimate relationship with all the foremost busi-
ness men of their day, and materially aided De
Witt Clinton in his project of the Erie Canal.
From 1838 to r849, John Townsend carried on
the foundry business as the surviving member of
the firm of I. & J. Townsend. At the latter date
it passed into the hands of Franklin and Theodore
Townsend, the former a son of Isaiah, and the latter
a son of John Townsend, the original proprietors.
This partnership was continued for seven years,
when Theodore withdrew and Franklin became
sole proprietor, remaining as such until 1867,
when George P. Jackson, who had acted as Gen-
eral Superintendent since 1851, became a partner,
the firm becoming Townsend & Jackson. Rufus
K. Townsend, son of Franklin, took his father's
place in the firm, and in 1882, the year of Mr.
Jackson's death, became sole owner.
The plant is of brick, four stories high; walls
1 30 X 180 feet, and is located on Broadway, Rens-
selaer and Mulberry streets, fronting on the Hud-
son. They have a large collection of patterns, the
accumulation of three generations, to which they
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
573
have added those of the Albany Eagle Furnace,
the West Troy Foundry, the Archimedes Works,
New York, and the McGinnis Machine Works.
Mill gearing and machinery castings of all kinds
are made; loo men are employed. Annual out-
put, $125,000. Zethro Wood, inventor of the cast-
iron plowshare, had his first plows made in this
foundry.
Under the able management of Rufus K. Town-
send, this establishment has not merely main-
tained, but increased its reputation in manufacturing
circles.
John T. Brady is book-keeper for this house.
In 1884 he was elected Supervisor, to represent the
Fifteenth Ward.
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY.
The Wheeler and Melick Company, founded in
1830 by Messrs. Wheeler, Melick & Co., are the
leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery in
the county. In 1872 the firm took in associates,
and a stock company, with |200,ooo capital, was
organized, the present firm name being adopted.
The works are on Hamilton and Liberty streets,
and cover nearly an entire block. The main
building is of brick, three-stories high. Horse-
powers, steam engines, power-threshers and clean-
ers, plow-sulkies, improved harrows, dump-rakes,
clover-hullers, fodder-cutters, mills, etc., are made.
One hundred and twenty-five men are employed,
and the annual output reaches $500,000.
The present officers are E. Wacterhagen, Presi-
dent; Peter Melick, Treasurer; George C. Lee, Sec-
retary; and James H. Melick, Superintendent.
The products of this Company find a market
throughout the country and the world. Their
machines are of modern styles, and are kept up to
the latest improvements, and include a supply of
everything called for in progressive agriculture.
No firm has done more to produce labor-saving
machines for the farmer.
The extensive agricultural and machine works
of Peter K. Dederick & Co. are located at Tivoli
Hollow. They are the sole manufacturers of the
Dederick Patent Hand and Power Presses; also
wire-baling ties, and all tools used in connec-
tion with baling hay; horse and steam hoisting-
engines, self-dumping wood and iron cars, horse
and steam-power brick machines, and portable
steam engines.
The popular Wood Mowing Machine and Reaper
was manufactured here a few years ago; but its
works have lately been transferred to the West.
IRON-WORKS.
The iron foundry of Isaiah Page & Son, 58, 60
and 62 Liberty street, was established in 1832 by
Isaiah Page, Sr., at Federal Stores, but in 1835
was removed to Chatham. In 1850 the present
site was secured. Isaiah Page's son, William B.,
was admitted as a partner in 1883. Isaiah Page
died in 1885, since which time his son has con-
ducted the business. The foundrj' is loox 180 feet
in dimensions. Sixty molders and other skilled
iron workers are employed. Mr. Page is a mem-
ber of the firm of Page & Sill, succeeding to the
interest of his father in this firm. Isaiah Page was
one of the great iron manufacturers of Albany, and
a business man of great energy and worth.
The iron and machine-works of Prince & Ott
was established by Starks & Pruyn in 1845, ^'ho
were shortly afterwards succeeded by Pruyn & Lan-
sing, and they, in turn, in 1869, by Henry C. Has-
kell. In 1884, Lawrence J. Prince and Herman
Ott became proprietors of the works. The estab-
lishment is located at Nos. 9 and 11 Church street,
and is embraced in a four-story brick building, 30
by 75 feet in dimensions. About fifteen skilled me-
chanics are employed. The products consist 01
steam engines and machinery of all kinds, wrought
and cast-iron railings, castings, gratings, steam-
pipes and fittings, bank vaults and doors. They
built the 320 horse-power engine now in use at the
Albany blast furnace, and the engine now in use at
the Government Printing office at Washington. The
work of this establishment is known for its general
excellence.
The firm composed of T. J. Sullivan and P. Ehler,
under the firm name of Sullivan & Ehler, makes a
specialty of manufacturing steam engines. Their
plant is located at 166, 168 and 170 Broadway, and
consists of a two-story brick building. Sixty men
are employed in the various departments, and their
products are sold throughout the United States.
They also manufacture bridge and iron-work, safes
and bank vaults, iron roofs, shutters, railings, filter
presses, pumps, cast and wrought-iron tanks, and
iron machinery of all kinds. The products of this
house bear a high reputation in the trade.
James McKinney & Son are well-known iron-
founders and manufacturers of architectural iron
furnishings, such as pillars, gates, railings, and all
kinds of iron cornices, caps, etc., for building
purposes, at 925 to 933 Broadway.
Peter C. Lauder, who resides at 102 North Pearl
street, is a practical machinist of recognized ability.
For twenty-eight years he has been in the employ
of the New York Central Locomotive Works at
West Albany, and for twenty-one years foreman of
the machinist department. He was born in the
City of Schenectady in 1835.
The Novelty Iron Foundry was founded May i,
1 88 1, the members of the firm being S. J. Haight
and J. W. Clark.
Their works at 16 and 18 DeWitt street consist
of a three-story brick building and a one-story
foundry, where forty workmen are employed.
They manufacture fine machinery castings, piano
and organ castings, and those for ornamental work.
They make a specialty of small gray iron castings
of great smoothness and fine quality of iron.
The Capital City Malleable Iron Company was
incorporated in 1882. The works, corner Fourth
Avenue and Broadway, are a one-story foundry,
130 X 180 feet, and a five-story brick building,
containing machine and pattern-shops, office, etc.
Mower and reaper castings for all agricultural im-
plements, also carriage irons and unfinished sad-
574
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
dlery hardware, are made. Mr. A. Winterburn is
President Seventy-five men are employed.
DARIUS S. WOOD
was born in Westboro, Worcester County, Mass.,
in July, 1 82 1, and died in Albany, February 15,
1881. He was a son of Joel A. and Louisa (Simp-
son) Wood. Acquiring such education as was
available to him, he studied engineering at the
shops of the Boston and Worcester Railroad in Bos-
ton. Familiarizing himself with the construction
and operation of the locomotive, he entered the
ranks of the early locomotive engineers, and is dis-
tinguished in the local history of railroading as
having run the first locomotive attached to a pas-
senger train on the Boston and Albany Railroad
into Greenbush.
February 18, 1862, he was appointed by the late
Erastus Corning, Superintendent of the Wood-work
Department of the New York Central Railroad Com-
pany at Niagara Falls, and later he was promoted
to the superintendency of the Company's works at
West Albany.
The bent of his mind was original and inventive,
and while thus employed he invented and patented
a box-car of very ingenious construction, which was
much in use at a later period; and at the time of
his death he had many improvements under way,
which, had he lived to complete them, it is believed
would have become valuable in their application to
mechanical uses. He was justly regarded as one
of the most skillful workers in iron in Albany. The
making of the larger and more bulky, as well as the
finer and more delicate, parts of machiner}', were
alike easy to him. About 1866 he became pro-
prietor of the Malleable Iron-works at the corner of
Westerlo and Franklin streets, which he managed
with success and profit until his death. These were
sold to the present proprietors in the settlement of
his estate. For a time, previous to embarking in
this enterprise, he was owner and manager of the
brewery liow known as Dobler's. He was instru-
mental in the establishment of the Malleable Iron-
works at Oshawa, Canada, where he gave the ben-
efit of his counsel, as well as of his means, and
remained for weeks supervising the construction of
the works. In everything that pertained to the
manufacturing and commercial interests of Albany,
and to its general prosperity, Mr. Wood was deeply
interested, and he was known as one of the cit3''s
most prominent and public-spirited citizens. A
Republican in political faith, he took an intelligent
interest in all public affairs; but he had no ambi-
tion to shine in politics, and though often solicited
to accept office, resolutely kept out of political life.
A genial, whole-souled man, his social qualities
made him popular with all classes. He was mar-
ried, in 1842, to Miss Adeline Smith, of Pittsfield,
Mass., who, with one daughter, survives him.
His career was that of a man self-made in the
best and truest sense of the term. His most con-
spicuous characteristics were industry, integrity
and foresight — qualities which insured his success
in business life and gained him the honor and ad-
miration of all with whom he associated. His na-
ture was kindly, he was liberal in his thoughts, just
in his dealings and charitable in an unostentatious
way. His death was regretted as deeply and as sin-
cerely as that of any man who has died in Albany
for years, and he is referred to as having left the
impress of his energetic personality on the town and
its institutions.
ALBANY STEAM TRAP COMPANY.
The manufacture of return steam traps was be-
gun in this city, in 1871, by Townsend & Bless-
ing, and conducted by them until 1875, when the
present Albany Steam Trap Company was incor-
porated. The steam trap was the invention of
James H. Blessing, of this city, and it is claimed
was the first practical device for returning the water
of condensation, under pressure, back to the boiler,
ever used. It has now been in successful use for
fourteen years, and has become a necessity wher-
ever steam is used.
The Company own and control about twent}--
five patents on steam traps and processes of return-
ing condensed water to the boiler under pressure.
The executive officers of the Company are as fol-
lows : General Frederick Townsend, President; J.
H. Blessing, Secretary, Treasurer and General
Superintendent; and H. H. Martin, Trustee. Of-
fice and works, 78 and 80 Church street.
BOILERS, ENGINES AND OTHER BULKY
IRON MACHINES AND FURNISHINGS.
In 1863, David F. Skinner and Joseph Arnold
began the manufacture of steam engines and boilers
in this city, on the south side of Herkimer street,
and removed to 199 Broadway, their present loca-
tion, in 1869. Their boiler shop is 35 x 200 feet
in dimensions. They employ seventy-five to one
hundred men, and manufacture engines, boilers,
steam pumps, elevators and tanks.
Robert Livingston and Patrick Shevlin com-
menced the manufacture of boilers and tanks in
1866, under the firm name of Livingston & Shevlin.
January 10, 1877, the firm was dissolved. Since
then the business has been conducted solely by
Mr. Shevlin. The premises consist of a two-story
brick building, 34 x 74 feet and an addition 29 x
60 feet, on the comer of Church and Herkimer
streets. Twenty-four men are employed in the
manufacture of all kinds of stationary and marine
boilers.
E. D. Ransom & Co., comer Church and Mul-
berry streets, manufacturers of foundry facings and
founders' supplies, succeeded Messrs. Charles & Co.
in 1883, the house having been founded in 1879
by the latter. The manufactory is a two-story stone
building, supplied with a fifty horse-power steam
engine. Fifteen men are employed. They also
make the ' ' Charles '' stove polish. The members
of the firm are E. D. Ransom, James D. Wasson
and J. Sanford Ransom.
Michael Huber & John J. Hartnett established
their iron foundr}-, 37 Liberty street, in .1880.
9'
I V
'-t by'i >C[is,-oe-v
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
575
They occupy the old Cornell foundry, 35x45 feet.
Fifteen mechanics are employed. Iron castings of
all kinds are made.
ALBANY SAW WORKS
were established in 1855 by Messrs. Robert H.
Pruyn and Charles B. Lansing, under the name
of the Albany Iron and Saw Works, in connection
with the Albany Iron- works. In 1879, ^'^ present
firm, consisting of Edward Y. Lansing, a son of
the founder, and James Goodwin, who has been
connected with the business from its foundation,
succeeded to it, their predecessors being J. T.
Lansing & Co., of which firm both were members.
All styles of saws are made by them, and they
also deal in files, grindstones, etc. They have
invented many improvements for the manufacture
of their goods. Their factory, a three story brick
building, is located on the corner of Church and
Bleecker streets, having a frontage of 100 feet on
each street, and runs through to Herkimer street.
FILES AND RASPS.
John A. Smyth, in 1859, founded the present
firm of Smyth & Sons, manufacturers of the "Bee-
hive " files and rasps. Their works are the oldest
of the kind in Albany, and are located on Church
and Herkimer streets. Frederick S. Morris became
a member of the firm in 1878. All styles of files
and rasps are produced. They also recut files.
CAR-WHEELS.
In 1852, George H. Thacher began the manu-
facture of car-wheels and railroad castings in
Albany. In 1857, Daniel S. Lathrop became a
partner, under the firm name of G. H. Thacher &
Co. In 1873, John Boyd Thacher became a part-
ner. The firm became known as Thacher,
Lathrop & Co. This continued until the death of
Mr. Lathrop, in 1883, Since 1873, John Boyd
Thacher and his brother, George H. Thacher, Jr.,
have had charge of the works. Most of the car-
wheels of the New York Central Railway are made
by this firm. The works are located on the
corner of Learned and Thacher streets. Daniel P.
Fales has been Superintendent of these works for
several years. Personal biographies of the indi-
vidual members of this enterprising firm follow.
DANIEL S. LATHROP
was born in Albany, April 13, 1825, the eldest son
of Dyer and Jane (Shields) Lathrop. " His first
American ancestor," says his memorialist, "was the
Rev. John Lathrop, of Barnstable, who was the first
to enlighten the dark regions of America with the
Christian ministry, and whose name shines bril-
liantly upon the pages of that catalogue which
Cotton Mather made of New England worthies."
It was at the old Albany Academy that Mr. La-
throp gained his rudimentary education. He was
sent at the age of about fourteen to the boarding
school of Rev. Mr. Bulkley, in Rensselaer County,
N. Y. "After having acquired here," continues
his memorialists, "a useful, and the foundation of
a classical, education, he returned home and re-
mained for a time in his father's mercantile house."
About the time he attained his majority, he secured
a position with Messrs. F. J. Bernard & Co., at
that time a prominent firm of lumber dealers, hav-
ing previously served as a clerk in one of the State
Departments, and also as a clerk in one of the
banking institutions of Albany. Industrious and
frugal, he saved much of his salary, intending to
engage in business. He formed the acquaintance
of a prominent railroad magnate named Morgan,
well known in the western part of the State, who,
divining the material of which the young man was
made, assisted him by advice in making some in-
vestments by which Mr. Lathrop added to his
capital, and was thus enabled, in 1857, to purchase
an interest in the car-wheel manufacturing business
of Mr. George H. Thacher. The firm name was
then changed to George H. Thacher & Co. ; and
again, in 1873, by the admission of Hon. John
Boyd Thacher to a partnership in the business, to
Thacher, Lathrop & Co. Mr. Lathrop's relations
in this enterprise terminated only with his death.
Mr. Lathrop though never mingling much in the
politics of the day, was induced, in 1850, to represent
his ward in the Common Council, a duty which he
discharged with credit and honor. This was the
only public position he ever occupied. He was
actively interested in some of Albany's home insti-
tutions. He was prominently identified with the
Albany City Bank and the Union National Bank,
and at the time of his death was a Trustee of the
Rural Cemetery Association; of the Albany Gas-
light Company; and of the Watervliet Turnpike and
Horse Railroad Company.
The following extract from Hon. John Boyd
Thacher's admirable memorial of Mr. Lathrop,
which has already been quoted from, will afford
no more than a just estimate of his character and
life.
" Mr. Lathrop was best known to the public as
one engaged in commercial pursuits, and it is
proper to refer briefly to his characteristics as a
business man. That was the field of his largest
activities. In the college and university there ob-
tains a notion, as fallacious as it is hampering and
narrowing, that, compared to the professional life, a
career devoted to business pursuits is low, sordid,
base. But if there is a sphere which requires
moral culture and intellectual ability, it is that in
which the labor of man receives and develops the
labor of the earth. The credit of a nation depends
not so much upon the professional man; not so
much upon the public man and statesman; not
so much upon the yeoman; as upon those men
of brain and nerve who initiate and prosecute to
successful issue great industries and commercial
missions.
"Mr. Lathrop at an early age made choice of
a business hfe, and his career reflects credit on
himself and offers to the youth of this generation
an eminent example. Honor and truth were
576
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
natural to him and he soon acquired order, obe-
dience, a conception of the true value of money, and
a knowledge of life. He never valued money for
itself, nor sought it as an end, but simply because
he saw that, rightly used, it contributes to the sum
of human happiness and the advancement of the
human race. He conducted business upon so
firm a basis, and in regions so unexposed, that his
affairs seldom touched precarious or doubtful
ground. So nicely did caution wait on impulse,
that success was the natural end of venture. His
sense of commercial honor was keen and sensitive.
In the conducting Of affairs he was always consist-
ent with the worth and greatness of his own na-
ture. He exhibited in his transactions with others
that element of honor which we sometimes speak
of as dignity. The highest motives, the best prin-
ciples, governed all that he did, and he bent his
work to square with his design. Perhaps one of
the most prominent features of his character was
his inherent and positive love of the truthful. His
veracity was that of fact. His statements were ac-
tual and real; no man's saying was ever falsely col-
ored by him. His speech of other men was never
insincere. His devotion to truth was the old
knightly spirit of devotion, and having fought his
fight, he laid down his escutcheon, fair, bright,
spotless.
"Lord Shaftesbury says we should observe and
speak of a man's understanding as we would of his
face. That nature characterizes a mind as pecu-
liarly and distinctly as she sets her hand to features.
As nature gave to Mr. Lathrop a face strikingly
comely and attractive, so with plenary indulgence,
she gave him an understanding of uncommon
power and symmetry.
"A philosopher would require us to include in
understanding, the power to perceive and the power
to make use of perceptions. The cast of Mr.
Lathrop's mind was such that it mirrored a subject
by almost instantaneous mental photography, and
then by combination and comparison it perfected
its relation to a point or quer)'. Mental operations
were performed by him apparently without the
tedious steps traveled by the ordinary mind. Nor
was the work of his mind less perfect for its winged
flight, nor less sound for its quick construction.
This peculiar power was of use to him in those cal-
culations of pennies and of pounds incidental to
business hfe. They were of a better use. On
questions of moment they enabled him to foretell
an end to problems for the detailed working of
which years had to be enrolled, and the answer the
years gave was his. One could follow his leading
safely and adopt his judgment with assurance. To
this quickness of perception he united a research
that never wearied. All the enthusiasm of the ar-
dent explorer burned within him. Men, measur-
ing his success by the field in which he seemed to
work, were wont to attribute to chance and good
fortune that which was the result of purpose and of
aim. They sometimes mistook the production of
toil and care for benevolence fallen from the wind.
But those who knew him knew how careful were
his investigations and how constant his watchful-
ness. His coins were not stamped by the fingers
of Midas, but rather they recorded the quest of
Jason.
' ' He was a student of geography, of history, and
of the world's physical requirements. Particularly
he studied the needs of localities in our own coun-
try, and the resources from which they might satis-
fy and gratify these needs.
"The intricate net- work of railways which lie
between the two oceans, were as familiar to him as
were his own garden-paths. Surely there must be
a difference between that position which makes a
man buy railroad interests, and railroad promises,
when he has no knowledge of the location of the
railway, and is ignorant of the force of its obliga-
tion, and that disposition which decides a man in
acquiring ownership in railways, when he is famil-
iar with their relative positions, conditions and
prospects.
"Wealth, properly obtained, comes to no man
spontaneously. Acquaintance with the circum-
stances of its possession will generally reveal the
mental shovel and the intellectual barrow. It was
so with the acquired property of Mr. Lathrop. It
came to him as the legitimate wages of mind and
body. It grew and increased because fostered
with prudence and management.
"He was much given to the serious study of
political economy, and held and argued the belief
of our nation's commercial liberty. He thought
the ability of a nation to fight unassisted would
certainly argue its ability to stand alone. He was
not only familiar with the writings of those who
had given their opinions and theories to the world
upon the commercial relations of nations, but he
corresponded not infrequently with some very cap-
able modern writers upon this subject, and was
accustomed, when in conversation upon this topic,
to maintain his opinions with vigor and per-
sistency.
" He carefully considered the relation existing,
and which should exist, between the government
and the governed. Here too he held very strong
and pronounced views. During the dark days of
our civil war, Mr. Lathrop's purse and hand were
at the service of his country. He was a bitter foe
to those principles which were hostile to our hap-
piness, prosperity and continuance as a people.
At this time, when many were accustomed to con-
strue very loosely their duty in responding by pro-
portionate exactions to the support of the public
service, he cheerfully and generously contributed
whatever the Government required of him. What
was a civil burden to others, was to him a civil and
solemn duty.
"Mr. Lathrop indulged in but few relaxations
from the cares of business. The only prominent
pursuit leading at all away from his daily occupa-
tion, was the breeding of horses, and even here his
motive was practical, and by care and wisdom he
sought to develop a race of horses which should
prove more serviceable to man. He studied the
anatomy of the horse, and could learnedly explain
at which point nature had made provision for
higher development He knew almost immedi-
/<i^a^/*^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
677
ately when he saw a horse in distress how and
where to apply rehef.
"He was accustomed frequently to express his
views as to the treatment and development of this
faithful servant of the human race in the different
journals devoted to this important subject, and
more than all he direcOy, and through unsuspected
channels, worked constantly and effectively to pre-
vent the ignorant and reckless use upon the horse
of those modern appliances which, while they are
supposed to increase, only destroy his strength,
his speed and his beauty. Mr. Lathrop belonged
to several organizations whose object it is to im-
prove the horse, and here he was recognized as the
intelligent breeder and the charming gentleman.
"The social element in Mr. Lathrop's, character
was strong and conspicuous. Not that he cared
for what we gerierically term society. It was in the
httle coterie where friend was knit to friend by
sincere affection, that his light most brilliantly
shone. His humor was pleasant and happy, never
harmful or degenerate. The grasp of his hand
meant confidence. His smile was an invitation to
amity. A Christian minister has said that he never
met him but that he felt that he was in the sun-
shine. In his friendship he was frank, sincere, true
and loyal. His manners belonged not to our
generation, but to that of our fathers, when courtesy
between man and man was cultivated; when polite-
ness was reciprocal; when there was deportment
without affectation and formality without coldness.
Prosperity gave him all the chastening worth of ad-
versity.
" The conversational powers possessed by Mr.
Lathrop were generally commented upon by those
who know him. His discourse was rich in word
and thought. The well-filled storehouse of his in-
formation was drawn upon readily by his facile
tongue, and he generously provided his hearers with
the wholesomeness of instruction and the delicacy
of entertainment.
" His descriptive powers were marvelous. His
friends will remember how familiar he made them
with the scenes through which he passed when on
a visit to California in 1866. He displayed all the
richness of imagery without intrenching upon the
ground of imagination. The extent of his vocab-
ulary was shown by his seldom clothing an idea
twice with the same words or terms. Thus the
repetition of a story had ever a new charm. In
some of his talking moods we have never heard a
professional advocate speak with such clearness of
argument or such flow of diction.
-'Though he wrote remarkably well, the mere
mechanical act of writing seemed to make him
guarded in his words, and over-careful of his ex-
pressions. The fountain of his thought had its flow
through the tongue rather than the pen.
"A man's charity and his religion are two sub-
jects which always seem hedged about by a certain
sacredness. In these days benevolence is often
easily described by the word subscriptmi, and religion
by the word ceremony.
" To one who heard the anxious inquiries of the
poor for Mr. Lathrop's condition from day to day
as he lay ill, and their tender expressions of solici-
tude as he drew near the time of his departure,
there would be little need to speak of him as their
friend; made so by a lively interest in their poverty,
and the warmth of a helpful hand.
" Surely Mr. Lathrop ought not to reap spar-
ingly, for he did not sow sparingly. He gave without
stint, and the pensioners who were about him did
him more honor and sincere service than hired or
liveried retinues. He preferred not to have his
name appear upon subscription books, but we
known of no charities, without distinction of sect,
to which he did not contribute. His benevolence
did not have its rise in the annoyance which comes
from importunity, but from quick and deep sym-
pathy with the unfortunate, and his abiding reverence
for the Divine commandments which encircle duty.
" Mr. Lathrop never made a parade of the views
he entertained concerning his relations to the Crea-
tor. He occupied the attitude of one who stood
with reverence and faith before that which he did
not comprehend. He was like one who held a
hand in the darkness. The evanescence of all
earthly things; the obligations of rectitude and
honor; the certainty of death, and, after death, the
resurrection, were mementoes embodied in his
creed. Some weeks before his death, when his
spirits were vigorous, and there was hope of his
soon regaining his bodily powers, he told the writer
in earnest words of his entire submission to the
Divine will, and of the peace and contentment he
felt in the Divine guidance.
"How excellent then were the qualities of him
we mourn; how fragrant shall be his memory! As
we dwell upon his character, whatever of failure the
most sifting search can find, we shall perceive to be
but the imperfection which belongs to incomplete-
ness. The earthly tabernacle man erects is never
faultless. His was a sturdy and withal a stately
building.
" If he had great business sagacity, it was mor-
tised to the most unyielding probity. If he had
forethought, there was with it exceeding great
charity. If in his giving he was profuse, yet never
was he wasteful. If he was genial and companion-
able, he practiced the restraint of temperance. If
he exacted equity, he rendered to all men justice
and their rights. If he exhibited the strength of
unusual activity and energy, he likewise displayed
the strength of reserve force and funded power. If
he at times gave the rein to impatience, the sun and
his wrath never traveled far together. If he recog-
nized the responsibility of human agency in the
making of events, he relegated to the Deity the
providence, the mystery and the glory of the Di-
vine government."
Mr. Lathrop was married, in 1855, to Miss Harriet
Wilson, who, with their three daughters, JeannieW.,
Christine M., and Aimee G. Lathrop, survive him.
Nothing that could be introduced here by way
of comment upon Mr. Lathrop's charities would
add to the measure of apprecation thereof expressed
in Mr. Thacher's memorial. A brief mention of
some of their most prominent objects may be in-
dulged in, however, more as a gratification to those
578
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
who have such good cause to remember him grate-
fully than because it is at all necessary as an ad-
dition to what has already been so well said of Mr.
Lathrop in that respect He was specially inter-
ested in, and more than generous to, St. Peter's
Hospital, Bishop Doane's Children's Convalescent
Home, and the Old Ladies' Home. Many will re-
member his noble charity, in the summer of 1882,
to the crippled children sojourning at Saratoga —
how he took them on an excursion to the head of
the lake, and gave them a handsome dinner there;
how in person he carried some of the disabled ones,
and spoke words of kindness to them all; how,
when a generous neighbor proposed to share the
expense with him, he said, ' ' No, this is my treat;
you can, if you please, take them another time. "
He was accustomed to remark that "people are
very apt to be generous when it is not necessary
that they should be so. A man will loan $100,
or I500, or perhaps give to a friend in the form
of a present; but if by reverse of fortune that friend
should come to poverty, and in his distress should
wish to borrow $10, very likely it will be refused
or loaned grudgingly." He was opposed to such
misnamed frindship as this, and contended that if
a person were really worthy of assistance and
needed it, it should be accorded to him freely and
in such a spirit as not to humiliate him or make
him sorry to be its recipient.
HON. GEORGE H. THACHER.
The biography we have now to relate tells its
own significant story. In firm courage under all
difficulties; in a sublime moral heroism in the
execution of the plans of a lifetime; and in marked
results from perseverance, industry and integrity,
it affords an example such as is seldom found.
Hon. George H. Thacher was bom in Homells-
ville, Steuben County, N. Y., June 4, 1818. His
mother's maiden name was Homell, and that town
takes its name from the same familj'. At the age
of four years he was cast upon the world in a con-
dition of utter poverty, without friends, and as
helpless as a leaf upon the waters. After many
intervening struggles, he obtained, when sixteen
years old, in 1834, the position of cabin-boy on a
steamer on Lake Erie. There he earned his first
money, which he expended in procuring an edu-
cation, working early and late, before and after
school, to pay his board. His was a reflective
mind. While he was engaged in the humble, and
even menial, duties of a cabin-boy, it was often
occupied with thoughts of the future. He deter-
mined to rise above the station in which poverty
and friendlessness had left him, and he foresaw
that one of the most effective agencies in the battle
before him would be an education. This he set
about saving money to obtain, and at length, to his
inexpressible joy, began his studies.
Not long after this he entered an academy,
boarding himself during term time. He obtained
the requisite amount of money by earning some-
thing each day in extra hours and in the vacations.
All this required self-denial and providence of the
most severe kind, but he felt fully repaid in the
advancement which he was making on the road to
knowledge. In a like manner he managed to get
a passable collegiate education, graduating at
Union College, Schenectady, in 1843.
Continuing the struggle of life with an indomi-
table will, he acquired a few thousand dollars. In
1849 he came to Albany, and entered into the
business of manufacturing stoves, with a partner.
This partnership was dissolved in 1852. Mr.
Thacher then began the manufacture of car-wheels
and other railroad castings which he has continued
to the present time. During the first three years
he labored daily at the foundry, at all kinds of
manual work. He was constantly with his men,
like them having his dinner sent to him, and in
addition to this he kept his own books, wrote all
receipts, statements, etc., and made all purchases
and collections. The business has since largely
increased from year to year. The New York Cen-
tral Railway and other important roads are
chiefly supplied with the wheels of this foundry.
It has not been alone to the commercial pros-
perity of the City of Albany that Mr. Thacher has
contributed by his enterprise and public spirit ;
and his interest has not been confined to his own
immediate business, however admirably the latter
has been conducted. Long identified with munic-
ipal interests, his public life has been character-
ized by a devotion to duty and an integrity that
have secured to him the highest esteem of his
fellow-citizens. He was first elected to office
in 1859, when he became an Alderman, but served
only one year. In the spring of i860 he resigned,
in order to accept the nomination for Mayor, to
which office he was triumphantly elected. In 1866
he was re-elected, and in 1870 he was a third time
elected by a large vote. He was called to fill the
same honorable position for the fourth time in
1872.
In every popular movement which for years has
occurred, Mr. Thacher has been particularly con-
spicuous for his zeal, his generosity and his
patriotism. In the support of the United Stales
Government during the civil war, he was con-
spicuous— even above many whose labors and
sacrifices in behalf of the Union cause were note-
worth}'. During his long and prominent identi-
fication with the history of the city, he has been
called to take part in scenes of great importance
and even national significance, which are detailed
in his valuable and interesting reminiscences pub-
hshed elsewhere in this volume — scenes which,
though Mr. Thach«r was one of the most promi-
nent actors in them, were of too great general
interest, and belonged too much to history in its
broader sense, to be dismissed in a mere sketch of
his life.
Mr. Thacher is a man who has reached success
by the most thorough personal identity with every
plan of his life and its execution. Fortunate cir-
cumstances were in no sense means by which he
sought or secured his ends. He did not expect
anything of the kind, and he never lost time and
patience, as so many do, in looking for them. He
Ci'iA).'i\.yi'um-\^Y^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
579
looked solely into his own heart and mind for the
resolution and ability that were necessary to carve
out success. This was not vanity, but the calm
resolution of that higher nature which asserts and
displays itself in those persons destined for vic-
torious struggles with fortune.
He has now an ample competency, which it is
his aim to use not simply for himself and family,
but for the benefit of others. Remembering his
own vicissitudes of life, and his hard battles with
the world, he hopes to render himself useful to
those who are struggling in the same way. Pure
in character, generous with his means, enterprising
in business, and public-spirited as a citizen, he fills
the highest conceptions of a noble manhood.
In a personal conversation with Mr. Thacher,
he said to the writer of this sketch: "Many
people have an erroneous idea in regard to self-
made men. The truth is that all men who attain
meritorious distinction, whether born in affluence
or poverty, are self-made men. Every man builds
himself He who is born to wealth; who is
nursed and reared in luxury; whose entire sur-
roundings are so many temptations to idleness,
dissipation, or a life of pleasure; and yet, despite
all these influences, makes a man of himself,
deserves, in my judgment, more credit than he
who rises from obscurity and poverty. Both are
deserving, but the former exhibits the moral
grandeur of self-denial, w'hile the latter acts from
the spur of necessity. I do not, therefore, lay
claim to extra credit for the comparative success
which I have achieved."
HON. JOHN B. THACHER.
Hon. John Boyd Thacher was born at Ballston
Springs, N. Y. , September ii, 1847. He is the
eldest son of Hon. George H. Thacher, who was
for many years Mayor of Albany. His mother was
Ursula J. Boyd, daughter of David Boyd, Esq. , of
Schenectady. His first American ancestor was Rev.
Thomas Thacher, who was the first pastor of the
Old South Church of Boston. His father's mater-
nal grandfather, Judge Hornell, was the founder of
the important town of Hornellsville, N. Y.
To ex-Mayor George H. Thacher it is needless
to allude in this connection, more than to pay, in
passing, a tribute of respect to one who was once
one of the most prominent business men of Albany,
and who has been referred to as "that old war-
horse of the Democracy, who, in years gone by, so
often led the party to victory." In nothing the
elder Thacher ever did, did he show sounder com-
mon sense than in the education he gave his son,
John B., to fit him for the duties of life — an edu-
cation so practical as to fully inform him upon the
little understood conflicting claims of capital and
labor. After the usual preparatory course. Senator
Thacher entered Williams College, from which in-
stitution he graduated with honor in 1869. Far too
many college graduates, and far too many fathers of
college graduates, imagine that with a diploma and
a degree the work of education comes to a full stop.
The Thachers, father and son, made no such mis-
take. Throwing aside the broadcloth and white
linen of the student, John B. Thacher entered his
father's foundry, and, step by step, was taught the
trade of a molder. He learned iron as he had
previously learned books, and became as industri-
ous a workingman as he had been a diligent stu-
dent. His evenings were passed in taking a thor-
ough course of book-keeping and accounts in
Folsom's Business College. Having mastered his
trade of molder, and become proficient in the de-
tails of the office work connected with his father's
business, he became a member of his father's firm
January i, 1873, and not long afterward assumed
active management of the concern.
With his brother, George H. Thacher, Jr., Sen-
ator Thacher carries on the manufacture of car-
wheels, which business they inherited from their
father, who established it more than thirty-five years
ago. Their establishment, known as the Thacher
Car Works, is one of the most extensive manufac-
tories in Albany, and is located on Thacher street,
east of Broadway.
During the protracted period mentioned, there
have been many strikes in the city and county, and
other serious labor troubles, growing out of one
cause or another; but in all these years the firm of
which Senator Thacher is a member has never had
a word of difficulty with its employees. It is likely
that the principal reason for this is to be discovered
in the fact that the firm has always paid the highest
price for skilled labor, and to-day is paying exactly
the same schedule that it paid during the war, when
wages were higher than they ever were before. Is
there another firm in the country of which more
can be said .?
There is nothing of the professional labor re-
former about Senator Thacher, but the simple
statement of such a fact is worth more than columns
of the most elaborate argument to any intelligent
man.
Mr. Thacher's first active connection with public
affairs was as a member of the Board of Health of
Albany. While serving in that capacity, his atten-
tion was called to the subject of tenement houses
and their relation to public health. While in New
York during the winter of 1883-84, he further ex-
amined this subject, as a result of which investiga-
tion he introduced and carried through the Legis-
lature a bill appointing a Commission, which
afterward organized with Joseph W, Drexel, Esq. ,
as Chairman, to examine into the character and
condition of the tenement houses in the City of New
York. From this Commission, so admirably adapted
to pursue an inquiry of this kind, it is believed great
benefits and much remedial legislation will flow.
When Mr. Thacher stood before the public as the
nominee of the Democracy for State Senator, to
represent the Seventeenth District, he was re-
ferred to thus in one of the leading newspapers of
Albany :
"In selecting a man to represent the County of
Albany in the State Senate for the next two years,
the Democratic party has acted with wisdom and
discretion. It was important that the candidate
placed in nomination should, in as large a sense as
580
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
possible, represent the whole people — labor as well
as capital, brain as well as brawn, business as well
as culture, thought as well as action. Such a man
is John Boyd Thacher — young, active, enterprising,
honorably ambitious, an Albanian by early adop-
tion, by family, and by business and social interests.
* * * :}i 5i« *
"Mr. Thacher has never held a political office,
for membership in the Board of Health can hardly
be called such; but from his youth he has taken an
active and healthy interest in the affairs of the city.
State and nation. In 1876 he tried public speaking
for the national Democratic ticket, and did some
effective work in this line in the southern tier of
counties, in company with Mr. D. Cady Herrick
and other Albanians; but with the modesty that so
becomes him, he has waited for duty to call in un-
mistakable tones before accepting the nomination
to any elective office. This honor came unsought;
it was accepted with hesitation. Many a young
man surrounded, as is Mr. Thacher, with the cir-
cumstances so well suited to his tastes, would have
declined any demand that the party might make
upon him; but the sentiment of the Democracy
was so united, so cordial, so complimentary, that
he decided to accept; upon which both he and
the party are to be congratulated.
" He will bring to the office of State Senator the
enthusiasm of youth and the method of a trained
student. The county may expect from him the
like care in relation to legislative matters that he
has bestowed upon his own successful private busi-
ness and upon the affairs of the Albany Board of
Health. This was the ffi-st City Board of Health to
organize under the new law. Mr. Thacher is
Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Board,
and he also compiled the rules and regulations.
It was characteristic of him, before doing this, to
collect from the principal cities in the Union copies
of their rules and regulations on this subject; to
con them carefully; to collate, to arrange, to adopt,
to originate; and finally to report a set of rules and
regulations, that, so far as Albany is concerned,
could not be bettered. He will bring the same
thoroughness to all public affairs intrusted to him.
In him the New Capitol will find a firm friend, and
an advocate of pushing the work to speedy and
economical completion. In all the reforms insti-
tuted by Governor Cleveland, the Senator from the
Seventeenth will be active and earnest. By instinct
and by education, Mr. Thacher is Liberal in senti-
ment and Democratic in principle. On all the
great questions of the day it is safe to assume that
he will be found voting and acting with his party,
and for the best interests of the district and of the
State. He is a man of ideas; he knows how to pre-
sent them. He will be a valuable man in commit-
tee, and on the floor of the Senate he can say all
that is necessary, and in a manner convincing and
effective. His reputation is without a stain. He
is not only a man who cannot be bought, but he
is a man whom no lobbyist would ever think of at-
tempting to buy. He will represent Albany County
thoroughly and well. Let us make his majority as
large as possible. "
Senator Thacher, as the resident Senator, took
charge of the appropriation bill for carrying on
work upon the New Capitol, and, after great oppo-
sition, successfully carried through a bill appropri-
ating f 1,000,000 for this purpose for the year 1884.
He took pronounced grounds against the prison
contract system, and made the first speech against
it in the Senate February 6, 1884; a speech which
appeared in full in the Albany Argus of February
7th, and was widely and favorably commented
upon by true friends of the American workingman
of all shades of political belief. He was instru-
mental in also passing a bill in the Senate appro-
priating money for clothing the National Guard of
the State of New York. The bill had passed in
the Assembly, but a majority of the Senators were
opposed to it. Senator Thacher ably demonstrated
the necessity of properly uniforming the only mili-
tary organization upon which the citizens were
dependent, and succeeded in inducing a sufficient
number of Senators of both parties to vote for the
bill, so that, during the last hours of the session, it
was passed and became a law. Every measure
which he thought likely to better the condition of
the laboring man was ardently advocated by him.
Perhaps the measure which he most persistently
urged was an item in the appropriation bill to con-
tinue the State Trigonometrical Survey. This he
contended for with vehemence, but after he had
carried it through the Senate the item was stricken
out by the Governor. This measure is of such a
character as to attract the support of every intelli-
gent citizen. It was because of the slow manner
in which the work was carried on, it being restricted
to a merely Trigonometrical Survey, and only $15,-
000 yearly being appropriated to it, that the Gov-
ernor vetoed it, and not because he did not
recognize, as Senator Thacher had done, the
importance of the measure. Senator Thacher
proposes to introduce a bill providing for supple-
menting the survey with one of a topographical
and hydrographical character. The great State of
New York is to-day absolutely without an even
approximately correct map of its surface, an al-
most shameful deficiency which Senator Thacher
is determined to do all within his power to
remedy.
Senator Thacher was married to Miss Emma
Treadwell, daughter of George C. Treadweli, Esq.,
of Albany, September 11, 1872. He devotes much
of his time to literature and collecting rare and
forgotten books, especially those produced in the
infancy of printing, of which sort he has one of
the largest libraries known. His library of Biblio-
graphical works, his examples of Americana, and
his collection of autographs are notable.
ICE BOXES.— SAW SETS.
Charles and John Croissant, sons of M. Crois-
sant, under the firm name of Croissant & Brother,
began in 1884 the manufacture of Keller's Patent
Saw Set and Maas' Ice Box, at 204 Washington
avenue. They also make Maas' Ice Box Lever
and Pull.
y/^(u>X.(^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
581
WIRE GOODS.
A. Van Allen, Jr., 24 Beaver street, began man-
ufacturing Wire Cloth and Wire Goods in this city
in 1875, his concern being known as the Albany
Steam Wife Works. His building is three stories,
brick, 20 by 45 feet. About fifteen men are em-
ployed. Bank, office, and counter-railings, win-
dow screens, netting, arches, trellis frames, loco-
motive spark cloth, florists' designs, bird cages,
and such like, are made.
IRON BRACKETS, SHOE-HOLDERS, HEEL
STIFFENERS.
Nelson Lyon, in 1872, began the manufacture of
heel stiffeners, show brackets, and shoe-holders.
The business has grown from one ton yearly to
over thirty tons, and they are sold in nearly all
countries.
The factory is five stories, brick, 35 by 80 feet.
Forty workmen are employed, beside trading
agents. George Lyons became a member in 1875.
HARNESS AND SADDLERY GOODS,
TRUNKS, AND COACH FURNISHINGS.
The business house now managed by Lyman J.
Lloyd in the manufacture and sale of harness,
saddles and trunks, dates back to 1801. Mr.
Lloyd has continued the business since 1832, and
ranks among the first in extent, variety, and excel-
lence of articles in his line. He is widely and
favorably known, and takes an honest pride in the
long and honorable record of his house in this
city. The building occupied is situated at 340 and
342 Broadway, is four stories, 32 by 75 feet in ex-
tent, and employs, besides salesmen, fifteen skilled
w^orkmen.
The business house of Woodward & Hill, dealers
in carriage and saddlery hardware, was founded by
Nathaniel Wright in 181 9, on South Market street,
now Broadway, a few doors north of the present
location. Subsequently he moved to more preten-
tious quarters at 414 Broadway, corner of Beaver
street; and in 1850, after the destruction of the
Eagle Tavern by the great fire of 1848, to 324
Broadway, corner of Hamilton street. Mr. Wright
was born in Wethersfield, Conn., and died in St.
Peter's, Minn. February, 1854, the firm of Na-
thaniel Wright & Co., consisting of Nathaniel
Wright, John Woodward, Jr., and William Wash-
ington Hill, was formed, continuing without change
until the death of Mr. Wright, January, i860,
when the surviving partners, under the firm name
of Woodward & Hill, continued the business,
which has remained without further change to the
present time. Their-building is of brick, 30 by 120
feet, five stories and basement, erected by Edward
C. Dele van.
W. W. Hill was born September 19, 1833, in
Pittsfield, Mass. When three months old the
family moved to Albany ; thence to Hudson ; back
to Albany; thence to Lynn, where he had several I
terms of schooling at the Lynn Union Academy; and
he returned with the family to Albany, entered the
employ of Nathaniel Wright and became a member
of the firm at the age of twenty. He is a student
of nature as well as a business man, and has made
extensive collections in entomology.
John Woodward entered the service of the late
Nathaniel Wright when about fifteen years of age,
and after several years accepted an offer of a posi-
tion from the late Roswell Steele in the same line
of business. About seven years after he re-entered
that of Mr. Wright, who in 1854 took him and
Mr. Hill in as partners.
The coach and saddlery hardware now at 420
Broadway, was established fifteen years ago by
Roswell Steele, and conducted by him until his
death, in 1864 ; succeeded by Taylor, Wendell &
Co. Mr. Wendell retired in 1866, the firm then
becoming Taylor, Hamlin & Co. Upon the death
of Mr. Hamlin in 1872, the present firm name was
adopted. They import and manufacture all kinds
of coach and saddlery hardware and trimmings,
and are manufacturers of carriage woodwork. The
latter branch is in New Albanj', Ind. , where they
employ one hundred workmen. The premises
here consist of a five-story brick building, 26 by
75 feet. The firm consists of Elvin Taylor and
his two sons, Joseph E. and Benjamin K. Taylor.
Six clerks are employed in the store, and two
representatives on the road.
DREDGES.
The Osgood Dredge Company has an office in
this city at 37 State street. This Company makes
the celebrated Osgood Boom Dredges, extensively
used by the United States, Mexican and Chinese
Governments, Panama Canal Company, New York
State Canals, New York City Docks, Montreal
Harbors, and the principal railroad and canal con-
tractors throughout the country. It controls a
number of American and foreign patents. This
Company has been in existence over thirty years.
Its machines are unsurpassed. Ralph R. Osgood,
President; James McNaughten, Vice-President;
and John K. Howe, Secretary and Treasurer.
Dredges are also made by the Townsend Furnace
and Machine Shop.
EMERY WHEELS.
The Albany Emery Wheel Company was incor-
porated in 1 88 1, with a capital of $30,000. The
buildings, on the corner of Hudson avenue and
Dove street, are of brick, two-stories high, and 50
by 100 feet in dimensions.
Solid emery and corundum wheels are made,
also emery grinding machinery. A specialty is
made of furnishing emery and corundum wheels
from special designs.
The officers are W. B. Melick, President ; E.
Wackerhagen, Vice-President ; M. Wackerhagen,
Secretary and Treasurer; and James R. Melick,
Superintendent.
582
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
TIN-PLATE GOODS AND JAPANNED WARE.
In 1847, John Hoy, Jr., and E. D. Goodrich
commenced business at No. 15 Green street as
dealers in and manufacturers of tin-plate goods
and stamped and japanned ware. After the first
year Mr. Goodrich withdrew his interest, and
three years afterwards Mr. Hoy moved to No. 1 8
Green street, where he remained for twenty years,
and eleven years ago took possession of his present
quarters. No. 27 Green street. In May, J 850,
Henry L. Wilson was taken into partnership. In
1853 Mr. Wilson withdrew from the firm, from
which time, till 1873, ■'^^r. Hoy conducted the
business alone. At the latter date Thomas B.
Kenney became a partner, and the firm as thus
constituted remains. A business of $150,000 to
$200, oco is done yearly, this trade extending to
every part of the United States and Canada.
SILVER WARE.
The silver-ware manufactory of S. D. Brewer &
Son is one of the oldest of its kind in the country.
The enterprise was established in 181 5. In 1868
the present firm was organized, and consists of S.
D. Brower and his son, Walter S. Brower. Their
factory is located on Plain street, where employ-
ment is furnished to from twelve to twenty men.
The products include a general line of silver ware.
The firm of R. Strickland & Co. is also engaged
in this line of business at 516 and 518 Broadway.
NICKEL WORKS.
The Capital City Nickel Works, 29 Herkimer
street, was founded in 1880 by John P. Moore, the
present manager. The premises occupied consist
of a two-story brick-building, 40 by 50 feet. All
kinds of nickel-plate work is done, a specialty be-
ing the plating of stove ornaments, knobs, hinges,
etc., etc. ; polishing, grinding and finishing all work
of this class. Twenty operatives are employed.
BRIDGES.
The Hilton Bridge Construction Company, build-
ing wrought-iron and railway bridges, was organ-
ized in 1880. The plant of the Company covers
two acres, and consists of five buildings in which
are 100 workmen, and 35 are employed on out-
side bridge work. The main building is two-stories
high, and 120 by 44 feet. The machine shop is
130 by 82 feet, one-story high, and the engine-
house is 30 by 30 feet.
This Company built a number of bridges for the
West Shore Railroad, the Boston and Albany, the
New York Central, the Delaware and Hudson Canal
Company, the Boston and Hoosac Tunnel Route,
and for the Canada Pacific Railroad.
The officers are E. Sweet, Jr., President; A. P.
Palmer, Secretary and Treasurer; and Charles Hil-
ton, Manager. Mr. Hilton had charge of the
construction of the Boston and Albany Railroad
Bridge across the Connecticut River at Springfield,
Mass., and the Vincent Place Viaduct at Rochester,
N. Y. Mr. Hilton's death, which occurred last
year, was much regretted by all who knew him.
BRICK MANUFACTURERS.
Among the very earliest industries of Albany was
that of brick-making. The natural clay in this
vicinity was particularly adapted to this business,
and was utilized for this purpose as early as 1656-
57, when Johan De Hulter, who came from Am-
sterdam, Holland, in 1653, w*s engaged in brick-
making. He was, without doubt, the first person
to conduct this kind of business in this part of the
New World. In 1657, his kiln was sold by his wife
to Adrian Jansen llpendam. In 1662, Abraham
Staets and Pieter Jacobsen each had a kiln at Al-
bany. The Corporation of Albany in 1732, grant-
ed to Lambert Radley and Jonathan Broecks, one
acre of ground on Gallows Hill for the term of
twenty years, for twenty shillings yearly, they to
use the clay to make bricks. Near this site was
the kiln of Luykas Hoghkerks. In 1736, Abra-
ham Harpelse Van Deusen and Hendrick Gerritse
Van Ness had a kiln on the north side of Foxen
Creek. Wynant Vandenburgh made bricks near
them.
It is often remarked that the earliest brick struc-
tures in this city were built of brick brought over
from Holland. We think this is true of only a
very few of them. The early Holland settlers un-
derstood the art of brick-making and found the
material for it in plenty. No doubt they supplied
the usual demand by home manufacture. Brick-
yards, small and large, were very numerous in the
clay beds near the creeks from earliest times.
In the first quarter of the present century, brick-
making had grown to be an important industry in
Albany. The average yield for many years after
1832 amounted to 16,000,000. In 1840 one
hundred and thirty- three persons were engaged in
brick-making here, representing a business in
which $190,000 was invested. There are now ten
brick-yards in Albany, which produce annually
30,000,000 to 40,000,000 bricks, most of which
are used in the city and vicinity. One hundred and
fifty men are employed in this industry.
In 1708, John Bryant commenced the manufac-
ture of bricks in Albany, which he sold by the
pound. Bryant's business grew to be quite exten-
sive, and at one time he was considered the largest
manufacturer in the State, and employed over one
hundred men. His bricks sold for $10 and $12
per thousand. He continued the bufflness for
thirty-five years, when he sold his yard to Angus
McDufiie, who conducted the business very exten-
sively for a number of years. He employed two
hundred men, and succeeded in realizing a large
fortune from his business. In the latter years of
his life he entered public life, and held a number
of elective and appointive positions. At one time
was Sheriff of Albany County, and was for many
years Superintendent of Sing Sing Prison. He died
November 3, 1845, highly esteemed as a citizen
and public servant.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
583
William Moore. — For many years the name of
Moore has been one well known in Albany in con-
nection with the manufacture of bricks. The first
of the name connected with this interest of whom
we have any record, was William Moore, father of
James C. Moore, the present prominent brick
manufacturer. Mr. Moore was born in County
Down, Ireland, in 1795. He came to this coun-
try in 1822, and located in Albany soon after his
arrival. For a time he was successfully engaged
in carting, his business increasing gradually until
it demanded the use of several wagons and teams.
In 1844 he embarked in a small way in the
manufacture of bricks at the head of Fourth
avenue. His business rapidly assumed large pro-
portions, and, after a time, in order to enlarge his
facilities, he was compelled to remove his yard to
the comer of Morton and Hawk streets. Mr.
Moore retired in i860, and was succeeded by his
son, James C. Moore, who was so successful, that,
about 1865, he found it expedient to establish a
second yard south of Third avenue. Mr. Moore
undoubtedly manufactures more bricks than any
other manufacturer in Alban}'. He makes both
common and pressed brick; brings into requisition
the latest and most costly facilities; and gives
employment to not less than fifty workmen.
William Moore married Jane Campbell in Ire-
land before he sought a home in America. She
bore him seven children, of whom only two are
living. These are James C. Moore, who has been
referred to above, and Robert H. Moore, of the
firm of Moore & Zimmerman, lumber dealers.
The former was born in 1831, and in 1875 was
married to Anna Babcock, who has borne him
one child. Mrs. William Moore died in 1869,
her husband in 1876. Mr. Moore was a Whig,
and later a Republican in politics. He was a
member of the First Presbyterian Church of
Albany. James C. Moore is identified with the
Third Reformed Church, upon the services of
which he and his family are regular attendants.
Politically he is inclined to be independent,
holding principles above party, and advocating the
choice of honest men for positions of public trust.
George Stanwix commenced brick -making at the
corner of Warren and Elizabeth streets in 1799.
He died in 1836. His son George succeeded to
the business in 1825. He died in 1880. His son,
Thomas C, assumed the business about i860. He
died in 1885. The yard was moved to its present
location on Morton street in 1851. The business
is still conducted by his heirs, who employ about
fifteen men and manufacture about 1,500,000
bricks annually.
John Artcher, at the age of eighty-five, is one
of the oldest brick-makers of Albany. He was for-
584
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
merly a stage-driver between Albany and Buffalo.
He was engaged in the latter business as early as
1818. For a number of years he was an extensive
manufacturer of bricks.
William Moore, Edward Fisher, George Briant
Basset, and Ebenezer Wright were among the early
brick manufacturers of Albany, none of whom are
now in business.
Capt. M. V. B. Wagoner, manufacturer of brick
and slip clay for glazing of pottery, now conducts
the business which was established by his father,
near the present location, in 1845. The works
are bounded by Lark, Canal, Orange and Knox
streetSj and a portion of the blocks west of Knox
street. The present owner has been identified
with the business since it was established, with the
exception of about five years, when he and three of
his brothers were engaged in the late civil war.
James Smith began the manufacture of bricks in
Albany in 1870. In 1877 Mr. Roberts became a
partner in the business, and continued as such
until 1882, when he retired, since which Mr.
Smith has conducted the business alone. His
yard is located on Morton street, corner of Eagle.
1,800,000 bricks are manufactured yearly, employ-
ing the labor of twenty men.
James C. Moore carries on the manufacture of
bricks at the corner of Morton and Hawk streets,
as the successor of his father, William Moore. He
manufactures pressed front, paving, and all kinds
of common bricks.
The firm of Newton & Co., composed of
Horace B., John M. and Walter M. Newton,
manufacture, very extensively, fire-bricks of every
variety and shape for stoves, ranges and heater
linings. They are the sole manufacturers of iron-
stone for hard or soft coal stoves. This firm has
been engaged in this business for many years,
requiring the labor of a large force of men, and
constituting one of the leading industries of the
city. They succeeded their father, John M. Newton,
the founder of the business, and in honor of whom
the village of Newtonville was named. The fac-
tory is located on the corner of Rathbone and
North Ferry Streets.
The following are either manufacturers or are
prominent in connection with brick-making in-
dustry : Alfred Hunter, Thomas McCarthy, Robert
Marcelis and Joshua Babcock.
Patrick H. McCall established a brick-yard in
Albany in 1845, and furnished the bricks for the
Albany Penitentiary, then in course of construc-
tion. He was succeeded by the present proprietor,
Edward Fisher.
JOHN ARTCHER.
Some time before the Revolution, William Art-
cher came from the North of Ireland, and pur-
chased and located on a tract of land which
embraced the present site of Johnstown, N. Y.
His wife was a woman named Joyce. The years
succeeding his settlement were full of trouble,
hardship and adventure, and after the outbreak of
the war they were fraught with deadly peril. Leav-
ing his wife and his two sons, George and John,
and his daughter at home, Mr. Artcher one day set
out for Albany, driving some cattle to market. On
the way he was attacked and killed by the Indians.
About the same time the savages made a descent
upon the pioneer's family at the site of Johnstown.
The house was burned. Mrs. Artcher and her son
John and her daughter made their escape to Albany,
and George was made a captive by the Indians,
who set out with him and other prisoners to Can-
ada. At night the lad was confined with another
boy in the wigwam. By some means he made his
escape. What became of his companion he never
learned. He returned home to find his house in
ruins and supposed his mother and his brother and
sister had been massacred. He made his way to
Albany and was overjoyed to find all of the mem-
bers of his family, except his father, alive and well.
They made their home in Albany from that time,
their possessions at Johnstown having been lost
through the fortunes 'of war, the death of their hus-
band and father, and their inability to prove a title
to the land. Mrs. Artcher taught school for many
years and brought up her little family. She was
long remembered by many prominent men in Al-
bany who were once her pupils.
John Artcher, son of William, was the proprietor
of a saw-pit in Albany, where he was well known
until his death. William Artcher's daughter married
Hill Wood, lived near Albany for a time, and finally
removed to Ohio. George Artcher married Mary,
daughter of Michael Bruce, of Guilderland. They
had seven children, named William, James, George,
Michael, Jane, John (the subject of this notice),
and Edward. William lived and died in Albany;
James became a farmer and removed to a point
between Herkimer and Utica, where he owned a
farm ; George was known as a tavern-keeper on
the Schenectady Turnpike; Michael became Sheriff
of Albany County ; Jane became the wife of Dr.
Jacob Miller, once prominent in Albany County;
Edward became a merchant, and died in Albany.
John Artcher was bom July 4, 1802, in a house
which stood at the corner of Eagle and Pine streets,
on the site of the State Hall. He received a plain,
useful education in private schools, and, when but
a boy, began to drive a team. While yet quite
young, he made a memorable trip to Plattsburgh,
N. Y., to carry two officers who were conveying
medicines and other necessaries to the United States
soldiers in that vicinity — for the War of 1 8 1 2 was
then begun. A companion of young Artcher at
that time was William Lloyd, who afterwards, at
Alban}', fought and defeated Reynolds, the cham-
pion pugilist of England. Mr. Artcher's reminis-
cences of this encounter are most interesting, and
deserve a permanent place in the records of the
prize ring, though the fight was forced upon Lloyd
and was waged with no hope of pecuniary gain on
either side. For eleven years John Artcher drove a
team over the old route between Albany and Buf-
falo, and at times elsewhere, as occasion required.
During that time he carried safely thousands and
thousands of dollars in money, and millions of dol-
lars' worth of merchandise. He refers to one six-
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
585
horse wagon load of silks as having been especially
valuable. It was a labor requiring the highest skill
as a horseman, united with the greatest personal
courage, the most stable perseverance and the strict-
est and most unyielding integrity, qualities com-
bined in young Artcher to a remarkable degree.
For two years afterwards he was engaged in cart-
ing in Albany, a business which he relinquished to
establish a brick yard on Chestnut street, south of
StAte. Eleven years later he removed his business
to Jay street, and from there to Hudson street (now
Hudson avenue), occupying the two sites eleven
)ears more. Thence he removed to Western ave-
nue where he continued business eleven years, at
the expiration of which he abandoned brick-mak-
ing, in which it will be seen he had employed him-
self and his capital for a period of thirty-three years.
Establishing himself as a brewer on Western ave-
nue, he continued successfully in that business for
a few years until his brewery was burned. He then
(1865) removed to his present residence on Madi-
son avenue and engaged in the coal trade, in which
he continued eight years, finally retiring from active
life altogether.
In 1826, Mr. Artcher married Phebe Brice, of
New Scotland, who died two years afterward. In
1829 he was again married; this time to Susan
Turner, of Albany, who died about five years ago.
Five of his children grew to manhood and woman-
hood, and married and had children. One of
them, a daughter, is dead. Mr. Artcher was early a
Whig, and later a Republican. Though taking an
intelligent interest in public affairs, he has kept out
of political life, resolutely refusing every office ten-
dered him. Though not a member of any religious
body, he has always been a liberal supporter of the
Gospel, and is an attendant upon the services of
Rev. Dr. Holmes, of the Presbyterian Church.
THOMAS McCarthy.
Hon. Thomas McCarthy was born near Newry,
County Down, Ireland, February 14, 1833, a son
of John and Elizabeth (McSorley) McCarthy.
He was educated in private schools, and in 1852
came to America and located in Albany, where he
found employment upon Fuller's old express line
between Albany and Troy. A year later Mr. Mc-
Carthy succeeded Mr. Fuller, and conducted a
successful business for about three years, when he
relinquished it to engage in trucking, which at
that time seemed to offer superior inducements.
In 1858 he embarked in the manufacture of bricks
on Morton street, buying the old yard of John Mc-
Evoy. In 1872 he removed to his present location
on First Avenue, near South Pearl street, where he
has done a large and constantly increasing business.
Mr. McCarthy was married in 1866 to Miss Ellen
White, of Albany, who has borne him eight children,
six of whom are living. He is known as a wide-
awake, enterprising, business man, with the interests
of Albany, and the country at large, at heart; and his
influence intheconduct of local and general politi-
cal affairs is recognized and appreciated. His sym-
pathies are with the great objects sought to be
gained by the Democratic party, and every measure
calculated to purify and elevate politics receives his
unqualified support. In 1861 he was elected
Alderman from the Second Ward of Albany, and
his re-election in 1863 followed. In the fall of
the latter year he was chosen to represent the Third
Assembly District of Albany County in the Legis-
lature, and served with much honor to himself and
greatly to the satisfaction of his constituents. Since
then, though always active in public affairs, and
using his influence to further the interests of the
party of which he is a member, he has chosen to
devote his undivided attention to his business
rather than to accept any public trust. His iden-
tification with various leading enterprises is well
known, but it is deemed sufficient in this connec-
tion to advert to the fact that he was the first
Superintendent of the Albany Railway. A man of
persevering energy, thrift and exceptional business
capacity, he has made his way steadily from an
humble beginning to a position which renders him
conspicuous among the leading business men of
the city, alive to every interest of the people at
large, himself a large employer of labor, and a true
friend of the laboring man everywhere.
DRAIN TILE.
The earliest manufacturer of drain tiles in Al-
bany of whom we have authentic knowledge, was
the father of George and John H. Jackson. The
latter still carry on this business on Third avenue,
above Sloan street, and are the only persons en-
gaged in this industry in Albany.
MARBLE AND MONUMENTAL WORKS.
The oldest house in Albany that manufactures
marble and granite monumental work is that of
William Manson. This was founded in 1826 by
John Dixon, who controlled the business until
1855, when Mr. Manson entered the fiim. Mr.
Dixon died in i860, when Mr. Manson became
sole proprietor.
The salerooms are on the corner of Lodge and
Howard streets. About twenty-five workmen are
employed. His biography in this work will give
interesting facts in regard to the work and character
of Mr Manson.
James Gazeley established his marble works in
Albany in 1861. His steam granite works are
now near the Rural Cemetery. He is the inventor
and sole proprietor of the machine for cutting
cylindrical forms from stone, and his work is seen
among the best monuments in the cemetery.
John McClelland and Simon Graef, under the
firm name of McClelland & Graef, conduct marble
works at 133 Madison Avenue.
Edward Hanlon began the manufacture of
marble and monumental work in this city in 1851,
at the corner of State and Swan streets. Twenty-
five years later he removed to 154 Madison Avenue,
where his premises cover an area of -^t^ by 100
feet, upon which suitable buildings are now lo-
cated. Curbing posts and mantels are also made.
Fifteen workmen are employed.
586
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
zA^a^'i/i/i.^>'^
Andrew McMurray and Charles Brooksby, under
the firm name of McMurray & Brooksby, are ex-
tensively engaged in cutting stone. They manufac-
ture every variety of Italian and American marble,
Ohio and Connecticut freestone monuments, and
also in form suitable for building purposes. Their
yard is located on the corner of Green and
Westerlo Streets.
WILLIAM MANSON
was born in Glasgow, Scotland, March 28, 1827,
a son of Donald and Ann (Weir) Manson. His
father was a marble worker. While William was
yet an infant, the family removed to Edinburgh,
where he was reared, receiving his education in the
parish schools, and served a five years' apprentice-
ship to his trade with Mr. David Ness, a marble-
worker of that city. In 1847, at the age of twenty,
he married Miss Margaret Williamson, a native of
Stirling, and they came to America immediately
afterward. Arrived at New York, Mr. Manson
found employment during the succeeeding two
years with Joseph Oatwell, a Scotch marble-
worker, who was doing business there. Later he
removed to Albany, to become a partner of Mr.
John Dixon's in the proprietorship and manage-
ment of the oldest and most important marble
works in the city, and of which he became sole
proprietor upon the death of Mr. Dixon in 1 860.
This business was established by Mr. Dixon in
1826, at the same place where Mr. Manson is now
carrying on business, at the corner of Lodge and
Howard streets. Mr. Manson is regarded as an
artist in his profession, and some of the finest work
in the cemeteries throughout the country has em-
anated from his establishment. As an instance,
special reference may be made to the monument
erected in Rural Cemetery in memory of the late
Colonel Mills, which is a magnificent piece of
work, and the recently completed monument for
the estate of William Appleton, which was erected
at a cost of $9,000, of solid granite; its cap-stone,
weighing over twenty tons, being one of the largest
pieces of granite ever used for a monument in
this country. The superiority of the products of
this estabhshment has led to a wide and growing
trade, which extends throughout all parts of the
country, and is annually increasing. In the show-
rooms of Mr. Hanson's establishment are to be
found beautiful specimens of monuments, head-
stones, statuary and memorials, all of designs em-
bodying artistic taste and conception to a high de-
gree. Besides monumental work, a leading feature
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
587
of his business is the manufacture of marble-work
for interior decorations, such as mantels, tile-floor-
ing, wainscoting, etc. The elaborately sculptured
mantels in the Assembly Chamber and Court of
Appeals in the New Capitol, and the beautiful wains-
coting, made from a variety of American and im-
ported marbles, in the corridor leading to the
Court of Appeals, were all made at his works.
The premises occupied for show-rooms at the
workshop are ample for any demands that may
be made upon them. In the workshop about
twenty-five skilled workmen are employed, who
have at their command all the latest improved
machinery and tools known to the trade, power
being furnished by a twenty-horse power engine,
Another shop is occupied near the cemetery.
Mr. Manson is himself a practical marble-worker,
familiar with all of the details of his business, to the
supervision of which he brings much knowledge
and long experience. He is in the prime of life,
a thorough artist and able business man. His
success is the natural consequence of the manifes-
tation of ability, intelligence and integrity, while
the genuine courtesy which he extends to all is an-
other factor of his prosperity. One of the most
gratifying evidences of the spread of correct
artistic tastes among all classes of society is the
great attention that is now paid to the production
of beautiful designs in stone, slate, marble, and
granite. The American productions in this line are
not equaled by those of any other country, our
natural excellence in this branch becoming more
and more marked with each passing year. It is
the aim of Mr. Manson to furnish strictly first-class
work at reasonable prices, so that the public taste
may be both gratified and educated ; and with this
end in view he is prepared with all facilities and
modern conveniences sufficient to turn out anything
that may be desired in the way of marble or granite
work. He has an advantage over most competitors
in that he quarries all the marble he uses in West
Rutland, Vt.
Upon coming to the United States, Mr. Manson
sought, by association and by gaining a knowledge
of American history and American public affairs, to
identify himself thoroughly with the institutions of
his adopted country; but he never sought to throw
off" a certain allegiance to his native land. No
Scotchman ever does. The Scottish societies in
Albany have found in Mr. Manson, since his resi-
dence in this city, an earnest and liberal member
and supporter. He was formerly President of St.
Andrew's Society, and was for several years chief
of the Caledonian Club. With an innate Scottish
love of liberty he was not long in allying himself
with the Republican party, at a period when it was
entering upon the great work it has done; and,
though not in any common sense a politician, he
has taken a citizen's intelligent interest in public
affairs and in the municipal aff'airs of Albany. In
1876-77, he represented the Sixth Ward in the Board
of Aldermen, and he is now President of the Citi-
zens' Association. For seven years he was a mem-
ber of the Scotch company of light infantry which
composed a portion of the twenty-fifth regiment.
and during four years of that period he was the
company's first lieutenant. Raised in the Presby-
terian faith, he was for years identified with that
Church ; but latterly he has been united with the
Dutch Reformed Church. Mr. Manson became a
widower in 1866, and in 1868 was a second time
married to Miss Eleanor L. Dixon, daughter of
Mr. John Dixon. By this marriage he has three
children.
POTTERY.
The pottery of S. Pepson was established by Mr.
Orcutt on Plamilton street in 1861. Mr. Pepson
purchased it, and in 1869 built his present store
and ware-room at 222 Hudson avenue. His pot-
tery manufactory is now located at Fort Edward.
The Messrs. Ammenheusers make vases and other
fancy pottery for ornamentation, as well as plain
pottery, on Hawk and Osborn streets.
BUILDINGS AND BUILDERS.
The public and private buildings of Albany re-
flect the skill and proficiency of the artisans,^^ who,
in many notable instances, not only did the me-
chanical work upon them, but also planned them,
acting in the dual capacity of architect and builder.
The biographical sketches of many of the foremost
builders in this city, which appear elsewhere in this
volume, will give the reader a fair idea of the gen-
eral character and mechanical skill of these men.
Among those at present actively engaged as build-
ing contractors, either as carpenters or masons, are
the following : C. De Tiere, James W. Eaton, W.
H. Gick, William Sayles, Morton H. Havens, Cal-
vin Holmes, Gibson Oliver, R; K. Oliver, John
McCabe, Thomas Reilly, Thomas Stephens, Alex-
ander Simpson, James A. Shattuck, J. Austin Van
Patten, Richard Wickham, John H. & Edmund
A. Walsh, W. E. Washburn, Patrick McCann, C.
Van Wormer & Sons, Robert Bryce, Alfred Guy,
William Kelly, John Skillicorn, Philip H. Smith,
Richard Hunter, and Eugene S. Saxton.
William Freeman, of 118 Chestnut street, has
been a mason and builder in this city since 1871.
John McCabe, mason, contractor and builder,
Hawk street, south of Elm, began business in
1866. He built the German Catholic Church,
corner of Central avenue and Robin street, in 1868;
raised Calvary Baptist Church, North Pearl street,
and constructed Perry Building in 1870 ; School 21
in 1875 ; Tabernacle Baptist Church in 1876 ; and
other buildings in and out of Albany.
J. Austin Van Patten, contractor and builder,
and carpenter. Central avenue, began business
March i, 1877. Mr. Van Patten is of Holland
descent, and his ancestors were granted a coat of
arms when they emigrated to this country. His
residence is at 352 Hamilton street.
In connection with the buildings of Albany the
following table is interesting. It was made out by
Clerk Boyle, of the Board of Assessors, and shows
the number of the buildings in the city, frame and
brick, and also the number of manufactories. The
table is prepared from the data at hand before the
588
HISTORY OF THE COVNTT OF ALBANr.
^/^^p--^i^^ ^y/^ ^ ci^f^
last assessment began in April, 1885. It is prob-
able, therefore, that the number of buildings in the
city is larger than appears below. There has been
no important change, however, in the aggregate of
manufactories.
The total number of manufactories in the city is
III, as will appear by the following table :
Wards.
Brick
Buildings.
Frame
Buildings.
Manufactories.
1st
142
613
3
2d.
285
359
2
3d.
29S
269
12
4th.
63s
152
16
5th.
470
223
2
6th.
911
89
13
7th.
501
69
5
8th.
211
342
7
9th.
231
434
21
10th.
180
900
6
nth.
347
618
1 2th.
327
431
4
13th.
425
274
9
14th.
828
62
5
15th.
531
365
3
i6th.
523
576
3
17th.
188
80s
6,581
buildings, . .
6,833
Total
III
13,525
The Tenth Ward has the largest number of
buildings, 1,080, of which 900 are frame. The
Fourteenth Ward has the least number of frame
houses, 62; and the Sixth the greatest number of
brick, 911.
The Ninth Ward leads in manufactories, having
21; and two wards, the Eleventh and the Seven-
teenth, have none.
The Tenth Ward, which has the largest number
of dwellings, has also the largest population. By
the last census there were in the Ward 8,345
people, an average of about eight lo a house. The
average for the city is about seven. In the Four-
teenth Ward the average is only five.
JOHN N. PARKER,
who died November 11, 1885, was for many years
a contractor and builder in Albany. He was born
in Deal, County Kent, England, in 1821, and while
yet an infant was brought to America by his pa-
rents, who located in Utica, where his father, Will-
iam Parker, was at one time engaged in the grocery
trade. He received his education in the public
schools of Utica, and learned his trade with a well-
known carpenter of that town. In 1844 he came
to Albany, where he became very successful as a
contractor and builder, a business in which he
embarked in 1849.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
589
The Delavan House and the Geological Hall
were among the earlier of his works; the beautiful
Kenmore Hotel one of his most recent works. The
printing-house of Weed, Parsons & Co. , and many
other business houses of lesser note, all bear evi-
dence of his handiwork. In his active business
life he found relaxation by taking an interest in
politics. Originally a Whig, when the Republican
party was formed he became one of its most earnest
and devoted adherents. He was then a resident of
what was known as the old Fifth Ward. In i852,
being then Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue,
he was nominated by the Republicans of the Ward
for Supervisor. In 1865 he was chosen to repre-
sent the Ward in the Common Council and was
re-elected in 1867, 1869; and when the charter
of 1870 went into effect he was again elected as
a representative of the Seventh Ward, serving for
two years. In 1868 he was nominated for Mayor
against Charles E. Bleecker, but, notwithstanding
the vote he received demonstrated his popularit}',
he was defeated.
In all the positions of public trust which he held,
Mr. Parker acquitted himself faithfully and con-
scientiously, casting his vote for only such measures
as were beneficial to the interests of the city at
large.
He was a member of the Albany Burgesses
Corps and at one time held the office of President
of the Corps and served on its staff. He was a
member of Temple Lodge, F. A. M., and the St.
George Society, and a life member of the Utica
Citizens' Corps and the Volunteer Fire Department
of Utica. He was a life member of the Young
Men's Association. He was a member of Eagle
Engine Company No. 7, of the McQuade Associa-
tion, and the Beaverwyck Club. Mr. Parker had
been twice married. By his first wife, who was
Catharine Murphy, of Albany, whom he married
in April, 1849, ^^ ^ad two sons, John T. and
Theodore J., and a daughter, who is now Mrs.
George F. Durand, of London, Ont. There are
four grandchildren.
His second wife was Harriet, daughter of Warren
T.Williams, of Clinton, Oneida County, whom he
married June 19, 1873.
Mr. Parker was pre-eminently a self-made man.
His energy of purpose, perseverance, honorable
character, high-minded principles, strict integrity,
genial, sunny nature and kindliness to employees
were the elements of the man which attained for
him the success which crowned a busy life and
made him esteemed among men.
JAMES A. SHATTUCK.
This gentleman ranks high among Albany's fore-
most contractors and builders. He was born in
Albany, August 29, 1840. His father was James
A. Shatluck, Sr., himself a mason, who married
Miss Hannah Hutchinson. Both his parents were
natives of Vermont. He was educated in the
common schools of Alban)', and at the age of
seventeen years was apprenticed to Henry Knight,
then a well-known builder of Albany, to learn the
mason's trade, serving four years, mostly under the
instruction of his father, who was, for nineteen
years, Mr. Knight's foreman. At the lime Mr.
Shattuck attained his majority, the War of the
Rebellion had begun. He enlisted as a private in
Company B of the 91st New York Regiment,
Captain Stackhouse commanding. He was pro-
moted to be successively Second Sergeant, First
Sergeant, Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant,
having in the meantime been transferred to other
companies in the fame regiment. He served as
Assistant Provost-Marshal at Fort Henry, Bal-
timore, and as Assistant Ordnance Officer of the
Thirteenth and Nineteenth Army Corps, with head-
quarters at Brashear City, La. In 1864, his term
of service having expired, he re-enlisted, and was
with the Army of the Potomac until the war had
closed, and he was mustered out of service July 7,
1865.
Upon his return to Albany, he engaged in the
grocery trade, in which he continued about a year.
During this time he married Miss Katharine H.
Sheppard, daughter of Samuel Sheppard, Esq. , who
has borne him twelve children, — ten sons and two
daughters— of whom seven are living. In this
venture in the grocery business Mr. Shattuck was
only moderately successful, and he relinquished it
to resume work at his trade. He labored as a
journeyman a year, and in 1867 took his first
contract.
His business ability proved to be so good
that he gradually advanced to a leading place
among the contractors of the city. He has
done the mason work of hundreds of dwellings,
numerous business blocks and stores, and many
factories and public buildings in Albany and else-
where.
Among the latter class may be mentioned
Rathbone, Sard & Co.'s storehouse, the Kenmore
Hotel and additions thereto; the Albany Hospital;
additions to the Child's Hospital of St. Agnes'
School; a large addition to the Albany Orphan
Asylum; Dederick Brothers' agricultural machinery
and hay-press factories; Pruyn & Lansing's saw
works; the factories of the Bonsilate Company;
two of the Public School Buildings of Albany; and
the New State Normal School Building on Willett
street, fronting the Park.
Mr. Shattuck is a Republican, and has been a
Member of the Board of Supervisors of Albany
County, representing the Sixteenth Ward. Since
1867 he has been connected with the Burgesses'
Corps, the oldest military organization in the city,
and at present serves on the Commander's staff
with the rank of Major. He is also a member of
the Grand Army of the Republic, and of various
other organizations, secret, social and beneficent,
and as a citizen, is popular with all classes.
ROBERT K. OLIVER
was born in Albany in 1842, a son of Gibson and
Lydia (Kelsey) Oliver, and was orphaned by the
death of his mother when only two years old. His
father, a native of England, came to America at the
5&0
HISTORY Of THE COUNTY OF ALBAlSTY.
•~\
age of nine years, learned the trade of carpenter in
Albany, and has for many years been a leading con-
tractor and builder; also an extensive dealer in real
estate. He has erected hundreds of buildings in
all parts of the city, and by building on lots and
selling them upon advantageous terms has con-
tributed not a little to the growth of the city. His
son, Robert K., learned his trade vifith him and
was identified with his business most of the time
until 1871, when he established himself as a builder,
and has since conducted an increasing and success-
ful business. He has built, in different parts of
the city and elsewhere, many fine residences, those
of Colonel R. C. Pruyn, Charles E. Pruyn and
John Keeler deserving special mention.
Educated in the public schools of Albany, and
from his youth on familiar terms with many of the
leading men in the city, both in social and business
relations, Mr. Oliver has, by long association and
by participation in local aflfairs, closely identified
himself with Albany's most important public in-
terests. With other Albanians he enlisted in the
91st Regiment New York Volunteers at the out-
break of the late war, and in 1862 re-enlisted in
the 177th Regiment. He served until the expira-
tion of his second term of enlistment, participating
in the Banks campaign in Louisiana, and passing
through other scenes of danger celebrated in the
history of that great struggle. From 1863, to and
including 1884, he has been a member of the
Republican General Committee, and it may be
woithy of note that he has attended every County,
City, State and National Nominating Convention of
his party from 1864 to 1884 inclusive. In 1874 he
was elected to the Board of Aldermen, representing
the Sixth Ward, and was re-elected in 1876. In
1879, he became one of the Assessors of the City of
Albany and was reappointed in 1882.
In 1862, Mr. Oliver married Miss Sarah C. Hil-
ton, a daughter of Philip Hilton, of Albany, who
has borne him two daughters and a son. One of
these. Miss Ritie H. Oliver, is a young lady pos-
sessing unusual artistic talent, and has executed
numerous fine oil paintings and crayon portraits
that have caused her to be well known in art circles
in Albany and elsewhere.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
591
THOMAS STEPHENS.
Few of the contractors and builders of Albany
are better or more favorably known than Thomas
Stephens, who has been identified with the erection
of numerous elegant and imposing public build-
ings, business blocks and private residences, both in
the city and elsewhere. Mr. Stephens was born in
the Isle of Man, December 26, 1845, s- son of
Thomas and Jane (Christian) Stephens. He re-
ceived his education in good private schools, and
when still under fifteen years of age he began to
serve his apprenticeship at his trade, which was
finished in five years. At its expiration he re-
moved to England and worked there one year as a
journeyman. In April, 1866, he came to the
United States, the New World seeming to offer him
better opportunities for advancement than his na-
tive land, and located m Albany, where he has
since lived, with the exception of a short time spent
in the West. For fifteen months he worked at his
trade in Albany; then went to Chicago, where he
was similarly employed for a year. Returning to
Albany, he pushed his fortunes with such success,
that he was soon enabled to begin business for
himself, which he did April i, 1870, establishing
himself as a contractor and builder at 348 Madison
avenue. About a year later he removed to 1 8 and
20 Hamilton street, above Knox, a point within
the borders of the Park as now bounded. Here
he was located from 1871 to 1880, when he re-
moved to 277 Lark street, where he erected a
factory and put into it all necessary machinery and
the latest and most improved facilities for manu-
facturing all kinds of wood-work required in build-
ing the finest and most substantial structure, as
well as in manufacturing to order the most ele-
gant and expensive furniture and interior decora-
tions, employing the most skillful and experienced
wood-workers and carvers and numerous car-
penters, his pay-roll often containing the names
of from thirty to seventy employees. Attention
may be directed to a few of the many familiar
buildings in Albany, which Mr. Stephens has built
wholly or in part. Among them are Stanwix Hall,
the Lake House in the Park, Calvary Baptist
Church, and the United States Custom House and
Post Office Building. He has also done much
fine work for Hon. Erastus Corning, rebuilding
his country residence, building greenhouses and
making other improvements; and has built many
residences in Albany as well as in Rochester,
Cobleskill, Troy, Hoosac Falls and other places.
He has lately made extensive improvements and
additions to the buildings occupied by St. Agnes'
School.
592
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
RICHARD WICKHAM.
The subject of this memoir was born in Wetford,
Ireland, in May, 1833. His father and mother
both died when he was only nine years old. In
1850 he came to the United States, and apprenticed
himself to Messrs. Crab & Doig, of Rome, N. Y.,
to learn the carpenter's trade and study architect-
ure. His apprenticeship lasted four years, and
during that time eight other boys began apprentice-
ships with the same firm. It is a fact worthy of
note, as illustrating young Wickham's sterling
character, that of the whole number he was the
only one who remained during the entire time
covered by the agreement of the apprentices with
their instructors. The knowledge of architecture
which he obtained he has since found very service-
able in many of his large and complicated jobs.
Completing his apprenticeship, he came to Albany
and has since been a resident of the city. He
embarked in business as a builder in i860, and his
pushing, energetic character and great mechan-
ical ability soon placed him in the front rank of
builders, not only of Albany, but of the State of
New York, and it is stated, that for twenty years
his shop has ruled the wages paid both bosses and
journeymen in Albany. He has employed on an
average eighty men during the entire year, all the
time providing work for from sixty to one hundred
and thirty on the various jobs which he has had in
progress. An idea of the extent of his operations
may be gained from the fact that at one time, on a
single building, he employed one hundred carpen-
ters and thirty painters.
Mr. Wickham's factory and shop is the most
complete establishment of the kind in the State.
It is a large structure on Broadway, built of Croton
brick, three stories high, with a large wing, the
main building being 42 by 70 feet and the wing 15
by 38 feet in size. The engine and boiler are
located in the wing, and the entire factory is heated
by steam, there not being any fire in or about the
main building. Here Mr. Wickham manufactures
everything required on his jobs, and sells nothing
to the trade, his own large business usually keep-
ing the factory running to nearly or quite its full
capacity. Everything necessary to building or
furnishing is manufactured — from the heaviest fram-
ing to the finest cabinet work — even to gilding,
upholstering and carving.
Mr. Wickham has never sought political work,
or jobs on public buildings, preferring to work for
individuals and citizen corporations, to whom his
work itself, irrespective of political or other influ-
ence, would be his strongest recommendation. He
can produce numerous complimentary letters from
distinguished men, among them Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher, Rev. C. A. Walworth, Rev. Dr. Bridg-
man, the late George Dawson, long the editor of
the Albany Evening Journal, W. C. Little, Hon. G.
S. Batcheller, and others. Careful and painstak-
ing, and, above all, giving to all the details of
his work his own thorough personal supervision,
he has won the reputation for doing good, sub-
stantial, 'and elegant work, whether he takes a
contract at a high rate or a low one, that com-
mends him to all who regard excellence in all
departments of building; for there is no depart-
ment with which Mr. Wickham is not familiar, and
it has been remarked of him, that he is truly "a
builder — not a carpenter only. " Remarkable as it
may seem, he has at different times built a part or
the whole of most of the churches in Albany,
and several in other places, and he did the largest
single carpentering job ever done in Albany — that
of the Emmanuel Baptist Church — at a cost of
|42,ooo.
Mr. Wickham has built, wholly or in part, many
of the finest public and private houses in various
parts of New York and other States, including many
of the suburban residences about Albany, among
them those of Theophilus Roessle, J. K. Emmet,
the Watson Brothers, Thomas Olcott, Will-
iam Barnes, Andrew White, Frederick Cleveland,
J. W. Tillinghast,]C. B. TiUinghast, W. C. Litde,
Rev. Dr. Bridgman, S. Anable, G. L. Stedman, J.
Waterman, and others no less well known. He
has also built some of the most elegant private
residences in the city. Among them are those of
George S. Weaver, the late Senator Ira Harris, B. W.
Woosler, J. H. King, Rufus H. King, Ledyard Cogs-
well, W. H. McNaughton, Townsend Fondey (two
houses, one of them now owned by Hon. Daniel
Manning), and many others. He has done much
work in nearly all the cities and towns along the
Hudson River, and in many west of Albany on the
New York Central road, and elsewhere; chiefly
in Hudson, Catskill, Tivoli, Saugerties, Rhine-
beck, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, Peekskill, Tarrj-town,
Schenectady, Amsterdam, Fonda, Fort Plains, and
Herkimer. During one year he traveled over
30,000 miles in attending to his business. He
built General Batcheller's residence at Saratoga;
James Mix's at Kinderhook; General Rathbone's
at Lenox, Mass. ; Rev. Henry Ward Beecher's, at
Peekskill; C. H. Evans', at Hudson; C. H. Mc-
Cormick's (of Chicago), at Richfield Springs; G.
P. Folts, at Herkimer; and Dr. McKim's (of New
York), at Cooperstown. Several of these resi-
dences cost from $25,000 to $50,000 each. An-
other structure erected by Mr. Wickham was the
Old Man's Home in Albany; and he built the
Refectory Building and Well Shelter at Washington
Park. As an evidence of his inventive ingenuity,
it may be stated that he designed and constructed
the traveling buggy derricks which enabled the
contractors to construct the Cohoes Dam in one
year, while without their use three years would
have been consumed in doing the same work.
One of these machines received and unloaded all
of the stone used in the building of the new State
Capitol.
T)uring eight consecutive years Mr. Wickham
worked for the late Alexander T. Stewart, the great
merchant prince of New York, and Hon. Henry
Hilton, the executor of his estate, ai.d during that
time was paid by them over $300,0=0. He built
both wings of the Grand Union Hotel, at Saratoga;
built the Windsor Hotel and several buildings for
Judge Hilton in Woodlawn Park; Stewart's factory
^>^
4'^
^^'-^.C^
f]
-.i
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
593
at Glenham; and. the Park Avenue Hotel, New
York; did much work on Judge Hilton's residence
in Thirty- fourth street, New York; and the princi-
pal part of the joiner's work on the Stewart Me-
morial College, at Garden City, Long Island, and
built parts of the bishop's house, stables, and
coach-house at the same place. He built the
large office and did other work for the Winchester
Repeating Arms Company at New Haven, and
fitted up their show-room, office, and store at 312
Broadway, New York. He also fitted up the office
of the Great Western Importation Company, of
New York; built the Clarendon Hotel and the
Ornamental Band Stand and Ticket Office of Con-
gress Springs Park, Saratoga, and the Chapter
House of Williams College, which cost $30,000;
and has done several jobs for the New York Cen-
tral and Hudson River Railroad, receiving a single
payment therefor of over $9,000. As an illustra-
tion of the extent of the resources at Mr. Wickham's
command, it may be stated that, a few years ago,
he built for W. C. Coup, and delivered in Troy,
N. Y., the wood and iron-work (including all
poles, posts, seats, and other fixtures) of the largest
circus canvas ever made to that time, weighing
over eight tons, within ten days after taking the
contract. The material was much of it procured
in New York and shipped to Albany, and the
actual work was done in four days after all mate-
rial was in hand, the iron-work, weighing over two
tons, being turned out in two days, a remarkably
short space of time.
There are probably very few men in the coun-
try who can more closely and accurately estimate
the cost of any given job, large or small, than Mr.
Wickham. So well known is his ability in this
respect, that he has been frequently called upon to
assist in the settlement between the owners of
burned buildings and insurance companies in im-
portant fire losses. He settled the loss upon the
Tweddle Building when it was destroyed, and re-
built it within seven months. Estimates of the
losses sustained upon mills, factories, and private
houses have frequently been made by him, the last of
which was that upon the loss of C. H. Housman,
at Valatia, N. Y., amounting to the large sum of
$62,000.
BLINDS, SASHES, DOORS, ETC.
The La Rose Manufacturing Company, corner
Rose and Hamilton streets, A. F. La Rose, Presi-
dent and Treasurer, A. W. La Rose, Secretary,
was started in 1882 by A. F. La Rose. In 1884
it was organized as a stock company, with a capi-
tal of $50,000.
They use a 100 horse-power engine. Seventy-
five workmen are employed, and the amount of
$150,000 is their annual production.
Their specialty is carpenters' supplies.
George H. Cheney established his manufactory
of sashes, doors, blinds, etc., at 13 North Lansing
street, in 1870.
The factory is a two-story building, where about
forty men find work.
CARRIAGES, SLEIGHS AND TRUCKS.
The Albany Coach Manufactory was established
in 1 8 13 by James Goold, a native of New England.
After several years had elapsed, his nephew, W.
R. Bush, and son-in-law, J. N. Cutler, became
partners; later on, his son, John S. Goold became
a partner; the latter dying in 1873, John Chester
Goold, a grandson, became a member of the firm.
Mr. James Goold died in 1879. In 1883 the present
firm was incorporated, John Chester Goold, Presi-
dent; William D. Goold, Secretary.
From 18 1 7 to 1831, stage-coaches were the
main features of this concern. When the Albany
and Schenectady Railway was built, this firm built
its first cars. 'These cars were but little more than
stage-coaches on trucks. The firm now manufac-
ture fine carriages and sleighs. The manufactory
is bounded by Division, Union and Hamilton
streets, and sixty workmen are employed.
Carriages and sleighs are manufactured at 131
and 133 Hudson avenue, by John Kingsbury.
This business was established in 1854 by James
Kingsbury, Jeremiah Whitehead and Stephen White-
head. After a while the latter partner dropped
out, and the firm was Kingsbury & Whitehead
till 1874, when Mr. Kingsbury bought his partner's
interest and conducted the business alone till Feb-
ruary, 1876, when the present proprietor bought
the ground and buildings. He built the back
shops in 1880, and the present fine front building,
46 by 54, five-stories high, in 1884. He has made
his establishment very popular and profitable. He
manufactures buggies, two-seat carriages and lan-
dau sleighs — the latter a specialty. Their excel-
lence and style are far-famed, and are a credit to
the manufactured products of the city.
In 1832, Messrs. Selkirk & Gardinier began
manufacturing carriages and sleighs, and continued
in the business until 1865, when they were suc-
ceeded by Messrs. Shaw &. Rose. Mr. Shaw be-
came sole proprietor and remained such until 1881,
when the present firm of Shaw & Barnett became
owners. Mr. Abraham Barnett is the present
owner.
Their factory, 832 and 834 Broadway, is four-
story brick, 70 by 200 feet; and at 307 North Pearl
street, directly back of the factory, is their office,
etc. All kinds of family and pleasure carriages
and sleighs, and hose carriages and fire department
wagons are made. About forty workmen are e;n-
ployed.
Samuel H. Lloyd founded in 1842 the present
house of S. H. Lloyd & Co., manufacturers of
trucks and wagons. Mr. Lloyd continued in
charge until 1878, when the firm name now used
was adopted, and Ralph P. Lathrop assumed man-
agement of the same.
The premises at 64 to 68 Hamilton street con-
sists of a two story-brick factory 200 by 30 feet, and
a three-story brick sales-room, 70 by 130 feet.
They manufacture business wagons, heavy trucks,
etc. , and are also dealers in carriages, buggies, etc. ,
being agents for several large and well-known
manufactories.
594
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The carriage and sleigh manufactory of Henry
Van Hoesen, Nos. 122 and 124 Madison avenue,
was established by the present proprietor in 1863.
The manufacturing facilities of the house embrace
a two-story factory, 44 by 65 feet in dimensions,
where all the wood and iron-working, trimming,
upholstering, and painting pertaining to first-class
work in his line, are carried on by skilled work-
men.
SPOKES.
In 1879 E- Wendell Crosby established the Phoe-
nix Spoke Works. The factory on Bleecker, Church,
and Herkimer streets is a two-story brick building,
125 by 100 feet, where about 20 workmen are em-
ployed. Oak and hickory are used in the manu-
facture of the spokes; the wood, before making up,
being dried by a process, the invention of N. S.
McOmber, their Superintendent. Over one-half
million are made yearly. By the invention of Mr.
McOmber, cold, fresh, dry air is introduced into
the drying rooms. This absorbs the moisture, but
does not expel the resins and gums.
LEATHER AND FINDINGS.
One of the leading houses in Albany engaged
in the manufacture and sale of harness-leather, is
that of Adam Cook & Son, No. 29 Hudson ave-
nue, established in i860 by Adam Cook, and
came in the possession of the present firm, con-
sisting of the founder and his son, George C. Cook,
in 1879. This factory consists of a four-story
brick building, 35 by 105 feet in dimensions, which
is divided into the manufacturing department and
the sales-rooms. Fifteen workmen are employed.
The products of the house consist of oak, union
and hemlock harness-leather, and hemlock sole-
leather, all noted for superior quality. A large
trade is also done in harness-makers' supplies.
Mr. Cook and his son have both resided in Al-
bany for a number of years, and are thoroughly
acquainted with the leather trade.
WOOD MACHINERY.
Daniel Doncaster in 1858 began the manufactur-
ing of wood-working machinery, and the business is
at present carried on by his son, Daniel Doncaster,
at 7 and 9 Railroad avenue and 313 to 317 North
Pearl street. Twenty-five mechanics are employed.
The manufacture of planing, resawing, and mold-
ing machines are the specialties. All kinds of
wood-working machinery, shafting, pulleys, etc.,
are also made.
WOOD PACKING-BOXES.
T. F. Romeyn began the manufacturing of pack-
ing-boxes in 1865. His factory is located at 214
Hudson avenue and is a two-story building, 30 by
100 feet in dimensions. All the work is done by
machinery, the stamping even being done by a
printing-press. One million feet of lumber is an-
nually used, and about 160,000 boxes are made
yearly.
PATTERN WORKS.— BRASS, IRON, STOVE.
The Albany Pattern Works was established by
Herbert G. Avery in 1882, at 70 Church street,
where he employs six assistants.
Patterns for all kinds of brass and iron found-
ings, designs and drafts of complicated machinery
in sections or otherwise are made. A specialty is
stove patterns.
Hailes' Pattern Works, corner Broadway and
Hamilton street, was established by William Hailes,
in 1872, for the manufacture of patterns for stoves
and machinery. In this business Mr. Hailes is
justly recognized as a skillful artisan. In 1878
James Gray and Peter Kinnear became associated
with Mr. Hailes in the manufacture of their im-
proved "Brilliant" oil-stove. This they continued
for three years, when the right to manufacture was
sold to the Richmond Stove Company, Norwich,
Conn., and is now known as the "Richmond"
stove. Mr. Hailes' business is now confined to
pattern making. All the Thacher car-wheel pat-
terns are made at this establishment.
John C. Mull has been a pattern-maker for more
than forty-five years at the Ransom Stove Works.
Mr. Mull has taken active interest in the Albany
Firemen's Association for nearly half a century,
and, although sixty-four years of age, is still in
active service in the Fire Department.
COOPERAGE.
The extensive brewing interests of Albany early
led to the establishment of other industries chiefly
dependent upon them. Among the most important
was the manufacture of barrels and hogsheads for
the transportation of malt liquors. So extensive
grew this industry at Albany, that at one time most
of the coopers in the United States were located
here, and most of the ale barrels used in this country
were manufactured here. Of late years, large
manufactories have sprung up in different parts of
the country, which have materially decreased the
amount of business done. Still Albany occupies
a prominent position in regard to the extent and
quality of its cooperage work.
The oldest house engaged in this branch of
manufacture is that of M. A. Hawe, established
by Matthew Hawe in 1836, whose father began a
similar business many years previously. Mr. Hawe
conducted it until his death in 1880, since which
time it has been carried on under the management
of his son, Daniel Hawe. Two buildings are
occupied in the prosecution of this business, 63
Liberty and 58 Union street Employment is fur-
nished to about twenty skilled mechanics. The
capacity of the works is about seventy-five ale and
beer casks and one hundred and fifty barrels per
week. The biography of Matthew Hawe, the
founder of this house, printed in another part of
this volume, contains matter, personal and general,
relative to this. industry.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
595
a
/^,?M.
■etA^
John Pennie, Jr., stave dealer and cooper, com-
menced the cooperage business in Herkimer street,
in connection with his brother, J. C, in 1843, ^nd
has been carried on by them ever since. The
works are located No. 39 Arch street.
In 1849 John Le Gallez began the coopering
business in Albany. He conducted it alone until
1871, when A. Le Gallez was admitted to an in-
terest in the business. The founder died in 1873,
and in 1876 the present firm, A. & W. Le Gallez,
succeeded to the business, which is now conducted
at 51 to 61 Liberty street. Twenty mechanics are
employed. A large share of the business consists
in remodeling barrels of all kinds.
Samuel C. Harris carries on a cedar and pine-
ware cooperage business at 122 Washington avenue
as the successor of his father, who was engaged in
a similar calling many years. His work is well
known for excellence of workmanship and material.
Mr. Harris has been a useful member of the City
Government
MATTHEW HAWE
was born in Charleville, Ireland, October 18, 18 14,
and died in Albany, April 24, 1880, in his sixty-
sixth year. He came to America with his parents
in 1 8 16. and was educated in the Albany Academy.
Leaving school, he was interested in his father's
(William Hawe's) extensive cooperage business un-
til 1836, when he engaged in the same business
on his own account, manufacturing beer barrels,
half-barrels and hogsheads, a business which his
widow, under the name of M. A. Hawe, has con-
tinued since his death. Mr. Hawe made the man-
ufacture of his specialties in cooperage a stud}',
and invented improvements in ale and beer casks
which render the heads and other jointures with the
staves as strong as any other part of the barrel,
whereas, as they were previously made, the heads,
however strong with the timber they were con-
structed, were always weak at their jointure with
the staves. The advantages of barrels and other
vessels constructed with Mr. Hawe's improvements
are these :
ist. By a more obtuse angle of the bevel of the
edge of the head, the quantity of material for
resistance of all strain is increased. 2d. The
bevels of the edge of the head, supported by the
how^l, prevents all crushing in of the head.
3d. The manner in which the edge of the head is
held in the croze, and supported by the howel,
effectually prevents the wood in the head from
splitting up. 4 th. The convex form given to the
head in one direction, makes the head itself as
strong as the body of the barrel. 5th. The bev-
eled jointing surface of the several pieces forming
the head insures the perfect tightness of all the
596
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
jointures of the head, and counteracts all tendency
of the end hoops to break in the chime. 6th. The
head and its jointure, with the staves, are made as
strong as the other parts of the barrel, yth. Ample
opportunity is afforded for the removal of sediment
that may accumulate around the howel and the
beveling of the head. These improvements have
been variously and severally tested, and in every
case they have been found to meet the utmost
expectations of Mr. Hawe and brewers who have
used them.
The loss of ten per cent. , annually experienced
by brewers, from the waste of ale and cost of
repairs caused by the bursting of the heads, is
eifectually prevented by the use of barrels and
other vessels constructed with Mr. Hawe's im-
provements.
These casks became very popular with brewers,
and Mr. Hawe manufactured them under letters
patent, and shipped them in large quantities to
New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Roches-
ter, and many other manufacturing centers. But
no sooner had he succeeded in proving the superi-
ority of his barrels than unscrupulous coopers
began, in different places, to manufacture and sell
similar ones in infringement of his patent. Suits
were brought for damages and royalties, which are
still pending in the courts, and which, promising
to result favorably to the claims of Mr. Hawe, will
undoubtedly bring to his heirs at least a portion of
the legitimate reward of his ingenuity and enter-
prise.
In 1840 Mr. Hawe was married to Miss
Mary A. Griffith, of New York. They have had
fifteen children, thirteen of whom lived to be men
and women, and nine of whom survived their
father.
He was esteemed for his kindly nature, his
dignified bearing, and his unquestionable busi-
ness probity. This last mentioned characteristic
was so marked, that it was once said of him by
Thurlow Weed: "Matthew Hawe's word was
truly as good as his bond." An influential citi-
zen, he was identified with many of Albany's most
important interests, and counted among his warm
personal friends such men as Mr. Weed, John L.
Schoolcraft, William H. Seward, and others of
equal note.
The formerly well-known Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan
was his brother-in-law. For a time Mr. Hawe
was a partner in the flour business in Albany
with his brother John, carrying on his cooper-
age business at the same time. He also dealt
heavily in stoves, a branch of his business which
is now carried on by his son. He was a busi-
ness man in every sense of the word — energetic,
original, honest, shrewd and successful. He
never connected himself with secret societies, "and,
though he had pronounced convictions upon all
public questions, never mingled actively in polit-
ical life, always refusing to accept any office,
though urged to accept many. In early life he
was an old school Democrat. Later he became a
Whig, and a second change to Republicanism was
but natural. In religion he followed the faith of
his fathers, and he was a Corporate Member of the
Parish of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Con-
ception, and a Trustee of St. Agnes' Cemetery.
He was prominent and liberal in support of the
interests of the Cathedral, and his memory is pre-
served by inscription on the chime of bells belong-
ing to that institution. He was generous to his
fellow men and helpful to the poor. His life
was upright in the sight of God and man, and he
was beloved not only by those who enjoyed the
happiness of sharing with him the blessings of his
fireside, but by a large circle of friends and
acquaintances.
His last illness was of long duration, but
he bore his affliction with a Christian's fortitude.
The sorrow at his death was general among the
many who had known him. The Committee of
the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception met
at the episcopal residence, April 25, 1880, to take
action in reference to his death. There were pres-
ent Rt. Rev. Bishop McNiemey, D. D. ; Very Rev.
P. Ludden, V.G.; P. McHugh, John Connick,
Michael Delehanty; P. J. Wallace, Treasurer, and
Thomas J. Lanahan, Secretary.
The following preamble and resolutions were
unanimously adopted:
' ' Whereas, Death has again, in the brief space
of one month, removed from our midst another
member of this Committee, Mr. Matthew Hawe,
be it
' ' Resolved, That we deeply regret the decease of
Matthew Hawe, who for more than twenty-eight
years has been a member of this Board.
" That his long service in this Committee, mark-
ed as it was by a singleness of purpose, purity of
motive and courteous bearing, has endeared him
to us, and merits our highest consideration and
respect.
" That his constant and unremitting attention to
his duties, his zeal and energy in advancing the
interests of this Cathedral, is deserving of the pious
remembrance of the congregation.
"That we tender to his family our sincere sym-
pathy in their bereavement, and that the Secretary
transmit to them a copy of these resolutions. "
At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of St.
Agnes' Cemetery, held Monday, April 26, 1880,
to take action concerning the death of Mr. Mat-
thew Hawe, Mr. John Stuart offered the following
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :
" Whereas, Information of the death of our late
esteemed associate, Mr. Matthew Hawe, has been
communicated to this Board, and it is proper that,
uniting in the regret occasioned by his loss, we
should signify our appreciation of his many excel-
lent qualities ; therefore
"Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Hawe, one
of our Finance Committee, this Board loses an
active and worthy member, who always manifested
pride and zealous interest in the welfare of this
organization, and who spared no exertion to secure
its prosperity.
'.-<s-<a<;>^
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
597
' ' Resolved, That we tender our sympathy to the
family of our deceased friend ; that we attend his
funeral in a body; and that these resolutions,
signed by our President and Secretary, be pub-
lished in the daily papers of the city, and a copy
transmitted to the family of deceased.
"Francis McNeirny,
"W. D. MoRANGE, '^President
' ' Secretary. ''
The Board of Trade of the City of Albany, of
which Mr. Hawe had long been a Member, also
adopted appropriate resolutions. Such lives as
Mr. Hawe's are not without their benefit upon the
communities where they are passed. Yielding to
every man what was honestly his due; active in
business and enterprising beyond many of his
fellow townsmen; he gave employment to many
skilled laborers, and performed his part in bring-
ing Albany into notice as a ihanufacturing town.
He built industriously and with fidelity a repu-
tation which is a rich heritage to his family and a
pleasure to many who were his friends.
LASTS.
In 1828, Jared Holt began manufacturing lasts
in Albany. This probably was the first establish-
ment of the kind in this country. Mr. Holt's
business was only a small one, which he conducted
until 1857, when he formed a partnership with
George H. Graves, which partnership continued
until 1864, when Dayton Ball was added, the firm
being called Graves, Ball & Co., the members being
Messrs. Graves & Ball, and J. & C. B. Holt. Since
the death of Mr. Graves in 1882, Ball and Reb-
hun have controlled the business, under the firm
name of Dayton Ball & Co. They have two
factories, one at 3 Pruyn street, in which 25 work-
men are employed, and the other at 12 Elm street.
New York. The products of the two are about
125,000 pairs of lasts yearly. Persimmon wood
from North Carolina is mainly used by them.
BILLIARD BALLS.
The Albany Billiard Ball Company was organ-
ized in 1875, succeeding the Hyatt Manufacturing
Co., organized in 1868, which was the pioneer
manufacturing company in the world to make
composition billiard balls. The. factory, corner
Grand and Plain streets, is a three-story brick
building, 68 by 50 feet in dimensions. The bil-
liard balls are now made from bonsilate, a pro-
duct of another Albany industry, which is men-
tioned elsewhere. The colors of bonsilate balls
are permanent, and they will not burn. Pool and
bagatelle balls are also made.
The officers are : Peter Kinnear, President and
Treasurer; J. W. Hyatt, Vice-President; Louis
Dietz, Secretary; and B. P. Wayne, Superin-
tendent.
The bonsilate billiard balls are taking the place
all others for perfection of finish, durability and of
cheapness.
PETER KINNEAR.
One of the names most prominent in connection
with the manufacturing and industrial interests of
Albany, is that which heads this sketch. Peter
Kinnear was born in Dundee, Scotland, April 24,
1826.
He was educated in his native town, and
later served a six years' apprenticeship there to the
machinist's trade. As he grew to manhood, the
desire within him to seek a home in the New
World, grew stronger and more irresistible. When
scarcely more than a youth he bade farewell to kin
and friends, and set out upon a perilous journey
across the ocean. His love of his native land was
strong, but his ambilion to make a name and
place for himself among men on the far-away
shores of America was stronger still.
At the very outset he met with an accident which
nearly cost him his life, but he was not daunted
and, without repining or turning back, he pursued
his way. It was in 1847 that he came to the
United States.
He tried to obtain employment at his trade in
New York, Rochester and Toronto successively,
and finding it impossible to get such work to do
as he wished, did that which every true man must
see it his duty to do — did such work as came in
his way, which in his case was cutting timber
in a Canadian forest, during all of one winter.
Returning to the States, he again sought employ-
ment as a machinist at Buffalo, Rochester, Syra-
cuse, Utica and Albany. He was again unsuccess-
ful until he reached Albany, when he entered the
employment of William Orr, at his foundry, 64
Beaver street.
This establishment was founded by Lewis Aspin-
wall over half a century ago, and is therefore inti-
mately connected with the industrial development
of Albany. From Mr. Aspinwall its ownership
passed to Mr. Orr. Mr. Orr was succeeded by
the firm of Orr & Blair, of which he was himself
a member. In 1872 Mr. Kinnear became the
owner of Mr. Orr's share, and the firm of Blair &
Kinnear was in existence till Mr. Kinnear became
sole proprietor.
May, 1884, Mr. Kinnear purchased the lots at
the corner of Beaver and Grand streets, known as
No. 64 and 66 Beaver street. Here Mr. Kinnear
made great improvements, so marked in their
character as to entitle him to the credit of having
beautified that portion of Beaver street in which
his factory is located.
The great variety of goods embraced under the
head of brass castings, and the varied application
of this valuable composition metal to the manufac-
ture of articles of mechanical and household use,
present an interesting study. A house devoted to
the manufacture of the innumerable pieces of
brass, bronze and other soft metal castings, for the
countless purposes to which these metals are now
put, is a very important helper in promoting the
general good of any manufacturing center. In
Albany that of Mr. Kinnear is the most prominent
one of its kind. This enterprise embraces the manu-
598
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
facture of all kinds of brass, bronze, composition,
nickel, white and other soft metal castings; steam-
cocks and valves, plumber brass work, brass work
for breweries, lager beer apparatus, steam-engine
work, etc. Faithful attention is given to whatever
may be desired in this line, and great care is taken
in the selection of proper qualities of metal and in
the delicate process of casting, especially where
soundness and accuracy are required in the finished
articles.
The premises occupied for the prosecution of
this industry consist of a two-story brick building,
60 by 22 feet in dimensions, with an L of same
size used for the molding-shop, which are sup-
plied with all modern facilities, thoroughly equip-
ed with all necessary tools, appliances and furnaces,
and furnished with an engine of six-horse power.
With an experience of so many years in the busi-
ness, Mr. Kinnear may be rightly supposed to be
eminently capacitated to carry on the enterprise
with success and satisfaction to his trade. Nor
does his identification with this community stop
with his interest in this business, since he is also
President of the Albany Billiard Ball Co., President
of the Bonsilate Button Co., and a Director in both
the Bonsilate Co. (limited) and the Newark Filter-
ing Co.
With the history of the manufactory of billiard
balls in Albany, Mr. Kinnear's name is prominently
identified. The most unique industry in Albany,
and, indeed, the only one of the kind in the world,
is that of the Albany Billiard Ball Company. This
Company was organized in 1875, and is the legiti-
mate successor of the Hyatt Manufacturing Com-
pany, organized in 1868, which was the pioneer in
the attempt to make composiiion billiard balls. It
is not our purpose to go into the details of the
trials and failures of the original organization in
its experiments to produce billiard balls of py-
roxiline and later of celluloid that would take the
place of ivory. Let it suffice to say that thousands
of dollars were spent and much valuable time lost
in experimenling with little or no practical re-
sults, until the formation of the present Com-
pany, since which time, by the use of perfected
processes and machinery, the invention of J. W.
Hyatt, the Company has succeeded in producing
billiard balls that are more perfect than ivory
balls, while at the same time they are far less
expensive.
The management of the Company is in the hands
of the following named officers : Peter Kinnear,
President and Treasurer ; J. W. Hyatt, Vice-Presi-
dent; Lewis Dietz, Secretary; and B. P. Wayne,
Superintendent; all gentlemen closely identified
with the industrial advancement of this city. Mr.
Kinnear's identification with this enterprise dates
from a time when failure and disaster had stripped
it of the confidence of most of the capitalists of Al-
bany. He had faith in the scheme, and unbounded
faith in Mr. Hyatt, through the utilization of whose
inventions he was certain success would be won
for it.
At considerable personal trouble and no small
temporary sacrifice, he invested in the enterprise.
taking risks which made some of his friends
tremble for the results ; and he induced others of
Albany's progressive men to take stock in the Com-
pany. The result has more than justified his most
sanguine hopes. The enterprise is one of Albany's
notable successes.
No man in the city has taken a greater interest
in its industrial enterprises than Mr. Kinnear, and
no one has worked more steadily and more earn-
estly to advance them. He has ever been among
the first to welcome new manufacturing industries,
and one of those most ready to encourage and
foster them by substantial aid to the extent of his
ability. There are many who to-day admit that,
had his judgment been respected and his advice
taken relative to proposed enterprises which have
been seated elsewhere, only after proper encourage-
ment had been refused them in Albany, the city's
material prosperity at this lime would be much
greater than it is, and its intelligent working pop-
ulation much larger.
Born in the land of Wallace, and imbibing a
love of freedom with the very air he breathed, Mr.
Kinnear was a lover of American institutions even
before, as a very young man, he had placed his feet
on American soil. He believed in universal free-
dom, and early placed himself in the ranks of those
who ultimately united with others of more pro-
nounced views to free the African slaves in the
United States. A lover of freedom and a protec-
tionist, a Whig originally, he was one of the earliest
to array himself in the Republican ranks, and with
the Republican party he has voted and labored
ever since.
Mr. Kinnear was for two years a member of the
Board of Supervisors of Albany County, and has
several times been the nominee of his party for
Alderman to represent his Ward, and it is only the
greatly preponderating Democratic vote that has
prevented his repeated election, for personally he
is recognized as the most popular man in his Ward.
With all of a Scotchman's love for Scotland and its
history and traditions, Mr. Kinnear is at the same
time a most thorough-going American, taking a
deep and most intelligent interest in all questions
of public moment, and exerting his influence, and
freely using his means to promote American in-
dustry and elevate that great class who are our best
citizens either in peace or war — the honest me-
chanics, of whom he is proud to number himself
as one.
During his sojourn in Canada, previously referred
to, Mr. Kinnear, in 1849, married Miss Annie Gil-
christ, a native of Scotland. It was soon afterward
that they came to Albany and Mr. Kinnear entered
upon that career which has made him so widely
known and respected. It has been a career of
honest endeavor, of well-directed effort — whose
rewards have not been bestowed with a stingy hand.
Such a career as best illustrates the certainty that
skill, industry, integrity, perseverance and whole-
souled friendliness will wm for their possessor that
degree of success which ought to be the earthly ob-
ject of every citizen, and which is often the envy of
those who do not themselves deserve it.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
599
BONSILATE.
The Bonsilate Company, corner Church and
Pruyn streets, was organized in 1878. The fac-
tory is of four stories, brick, where 20 workmen are
employed. This Company produces bonsilate in
bulk and in manufactured goods.
The officers are Robert C. Pruyn, President;
David M. Kinnear, Secretary and Treasurer; John
W. Hyatt, Expert; and Charles S. Lockwood, Su-
perintendent. The Directors are Messrs. Pruyn &
Hyatt, S. W. Rosendale, Peter Kinnear, Theodore
Townsend, Charles M. Hyatt, and David M. Kin-
near.
Bonsilate is the discovery of John W. Hyatt,
the inventor also of celluloid. It has been im-
proved by Charles S. Lockwood. It is already
used in making many articles of utility and orna-
ment, for which its qualities of hardness, elas-
ticity, susceptibility of taking any color and a high
polish, render it very valuable. It is also a non-
conductor of electricity, and incombustible. It is
valuable as a substitute for ivory, amber, jet, coral,
celluloid and all like substances.
FURNITURE AND OTHER HOUSE SUP-
PLIES.
Most of the household furniture sold in Albany
is manufactured in New England, Michigan and
Ohio, where timber is now plenty and facilities for
manufacture more abundant and cheap. It comes
often in parts and is put together and finished in
our city.
The B. W. Wooster Furniture Company, 51 and
53 North Pearl street, incorporated in 1884, with
B. W. Wooster, President, succeeded the business
of B. W. Wooster, which was established in 1843.
This Company supplies for buildings the entire in-
terior wood-work, such as staircases, floors, ceil-
ings, wainscot, mantels; also paper-hangings, fur-
niture, upholstering, curtains, frescoing, and stained
glass. In short, as soon as the masons have com-
pleted their work upon a residence, they complete
it ready for occupancy.
Nelson Lyon lias, during the past seven years,
worked up and established a large furniture manu-
factory on Central avenue, with still larger sales-
rooms at 65 Hudson avenue. His trade has grown
rapidly. Among other well-known makers and
dealers in this important class of industry in this
city within recent years may be named Butler,
Senrick, Watson, Westcott; also Hertz, Hicks,
Gloeckner, now in the business. Several large
stores on North Pearl street deal in furniture ex-
tensively.
The small cabinet makers of other days are no
more. They did honest work and supplied the
demand for substantial chairs, stands, tables, desks,
bedsteads, and such like simple furniture for house-
hold use in earlier days.
SCHOOL FURNITURE.
An eastern office of the Union School Furniture
Company, of Battle Creek, Mich., was established
in this city, at 508 Broadway, in 1882. W. A.
Choate, Manager.
Their specialty is the "Automatic, ' or rear-fold-
ing school-seat. They also manufacture school-
desks, seats, and all kinds of school furniture.
Harlan P. French preceded Mr. Choate in this
business, successfully pursuing it several years.
PLAIN AND DECORATIVE PAINTING.
Very little attention was given in Albany to
decorative painting until a recent date. When
paint was laid on wood-work at all, nothing was
thought of but preservation from decay thereby.
But within a few years great attention has been
given to the art as an ornament pleasing to the
eye.
John Palmer, painter and decorator, started in
business at 25 Washington avenue, in 1866,
and has occupied the premises since that time.
He has had some of the best contracts in his
art in and out of the city, including the State
Capitol. Mr. Palmer is a charter member of Post
5, G. A. R., the first organized in the city. He has
twice been Commander of the G. A. R., S. N. Y.
and Senior Vice-Commander-in-Chief of the G.
A. R., U. S., and is at present Trustee and Chair-
man of the Executive Committee of the State
Soldiers' Home, of which he, as an active member
of the G. A. R., was one of the originators. Few
men are more active and efficient, or better known
in public affairs.
James Blocksidge, who came here from Eng-
land some years ago, has acquired quite a reputa-
tion as a well-informed, tasteful, faithful house-
painter, including fresco and decorative work. He
is doing some of the best work of the kind in Al-
bany and vicinity.
Daniel P. Gladding has for many years been the
successor of his father, one of the early painters
in this city, in doing excellent work.
Robert Jefl'erson, 47 Beaver street, is justly rec-
ognized as one of the best sign and banner paint-
ers of the city.
The Bantham Brothers rank among our best
patronized painters. John S. Hurdis can hardly
be surpassed as a painter of signs and banners.
The Mickels are superior artists in decoration, de-
signing, and painting. William Prescott, from
Massachusetts, has been a leading house and sign-
painter for many years. John Cook is not only
one of our most esteemed citizens, but best of
house-painters.
TABLE AND ENAMELED OIL-CLOTHS.
The manufacture of enameled oil-cloths was first
successfully accomplished in this country about a
third of a century ago. In 1855, John Walters
established a manufactory in Albany for this pur-
pose, and has conducted it with success ever since.
His plant is located at 334 to 344 Central avenue,
and covers an area of several acres, upon which
are erected five substantial brick buildings. A
fifty horse-power engine furnishes the necessary
600
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
motive power, and employment is afforded to
about seventy operatives. The production of this
establishment comprises table and enameled oil-
cloths in all varieties, a specialty being made in
superior styles in imitation of mahogany, rose-
wood, oak, and marble. During the first years
of the establishment of this factory the production
was only 1 20 yards per day. At present the factory
is turning out about 700 rolls per day, or a total of
8,400 yards per day. The products are sold in
all parts of the United States and largely exported
to foreign countries. The buildings have several
limes been severely damaged by fire, originating in
the processes of manufacture, requiring so much
heat in the application of the oil.
SHIP-BUILDING.
In the latter part of the preceding and the first
quarter of the present century, the building of
sloops and schooners formed an important indus-
try at Albany. Much capital was invested and a
large number of men employed. When steam-
boats came generally in use, some of the earlier
ones were built here. Probably the largest vessel
ever constructed in Albany was the Victory, re-
ferred to in another part of this volume. During
late years this industry has almost become extinct,
being confined principally to repairing, and the
construction of small crafts. At present the prin-
cipal ship-builders in Albany are John A, Davis &
Sons, whose yard is located on the corner of Quay
and Columbia streets. They began business in
1879. The sectional dock used by the firm was
built twenty-eight years ago. The dock is in five
sections, and is 130 feet long by 54 feet wide. Ten
pumps on each side of the dock, operated by steam,
are used for operating the dock. Thirty-five ship
carpenters and calkers are employed.
GLOBE MANUFACTURER.
The first globe manufacturer in the United States
was James Wilson, who was born in Londonderry,
N. H., in the latter part of the eighteenth century,
and died in Bradford, Vt. , in extreme old age. He
at first made his globes by hand. About 1820, his
sons, John and Samuel Wilson, established a globe
manufactory in Albany, the first of the kind in this
country. It was claimed for them that they were
the best globe-makers, not only in America, but in
the world. So much did they improve the art of
globe-making as to elicit the admission of English
manufacturers, that their globes were geographic-
ally and mechanically superior to their own. John
Wilson died in 1833, and his brother Samuel near
that date. After their death the business was dis-
continued in Albany.
CORK WORKS.
Cork is the outer bark of a species of oak that
grows in Southwestern Europe. The tree, when
reaching its thirtieth year, is of marketable value.
It is then deprived of its bark. From five to ten
years thereafter the bark is again removed, and
in time another growth in its turn is taken off.
The cork grows finer every cutting as long as the
tree retains its vigor. After stripping, the bark is
scraped to relieve it of adhering moss, and placed
in a hot-water bath, kept at a high temperature.
Then it is reduced to flat sheets by pressure. It is
afterwards made up into bales of 1 50 pounds, each,
ready for shipment. Spain and Portugal furnish
all the raw material sent to this country, the pro-
duction of France and Italy being consumed at
home.
The application of machinery to the cutting of
corks is of American origin. Thirty years ago all
corks were cut by hand, by means of an instrument
similar to a butcher's cleaver ; 1,500 corks made in
this way was a good day's work, while now, with
machinery, a girl will turn out 20,000 daily ; and
the machine-made, from their uniformity of size and
finish, are superior to those done by hand.
The cork is purchased by the pound in the bale,
and the manufactured article is sold by the gross.
Besides its ordinary use as stoppers, it is used for
net floats, for life preservers, and for shoe soles.
The only manufactory of corks in Albany is that
of the Albany Cork Works, corner Maiden lane
and James street, which was established in 1866,
by Ira B. Sampson, on Pruyn street. He is still
the manager.
PIANO MANUFACTURING.
Jonas Chickering, a native of New Ipswich,
N. H., a cabinet-maker by trade, made the first
American piano in America, and offered it for sale
April 15, 1823. He pursued the piano-making
business successfully in Boston for many years, and
left his honored name and business as a rich legacy
to his family.
The first manufacturer of pianos in Albany was
James A. Gray, a sketch of whom appears else-
where. He began this business in Albany as early
as 1825. For a number of years he carried on the
manufacture of pianos alone. In 1837 he became
associated with William G. Boardman, under the
firm name of Boardman & Gray. The factory was
originally situated on the comer of Broadway and
De Witt street, and was subsequently removed to
the Old Elm Tree Comer, where the business was
carried on for a number of years. They next
established their factory at the corner of North
Ferry and Broadway. In 1 866 they removed to
the three-story brick building. No. 239 North Pearl
street, lately destroyed by the fire that caused the
death of John A Luby, D.Wheeler and F.J. Wallen.
Here a large force of skilled workmen were em-
ployed, the establishment turning out twenty com-
plete instruments monthly. From 1840 to i860
this firm was one of the leading piano-forte establish-
ments in the country. In 1877, Mr. Gray's son, Wil-
liam J. Gray, became a member of the firm. Mr.
Boardman died in 1881, and the business was con-
tinued by the Grays, father and son, under the old
firm name of Boardman & Gray. This firm first
introduced the dolce campana, which made their
pianos famous throughout the musical world.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
601
JAMES A. GRAY.
In 1853, Messrs. Marshall & Traver began the
manufacture of pianos in Albany on James street.
They were succeeded two years later by Marshall,
James & Traver. Thirteen years then ensued,
when the proprietorship of the house underwent
another change, the firm becoming Marshall &
Wendell.
In April, 1882, the firm, under the title of the
Marshall & Wendell Piano-forte Manufacturing
Company, was incorporated as a limited liability
company, with Henry Russell, President; J. V.
Marshall, Superintendent; Harvey Wendell, Man-
ager and Treasurer; and John Loughran, Secre-
tary. Capital stock, $100,000. Manufactory and
principal office, erected in 1872, 911 to 923
Broadway. This building is of brick, five stories
high, 145 by 40 feet, with 40-feet wings. Sev-
enty-five skilled workmen are employed. Annual
output, over six hundred pianos. Ware-rooms and
music store, 88 North Pearl street, under direction
of C. E. Wendell & Co.
In connection with the piano-making industry,
it is proper to mention the firm of R. W. Tanner
& Son. Mr. Tanner has been in connection with
the piano manufacturing business for nearly thirty
years. One of the specialties of this firm is the
manufacture of piano hardware. They employ
about thirty workmen in their establishment at 858
Broadway. George E. Kemp makes piano plates
and R. B. Russell supplies the piano action.
Many years ago, William McCammon, a ma-
chinist by trade, began the manufacture of pianos,
which enterprise he successfully continued until
his decease a few years ago, since which it has
been carried on by his son, Edward McCammon.
George Johnson has made pianos many years.
Mrs. F. W. Tietz continues the piano making
business begun in i860.
Musical instruments of all kinds, and book and
sheet music, have long been sold in this city, no-
tably by Jason Collier, J. Hidley, Cluett & Sons,
Haines Brothers, J. A. Reed, and W. C. Gomph.
JAMES A. GRAY.
It is probable that the first person to manufacture
pianos in the City of Albany was John Osborn, an
Englishman, about the year 1825, who continued
for a short time on his own account, and then be-
came associated with J. & H. Meacham, who was
manufacturing other musical instruments,, and had
a music store at State street. About the year 1833,
F. P. Burns, Wm. Ballentine & Co. commenced
manufacturing for I. P. Cole, who furnished the
capital and sold the instruments, he being en-
gaged in teaching vocal music, and dealing in
musical goods on State street. It seems that Wm.
G. Boardman, a wholesale grocery merchant at
the time, was Cole's indorser at the bank, and
in 1836, during the depression in trade, Cole
602
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
failed in business, and, to protect his indorsement,
Mr. Boardman had to buy out Cole's business,
which carried the manufacturing of pianos with it;
and Mr. .Boardman found it necessary to abandon
ftis grocery business and assume the manufacturing
of pianos. Being an experienced business man, he
found it necessary to change Cole's arrangement
and organize anew, which he did by building a
factory on the corner of Broadway and De Witt
street, and being unacquainted practically with the
making of pianos he employed a man by the name
of H. Davis to superintend the factory for him, he
attending to the music store in State street. In the
reorganization of the business of manufacturing
pianos, the services of James A. Gra}', Hine, Hazel-
ton (now of New York) and some other skilled
workmen from New York, who filled important
branches in the construction of the pianos. This
was in the year 1837. In the year 1838 the Super-
intendent (Davis) having committed some breach
of trust, James A. Gray was appointed superinten-
dent of the manufactory, and soon after. became a
partner in the firm of Boardman & Gray.
The Meachams and F. P. Burns continued to
manufacture up to about i860, and, having died,
their business ceased.
In 185- three young men who had been in the
employ of Boardman & Gray commenced the man-
ufacture of pianos in Albany. The firm was Mar-
shall, James & Traver, which was continued for
some time, James having retired in 1862, and
Traver some years later selling out his interest to
Harvey Wendell, the firm being in 1885 Marshall
& Wendell.
In 1866, Mr. Boardman having engaged in other
business, assigned all his interest in the manufac-
ture of the Boardman & Gray piano to his former
partner, James A. Gray, who, in partnership with
his brother, William H. Gray, continued to make
the Boardman & Gray piano until 1880, when he
died, and William H. Gray, son of James A. Gray,
became a partner in the firm.
In 1862, William McCamm on & Co. commenced
the manufacture of pianos on Broadway, and con-
tinued until 1 88 1, when on his death at that date
his son Edward assumed the business.
In the year i860 the large factory of Boardman
& Gray, on Broadway and North Ferry street, was
burned, and in 1885 their factory at 239 North
Pearl street was also destroyed by fire.
PAPER WORKS, ETC.
Mr. J. C. Dubuque established himself here in
1839 as a manufacturer of paper boxes, being the
pioneer in this branch of industry in the city. Af-
ter an interruption of several years, Mr. Dubuque
re-established the present house in 1880, now con-
ducted by his son, L. R. Dubuque.
The premises are three-stories, each 35 by 60
feet, and are located at 9 and 11 Green street,
where all kinds of paper boxes are made, generally
upon special orders.
The Albany Paper Box Manufactory, 293 and
295 Broadway, for the manufacture of all kinds of
paper boxes, was founded in 1870 by Messrs. Co-
zine & Co. The factory consists of four floors,
each of which are 50 by 100 feet in area. Fifty
operatives are employed. Estimates are given for
any size or style of paper box desired.
Great improvement has been made in the past
few years in this branch of American industries,
and the uses to which paper boxes are put are
manifold.
Messrs. D. Chapin & Co. succeeded Cozine &
Co., and in 1878 Mr. Hench, the present owner,
became the proprietor.
Albany Perforated Wrapping Paper Company, 2
and 4 Hudson avenue, corner Quay street, was or-
ganized in 1877, with a capital of $50,000, to
produce perforated wrapping, writing and toilet
papers, and rolled paper of all descriptions, under
patents controlled by them. Their specialty is
hotel toilet paper with fixture. The output is about
1,000 pounds of wrapping paper and three tons of
toilet paper daily. Their building is six-story,
brick, 44 by 44 feet; motive power, twelve-horse
power engine. Forty hands are employed.
Branch offices are established in New York,
1475 Broadway; Manager, H. B. Smith. Phila-
delphia, 103 1 Chestnut street; Manager, Wm. A.
Hamilton. Chicago, 44 La Salle street; Manager,
Louis L. Munson, and Boston, 114 Milk street,
Moulton & Goodwin, General Agents for the New
England States. The officers are Seth Wheeler,
President; R. M. Hamilton, Treasurer; E. J.
Wheeler, Secretary.
The Albany Card and Paper Company was in-
corporated in 1868; The building, 315 to 321
Hamilton street, in which they manufacture and
have their offices, was begun about i860, and was
gradually built in detachments, until it now occu-
pies an area of 90 by 212 feet Is five stories high
and made of brick. Seventy-five males and an
equal number of females are employed.
They surface-coat and finish colored paper for
lithographing, for printers and for box-makers.
Card-board of all kinds is manufactured.
Their trade extends throughout the States, Can-
ada, and even reaches Brazil.
James M. Warner is President; J. H. McClure,
Vice-President; and E. J. Miller, Secretary, of this
extensive manufactory.
Allston Adams conducts a card-boar J manufac-
tory at the corner of North Pearl and Pleasant
streets.
PAPER-HANGINGS.
Lemuel Steele was perhaps the first Albany
merchant who engaged in manufacturing and
importing paper-hangings. He came to Albany
from Hartford, Conn., in 181 5, and began busi-
ness at No. 453 South Market street, now Broad-
way. Mr. Steele was prominent in public affairs;
was Alderman for ten years. Chief Engineer of
the Fire Department, Director in the Mechanics'
& Farmers' Bank over twenty years, and held va-
rious other public oflrces. He died December 26,
1853. He was succeeded, in 1852, by the firm of
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
603
George B. Steele & Robert M. King, who are now
succeeded by Frank B. King.
TOBACCO, SNUFF AND CIGAR MANUFAC-
TURE.
The first tobacco manufactory in Albany was
erected by James Caldwell, a man closley identified
with many of the earlier successful manufacturing
interests of this city. The establishment was in
operation in 1 790, situated near the mansion-house
of the Patroons. It was regarded as the most ex-
tensive and perfect of its kind in the country.
Here a large force of men was employed in mak-
ing snuff and cigars, and drying and curing tobacco.
The snufif-mill was considered capable of making
more snuff in nine months than was consumed
annually in the northern part of the country. In
1794 the works were destroyed by fire, but soon
after rebuilt. In 18 10 Levi Solomon became a
partner of Mr. Caldwell, the partnership continu-
ing until 1820, when Mr. Caldwell retired. Mr.
Solomon carried on the business until 1832, when
he sold the concern to Charles Chapman, who con-
tinued the business for several years.
The tobacco factor}' of Benjamin Payn's Sons
was established by Benjamin Payn in 1835. He
conducted the business until his death in 1881,
when he was succeeded by his sons, Arthur S. and
Howard K. , under the present firm title. The
factory and sales-rooms, corner of Maiden lane and
James street are comprised in a five-story brick
building, 3 5 by 90 feet in dimensions, with machinery
and appliances for producing about 100,000 cigars
and 25,000 pounds of tobacco per month; em-
ployment being furnished to seventy skilled work-
men.
Alexander Greer commenced the manufacture
of tobacco, snufF and cigars in Albany in 1847.
In 1858 his sons were admitted as partners, and the
senior member dying in 1873, the present firm was
organized, consisting of Thomas H. , John and
Alexander Greer, under the firm name of Alex-
ander Greer's Sons. The factory is situated at 820
and 822 Broadway, where fifty hands are employed
in the various departments on the four floors of this
large building. The annual product amounts to
1,200,000 cigars annually.
Moses Strasser founded the present tobacco
manufacturing firm of M. Strasser & Co. in 1852.
The individual members are Moses, Benjamin and
Solomon Strasser. Their plant, at No 27 Hudson
avenue, consists of a four-story brick building 25
by 70 feet in dimensions, where a large force of
workmen are employed. The trade of this house
is extensive and growing.
In 1867, Gee & Van Slyke commenced to man-
ufacture cigars in Albany, and continued the bus-
iness until 1870, when the firm was changed by
the retirement of Mr. Gee, after which the bus-
iness was continued byG. W. Van Slyke until 188 1,
when Walter Horton was admitted as partner,
under the firm name of G. W. Van Slyke & Co.
Their factory and sales-room, 471 Broadway, com-
prises a five-story brick building, 23 by 180 feet in
dimensions. Here is furnished employment to
about two hundred operatives, whose annual pro-
duction aggregates about 7,000,000 cigars.
Besides the above manufacturers, the following
are engaged in this business: Frank Chamberlain,
26 and 28 State street; James Jones, 627 Broad-
way; S. Levy & Brother, 36 Green street; F. B.
Mooney, 9 South Pearl; Shield & Sons, 37 Church
street; M. G. McNamara & Co., 71 North Pearl
street; W. A. Rapine, 451 Madison avenue; J. J.
Franklin, 500 Broadway; Julius Fish & Brother, 14
South Pearl; and D. A. Lawler & Son, 776 Broad-
way.
HATS AND FUR GOODS.
The making of felt and beaver hats in New
England, New York and Virginia, began to be a
large industry in the latter part of the seven-
teenth and early part of the eighteenth century;
but was checked by parliamentary law as inter-
fering with British industry, and thus restrained
until alter the Revolution. After this it was
revived.
The manufacturing of fur goods and hats was
at one time one of the most important industries
in Albany. It was claimed that the Albany fur-
riers excelled all others in the world in the im-
portant art of dying their furs. Among the pioneers
in this industry of whom we have authentic record,
were John W. Wendell, who in 1783 was engaged
in manufacturing hats; Elisha Dorr, who in 1793
followed this business. William Mayell, who came
from England in 1795, settled in Albany and
began to make hats. In an advertisement in the
newspapers in 1820 his store was designated as op-
posite the Eagle Tavern. He was at this time the
most extensive manufacturer of hats in the city. Be-
sides being a good mechanic, he made some pre-
tension to science. He was an active member of the
Mechanics' Society, and afterwards of the Albany
Institute, of which he is said to have been the
founder.
In the first quarter of the present century J. H.
Prentice, Packer & Co., established a manufactory
of fur goods here, which grew to immense pro-
portions. Some years after it was continued by
Prentice, Finn & Co. In 1844, it was considered
the largest of its kind in the world; 700 to 800
hands were constantly employed, and over 2,000
caps were manufactured daily. Their products, as
fast as manufactured, were shipped to a branch
establishment in New York, whence they were
distiibuted to all parts of this and foreign
countries.
About this same time Taaffe & Gough conducted
a similar business at No. i Exchange Building,
where they employed about 1 50 hands in this bus-
iness. A large quantity of muffs, collars and trim-
mings were manufactured by them.
Edward S. Willett, about 1825, had a hat man-
ufactory on the corner of Green and Bassett streets.
He was the first to commence the manufacture of
silk hats in Albany.
In 1844, Williams, Parke & Co. conducted a cap,
muff, glove and robe manufactory in this city, at
604
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
No. 71 Broadway. Their work was noted for its
excellence and was well known all over the country
at this date.
In 1832, Joshua G. Cotrell founded the business
now conducted by Messrs. Edgar Cotrell and
Daniel Leonard, under the firm name of Cotrell
& Leonard, at 472 and 474 Broadway. Messrs.
E. Cotrell and Leonard entered the firm in 1867,
and gained control of the same in 1878, the year
of the senior Mr. Cotrell's death. They built the
premises 46 State street in 1870, occupying the
same until 1884, when they removed to their pres-
ent quarters. Their annual sales are about $250,-
000.
About sixty years ago, Denison Williams dressed
and dyed seal-skins. He was succeeded by Packer,
Prentice & Co., whose manufactures in 1831
reached the value of $500,000. John Bryan,
James Chase, Robert Cheesebrough and John S.
Smith were also engaged in this business. Twenty
thousand fur seals per year were dressed, which
were made into caps. When these caps went out
of fashion the trade waned. In 1858 it revived,
since which time seal-skin sacques have been man-
ufactured.
The firm of George C. Tread well & Co., man-
ufacturers and dealers in furs, from its small be-
ginnings in 1832, when it was established by
George C. Treadwell, late deceased, has grown
until it now ranks with the leading fur establish-
ments of the country. They manufacture and
deal in all kinds of fine furs, sacques, boas, caps,
gloves, robes, etc. The present fine process b}'
which fur seal, otter and beaver are dyed and
dressed, is the result of Mr Treadwell's industry
and skill. Their premises are 60 by 30 feet, four-
stories high, brick. The first floor is used for dis-
playing goods, the others for manufacturing and
storing. The successor of Mr. Treadwell is his
son, George H. Treadwell. The house has a branch
store at No. 676 Broadway, New York City, under
the supervision of Henry Treadwell. In 1844,
Mr. Treadwell, Sr., had acquired the reputation
of being one of the best cap manufacturers in the
United States, and as especially excelling in dress-
ing and coloring furs.
There are now, and long have been, extensive
dealers in every variety of hats, caps and furs, and
fur goods, in this city who are referred to under
the head of the Beaver and Fur Trade, and Trade
and Commerce.
GEORGE CURTIS TREADWELL
was born in Farmington, Conn., October 24,
1 81 2, and died in Albany, N. Y., October 3,
1885.
His father was George Treadwell, of Farmington.
His grandfather was Hon. John Treadwell, Gov-
ernor of Connecticut and first President of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions. His mother was Nancy Curtis, daugh-
ter of Eleazer Curtis, of Farmington, Conn.
Mr. Treadwell left his home when nine years of
age, and lived with his uncle, Major Roger
Hooker, till he was fourteen, when he removed to
Albany, N. Y., and entered the dry goods house
of Chandler, Starr, & Co. and remained till 1829,
when he was employed by Packer, Prentice & Co. ,
manufacturers of furs. He remained with them till
he commenced business for himself, April i, 1832.
James Chase entered the firm of George C. Tread-
well & Co. February i, 1846, and retired February
I, 1872. Thomas Treadwell entered the concern
February i, 1846, and retired February i, 1853.
Moses P. Whitcomb entered the concern February
I, 1854, and retired February i, 1857. Henry
Treadwell entered the concern February i, 1854.
George C. Treadwell retired from the concern Feb-
ruary I, 1884, and the firm of Treadwell & Co.,
consisting of Henry Treadwell, his brother, and
George H. Treadwell, his son, was formed Feb-
ruary I, 1885.
Upon Mr. Treadwell's retirement, the following
notice appeared in the Albany Argus :
"The retirement of George C. Treadwell from
active business after a career of over half a century,
merits a passing notice. Brought up in the strict-
ness of a New England home, Mr. Treadwell
came to this city a youth, and soon engaged in the
fur business, bringing with its prosecution the
habits of industry, integrity and close application,
which were the fruits of his early training. During
the whole period he has won the esteem and con-
fidence of the entire community. Of somewhat
retiring habits, Mr. Treadwell has never filled any
public position, except that of a director in one of
our banks, where he remained but for a brief
period. But his interest in the public welfare has
always been manifested by his liberal gifts to all
worthy public and charitable objects. In retiring
from business, which he does in consequence of
impaired health, he carries with him the sympathy
and respect of all who are acquainted with him.
In the card announcing his retirement, after thank-
ing his friends for their patronage and recommend-
ing his successors to the public, he closes with his
' acknowledgment to Almighty God for the material
welfare he has enjoyed. ' This, which might seem
like cant if it came from some men, is so charac-
teristic of Mr. Treadwell, that all who know him
will appreciate his sincerity in thus publicly making
known his gratitude to the Author and Giver of all
blessings. "
He married Amy D. Roberts March 2, 1836.
Their children are George Hooker, Lucy, Julia,
Charles, Edgar, Ezra Prentice, Emma, Alice, and
Howard.
To the advice and example of Major Hooker
his uncle, William Gay and John T. Norton, and
the early training of his mother, he is indebted for
those sterling traits of character which have made
him such a bright example of true Christian man-
hood in the Church and the world.
To the habit of making every transaction of his
life a matter of conscience, with a firm reliance
upon his Maker, and following the Bible as his
only guide, was due his success, the result of which
was a competency of this world's goods and the
good-will of all his acquaintances.
GEORGE C TREADWEEE
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
605
He has always given liberally to those objects of
charity which commended themselves to his judg-
ment as being right and for the public good.
Mr. Treadwell never held any public office,
except to serve as a Director of the Commercial
Bank for a short period ; a Trustee of the Second
Presbyterian Church from 1849 to 1876 (twenty-
seven years) ; and as Elder in the same church.
He devoted his time to his business and was
regular and steady in his habits, and, though suf-
fering all his life from asthma, he had never been
sick enough to be obliged to remain at home till
October 24, 1883, since which time he only went
out to drive.
BOOT AND SHOE MANUFACTURE.
The making of boots and shoes on orders for
customers, is a business that has been carried on for
ages, and the sons of St. Crispin, following their
useful craft, have been found in nearly every neigh-
borhood in this country, from the earliest settle-
ment, alongside the blacksmith, the house joiner,
the Jack of all trades. Their occupation is not yet
gone, but the large establishments that supply
shoes to the trade, reaching even to foreign lands,
had their origin and development in New England,
beginning in the early part of this century. Their
introduction in Albany has been more recent, but
equally successful.
The present firm of Willard Bellows, manufac-
turer of boots and shoes, was founded in 1 856 by
Messrs. Munson & Co., who were succeeded in
1864 by Bellows & Moore, who continued in busi-
ness until 1879, when Mr. Bellows became sole
owner. It is one of the leading manufactories of
its kind in Albany. The factory and sales-rooms,
411 Broadway, occupy four floors, 20 by 70 feet
in dimensions. About twenty-five workmen are
constantly employed.
The boot and shoe manufactory of Woolverton &
Co., 369 and 371 Broadway, was established by G.
A. Woolverton & Co. in 183 1. It was continued
by the founders for over half a century, when,
January l, 1881, the present firm, composed of
Monroe Woolverton and Marcus E.Stone, succeeded
to the business. This factory is comprised in a
four-story brick building, 50 by 100 feet in dimen-
sions, where are employed one hundred and fifty
operators, producing fifty thousand pairs of shoes
annually.
Fearey Manufacturing Company. — This, the
largest boot and shoe manufactory in Albany, was
founded by Thomas Fearey in 1844. Up to 1854
goods were manufactured only to supply the several
retail stores conducted by the founder. In this
year the manufacture of boots and shoes was begun
at the foot of Beaver street to supply the wholesale
trade. In 1865, his two sons, Thomas H. and
George D. Fearey, became associated with the
founder under the firm name of Thomas Fearey &
Sons. At this time large apartments were secured
at Nos. 51 and 53 Liberty street. In 1867 the firm
purchased the building Nos. 9 and 11 Liberty
street, and removed to that location. These fre-
quent removals were made for the purpose of
accommodating their growing business, but this
last location was soon found too small, and in 1869
they completed and first occupied their present
quarters on Union, Division and Liberty streets.
This plant covers nearly an entire square, upon
which are erected two large four-story brick build-
ings. The capacity of the factory is about one
thousand five hundred pairs of shoes per day.
About five hundred operatives are employed.
In 1882 a stock company was formed called the
Fearey Manufacturing Company, as successors to
Thomas Fearey & Sons. The business is controlled
by a Board of Trustees. The following are the
officers and trustees : George L. Stedman, Presi-
dent ; George D. Fearey, Vice-President and
Manager ; William K. Templeton, Secretary and
Treasurer ; B. F. Fayerweather, Louis Schoellkopf,
Jonas M. Barnet, James Abbot, Joseph R. Harper,
John F. Shaffer.
East New York Boot and Shoe Manufacturing
Company has a branch factory at 226 to 232
Hamilton street. The plant of this Company is
one of the most extensive in the city devoted to
this branch of industry. The factory consists of a
four-story brick building. About four hundred
operatives are employed in the several processes of
manufacture. This house was originally estab-
lished in 1858, at East New York, L. I., by John
R. Pitkin. A portion of the works was removed
to Albany in i860. The present officers of the
Company are George D. Pitkin, President ;
Walcott H. Pitkin, Vice-President ; and Frederick
E. Pitkin, Secretary and Treasurer. Two hundred
and twenty-five thousand dollars are expended an-
nually in Albany for wages and salaries. C. C.
Ballou is Superintendent of this factory, Edwin W.
Ober is Cashier, and Charles G. Hoy, Accountant.
James G. Cummings and John H. Fotens are fore-
men of separate departments.
The boot and shoe manufactory of M. W.
Dodge was founded by the present proprietor in
1877. The factory occupies the three upper
stories of the building, Nos. 416 and 418 Broad-
way. An average of sixty hands are employed,
and all the latest and most improved machinery is
used. Mr. Dodge sells the product of his factory
principally to the retail dealers.
In 1877, Messrs. A. McD. Shoemaker and
William Pabst, under the firm name of Shoe-
maker & Pabst, began manufacturing boots and
shoes. Their establishment at 35 and 37 Hamil-
ton street is a three-story brick building, 42 by 30
feet, and seventy-five operatives find employment
there. The products are women's, misses' and
children's medium grade goat and kid boots and
shoes.
Stephen Munson was among the earliest manu-
facturers of shoes in Albany, and carried on this
business for many years. He is still a resident ot
this city, but not engaged in active business.
J. R. Busley, at present Superintendent in the
shoe manufactory of Herrick & Freeman, claims
to be the first person to use steam power in making
shoes, not only in Albany, but in America.
606
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
SHIRTS, COLLARS, AND CUFFS.
The Albany Linen Collar Company. — The man-
ufacture of shirts, linen collars and cuffs for the
wholesale trade, in this city, has, with a single nota-
ble exception, that of the firm of S. L. Munson,
been prosecuted only to a limited extent. The first
successful attempt to establish an extensive collar
manufactory in this city was made in 1867 by the
firm of Munson, Richardson & Co., composed of
S. L. Munson, J. A. Richardson and L. R. Dwight.
In 1869 the firm dissolved and S. L. Munson, the
present proprietor of the concern, became sole owner.
The business was first carried on at 372 and 374
Broadway. It was afterwards removed to 463 and
465 Broadway. Other removals were soon occa-
sioned by the rapidly growing business. In 1884
Mr. Munson purchased the old Hudson avenue
Church, which since, at an outlay of much money,
he has converted into a handsome and well-arranged
manufactory. Here every facilit}- is afforded for
his large and growing business. About three
hundred hands are employed, of whom a greater
part work on the premises.
The manufacture of paper collars was begun in
Albany, in 1869, by Edward Elisha Mack and
Stephen Jarvis, and for some years a prosperous
business was done. It was finally abandoned
when the senior member of the firm founded the
present house of Mack & Co., manufacturers of
cloth-faced and linen collars, cuffs and shirts. The
manufacturing plant is located at No. 6 Pruyn
street, and embraces a four-story brick building.
About sixty operatives are employed at the factory,
and about the same number are furnished with
work at their own homes. The individual mem-
bers of the firm are Edward Elisha Mack and
William M. Ticknor.
BRUSHES.
Bristles, wire, broom corn, wool, leather, camel's
hair and other material are at this day used in
the manufacture of brushes for the various pur-
poses of cleaning and painting.
In 1833, J. B. Armour began the manufacture
of brushes from brisdes for domestic purposes and
for manufacturing and machine uses. The busi-
ness was afterward conducted by Ferris & Armour.
In 1880, John Ferns, Jr., the present proprietor,
became sole owner, and is improving the style and
finish. The premises, a four-story brick structure,
20 by 75 feet, are located at 400 Broadway.
Nearly five-sixths of the bristles used in American
brushes are obtained from Russia.
The quality of the brushes made by Mr. Ferris
is giving him an increasing trade.
SAMUEL L. MUNSON.
Among the men who founded New Haven in
1638, was Thomas A. Munson, who came to
America in 162 1. Richard Lyman was of the
band who, in 1635, hewed their way from Boston
to the Connecticut River, and located the town of
Hartford. Both of these men were of noble Eng-
lish families. After exactly two hundred years, and
in the eighth generation in America, these two
Puritan families were united by the marriage in
1835, at Chester, Mass., of Garry Munson and
Harriet Lyman. Of their seven children, the fifth
and youngest son is Samuel Lyman Munson, who
was born in the town of Norwich (now Hunt-
ington) Mass., June 14, 1844. His father was
the moit prominent man in that section of the
State, and served the State, county, town and
church all officially during a long and busy life.
His advice and counsel were much sought by his
neighbors, and a remarkable illustration of his
reputation for sagacity and integrity is found in the
fact that he was at one time administrating on no
less than fifteen different estates, while his posses-
sion of extraordinary business qualifications was
demonstrated by the fact, that during this period,
as a farmer, a dealer in wool and a manufacturer,
he gave careful attention to his own large interests,
with results satisfactory both to himself and others
interested. In religion and morals a Puritan, in
.secular affairs always just and liberal, and in all
things fearless, he died after having achieved the
allotted three score and ten years, leaving a spot-
less reputation, which is held as a sacred legacy by
his children.
Samuel Lyman Munson attended the district
school of his neighborhood, assisting, betimes, in
the farm work, until, at the age of twelve, he was
sent to Williston Seminary, at East Hampton,
Mass., where he was a student during the succeed-
ing three years. At the age of fifteen he entered a
large dry goods house in Boston, where, during the
next two years, he learned the elements of business
and placed himself in the way of substantial ab-
vancement; but his health, never robust, failed
perceptibly during his confinement, and, obliged
to relinquish his position on that account, he re-
turned home and resumed his old, health-giving
farm life. Thus passed a year greatly to his phys-
ical benefit He then engaged himself to Messrs.
Wick & Strong, manufacturers of clothing, in Al-
bany, to undertake the development of their busi-
ness in the West. Four years later, in 1867, with
Messrs. J. A. Richardson and L. R. Dwight, two
young men of Albany, he embarked in the manu-
facture of linen collars. Without experience, and
with limited means, the partners did not make the
venture a success, and they severed their relations
at the expiration of two 3'ears, when Mr. Munson
reorganized the business and continued it alone.
Its history has been one of constant growth and
uniform success. Its requirements having neces-
sitated frequent removals to larger and still larger
quarters; in 1884, foreseeing that for the same
reason another removal would soon be necessary,
Mr. Munson purchased the old Hudson avenue
Church, which he will remodel into an immense
factory, where will be located permanently an es-
tablishment which, beginning a few years ago with
only two sewing machines, now numbers iis em-
ployees by hundreds, and distributes its wares
through the trade in nearly every town from Boston
to San Francisco.
^i
'''4.
MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
607
In 1868, Mr. Munson married Susan B., daugh-
ter of Lemuel J. Hopkins, of Albany, and has
three sons and two daughters. Retiring in his
habits, and spending among his books most of the
time not necessarily devoted to his large and in-
creasing business, he yet takes a lively interest in
public affairs, and is identified with the principal
literary. Masonic, athletic, and social organizations
of the city. He is also a Trustee of the Home
Savings Bank. Yet a comparatively young man,
and endowed with business ability of an uncom-
mon order, and possessing the confidence of the
commercial community in a marked degree; full
of energy and perseverance; he seems destined to
achieve very high rank among the business men
and manufacturers of the capital city.
STEAM DYEING AND SCOURING.
The application of aniline dyes twenty-five years
ago to dyeing processes, marked an important era.
Previous to this time, coloring matter was expen-
sive, and not so easily applied as those now in
universal use.
The oldest dye-works for the cleansing and dye-
ing of fabrics, etc., in this city, is the one now
owned by Messrs. Robert F. and William D. Mac-
farlane, 24 Norton street, who have branches at
80 Hudson avenue and 40 Orange street. This
was founded, in 1830, by Robert Martin at No. 20
of the same street. He was succeeded in 1840 by
William Giffen, who conducted the business for
ten years, when Peter Leddy became owner, and
continued as such until 1855, the year of his death.
His widow, Elizabeth, then assumed control, sell-
ing out, in 1864, to Robert Macfarlane, the father
of the present proprietors.
Robert Macfarlane died in Brooklyn, December
21, 1883, from paralysis. He was born in Ruther-
glen, near Glasgow, Scotland, on St. George's Day,
181 5. Having learned the art of dyeing at his
father's establishment in Paisley, Scotland, he came
to America when a boy, and settled in Albany in
1840. He was a close student and graceful writer.
In 1842 he gained the Young Men's Association
prize medal for his excellent essay on the Life and
Character of General Anthony Wayne. He first
became known as a writer for the press in a series
of articles on scientific subjects contained in a
magazine called the Mechanics Mirror, published,
in partnership with the late Joel Munsell, in 1846.
In 1847 he was called to the editorial chair of the
Scientific American in New York, and was con-
nected with that paper for seventeen years, during
which time it acquired a world-wide reputation for
ability and accuracy. During this time he was
much sought as a lecturer on scientific subjects.
He published a work on the steam engine, and a
hand-book for dyers and practical chemists, both
of which passed through many editions. About
twenty-five years ago he returned to Albany, and
bought out a dyeing establishment, which is under
his name at the present time, though for the last
twelve years his sons, Robert F. and William D.
Macfarlane, have had entire charge of the busi-
ness. His life was eminently pure and free from
reproach. Retiring from active business about
twelve years ago, he revisited his native land, and
while there contributed a series of interesting let-
ters, which were published in the Scottish Ameri-
can Journal, attracting much attention.
Mr. Macfarlane was a member of the Albany
Institute for many years, and President of the St.
Andrew's Society of Albany. He was a consistent
Christian man, of a gentle and noble spirit, for
over fifty years a member of the Presbyterian
Church and Sabbath-school Teacher and Superin-
tendent.
William Giffen was one of the pioneers in this
business in Alban}', upwards of 60 years ago. He
•became eminently successful in it for a number of
years, and retired after having accumulated a com-
petency. He was succeeded by his daughter, Mrs.
John McDufJie. She has a thorough practical
knowledge of the business in its most minute de-
tails, and has been very successful financially. She
still conducts the business, as owner and proprie-
tress, at 37 Beaver street. Her trade is rapidly in-
creasing, and she has a number of branch offices
in this city and the adjoining counties. Mrs.
McDuffie originally introduced steam-power in the
dyeing and scouring business.
LUMBER.
GILBERT HUNTER
was born in Pittstown, Rensselaer County, N. Y.,
October 20, 18 18. His parents, Robert and Ziptha
Anderson Hunter, were both of Scotch descent,
and among the earliest settlers of the northern
part of Rensselaer County, having removed from
Westchester County soon after the close of the Rev-
olution.
His childhood and youth were spent upon the
family homestead, near which place, in Millertown,
N. Y., he subsequently learned the trade of car-
riage-making. When about 21 years of age he re-
moved to Valley Falls, and began on his own ac-
count the business of manufacturing carriages and
sleighs. He followed this business for about eight
years, then abandoned it and removed to Albany,
which, during the remainder of his life, with but
one or two interruptions, was his residence.
His first venture at Albany was in connection
with an important contract on the Hudson River
Railroad, then being constructed from Albany to
New York. He was subsequently engaged in the
manufacture of lumber at Potsdam, St. Lawrence
County ; also in Oneida County; and, lastly, at
Jacksonville, Fla., where, in the years 1876 and
1877, in company with his eldest son. Dexter
Hunter, he established the extensive saw-mill busi-
ness to which the latter succeeded after his death.
In the year 1865 he began the lumber trade in
Albany, and ,in company with Mr. Dexter Hunter
continued this business until his death, which oc-
curred at Jacksonvilte, Fla., June 29, 1881, at 63
years of age. Mr. Hunter was thrice married, and
there survives him his widow, Mrs. Josephine R.
608
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Hunter, four sons, Dexter, Gilbert, Paul, and Royal
Hunter. He had three brothers, John, Robert,
and Harvey Hunter, the last named being the only
one surviving him, and who is now engaged in the
lumber trade at Albany. Early in life Mr. Hunter
connected himself with the Methodist Church at
Valley Falls, and throughout the period of his
residence in that village contributed to the utmost
of his ability, in time and money, to the support
of that organization. Upon removing to Albany
he united with the Hudson Avenue Methodist
Church. About the year 1866 he severed his con-
nection with this church, and united with the
Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany. This re-
lationship continued until his death. In business
Mr. Hunter was a thoroughly honest, straightfor^
ward man, of more than ordinary foresight and
enterprise. He did not follow in the wake of other
men, but originated almost every business venture
with which he was ever connected. Striking boldly
out in paths not trodden by others, with a faith
that never wavered and a courage that never failed,
no matter how unpropitious the outlook, he carried
most of his enterprises to a successful issue. Em-
plo3'ing, as he did in the last years of his life, several
hundred men of different nationalities and almost
every grade, from the skilled mechanic to the
humblest day laborer, he made it a rule to ac-
quaint himself personally with every employee.
And while, on the one hand, exacting the most
faithful service from each, on the other, he took a
personal interest in the welfare of all, giving them
kindly advice and substantial assistance in every
time of need. By his men he was universally
respected; and the most touching tributes that
have since his death been contiibuted to his mem-
ory were, in notable instances, those uttered by
these employees.
In all social relations Mr. Hunter was all that
any man could be. A kind husband and father,
and absolutely true to every requirement of social
life, he was possessed of a generous nature, a
sanguine temperament, and a modest and retiring
disposition.
While he preferred the seclusion of his own home
to the allurements of public life, he never failed to
take an active interest in all matters of public con-
cern, or to cast his vote and exert his influence as
his conscience dictated; or to aid, to the extent of
his means, every worthy charity.
Throughout his life his physical strength and
mental faculties were absorlDed in the successful
prosecution of his business. His religion was to
him the symbol and ideal of all that was sacred,
pure and true, while his family always held the first
place in his heart, as the place of all others where
piety and every virtue should manifest themselves.
According to the census returns of i860, there
were in the county 594 manufacturing establish-
ments, with an aggregate capital of $9,534,079,
which employed 8,032 males and 3,671 females,
and produced a value of $16,585,025 annually.
This, however, included the large cotton and
woolen mills and hosiery and other factories of
Watervliet and Cohoes. Deducting them, it would
leave for the City of Albany 337 establishments,
with an aggregate capital of $5,501, 1 19, employing
4,084 males and 2,516 females, and producing a
value of $9,586,314 annually.
The principal manufacturers, as shown by the
census of i860, are given below. This statement
is only approximately correct on account of errors
in census taking :
Manufac-iukes.
Agricultural Implements
Alcohol
Bricks
Brooms
Cabinet-ware, Chairs and iied
steads
Carriages
Cigars
Clothing
Coffee and Spice Mills
Cotton Goods
Drain Tile
Edge Tools
Fire-brick
Flour and Meal
Hats
Hosiery
Iron-founding
Leather
Linseed Oil
Machinery and Steam Engines. .
Malting
Malt Liquors
Paper
Patent Medicines
Pianos
Planed Lumber
Saddlery and Harness
Soap and Candles
Stove Founding
Woolen Goods and Hosiery
0:s
23
485,000
260,000
127,500
22,300
=43.=S°
97,400
67,200
326,500
40,000
1,400,800
26,000
231,000
50,000
357,700
73,oco
802,000
20,JD00
40,700
40,000
175,000
510,300
641,000
62,000
5,300
120,450
140,000
30, ICO
32,800
,013,000
964,000
1
s.
I02
to
202
■59
287
222
200
459
22
612
50
320
25
75
3^^
33
17
.8=
68
241
55
5
152
237
86
J''
840
582
10
'sss'
94°
1,295
.....
6
20
1,421
.2 -5
« s
$214,060
950,000
106,600
57.664
363.050
211,740
221,008
7«3.9"
51,500
1,937.500
35.000
269,200
50,000
823,170
281,200
'■099,905
44,900
65,611
70,000
205,200
561,000
804,211
67,494
76,100
126,400
861,075
83,700
110,48s
1,038,700
1,515,180
According to the census of 1880, the employ-
ment of a portion of the inhabitants of Albany
was as follows : Apprentices, 266; bakers, 352;
bankers and brokers, 105; barbers, 207; black-
smiths, 370; boarding-house keepers, 52; book-
binders, 136; boot and shoe-makers, 1,217;
brewers and maltsters, 208; brick-makers, 82;
butchers, 323; cabinet-makers, 195; carpenters,
1,127; carriage and car-makers, loi; cigar-makers,
424; clerks and book-keepers in manufactories,
62; clerks in stores, 2,362; clerks and copyists,
171; clergymen, 94; commercial travelers, ped-
dlers, etc., 547; coopers, 113; cotton and wool
mill operatives, 16; dentists, 22; domestics, 2,993;
draymen and hackmen, 731; employees in manu-
factories not specified, 216; engineers and fire-
men, 337; factory operatives not specified, 40;
farmers, 67; farm laborers, 74; fish and oystermen,
6; gardeners, 176; Government officials, 441;
harness-makers, 95; hotel and restaurant keepers
and employees, 441; in express companies, 51;
in railroad companies, 750; iron and steel, 932;
insurance, iii; jewelers, 84; journalists, 61;
laborers, 4,130; laundry employees, 258; lawyers,
211; leather, 79; livery-stable keepers and em-
ployees, 129; lumbermen, 9; machinists, 383;
masons and stone-cutters, 965; manufacturers.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
609
266; millers, 12; miners, 2; musicians and music-
teachers, 148; on street railroads, 39; painters,
553; paper-mill operatives, loi; physicians, 181;
plumbers and gas-fitters, 153; printers, 513; saloon
keepers, 434; saw-mill operatives, 39; ship carpen.
ters, 31; steamboats, canals, etc., 204; stock
raisers and drovers, 20; tailors, dressmakers and
milliners, 2,003; telegraph companies, 85; teachers,
448; traders and dealers, 1,889; tinners, 142;
and \vheelv^'rights, 29.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
THE interests of the industries of Agriculture,
Manufactures and Trade are too closely com-
mingled in practical life to admit of well-defined
separation. Production calls for consumption;
consumption calls for production. The trader is
the agent for both the producer and consumer.
They are all mutually related. Often the same parties
produce and sell and consume. All over-produc-
tion beyond the wants of the consumer goes to the
trader to exchange or to sell. In a city like Albany
there are few tradesmen who confine themselves to
one class of goods, and few makers who do not
trade with any buyer who is ready to purchase.
Hence the difficulty of making our classification a
sharp one. We endeavor to transmit, on the historic
page, the names of the chief men in manufactures
and trade, so far .as we can, in our limited time
and space, gather them. They have done much
to make our city what it is, and their names should
live and be held in honor.
Previous to the Revolution, the trade of Albany
consisted principally in furs. The extent, character
and value of this trade have been described under
the head of "The Beaver and the Fur Trade." It
remains to give a general idea of the commercial
interests of the city from that date to the present.
About 1780, adventurers, led by hopes of
wealth, began to flock to this natural entrepot of
trade. Up to this date the trade of Albany had
been restricted by the illiberal policy of the Dutch,
who looked with jealous eyes upon all progressive
foreigners. At the outbreak of hostilities between
this country and England, enterprising residents
were quick to see the advantages which the place
afforded for supplying the American armies with
provisions; and during the Revolution they took
advantage of this trade, which grew to immense
proportions and more than compensated for the
loss of the fur trade. In winter the farmers of the
surrounding regions brought their grain to the city
and sold it to the merchants. During this period
Albany grew to be a large grain center, from which
a good share of the provisions used by the Ameri-
can army were received. After the close of
the war, immense houses for storing grain were
built, in which it was stored until the opening of
navigation in the spring, when it was transported
to New York.
The best idea of the extent of the commerce
of Albany from 1780 to 1800, is gained from
the observation of intelligent writers at this date.
"About 1 78 1," says a local writer, "not more
than seventy, at the utmost calculation, shops
and stores were kept in this city, nor had we
manufactories of any kind, but depended on im-
portation for every manufactured article." And to
show the rapid increase in trade seven or eight
years after, he says. "Now we behold Market and
State streets crowded with stores, and rents in those
streets enhanced to such a degree as to put houses
out of the reach of inconsiderable traders." In-
deed, for ten or fifteen years after the Revolution,
Albany made rapid strides in its commercial af-
fairs, and perhaps, according to the population of
the city, made more real progress than at any one
period of its history. February 8, 1794, was a not-
able day for trade. The Gazette of that day says:
"On a moderate estimate, it is presumed the pur-
chases and sales of produce and merchandise ex-
ceeded $50,000. Of the article of wheat, between
25 and 30,000 bushels were brought to this mar-
ket; a quantity far exceeding the receipts of any
one day since the settlement of this country. The
price of wheat rose during the day from 7s. 7d. to
8s., or the highest price between this and the first
of March. The last mode of purchase is truly
novel and must be convincing to the farmer that
the merchants of this city are too independent to
form combinations,"
Count Liancourt, who visited Albany in 1795,
says in regard to trade : "The trade of Albany is
chiefly carried on with the produce of the Mohawk
country, and extends eastward as far as agriculture
and cultivated lands expand. The State of Ver-
mont and a part of New Hampshire furnish many
articles of trade, and the exports chiefly consist in
timber and lumber of every sort and description,
potatoes, potash and pearl ashes, all species of grain,
lastly, in manufactured articles. These articles
are most of them transported to Albany in winter
on sledges, housed by the merchants, and by them
successively transmitted to New York, where they
are either sold for bills on England or exchanged
for English goods, which are in return sent from
Albany to the provinces, whence the articles for
transportation were drawn. * * * Xhe trade of
Albany is carried on in ninety vessels, forty-five of
which belong to the inhabitants of the town, and
the rest to New York or other places. "
At this time no Albany ships went directly from
this port to Europe, and yet provisions were sent
thither from Albany. Liancourt marveled at this
610
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
lack of enterprise on the part of Albany ship-
owners, which deprived the merchants of Albany
of a considerable profit, and threw it into the hands
of the New York ship-owners, who made voyages
to England, Holland, and other countries.
In the winter of 1795, the tide of emigration to-
ward the western part of the State, through Albany,
reached proportions of considerable magnitude,
and furnished no small revenue to the city. In
one day a citizen of Albany counted five hundred
sleighs laden with families of emigrants and their
family goods, going through the city.
Albany contained in 1796 one hundred and
thirty one stores — almost double the number
sixteen years previously — and sixty-eight store-
houses.
During the War of 18 12, Albany was one of the
principal places from which Government supplies
were obtained for the army. The transportation
of these goods from Albany to Buffalo costs from
$20.00 to $30.00 per ton. It was estimated that
9,000 tons were shipped from this port alone, the
profits upon which were enjoyed almost entirely by
Albany merchants and shippers.
Spafford's Gazetteer for 18 13, makes this note as
to trade in Albany : " Situated on one of the finest
rivers in the world, at a distance of two hundred
miles from the ocean, whose tide it enjoys; with
an uninterupted sloop navigation; and in the center
of an extensive and fertile country, of which it be-
comes the natural mart, Albany carries on an
immense trade already, and seems destined to be
come one of the greatest inland towns in America.
* * * Of the shipping belonging to Albany I am
not precisely informed, but, agreeable to informa-
tion derived from the dock-master, there are fifty
Albany sloops that pay wharfage by the year ; sixty
belonging to Troy, Lansingburgh and Waterford;
twenty-six from Tarrytown and New York; seventy
from New Jersey and the Eastern states, including
twenty schooners, in all two hundred and six; and
about one hundred and fifty from different places
have paid wharfage by the day, being engaged in
different kinds of trade, during the season of 1 812,
making a total of three hundred and fifty-six. The
quantity of wheat purchased annually in Albany
is immensely great; and good judges have estima-
ted it at near a million bushels. Other grain, and
every article of the agricultural and other common
products, nearly in the same proportion, swell the
aggregate exports from this city to an enormous
amount. "
At this date the great road of intercourse be-
tween the Eastern States and the Western Country
centered at Albany. More teams visited Albany
than any other place in the country. This na-
turally had an important effect upon its trade. In
1826 it was claimed that 150,000 travelers passed
through Albany. In 1822 the construction of the
Erie Canal being then in rapid progress to com-
pletion, the freight by land carriage between Utica
and Albany was greatly increased. It is said that
one mercantile house paid upwards of $2,000 for
a single day's transportation. A traveler passing
west had the curiosity to count the number of
wagons which he met on the road between Sche-
nectady and Utica, and found them to exceed 350
loaded with flour, from 12 to 14 barrels each, mak-
ing the quantity transported by land in one day to
exceed 4,300 barrels. The quantity transported
by water was supposed to be still greater.
The completion of the canal had a wonderful
effect upon the commercial welfare of the city, con-
trary to the opinion of many unprogressive men of
that day, who firmly argued that ' ' Clinton's Ditch "
would prove the ruin of Albany! In 1826 there
had been an increase of 2,000 boats since 1824.
During the former year it was claimed that five
millions of dollars' worth of goods were sold by
not more than fifty houses.
The following table shows the increase in the
amount of produce and merchandise arriving at
Albany by way of the canal in two years, from
1832 to 1834:
1832. 1834.
Domestic spirits 21,285 20,839 bbls.
" " 1,274 hhds.
Boards and Scantlings. . 36,020,594 62, 103,000 feet.
Timber 55)569 104, '45 "
Flour 422,695 795,182 bbls.
Provisions 21,274 20,864 "
Salt 23,117 19,070 bush.
Wheat 145,960 233,574 "
Coarse grain 208,943 490,880 "
No. of boats arrived and
cleared 14,300 18,550
No. of tons 109,300 156,804
It will be noticed that the increase in the great-
est articles of merchandise — lumber in its various
shape, and flour and grain — is from 70 to 100
per cent. This table is given to show the rapid
growth of the trade in Albany at this period. In
the one article of lumber, Albany occupied a fore-
most position in the United States, a position it
still holds. About this same date there were
twenty-five regular trading vessels between Albany
and 13oston, which, it was estimated, brought to
Albany about 25,000 quintals of codfish during the
season, and about 25,000 barrels of mackerel, be-
sides large quantities of merchandise which passed
up the canal or stopped for a market here. These
vessels took from Albany to Boston, in return,
about 75,000 barrels of flour each season, together
with large quantities of grain. The indirect trade
between Boston and Albany, which was transhipped
at New York, was also great. A number of vessels
were also engaged in carrying on a coasting trade
between Albany and the seaport towns of New
England. In 1821 only 41 vessels visited Albany
from eastern ports; in 1824 the number was 59;
in 1827 it had increased to 123.
Between 1830 and 1840, Albany's commercial
prosperity was augmented in a remarkable degree
by railroads. The opening of internal canals fur-
nished a highway from the Hudson to the lakes of
the West, and by them to the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. But this important
thoroughfare could be used only a portion of the
year, and while it did much to increase the pop-
ulation and wealth of the city, it was not till
the completion of the railroad that Albany can be
said to have assumed much commercial impor-
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
611
tance, making it accessible for merchandise during
the entire year, and for many years the chief en-
trepot for almost all the exports and imports to
New York, the great maritime emporium.
From the books of the Harbor-master, we' as-
certain the total tonnage of vessels employed in the
Albany trade for the following years:
Tons. Tons.
1838 36,721 1844 65,507
1839 40,369 1845 70,985
1840 39.416 1846 7i>oii
1841 50,797 1847 97,019
■842 49,356 1848 77,983
'843 55-354 1849 79,123
From the foregoing it will be seen that for a
period of twelve years there was a steady, healthy
increase of business. In 1847 there was a large
increase. This, it will be remembered, was an ex-
traordinary period. There was a large export de-
mand for bread-stuff, and everything that could
float either on the river or canal was brought into
requisition, and an immense business was done.
During this period much was accomplished in the
construction of railroads. Their great carrying ca-
pacity must be taken into consideration in form-
ing an idea of the volume of trade which was an-
nually pouring into Albany. By the construction
of the Boston and Albany Railroad a vast amount
of property was diverted from shipment by vessels —
the article of flour alone sent over in 1843 was
12,384 tons, or 123,360 barrels — while the con-
tinuous line of railroads from Albany to Buffalo
caused a great falling off of freight business on the
canals, in view of these improved facilities for
transportation, the fact that the number and ton-
nage of vessels from 1838 to 1849 more than
doubled, shows a surprisingly healthy growth of
trade in Albany.
The magnitude of the brewing interest in Albany
fully half a century ago, naturally caused an im-
mense trade in barley, and Albany grew to be the
great barley market of the Northern and Eastern
Slates, and of many cities in the Atlantic States.
Purchases were made here for points as far South
as Charleston, while with Baltimore and Phila-
delphia a large business was transacted. Below
we give, from official documents, the receipts at
tide-water for a period of nine years:
Bushels. Bushels.
1838 677,338 1847 1,523,020
1841 121,010 1848 1,548,197
1844 818,472 1849 1,400,194
1845 1,137,917 1850 1,720,000
1846 1,427,953
Almost the entire receipts were sold in Albany.
One quarter of these receipts were sold to brewers
for home consumption. The average number of
bushels now used by Albany brewers will average
between 600,000 and 700,000, while the average
sales consummated at this port amount to nearly
four times this number of bushels.
In 1 8 1 9, an association styled the Albany Cham-
ber of Commerce and Public Improvement was
formed, the objects of which were not made pub-
lic. A committee of five was appointed to settle
an}' disputes that might arise between merchants
of the city who might choose to submit them for
settlement. Isaiah Townsend, Joseph Alexander,
Peter Van Loon, Walter Clark, and John Spencer
composed this committee. December 5, 1820,
the following officers were elected: Isaiah Town-
send, President; Joseph Alexander, William James,
and Charles E. Dudley, Vice-Presidents. The
Board was composed of the following members:
William McHarg, Israel Smith, Peter Boyd, Will-
iam Durant, John Brinckerhoff, Thomas Russell,
Jacob H. Ten Eyck, James B. Douglas, Alien
Brown, George W. Stanton, Asa H. Center, John
Spencer, James Keeler, John Townsend, William
Walker, Douw B. Slingerland, Volkert P. Douw,
Robert Shepard, William W. Staats, Charles R.
Webster, Joshua Tuffs, Ephraim Wilder, Jr., John
Stillwell, James Mabbett, and James Thorne — all
prominent merchants. This association was con-
tinued for many years. Its functions are now per-
formed by the Board of Trade, which was organized
in 1 84 1, with John Townsend, President; Erastus
Corning, Charles Chapman, and John Taylor, Vice-
Presidents; Daniel Fry, Secretary; and William Mc-
Elroy, Treasurer. It was incorporated in 1864.
The rooms of the Board are located at 40 State
street. It has one hundred and fifty members.
The leading commercial papers are kept on file.
Occasionally public meetings are held there. The
present officers are Robert Geer, President; An-
drew G. White and C. B. Tillinghast, Vice-Presi-
dents; Jacob A. Smith, Secretary; Thomas Austin,
Treasurer.
LUMBER INTERESTS.
The first saw-mill in America is supposed to
have been set up about 1620 in Virginia. The
first in New York was built on Manhattan Island
during Peter Minuet's administration (1626-33).
Some were moved by wind. At about the same
time, several saw-mills were built near Albany. In
1630, Andries Corstiaensen, a master-millwright,
and two sawyers were sent thither; and, in 1636,
Pieter Cornel issen and Barent Pieterse Koeymans
came over.
The Swedish naturalist, Peter Kalm, visited
Albany in 1749, and writes: " The white pine is
found abundant here. The greater part of the
merchants have extensive estates in the country,
and a great deal of wood. If their estates have a
little brook, they do not fail to erect a saw-mill
upon it for sawing boards and planks, with which
commodity many yachts go during the summer to
New York, having scarce any other lading than
boards. They saw a vast quantity of deal from
the white pine on this side of Albany, which is ex-
ported."
The abundance of white pine which the first set-
tlers found, and the excellent water power, led
very early to the erection of saw-mills. Among
the settlers in Rensselaerwyck in 1630, were Law-
rens Lawrenssen and Barent Tomassen, sawyers.
In the fall of 1645, Barent Pieterse Koeymans,
above mentioned, and Jan Gerritsen took charge
of the Patroon's saw-mills, being allowed one hun-
612
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
dred and fifty guilders each a year for board, and
three stuyvers for every plank they sawed. Be-
tween that time and 1647 they sawed nearly four
thousand boards. In 1673, Koeymans purchased
a large tract of land twelve miles south of the
city, which was favorable for the erection of saw-
mills, and where Cruyn Cornelissen and Hans
Jansen had erected rrrills as early as 165 1.
The Duke de Rochefoucault-Liancourt writes
from Albany in 1795: "The export trade of Al-
bany chiefly consists of timber and lumber of every
description, pot and pearl-ashes, grain, potatoes
and manufactured goods. This trade is carried
on in ninety vessels, in general of seventy tons bur-
den, half of which are owned in Albany and the
rest elsewhere."
During the decade from 1840 to 1850 inclusive,
the receipts increased from 124,173,383 feet of
boards and 784,310 feet of timber, the total value
of which was $2,142,636, in the year 1840, to
425,095,436 feet of boards and 3,039,588 feet of
timber, with a total value of $6,806,213 in 1850.
In 1840 there were eighty-four saw-mills in Albany
County.
At an early day Albany became noted as a lum-
ber market. Boards and scantling were rafted
down from Northern and Central New York on
the Upper Hudson and Mohawk, and here loaded
on board sloops for transportation down the river
to market. The first lumber yards were two in
number: one at the foot of South Ferry street, the
other between Quackenbush and Lumber (the lat-
ter now Livingston avenue). The inspection and
marking of lumber was provided for by statutory
provisions.
With the completion of the Erie and Champlain
Canals, and the construction of the Albany Basin
and Pier, the wharfs were first used for the storage
of lumber. When increased imports from Canada
and the West demanded greater storage facilities,
slips were dug from the canal towards the river,
and the lumber piled along their banks. At present
the district occupies about one and one-half miles of
river front and embraces numerous slips running
east and west from the Erie Canal to the wharf, with
an average breadth of one thousand feet between
the river and canal. This tract is called the Lum-
ber District. It is provided with all facilities for
transacting business; street cars, telegraph and tel-
ephone; and hydrants with such perfect means of
extinguishing fire that within the past half century
no serious damage has been incurred from this
source There are large planing and sawing-mills
and good restaurants for the accommodation of
business men.
There is now no branch of business in this city
of more extensive proportions than this. For
many years Albany was one of the largest lumber
markets in the world. While the receipts of lum-
ber are greater at Chicago, the Albany market is
none the less important, in \'iew of the position
occupied, and the character of the trade affected.
All the foreign shipments are negotiated from this
point. The lumber for South America, the West
Indies and other foreign countries is assorted here,
and much of it is manufactured here into doors,
ceilings, etc., so as to be ready for use when reach-
ing destination. The trade with Australia is very
extensive, millions of feet of prepared lumber
being sent to that continent from here every sea-
son. Upon the spaces between the slips is dis-
charged from canal-boats the lumber from the re-
gion of Lake Champlain, Glens Falls, and the rivers
coming down from the Northern Wilderness, the
Black River Canal and St. Lawrence Country via
Black River Canal and the Rome and Watertown
Railway; Canada lumber, via Oswego; lumber from
Ohio and Michigan, as far west as the Saginaw re-
gion; and also from the southern tier of counties
in this State via Chemung, Crooked Lake and Cay-
uga and Seneca Canals. Our canal system is thus
well calculated to drain an immense territory, and
to concentrate ils products at this point. Lumber
is now brought to this market from Green Bay, In-
diana, Ohio; from Canada, on Lake Ontario' by
way of Oswego; and from the Ottawa regions and
all the tributaries to the St. Lawrence, by way of
Lake Champlain and the Champlain Canal.
Douglas LWhite&Co., lumber, 9 and 31 Lum-
ber District.
This yard was founded by Gillespie, White &
Co. at West Troy, in 1857; succeeded by White,
Loveland & Co., by White & Co., by White &
Moir, and they by the present firm. They are
among the large Albany dealers in Canada pine
lumber, Michigan pine and spruce, and hemlock
from New York State mills and from Canada. Their
annual sales are about twenty-five million feet, en-
tirely at wholesale.
The individual members of the firm are Messrs
D. L. and W. G. White and C. E. Van Zandt.
The lumber firm of Dalton & Kibbe was founded
in 1857. A profitable and flourishing business has
been conducted by this firm ever since. Their
yards are located No. 8 First street. The indi-
vidual members are Austin S. Kibbe and William
Dalton.
The present firm of R. H. Moore & John Zim-
merman is the outcome of the business established
in 1862 by Messrs. Moore & Callender, who con-
tinued until 1863, when Mr. Callender withdrew,
Mr. Moore remaining alone until 1872, the year
Mr. Zimmerman became a partner. They occupy
two yards, one on Fourth avenue, 75 by 148 feet,
the other on South Pearl street, icx) by 140 feet,
upon which are suitable buildings. They deal in
hard and soft pine, spruce and hemlock, shingles,
laths, etc., etc.
The lumber business now conducted by W. H.
Weaver & Co., No. 20 Lumber District, was estab-
lished in 1866 by William McEchron, Jones Ord-
way, James Morgan and A. M. Adsit, and W. H.
Weaver. Since that time the personnel of the firm
has had several changes, and is now composed of
W. H. Weaver, Jones Ordway and W. E. Speir.
Two yards are employed by the firm, 400 by 70
and 900 by 60 feet respectively in dimensions,
affording storage for about 9,000,000 feet of lum-
ber. Their annual sales amount to ?8, 000,000
feet. ^
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
613
In 1845 Joshua Rathbun established himself in
the lumber trade at Albany. In 1865 the present
firm of Rathbun & Co. was formed, consisting of
Joshua & Acors Rathbun. This firm occupy a
commodious yard and dock at 14 Lumber Dis-
trict The stock principally dealt in consists of
oak, ash, black walnut, cherry, chestnut and syca-
more. Their trade extends throughout the country
and largely in New York and New England.
Rodney Vose commenced operations in the hand-
ling of lumber in Albany as early as 1853. He
has made the business a life study, and there
are few engaged in the business who have had
wider experience, or whose knowledge is more
comprehensive with regard to the wants and
needs of the trade. Mr. Vose's yard is located at
218 Water street, where ample dock privilege and
room for storage of 5,000,000 feet of lumber are
provided. A special feature of this house is its
trade in shingles, which has reached as high as
10,000,000 in some years. The trade of this yard
besides being largely local, extends thoroughout
New York and Massachusetts.
The present firm of Simons & Richards is a
continuation of the firm of Mattice & Simons
established in 1856, which was succeeded in 1859
by Simons & Griswold. In 1872 Nathan E. Si-
mons became the sole proprietor, remaining as
such until 1878, when A. K. Richards became a
partner, under the present firm name of Simons &
Richards. Their yards, six in number, are located
at 116 Water street. They have a dock frontage
of 350 feet. Their stock consists of a complete
assortment of Northern and Western lumber. A
specialty is made in spruce building materials.
From the sources at our command we have
compiled the following list of lumber dealers, past
and present, in Albany.
18 1 6. — Jacob Barney, David Backus.
1817. — Richard Dusenbury, Aaron Hand, John
Quackenbush, Salem Dutcher, Uriah Marvin.
1825. — John Cullings.
1830.— H. A. Bancroft & Co., F. J. Barnard, F.
Batcheller, Benjamin Cooper, Benjamin Gregory,
L. P. Hand, Edwin Jessup, Arnold Nelson, Samuel
Phipps, Joel Pinney, Root & Youngs (staves),
James G. Youngs & Co., Slacks & Davis, Isaac
Welch, Robert Whitlock.
1840. — Arnold Carroll, Elias Colburn, Adolphus
Colburn, H. Colburn, Daniel Crane, Jr., Abner
Davis, Charles A. Fassett, Hill & Sanford, W. A.
Judson, Kenyon & Winne, Nathan G. King, Minor
King, S. Lossee&Co., Marse & Bicknell, Rathbone
& Gallup, Ross & Colburn, Giles Sanford, Nelson
Salisbury, Daniel Smith, George Van Derlip, J. &
B. Van Valkenburgh, Solomon Whipple.
1852. — W. H. Bloomingdale, Bullock & Many,
Clark, Sumner & Co. , Calvin, Cooley & Co. , Cof-
fee, Bruce & Co., De Forrest, Patten & Co., John
Gibson, Higbie Hammond & Co., Thomas Hill &
Co., Thomas W. Hotchkiss, William H. Hunt,
R. Ketchum & Sons, James B. King, M. McGowen
& Co., Mead, Myers & Bennett, Joshua Rathbun
& Co., N. Rogers & Callender, John P. Romaine
& Co., Ross & Crocker, Oscar Tyler, Fassett &
Washburn, Ward & Derby, J. C. Ward & Sons.
Clement Warren & Son, Robert Whitlock, C. R
Williams & Co.
1857.— S. W. Barnard, W. M. Bender, William
Birdsall, Fassett & Co., Gary & Salisbury, W.
Headlum & .Son, G. Hunter, Mattier & Simons,
Simons & Richards, Benjamin Rathbun, George
W. Roberts, Robertson & Edmeston, H. P. Ross
& Karslake, E. A. Ross, J. Tallman & Co. , Adam
Van Allen, James G. Whitlock, Warren, Wilbur &
Co., Solomon Whipple.
1865. — Arnold, Folsom & Co., J. Benedict &
Son, Stephen Clark, James G. Crocker, De Witt
& Nephews, Jones & Co. , J. B. Kelley & Co. , Ket-
chum, Scott & Simpson, H. W. Gage, Thomson
&H)att.
1875.— Bender, Martin & Thomas, N. H. Chase,
Smith & Co., Cullen & Jones, A. Frost & Dillen-
beck, Fassett, Son & Co., f. L. Hyatt & Co., Bul-
lock & Co., McGaugan & McOnly, Thomas Num-
pler, C. B. Nichols & Mills, Norton & Co., John
Pennie, Jr., & Wolfinger, Skillings & Whitney Bros
D. W. Talcott,W. G. Thomas &Co., B. A. Towner
& Son, Douglas L. White, Thomas Wilson.
1880.— Collender& Mason, M. N. Fassett.
The following lumber firms are deserving of
mention in connection with the lumber interest of
the city: Gratwick & Fryer, No. 21 Lumber Dis-
trict, composed of William H. Gratwick & Robert
L. Fryer; Hughson & Co., No. i Lumber District,
composed of J. C. Hughson, A. H. Campbell, and
N. H. Salisbury; Gilbert Hunter & Son (Dexter)
North Ferry above Water; Mattoon & Robinson,
No. 1 1 2 Water street, composed of David Mattoon
and Edward Robinson; James Moir, Nos. 8 and 9
Lumber District; Smith Bros. (Albert and Oscar),
No. 28 North Pearl, and Albany and Susquehanna
Railroad offices; Sumner & Hascy, No. 16 Lumber
District, composed of Alanson A. Sumner and O.
L. Hascy; L. Thomson & Co., No. 25 Lumber
District, composed of Lemon Thomson, Augustus
Sherman, and Henry P. and T. Ellery Lord; J.
O. Towner & Co., No. 10 Lumber District, com-
posed of Mr. Towner and Samuel B. Towner.
The following firms are also at the present time
engaged in the lumber trade: Arnold & Co.,
Royal Bancroft, J. Benedict & Son, Boyd & Co.'
William N. Callender, Truman D. Cameron, J.
W. Dunham & Co., Charles P. Easton & Co.,
Fogg, Patton & Co., John H. Gordon, Hand
& Babbitt, Hubbell & Hill, Harvey Hunter, John
Krutz, W. C. Many & Co., T. Miles & Co.,
Morgan Lumber Company, Thomas Murphy, J.'
R. Nangle, Charles B. Nichols, Phillips & Duns-
comb, H. W. Sage & Co., Saxe Bros., Robeit
Scott, Smith, Craig & Co., Henry Spawn, Staples
& Van Allen, P. Van Rensselaer & Co., Van Sant-
ford& Eaton, C. Warren, David Whitne)', Jr., N. R.
Wilbur & Son, C. H. Winne, Waine & Andrews.
The Board of Lumber Dealers was organized in
1863, and incorporated under and in pursuance of
an act passed May 8, 1869, whose object is de-
clared to be "to inculcate just and equitable prin-
ciples in trade; to establish and maintain uniformity
in commercial usages; to acquire, preserve and dis-
614
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
seminate valuable business information; and to ad-
just controversies and misunderstandings between
persons engaged in business." An arbitration com-
mittee, consisting of five members of the Board, is
annually elected by ballot, it being their duty to
hear and decide differences which may arise be-
tween members or others that is voluntarily sub-
mitted to them, and a judgment of the Supreme
Court is rendered upon their award, except in
cases where claims concerning titles to real estate
are involved.
Its Presidents since 1863 are as follows: Henry
Q. Hawley, William N. Fassett, William H. Ross,
Benjamin A. Towner, Douglas L. White, William
G. Thomas, O. L. Hascy, J. O. Towner, E. G.
Benedict, C. P. Easton, J. E. Craig, E. C. Clark,
Jr., H. S. Van Sanford, James B. Kelley, Dean
Sage, Joshua Rathbun, Leman Thomson,' J. C.
Hubbell, C. B. Nichols, S. B. Towner.
The officers for 1884 were John McDonald,
President ; C. W. Eaton, Vice-President ; Walter
G. White, Treasurer ; William U. Fassett, Secre-
tary; J E. Craig, O. L. Ilascy, A. S. Kibbee,
iVIanagers ; S. B. Towner, E. G. Benedict, J. C.
Hubbell, K. L. Fryer, H. S. Van Sanford, Arbitra-
tion Committee.
William N. Fassett was among the pioneers in
the lumber district, and is one of the oldest lumber
dealers in the city. He is now sole proprietor of
the business commenced in 1832 by Messrs.
Whitlock & Fassett, who then occupied yards
on the pier opposite Orange street. Mr. Fassett
is also Secretary of the Board of Lumber Dealers,
an account of which is given in this article.
From the long time he has been engaged in this
branch of business, his knowledge of events con-
nected therewith is large, and to him we are in-
debted for many of the facts in this paper. His
present office and yards are situated at 7 Lumber
District.
A contract, dated Fort Orange, June 22, 1662,
between WynandtGerreydts Van Der Poell and Dr.
Jacob Hendrickse Ver Vauger, agreeing to pay
1,261 guilders 19 stuivers and 4 pennies for " 1,600
good merchantable boards," will show the compar-
ative value of now and over two centuries ago.
Dr. Ver Vauger was then a surgeon in the West
India Company at New Amsterdam.
In 1875, the number of establishments in New
York State for the manufacture of planed lumber
was 175; number of hands employed, 1,961;
capital, $2,955,586; wages, $886,167; value of
materials, $4,574,619; value of products, $6,332,
341; and the number of establishments for lumber
sawed were 3, 510; hands employed, 15,409; cap-
ital, $15,110,981; wages, $3,438,601; value of
material, $11,228,613; value of products, $21,-
238,228.
The receipts of lumber in Albany for the year
1861 were 138,000,000 feet less than for i860.
The uncertainty in business centers, caused by the
war, was felt with great force by lumber dealers.
The amount of building was sensibly decreased.
The receipts for shingles, square timber and staves,
though, were about the same.
The following table exhibits the receipts at Al-
bany during the years named :
Year.
Boards and
Scantling.
Feet
Shingles,
Thou-
sands.
Timber.
Cubic
feet.
Staves.
Pounds.
i8i;o
216,791,890
260,238,003
317,135,620
393,726,073
3",57i,i5i
245,921,652
223,345,545
180,097,629
267,406,41 1
291,771,762
301,022,600
162,952,527
34,226
34,136
31,636
27.586
24,003
57,210
36,899
70, 104
31,823
48,756
41,222
31,782
28,832
110,200
201,714
19,916
28,909
24,104
14,533
85,104
"9,497
70,381
46.883
44,754
150,515,280
135,087,290
107,961,289
118,066,750
135,805,091
140,255,285
102,548,492
153,264,629
135,011,817
114,570,503
148,735,369
143,784,471
\%t\
iSf^a
1851
I8S4
1855
1856
1857
1858
1850
i860
I86I
The following table exhibits the valuation of the
receipts during the years named. A difference in
the receipts for i860 and 1861, corresponding to
the same years in the table above given, will be
noticed:
Year.
1850.
1851.
1852.
1853-
1854.
1855.
1856,
1857.
1858.
1859.
i860.
1861.
Boards
and
Scantling.
$3,251,878
4,119,568
5,495,960
6,299,617
4,985,139
4,426,589
3,573,529
2,881,560
4,412,205
4,887,177
5,042,128
2,729,454
Shingles. Timber.
$119,791
121,524
110,726
99,585
86,981
227,840
129,147
248,515
"1,383
170,646
144,277
"',237
$4,325
19,010
52,509
3,386
6,649
4,854
2,616
15,218
20,314
11,965
7,971
7,697
Staves.
$677,319
546,655
507,418
569.600
611,123
631,149
461,468
689,691
540,047
458,282
594,942
575.138
Receipts by Canal during 1867.
Boards and scantling, feet 382,883,955
Shingles, thousands 26,880
Timber, cubic feet 62,705
Staves, pounds 31,460,271
Receipts by Canal at Tidewater during 1867.
Boards and scantling, feet 675,055,455
Shingles, thousands 44,392
Timber, cubic feet 3,369,800
Staves, pounds 273,889^571
The following table shows the receipts and valu-
ations for the years 1869 and 1870:
Quantity.
1869. 1870.
Boards and scantling, feet 444,474,900 452,363,900
Timber, cubic feet 5,000 116,800
Staves, pounds 8,804,400 17,769,100
Shingles, thousands 32,166 21,488
Estimated Value.
1869.
Boards and scantling $12,445,300
Shingles 128,664
Timber
Staves
2,000
61,631
1870.
*9>499,642
97,529
52,538
124,384
Total Receipts at Tide-water.
1869.
Boards and scantling, feet 768,607,600
Shingles, thousands 33,723
Timber, cubic feet 3.151,700
Staves, pounds 166,649,200
1870.
768,007,300
28,660
3,795,700
232,161,200
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
615
Comparative Receipts for 1870.
New York. West Troy. Waterford.
Boards and scantling,
feet 125,663,100 169,364,300 20,616,500
Shingles, thousands. . 1,419 5.7^4 9
Timber, cubic feet. . . 1,520,000 1,423,200 735. 700
Staves, pounds 211,229,100 2,851,300 311,700
In Chicago, 990,834,000 feet lumber was re-
ceived and 471,504,000 feet shipped in 1870. The
amount shipped by canal at Buffalo in 1870 was
168, 204,000 feet, and at Oswego 271,618,000 feet.
The amount of measured and tally lumber han-
dled in 1882 was 443,400,227 feet, which, with
laths, shingles, etc., was valued at $10,000,000.
The amount for 1883 was 457,189,308 feet; esti-
mated value, $10,250,000.
(These figures for 1882-83 are compiled from the
monthly returns of the Board of Lumber Dealers.)
The inventory of the pine lumber on hand in the
district January i, 1886, compared with January
I, 1885, is as follows: jggj, ,ij86.
1,000 feet. 1,000 feet
Michigan uppers 7,324 6,832
" pickings 7,787 6,051
" common 28,835 24,478
" ixio inch 7,244 3,487
" IXI2 inch 5,831 3,129
" 1x14 inch 67 217
" IX16 inch 208 343
" stock plank 2,013 1,161
" shelving 1,387 956
" shippers 5, '12 3,o88
log runs 1,431 1,149
" 4x4 wide common . . 98 211
" 2x12 inch 1,424 235
" 4x4 mch strips 4,677 4,957
Canada pine, 4-4 inch siding. .
" 5-4 inch siding. .
" 6-4 inch siding. .
" 8-4 inch siding, .
" 3 inch siding. . .
" 4-4 inch strips. .
" 5-4 inch strips. .
" 6-4 inch strips . .
17,711 14,269
Norway 6,379 7>095
1,000 pieces. 1,000 pieces,
IXIO pine boards 1,389 931
5-4 pine boards 262 192
I, coo feet. 1,000 feet.
On hand January i 1 15,208 83,933
The receipts of sawed lumber at Albany by the
canal in 1885, and for each year for the past fifteen
years, have been as follows: ^
1870 415,000,000
1871 421,000,000
1872 438,000,000
1873 346,000,000
1874 341,000,000
1875 290,000,000
1876 289,000,000
1877 330,000 000
1878 309,000,000
1879 318,000,000
1880 362,000,000
1881 364,000,000
1882 450,000,000
1883 452,000,000
1884 477,000,000
iggc 467,000,000
73,43*5
56.294
1,000 feet.
1,000 fee
6,789
5,301
2,3'6
3,209
261
283
86
64
82
118
6,567
4,348
1,586
916
24
30
The total tide-water receipts per. canal (include
Albany, West Troy, Waterford) were:
Feet.
Sawed lumber 731,691,600
Shingles 6,936,000
Hemlock timber (cubic) 888,200
Pounds.
Slaves 9,636,000
In addition to the lumber unloaded and as-
sorted in the lumber district, several Albany firms
sort their lumber at the mills and ship it through
to New York.
DAVID MATTOON.
This gentleman is of English descent. His
parents, William and Sarah (Hungerford) Mattoon,
were natives of Watertown, Litchfield County,
Conn. He was born at Vienna, Oneida County,
N. Y., March 12, 1816. He was reared on his
father's farm, attending the common schools of
the lime and locality, and later completed his
education in an academy at Vernon, Oneida
county. Later he was engaged in farming and
teaching school in his native town, where, in 1840,
he married Miss Sarah Ransom. In 1843 he re-
moved to Albany, where, until 1847, he was em-
ployed in the lumber yard of Robert Whitlock.
In the year last mentioned, the firm of Griswold,
Mattoon & Co. was formed. It consisted of Aaron
Griswold, David Mattoon and a special partner.
The firm opened a lumber yard at the foot of
Orange street, and established a large and increas-
ing business. Three years later the special partner
died and the style of the firm became Griswold &
Mattoon. Mr. Griswold's health failing, Mr.
Mattoon became sole owner of the business in
1857, and so continued till 1868, when the present
firm of Mattoon & Robinson was formed, by the
admission of Mr. John Robinson. In 1861 the
business was removed to 105 Water street, where
it was continued till 1883, when the offices were
established at their present locality, 112 Water
street. The firm have very extensive yards and
carry on a heavy trade, it requiring both their old
yard and a large one adjoining their office.
In his business career Mr. Mattoon has been
signally successful, bringing to bear upon the con-
duct of his affairs an unswerving integrity and an
enlightened business intelligence that have made
him favorably and widely known. It is worthy of
more than passing note, that, during the thirty-
seven years of his commercial life, in which have
occurred several financial crises, which have
brought disaster and ruin to important commercial
and monetary interests on all sides, his paper has
never gone to protest and he has never asked for
an extension of the time of payment, even in a
single instance. During that extended period he
has dealt continuously with the Exchange Bank.
Mrs. Mattoon, who died July 27, 1877, bore
him four children. The eldest of these, Whitman
V. R. Mattoon, early in the late rebellion enlisted
as a private in company F, 44th regiment N. Y.
v., and July i, 1862, after the battle of Malvern
616
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
\
'^f;;;iy\/n^-c^ M/L^iL/X^^^nrVi — .
Hill, he was among the missing, and no tidings of
his fate have ever reached those who have mourned
him at home. Marion A. Mattoon, the next in
order of birth, became the wife of Mr. J. C. Fitz-
patrick, a resident of Brooklyn, who has long been
connected with the business and editorial manage-
ment of the New York Herald. Theodore P.
Mattoon, the third child, died in infancy, and the
fourth, Miss Hattie E. Mattoon, is an inmate of her
father's household.
Formerly a Democrat, at the outbreak of the
Civil War Mr. Mattoon espoused the cause of the
Republican party, and has since been an ardent
advocate of the principles actuating its founders
and early leaders, though he has never been an
active politician in the ordinary acceptation of the
term. His family have long been connected with
the Fourth Presbyterian Church, upon the services
of which he is a regular attendant.
MELVIN NEWMAN MEAD
was born in Chester, Warren County, N. Y. , August
5, 1812, at the old homestead of the family, where
he remained with his parents until he attained his
majority, working on the farm and doing his share
in contributing to the prosperity of the household.
When he left the paternal residence he went to the
growing village of Glens Falls, and became a clerk
in the employ of Morgan & Lapham, who were en-
gaged in the lumber trade, a thriving business there,
even at that early day. Having made himself
familiar with the business, and learned the art of
buying and selling to the best advantage, for he
was a sharp-witted, sagacious man, he came to
Albany in 1833, thoroughly able to enter into com-
petition with the shrewdest of the lumber dealers,
and formed a co-partnership with his brother, Orlin
Mead. On the death of the latter he became the
senior member of the well-known lumber firm of
Mead, Dunham & Co., and he made the business
of that firm a great success. He was a most inde-
fatigable man of business, regular, methodical and
jrompt. Early and late he was at his post, never
idle, and never losing a moment from employment
when anything was to be done. His heart was
ever open to charity, and he gave freely and liberally
to whatever he deemed deserving. But he turned a
deaf ear to the profligate and unworthy. To his
own kindred he dispensed heartily and generously.
He was in every sense of the word a reliable man,
and a most worthy and excellent citizen. He de-
spised all shams and hypocrisy; and as he was born
a Democrat, and nursed in the school of Democ-
racy, and gave his first vote for President to An-
drew Jackson, and his last to W. S. Hancock, so
he doubtless would have continued had his life
been spared.
Mr. Mead married Sarah E., daughter of the
late George W. Merchant, and leaves no issue,
none having been born to him.
The family of the Merchants were well known
to old Albanians. The grandfather of Mrs. Mead
was the venerable George Merchant, who came to
// /
/ -'/
^ .// / /:! fy ,: 0 ' ' <-/ ■^ ^ ///•//-/ /'
i>mycn'^^
<Hn^
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
617
Albany from Germany. He was a man held in
high estimation by Albanians, of high social stand-
ing, and filled many public positions. He was
County Clerk of Albany County at the time of his
death, an office held by him for many years under
such Governors as Tompkins and Clinton, through
the old Council of Appointment, presided over by
such Judges as Kent and Spencer. He was also a
Paymaster in early life in the Revolutionary Army.
He built, owned and occupied until his death, the
mansion on Ten Broeck street now occupied by
the Olcotts. To this mansion was attached several
acres of land devoted to fruit and garden purposes.
It was in this house, directly across the street from
her present residence, that Mrs. Mead was born.
About thirteen years ago Mr. Mead retired from
business on account of his health, with a modest
competency. He died at his residence in Ten
Broeck street, from paralysis, September 23, 1884.
ALANSON SUMNER.
The late Alanson Sumner was born in Edin-
burgh, Saratoga County, N. Y., July 21, 1801, and
died in Albany, February 25, 1874. He was of
English extraction, his paternal ancestor having
been a native of Bicester, whence he removed to
Massachusetts about the middle of the seventeenth
century. Young Sumner was reared on his father's
farm, where he remained until he attained his ma-
jority. He attended the public schools of his native
town, and later, was, for a time, a student at an
academy at Ballston Spa.
Mr. Sumner occupied himself for a portion of
two years, 1820-23, upon the construction of the
eastern division of the Erie Canal. Within a few
months after the opening of the Canal to Albany,
he was called to be the Assistant Superintendent of
a portion of that great internal improvement and
he was soon advanced to the Superintendency,
continuing in supervision for eleven years alto-
gether. During the last four or five years of this
period, he held the most important Superintend-
ency on the line of the Canal, his division extend-
ing from Albany west and north, and embracing
forty locks, including the Troy and Mohawk Dams.
Through this connection he gained a knowledge
of public works and a familiarity with large con-
tracts which shaped his whole after life. In 1834
he entered into a contract, in which Mr. Stephen
Clark was a partner, for building the Long Bridge
across the Potomac River. In 1837, in company
with Mr. Clark and Mr. John Ellis, of Schenec-
tady, he began contracting on the Croton Water-
works, New York, and completed the receiving
reservoir of the system in 1842. Later he was for
two years occupied with contracts upon the en-
largement of the Erie Canal. Abandoning con-
tracting, in 1849 he engaged in the commission
lumber trade at Albany, whither he had removed
in 1844. He was successful in this business and
retired therefrom six years later, leaving his place
for a time to his nephew, Mr. A. A. Sumner, with
an opening for his son, Mr. William A. Sumner,
who became a partner in 1863.
In 1826 Mr. Sumner was married to Miss Emily
D. Beecher, of Edinburgh, Saratoga County, who
died childless in 1828. In February, 1839, he
married Miss Diadama B. Fay, of Northampton,
Fulton County, who bore him a son and two
daughters, and died in 1864.
Mr. Sumner's interest in the prosperity of Al-
bany was earnest, and he was ever among the first
to subscribe liberally to all worthy local objects.
The City Hospital, of which he was one of the
Governors, was the object of his especial solicitude.
As a business man he took the highest rank, and
his integrity was unimpeachable, his word being
considered as good as the strongest bond. He was
a stockholder in many important commercial en-
terprises, and for many years one of the Directors
of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank.
He was a Democrat politically, and though
neither an office-holder or an office-seeker, he took
a keen interest in public events and did his part
quietly, as a citizen, to advance the interests of his
party. A great reader from his youth up, he was
splendidly self-educated, and it is said that his
knowledge of American history and biography was
remarkable. His sympathies took a wide range,
and guided by his eminently good judgment, made
him so wise a counselor, that many can testify to
the value of his advice.
LEMON THOMSON
was born in Athol, Warren County, N. Y., Jan-
uary 27, 1822, son of Charles C. Thomson, of
Scotch-Irish stock, an industrious village black-
smith and farmer. When he was thirteen years
old he accompanied his parents to Johnsburgh in
the same county. He was never idle. The oldest
of five children, he was always helpful in the shop
or on the little farm. In the public schools of
these towns he took his first lessons in literary
knowledge. At seventeen he was a school teacher.
At eighteen he was a student in Glens Falls Acad-
emy preparing for college. When he was twenty-five
years old he entered the Sophomore Class at Union
College, and graduated in the full course in 1850.
The next two years, or a part of them, found him
reading law with Judge Rosekrans. Conceiving a
business life to be more congenial to his taste, he
entered into partnership in trade with W. W. Weed,
in 1 85 1, and sold out after two years.
In 1 85 1, he married Abby, daughter of Augustus
Sherman, then President of the First Commercial
Bank, and afterward President of the First National
Bank of Glens Falls from its first organization.
In 1855, Mr. Thomson came to Albany, having
formed a partnership with his father-in-law, under
the firm name of L. Thomson & Co., as manufac-
turers and dealers in lumber. This has ever since
been his business, with slight changes in partner-
ship.
He is a large owner of timber and other lands
in Northern New York. He has been success-
ful, and ranks among the leading merchants and
bankers of Albany. He is a large stockholder
in the First National Bank, and has been a stock-
618
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OB ALBANY.
holder and director in the National Exchange
Bank since its establishment
Mr. Thomson is a thorough business man in
its full meaning— in ability, in energy, in exper-
ience, in probity. He enjoys the competence
which he has won, and shares it liberally with good
causes and in promoting laudable public enter-
prises. He is a man of domestic and literary
tastes, and takes an active interest in education, re-
ligion and good morals.
When twenty-one years old he held the position
of Superintendent of Common Schools in his na-
tive county. In religion he is an active member
of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. He is always
and everywhere an uncompromising friend of tem-
perance. Originally a Democrat, acting with the
Barn-burners, he parted company during the anti-
slavery controversy, and became a Republican on
the organization of that party. He has voted for
Polk, Pierce, Fremont, Lincoln, Grant, Greeley,
Hayes, Garfield and Blaine. He is a Republican,
but of the independent school. His action as a
citizen is guided only by his conscientious convic-
tions of right.
In all places he is outspoken, high-minded
and honorable. He is straight out on all ques-
tions, and never waits to find out what course
the party leaders are to take. He has formed his
own opinions on the basis of reason and conscience.
There is no mistaking him when he speaks or acts.
In him the humblest citizen has a friend. The
toiling laborer, be he ever so humble, can trust
him.
He writes much for the papers on local and
political topics. He is direct and pungent in style;
severe on bad legislation, loose habits of public
economy, and every wrong. He uses no useless
rhetoric; he goes into his subject at once and drives
his antogonist to the wall, if possible, and keeps
him there until he cries for quarter.
Such a man has firm friends, but is not always in
the majority. Unscrupulous partisans don't take
him for a leader. Yet he has held several im-
portant political trusts. In 1864-67, he was an
Alderman, and an earnest advocate of reform and
economy in the local government. He has been
candidate for the State Assembly, and in 1882, was
the citizens' candidate for Congress. In the Board
of Trade and other business organizations he has
held leading trusts, and is often found active in
associations and conventions held for promotion
of important public interests. May such men in-
crease !
DOUGLAS L. WHITE.
This gentleman has long been prominent in con-
nection with the lumber trade of Albany, and as
the senior member of the firm of White & Co. , he
is known to the lumber trade throughout a large
portion of the United States and Canada. He was
born at Quebec, Canada, March 31, 1822, of Scotch
and English parentage. His father, a merchant at
Quebec, died when he was but five years of age,
3nd he engaged in business while yet very young
and aided to support his mother and her family.
When he was not fifteen years old, under an
uncle who was an extensive miller and distiller,
he managed certain branches of the business,
which was carried on by a firm of the same name
as that of which he has so long been the head,
so that he may be said to have been associated
with the business of Douglas L. White & Co.
much of the time since he was a mere lad.
Since that time Mr. White's experience in business
has been long and varied. He spent several years
at extensive iron-works in Wales as assistant-man-
ager and salesman. In this enterprise, Patrick
Moir, his brother-in-law, was partner and manager
with Sir Charles Price Marryatt & Co., of London.
Upon his brother-in-law's retirement from this
business, Mr. White returned to Quebec, but, not
being satisfied with the limited scope for his busi-
ness abilitiess offered there at that time, he went to
New York, and met with an opening in the office
of August Belmont, agent of the Rothschilds, as
corresponding clerk and assistant-cashier, holding
a power of attorney, under the authority of which
he managed very important transactions and large
sums of money passed through his hands. To his
sagacity and fidelity during this period, Mr. Bel-
mont has testified over his signature. Later, he
held a similar position in the house of Curtis,
Beals & Fearing, bankers, of New York, until that
firm discontinued business, and received the most
unequivocal evidence that his business ability and
devotion to their interests were appreciated by
members of the firm. Offers were now tendered
him by Gilmour & Co., one of the wealthiest and
most prominent lumber firms of Canada, of which
John and David Gilmour, who had married two of
his sisters, were members, to take charge of one of
their extensive establishments in Canada. He re-
mained there until the interests of the firm at Troy
required attention, a commission house there to
which Gilmour & Co. had consigned lumber hav-
ing failed. Through the efforts of Mr. White, a
favorable settlement by compromise was effected,
and Gilmour & Co. opened a large yard at Green
Island, West Troy, for the sale of their own lum-
ber, under his management, in 1856. During the
following year the business was transferred to Mr.
White, his brother, Richard P. White, and Walter
Gillespie, who continued it under the firm name
of Gillespie, White & Co., with yards at West Troy
and Albany. The style and personnel of the firm
have changed several times since then. The firm
of Gillespie, White & Co. was succeeded by
White, Loveland & Co. ; White & Co. succeeded
White, Loveland & Co. and gave place to White
& Moir, the immediate predecessors of the firm of
Douglas L. White & Co., the individual members
of which are Messrs. Douglas L. White and his
eldest son, W. G. White. White & Co., with ex-
tensive connections and mills in Canada, has
done the largest lumber business in the country,
the sales in 1872 amounting to over $2,000,000.
Messrs. Douglas L. White & Co. now rank
as one of the heaviest of the several heavy lumber
firms of Albany dealing in Canada pine lumber.
S^ap^a^ -^/^^Utcz
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
619
and handling Michigan pine and spruce and hem-
lock from mills in New York State and Canada,
their annual transactions amounting to more than
half a million dollars, and involving the sale of
25,000,000 to 30,000,000 feet of lumber. They
occupy two extensive yards in the Lumber District
and their dock privileges are of equal importance
to those of any of their contemporaries. Their
trade extends throughout New England and New
York, and is entirely at wholesale by the car-load
or cargo.
Mr. White's standing among men in his own trade
and in the community is very high. From time
to time he has interested himself in prominent
business interests of the city, and in all local
benevolent and charitable objects. Long a mem-
ber of the Presb}'terian Church, he has for years
been conspicuous among those who have pro-
moted evangelical work. Always of a retiring
disposition, absorbed in the welfare of his large
family, and finding happiness in their midst, he
has shrunk from public positions. Yet he has
done effective work while acting as Governor of
the Albany Hospital, Trustee of the Fourth Pres-
byterian Church, Life Member of the American
Bible Society, and of the Young Men's Christian
Association and Young Men's Association. He
has also served as President of the Board of
Lumber Dealers, and Director of the Capital City
Insurance Company and other corporations. He
has been a constant contributor to Home and For-
eign Missions, Bible and Tract Societies, and other
benevolent institutions, as well as to the tem-
perance cause, and has generously responded to
other just and worthy calls upon his time and
means. The improvement and education of the
colored race have received much generous atten-
tion from him, and he has given substantial and
timely aid to worthy men in financial difficulty.
Mr. White's church connection brought him
into intimate friendly relations with the late Rev.
Dr. Halley, as a result of which, in 1868, he in-
vited the Doctor to accompany him upon a Euro-
pean tour, and together they visited England,
Scotland, France, Italy and Switzerland. This was
quite an event in Dr. Halley's life, and one for
which he cherished the liveliest feelings of gratitude
to his generous friend, for he had not had an op-
portunity to visit his native Scotland since he had
left there early in life. During the tour Dr. Halley
wrote some very interesting letters, which were
published in some of the Albany papers, detailing
scenes and incidents in Rome and other localities
of great interest alike to him and the reading pub-
lic. For some years past, Mr. White has been con-
nected with the Fourth Presbyterian Church. In
politics he has been a strong Republican since the
organization of that party, and during political
campaigns, and at other times as his assistance has
been required, he has given liberally of his means
towards the promotion of its principles and the
success of its -candidates, and has been especi-
ally generous in his donations to the several Re-
publican Clubs of Albany. He was married, March
8, 1855, to Sophia, daughter of Joseph Horsey,
a wholesale druggist of New York, and has five
sons and two daughters living, four of their children
having died. Four of his sons are engaged in the
lumber trade and another is a student at the Albany
Academy. All of them have enjoyed opportunities
for obtaining good educations and a thorough prac-
tical knowledge of business in their father's office,
and all promise to make their marks as hon-
orable business men. Mr. White's career has
been that of a self-made man. By the exercise
of his natural honesty and ability he has advanced
to a high position in the business community
wherever his lot has been cast. In the great finan-
cial panic of 1873, in which many of the heaviest
banking and business institutions of the country
were plunged into bankruptcy — a period which
will be ever memorable in the financial annals of
America — at a time when Jay Cooke & Co. , Duncan,
Sherman & Co., and other scarcely less prominent
houses were compelled to close their doors, Mr.
White's firm became involved, through complica-
cations with other houses in the trade in New York
and elsewhere, and were forced to make an assign-
ment for the benefit of their creditors. This blow
fell upon Mr. White unexpectedly and with almost
stuifhing force. He had not in any manner con-
tributed, either by omission or commission, to
bring about such a deplorable state of affairs. He
gave up everything he had, reserving nothing. He
acted the part of an honest man, asking no favors
and assisting in every way in his power to bring
about a settlement which should be satisfactory to
the creditors of his firm. This was without doubt
the greatest trial of his life, but in it he had the
sympathy of the whole business and social world in
which he moved. ' The marks of confidence which
were given him by men high in commercial and
professional circles were truly gratifying. His truest
and most helpful friends were Henry W. Sage and
Wm. E. Dodge, of New York. Others scarcely less
prominent gave him words of cheer and extended to
him practical proofs oftheir belief in his honor, and
desire for his speedy issue from the difficulties which
compassed him about. Neither then nor since,
through a long and changeful commercial career,
was ever an aspersion cast upon his integrity or a
question raised as to the purity of his motives.
EARLY MERCHANTS.
Prior to 1772, not much can be learned of the
names of merchants of Albany. After this date,
beginning with the files of the Albany Gazette, the
first paper published in the city, we are able to as-
certain the names and the kind of merchandise sold
by many of the earlier merchants. The natural dil-
igence and acquisitiveness of the Dutch kept them
engaged in trade. The influx of enterprising spec-
ulators and traders from New England near the
close of the Revolution, soon made Albany a
strictly commercial city.
Most of these merchants dealt in a variety of
goods, designated by names now seldom seen.
Among the advertisers in the Gazette of 1772 is
the firm of James Gourlay & Co., "in Cheapside
620
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
street, next door to the King's Arms," in whose
copious enumeration of articles are "Penknives,
Pins, Bibles, Green and Bohea Tea, Cotton, Pep-
per, Chocolate, Playing Cards, Shirt Buttons, Cur-
tain Calicoes, Ink Powder and Knee Garters."
Thomas Barry, "near the Dutch Church," also
enumerates his stock, occupying nearly a column
of the paper with a catalogue of goods with names
which sound quite odd at this day; for instance,
' ' None-so-pretty of various colors and black
breeches pattern." Under the head of dry goods,
were mentioned as just imported from Europe and
now opening for sale, Bibles, Testaments, Spelling
Books, Primers and Entick's Pocket Dictionaries,
Snuff, Tobacco-boxes and Fiddle strings. Satinets
and Shalloons, Best China and Love Ribbons, etc.
At the same time, Robinson & Hale advertise
Bibles, Psalms and Psalm Books, Testaments and
Spelling Books, Primers and Pocket Dictionaries,
which are enumerated with red China Tea-pots
and Shoemakers' Tools. Stuart Wilson then kept a
book store at the corner of State and South Pearl
streets.
In 1784, Robinson & Hale, dealers in European
and East India goods, occupied the "North corner
opposite the Dutch Church." Major Hale is be-
lieved to have been an officer in the Revolution.
The names of the following merchants appear this
year: Jacob Van Schaick, " in Water street, near the
Middle Dock," who advertises a long catalogue of
articles under quaint titles; Henry, McClallen &
Henry, " next door north of the City Hall, "present
the most formidable array of goods, " adapted to all
seasons, in payment for which they will take cash,
Morris's & Hilligas's notes, wheat, corn, pease, flax-
seed, boards and plank, and all sorts of Furs."
John Blake advertised a variety of goods for sale at
Archibald Campbell's store, "opposite Hugh Den-
niston's. "
Roseboom & Co. sold all kinds of nails near the
English Church; Gerardus Beekman advertised a
store nearly opposite Wheeler Douglass's; Edward
Campston, "at the northeast corner of the Dutch
Church," proposed to receive for goods "new
emission money of this State equal to gold or sil-
ver;" Henry Hart had ' ' a neat assortment of Dry
and West India Goods at his store, between the
Low Dutch Church and Market House."
The firm of James & Vail dissolved, and Thomas
V. James assumed the business at the store in
the street opposite the City Hall Dock;" Thomas
Sickels sold European and India Goods on the
south side of the street that leads from the Dutch to
the English Church; John Carey offered, at the
store of Cornelise K.Vandenberg, " at the elm-tree
in the street leading from the Dutch to the English
Church," a quantity of goods which were "just
imported from Ireland ." George Reab, at his store
in the house of Abraham Douw, near the south-
west corner of the Market, offered an assortment of
Dry and West India Goods adapted to the seasons,
in exchange for which he would take cash, R.
Morris & M. Hillegas's notes, new emission money,
all sorts of public securities; also, flax-seed, wheat
and all kinds of country produce.
Joseph Kelly, currier, lately arrived from Ire-
land, " opened a shop at Captain John Roff's, near
the North Gate," and will have ready in a few days,
" good leather, boot-legs and Irish Ben of the best
quality. " Cornelius and John M. Wendell, oppo-
site the Post-office, near the Market-house, im-
ported goods from London." Cuyler, Gansevoort
& Co. "received by the last vessels from London,"
an assortment of dry goods suitable for the season,
and presented a catalogue of other goods, which,
like most of the advertisements of the day, began
with rum and ended with brass kettles; Peter D.
Van Dyck dealt in a general assortment of goods
opposite the southeast corner of the Dutch Church.
Benjamin Wallace had ' ' a neat assortment of
West India and dry goods at his shop, a little north
of the English Church."
Wendell & Trotter carried on a business princi-
pally in dry goods, " opposite the southeast corner
of the City Hall ;" William Gray was a similar
dealer, "near the City Hotel;" Teunis T. Van
Vechten advertised Turk's Island and Rock Salt;
David Fonda, "next door to General Ten Broeck,"
kept "dry goods, groceries and liquors" for sale;
Abraham Eights, in Water street, sold Muscovado
sugar by the barrel, and had "a few excellent
English wind-mills for cleaning wheat."
Anthony Helmer, at his store in the house of
Harmanus Wendell, sold groceries, German steel,
"and a variety of other articles too tedious to be
mentioned;" Jacob Van der Heyden, in Pearl street,
sold "Dutch mill saws, groceries and dry goods;"
Ivie Chambers, "near the Low Dutch Church,"
sold the usual articles of a general store, "princi-
pally liquors;" Elisha Crane, opposite the City
Hall, sold "cyder" at i8s. a barrel, and took in
payment boards, plank, staves, peas and all sorts
of grain, but was careful to inform the public that
"money would not be refused." The foregoing
embraced all the principal merchants doing busi-
ness in Albany about 1785.
In 1790, Cornelius J. Wynkoop deemed it "in-
dispensably necessary " that there should be in the
city "an auctioneer and vendue master for dry
goods, household furniture, etc.," whereupon he
opened, at No. 8 Market street, " a licensed auction
house," and was without doubt the first auctioneer
in Albany.
In 1795, Francis Carbine, a former Albany mer-
chant, died. In this year, William Mayell, "hat-
ter from London," offered for sale an assortment
of hats at the store of T, Fradgley. In 1 799. at
No. 9 Court street, he dealt in "leather breeches,"
mittens, gloves, and wall paper. In 1802, the
grocery firm of James and William Caldwell dis-
solved. The business was afterwards carried on by
William Caldwell.
In 1 8 13, Albany had grown to be an important
commercial center. Indeed, at this date, we are
led to the conclusion that a large percentage of the
business men of Albany were engaged in mercan-
tile pursuits. The first Directory of the city, pub-
lished in 18 1 3, gives the names of nearly three
hundred mercantile firms, representing at least four
hundred merchants.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
631
Following we give the names of the most prom-
inent of these firms.
Joseph Alexander, Lewis Benedict, John R.
Bleecker, Jr., Henry Bleecker, Boyd & McHench,
Peter & John I. Boyd, I. & G. Huiton, Syl. P. Jer-
main, James & Archibald Kane, Chester Bulkley,
William Caldwell, Asa H. Center, James Clarke;
Anthony M. Strong, successor of Mr. Clarke in the
dry goods business, subsequently was a partner of
the well-remembered firm of Richard Marvin &Co. ,
;iud at a later period established the extensive busi-
ness house of A. M. Strong & Co. To continue our
list, there were Walter Clarke, William McHarg,
John & James Mahar, Rhodolphus Crane, John
C. Cuyler, Nathaniel Davis, John D. P. Douw,
Thomas N. Ford, Nathaniel Judson, Russell For-
syth, Thomas, Elias & William Mather, Christian
Miller, William Fowler, Matthew Gill, Job &
Thomas Gould, Douw W. Williams, W. &
Cornelius W. Groesbeck, Paul Hochstrasser, Estes
Howe, Ebenezer Pemberton, Pratt & Durant,
Valentine Rathbone, Lyman Root, Thomas &
Joseph Russel, Sanford & Page, Israel Smith,
George B. Spencer, Barent G. Staats, John &
Spencer Stafford, Israel Smith, George W.
Stanton, Gilbert Stewart, John Taylor & Son,
Jacob H. Ten Eyck, John Townsend, Matthew
Trotter & J. Tuffs, Philip P. Van Rensselaer,
John Van Schaick, Tobias Van Schaick, Willard
Walker, Dudley Walsh & Co., Washburn &
Knower, Webb & Dummer, John I. Wendell,
Jellis Winne.
Till several years after the beginning of the pres-
ent century, it is difficult to classify the Albany
merchants with reference to any particular line of
trade. Most of them sold a general assortment of
merchandise, and few restricted their trade to any
one line of goods. About the end of the first
quarter of this century this condition of trade be-
gan to change, and special merchants in special
lines began to grow numerous. In the following
pages we have aimed to classify the merchants with
some reference to the goods sold.
DRY GOODS.
Probably the oldest house in the dry goods
trade is represented by the present firm of Strong,
Russell & Lawyer. This house was founded in
1824 by Richard Marvin, who commenced a
wholesale dry goods business on South Market
street, just north of Division street. A few years
later he associated with him William Smith. In
1830 Anthony M. Strong became a partner, under
the firm name of Richard Marvin & Co. A few
years after the firm was dissolved, Mr. Marvin re-
tiring, and a new one was formed under the title
of Smith & Strong. In 1838 William N. Strong
was admitted as a partner, the firm then becoming
known as Smith, Strong & Co., and so continued
until 1842, when Mr. Smith withdrew, and for
many years the concern was successfully managed
by A. M. & W. N. Strong. In 1 844 they built the
building now occupied by Daniel Weidman, and
which they first occupied in 1845. In 1857
Thomas J. and Charles H. Strong were admitted
as partners, on the retirement of A. M. Strong,
when the firm name was changed to Strong Broth-
ers & Co. In 1863, James A. Whitney became a
partner, under the firm title of Strong & Co. In
1869, Charles A. Lawyer, and in 1872, George W.
Russell, became members of the firm, when the
name Strong, Whitney & Co. appeared. In 1877
Mr. Whitney died, but, by agreement, business
was conducted under the same firm name until
1879, when it was changed to Strong, Russell &
Co., but has subsequently been changed to Strong,
Russell & Lawyer. The freestone building, Nos.
476 and 478 Broadway, running through to James
street, was built in i860, and since 1 861 has been
occupied by this firm.
About contemporary with the above house were
the dry goods firms of Wilder, Hastings & Co.
Taber & Marks; Conkling & Herring; McMillan
& Bagley; Rufus H. King & Co. ; Wood & Acres
Sheldon & Sykes; Thomas Dunn; Pruyn & Olm-
stead; Parsons & Baker; Jacob Ten Eyck & Co.
Peter & John I. Boyd; Chandler & Starr; David
P. Winne & John Garnsey; Jacob De Garmo
Pruyn & Gadner; Wendell & Jenkins; Matthew
Gill & James Campbell.
Visscher Ten Eyck & Solomon M. Parker form-
ed a partnership in the dry goods business in 1832,
and commenced business at No. 60 State street in
the store at that time occupied by Young & Ehle.
Of the present dry goods dealers the firms of
W. M. Whitney & Co. , John E. Myers, Johnston
& Reilly, and Isaac White's Sons & Co., are the
most extensive establishments in the city, all of
which carry on a large wholesale and retail trade.
The house of W. M. Whitney & Co. was founded
in i860, by W. M. Whitney, as a branch of Ubs-
dell, Pierson & Co. of New York, a history of
which successful enterprise will be found in the
biographical sketch of Mr. Whitney published in
this volume. The individual members of the firm
are William M. Whitney and S. M. Van Santvoord.
William H. Pangburn, who was an active member
of this firm several years, died in December, 1885.
The firm of Isaac White's Sons was founded in
1 87 1 by Isaac White and John J. White, his son.
The present members of the firm are John J. and
Frank White, sons of Isaac White, and A. B.
Wells. A history of the firm will be found in
connection with the biographical sketch of Isaac
White.
The following are the other leading retail dry
goods dealers: P. Bloomingdale; Mann, Wald-
mann & Co. ; B. Stark & Co. ; and S. M. Waldman.
WILLIAM J. FRYER
was born August i, 1808, in the town of Guilder-
land, Albany County, N. Y. His father, John
Fryer, was one of the largest farmers in that section
of the State. Of Dutch ancestry, to be traced back
for many generations in Holland, William not only
inherited those qualities of honor, industry and
perseverance as creditable as they are common to
those of Knickerbocker origin, but received that
622
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
early Christian training so necessary for the eleva-
tion of character. His educational advantages
were only such as the district school at that
time afforded, but all experience serves to illus-
trate and inforce the lesson that there is an educa-
tion not to be learned from books or acquired by
any amount of literary training; that in the busy
haunts of men the best practical education is soon-
est acquired in all that tends to discipline a man
truly and fit him for the proper performance of the
duties and business of life. At the age of fourteen
he left the family homestead to engage in a mer-
cantile business in the village of Catskill, on the
Hudson. After some eight years' experience, he
became the junior partner in an established ship-
ping business at Oakhill Landing, nearly opposite
Catskill, and a few miles below the City of Hudson.
This was before the advent of railroads, when even
steamboating was in its very infancy, and sail was
almost exclusively used for the very important river
traffic of those days.
In the early part of 1837, Mr. Fryer removed to
Albany and established a wholesale dry goods
house, sharing in the general belief at that time
that Albany, as the terminus of the Erie Canal,
was to become the most important business center
for supplying Western merchants. The building of
the Boston and Albany Railroad, which diverted
trade to the greater eastern city, the marvelous de-
velopment in river steamboating, and the construc-
tion of a railroad running parallel with the Hudson
River, forever settled the fate of Albany, to the ad-
vantage of the great City of New York.
On the loth day of February, 1836, just prior to
his removal to Albany, Mr. Fryer married Margaret
Livingston Crofts, granddaughter of Robert Thong
Livingston, at the Livingston Manor House, in the
town of Livingston, Columbia County. From the
very day of beginning in Albany, his business was
large and successful, increasing year by year up to
the time of the great fire of August 17, 1848, which
laid in ashes the business portion of the city. Mr.
Fryer's two stores, with their contents, and several
other buildings which he owned, were destroyed.
A large number of insurance companies were made
bankrupt by the fire, so that the insured received
little or nothing from their policies. That mis-
fortunes never come singly, is illustrated in Mr.
Fryer's case by the fact that, in addition to his
losing a large sum as above stated, he also lost
another large sum in consequence of the noted
failure of the Canal Bank of Albany, in which he
was a director and stockholder, with personal lia-
bilities, which occurred on the loth day of the
previous month of the same year. To the true
worker losses only stimulate to renewed eff'orts and
evoke new powers. Mr. Fryer not only met all
his liabilities in full, but he rebuilt his warehouses
and re-established his business and continued its
management up to 1858, when he practically re-
tired from active mercantile life. Since that time
he has continued to look after the real estate and
other property in which he is interested. During
his long and honorable business career no note of
his was ever protested, and all his business obliga-
tions were promptly paid. For a period of nearly
fifty years, Mr. Fryer has been intimately associated
with the business enterprise, the growth and the
prosperity of the City of Albany, justly earning the
confidence and respect of all his fellow-towns-
men. Possessed of a strong will, great energy, and
the accuracy and judgment required for the efficient
conduct of business, Mr. Fryer is of a modest and
retiring nature, kind and gentle in his manners,
charitable in thought and deed, and finds his chief
pleasure within his own family circle and home
surroundings. The death of Mrs. Fryer occurred
on the nth day of April, 1882.
In politics Mr. Fryer has always been an ardent
Democrat, helping the Democratic party with his
purse and his influence, and clinging to its fortunes
through good and evil report, and although fre-
quently urged to accept party honors, he has stead-
ily refused to do so. As far back as 1845 he
declined the nomination for Mayor on account of
private business, and at a later date he again re-
fused a nomination for the same office. In religion
he has ever held a fixed and decided attachment to
the Dutch Reformed Church, from his earliest re-
membrance of the teachings of the Rev. Harmanius
Van Husen, the pastor of his devoted Christian
father and mother, at the Reformed Dutch Church
in Salem, Albany County. On locating in Catskill
in 1822, Mr. Fryer came under the pastorate of the
Rev. I. N. Wyckoff, D. D., who was the leading
minister in that denomination, and who accepted
a life call from the Middle Dutch Reformed Church
in Albany in 1837, in which latter church Mr.
Fryer continued his connection and repeatedly
served as an officer.
ISAAC WHITE.
This gentleman is descended from two of the
old families of Duanesburgh, Schenectady County.
His paternal grandfather was Ichabod White, who
at an early date removed from Nine Partners,
Dutchess County, and located a mile west of the
village of Duanesburgh, near Duane's Bush, the
old country seat of James Duane, soon removing
two miles southwest to the place now in possession
of the family, and known as the White homestead.
His son, Isaac White, married Mary Jenkins,
whose father, Christopher Jenkins, was of English
descent, and had been a seafaring man in early
life, and removed to Duanesbugh from Rhode Is-
land, settling on a large farm near Quaker street.
Isaac and Mary (Jenkins) White had three sons
and five daughters, who grew to be men and wo-
men, and all of whom, except the subject of this
notice and one of his sisters, were born in Duanes-
burgh. Somewhat late in life, Mr. White disposed
of his property in Duanesburgh and removed to
Otsego County, where he bought a farm, which he
subsequently lost through a flaw in the tide, and
thence, in 1828, to the vicinity of Palmyra, Wayne
County, and lived there four years, after which he
returned to Duanesburgh. His son, Isaac White,
was born in Maryland, Otsego County, February
10, 1820. He passed his boyhood on the farm
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
623
and in attending the winter schools, and at fourteen
years of age hired out at farm labor for eight months
for twenty dollars and his living. From that time,
until he was seventeen, he worked for different
farmers, and succeeded in saving fifty dollars,
which he expended in attending the academy at
Gallupville, Schoharie County. During the next
four years, he attended and taught school near
home. Then he taught the public school at Sau-
gerties, Ulster County, three years. Returning to
Duanesburgh, he married Miss Ann Eliza Cramer,
October 30, 1848. He iaught a school in that
neighborhood the following winter, and in the
spring of 1844 set out on a trip through the then
Far West to see the country, with a view to invest-
ment and settlement. He proceeded to Buffalo
by canal, thence to Cleveland by steamer, thence
to a point on the Ohio River, below Pittsburgh,
by stage, and thence to St. Louis by the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers, going thence on foot sixty miles
to Vandaha, where he remained a short time mak-
ing a small investment in land. Not favorably im-
pressed with the West, he returned to New York
State, and taught school the following winter at
Voorheestown, Montgomery County. The six years
following he was in charge of the public schools of
Fultonville, Montgomery County, and Gloversvilie,
Fulton County, when, his health failing, his physi-
cian advised him to seek some traveling employ-
ment. During the succeeding six years he was
selling gloves and mittens at wholesale, on the
road, for a manufacturing firm in Gloversvilie.
For about a year, in 1857 and 1858, he kept a
store in Gloversvilie. Removing to the neighbor-
hood of Quaker Street, in Duanesburgh, he pur-
chased a farm on which he lived for some years.
In 1861-66 he was again on the road, selling bools
and shoes for Wilburs & Co., of Quaker Street.
Removing to Albany in 1866, he became a sales-
man in the employ of George A. Woolverton &
Co., traveling almost constantly for some years.
During this period his sons, John J. and Edgar
M. White, had acquired an intimate knowledge of
the Yankee notion and fancy goods trade, in the
establishment of George H. Knowlton, and the
former had saved some capital with a view to going
into trade on his own account. Mr. White had
strictly adhered to a rule adopted early in life, to
live so much within his income as to save some-
thing each year, and by this time had consider-
able available means, and, in March, 1871, Isaac
and John J. White bought the business of Mr.
Knowlton, and conducted it under the style of
Isaac White & Son till 1874, when the firm name
was changed to Isaac White & Sons, by the admis-
sion of Edgar M. White, who withdrew early in
1883, his brother Frank White taking his place in
the firm, which has since been known as Isaac
White's Sons & Co. In January, 1885, Edgar M.
White again purchased an interest in the concern.
Charles White, another of Mr. White's Sons, is
employed in the house. This business was be-
gun upstairs at No. 6 1 Broadway. Larger quar-
ters being demanded, it was removed to No.
d"] Broadway, and thence to Nos. 63 and 65
Broadway. The firm do a safe, successful and
growing trade, and its members are favorably re-
garded in business circles in Albany and else-
where.
Mr. White retired from active business January
I, 1883, and is resting from the labors of a well-
spent life. He is conspicuous among the self-
made men of Albany. His ruling ideas in busi-
ness have been industry, safety and prudence, and
he has succeeded where many another man less in-
dustrious and more venturesome has failed. He
has never taken an active part in politics; but,
formerly a Whig, has been a Republican since the
organization of the party.
W. M. WHITNEY.
For more than a quarter of a century, Mr. W.
M. Whitney has occupied a prominent position in
the commercial circles of Albany, and in the ex-
tent and character of the business of which he is
the recognized head, he has done much towards
attracting that large trade which is the pride of the
city and the foundation of much of its substantial
prosperity.
Mr. Whitney was born in Boston, Mass., Jan-
uary 12, 1827, a scion of the old Massachusetts
family of that name, and a grandson of Colonel
Josiah Whitney, of revolutionary fame, who partic-
ipated in all of the engagements in the struggle
for American independence, from the fight of Con-
cord to the surrender of Cornwallis. Daniel Whit-
ney, his father, was a builder of ability and promi-
nence, who, in 1828, when the present leading
merchant of Albany was only one year old, remov-
ed with his family to New York City, where Mr.
Whitney was reared and educated, and, at a com-
paratively early age, he found his first employment
in a retail dry goods store. From this position he
went, in 1844, to another, in a wholesale dry goods
house in William street, near Wall. It is worthy
of note that Mr. Whitney's career in the wholesale
dry goods trade embraces the period during which
the merchants have moved from the section of New
York now known by the comprehensive title of
" Wall street," to other locations uptown, and
given place to the bankers, brokers, insurance
men and others who, for years past, have so notably
represented the great financial interests of the coun-
try. He became so well acquainted with the dry
goods trade that he was recognized a^ an expert
buyer, and from 1852 to 1859 he was chiefly en-
gaged in purchasing goods for large dry goods
houses in different parts of the country. At the
latter date he engaged exclusively with the firm of
Ubsdell, Pierson &Co., Broadway, New York, who
had branch stores in Albany and St. Louis. The
success of the Albany branch having been assured,
it was decided January i, i860, to make it a per-
manent enterprise and Mr. Whitney was put in
charge, giving his personal attention to the pur-
chase of goods and the receipt and fulfillment of all
orders. When the New York house retired from
business, the Albany firm was continued by Mr.
Whitney, who, as the senior member of the firm of
624
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
W. M. Whitney & Co., remains at the head of its
affairs.
When the house was first opened, a store 25 by
120 feet in dimensions was all that was required
for the accommodation of its stock. The premises
at present used consist of a building 86 feet wide,
running back 216 feet, from North Pearl street to
James street, and having five floors. This extensive
store is divided into twenty-five distinct depart-
ments, all under separate heads, and so systemat-
ized that each department can show its own re-
sults from season to season. From three hundred
to four hundred employees find occupation with
the firm, the number varying with the exigencies
of the season. The total floorage utilized at first
was about 3,000 square feet; to-day the twenty-five
departments of the business cover over 103,000
square feet, or a little less than three acres of sur-
face, a fact which exemplifies not only the remark-
able growth of this great representative house, but
the rapid advance of Albany as a source of supply
for all kinds of manufactured goods. Albany owes
to Mr. Whitney the introduction of electric lights
in the city, and his store is brilliantly lighted by
electricity on all of the five floors, and elevators
run to the top of the building, practically bringing
all of the vast rooms on a level. The guiding
principles of the house have ever been — good goods
and adequate values; low uniform prices to all;
close attention to business, and to the comfort and
demands of patrons; and the fairest and most liberal
treatment of all classes of the public. And the ap-
plication of these principles has resulted in the
rapid growth of a well-managed business, which is
now of such dimensions as to leave no doubt that
W. M. Whitney & Co. are the largest retail dis-
tributors of dry goods between New York and
Chicago.
FANCY DRY GOODS.
The first store devoted exclusively to trade in
fancy dry goods in Albany was opened by J. B.
Spelman in 1824. In 1836 Benjamin R. Spelman
bought his brother's interest and a new co-partner-
ship was formed, with B. R. & R. L. Spelman as
the firm name. This continued without change
for forty years, when the firm dissolved, R. L.
Spelman retiring and W. D. Spelman continuing
the business, which he still conducts, at No. 582
Broadway. Among other dealers in this class of
goods we may name Flud & Bochlowitz; E. Gips
& Co.; M. ]M. Hydeman; D. S. La Monte; R.
Lansing; J. Laventall; F. Martineau; S. M. Val-
kenburgh & Co. ; and Isaac White's Sons.
MILLINERY.
Dealers in millinery goods and making ladies'
bonnets, might properly come under the head of
manufacturers, so extensive and elaborate is the
latter business carried on in this city. The most
extensive of these establishments, which carry on a
wholesale and retail trade, are the following: M. L.
Cutler, 540 Broadway; H. W. Lipman & Co., 459
Broadway; I. Lilienthal, 44 South Pearl; Mrs. J.
Mann, 33 North Pearl; L. McHafiie & Co., 55
North Pearl; Edward Owen, 93 North Pearl; M.
Robb, 14 North Pearl; B. Stark & Co., 13 North
Pearl.
CARPET DEALERS.
Among the earlier carpet dealers were the firms
of Thomas W. Forth & Co., corner State and
Broadway; Daniel H. Forth; James Kidd; William
S. Shepard; and Taylor & Waterman, the latter of
whom followed the business for twenty-three years.
The house of A. B. yan Gaasbeck &Co., the
oldest house now engaged in this business, was
founded in 1836 by A. B. Van Gaasbeck and B.
F. Mosely, under the firm name of Mosely & Van
Gaasbeck, on the east side of South Market street,
near the corner of Hudson avenue. In a short
time the firm dissolved, Mr. Mosely continuing at
the old stand, a history of whose long connection
with the carpet trade will be found in connection
with his biographical sketch. After the dissolu-
tion of the firm of Mosely & Van Gaasbeck, the
latter opened a store in the Douw Building, then
just completed, on South Market street. In 1842
he opened another store on State street. Soon
after this date Mr. Van Gaasbeck's brothers,
John and William, became associated with him,
when he opened a store devoted exclusively to the
sale of carpets, the fornier two having been general
dry goods stores, where Maurice E. Viele's store
now stands. The three stores were continued un-
til 1844, when the dry goods stores were sold out,
and another opened in the Athenaeum Building on
the west side of Broadway, near State street In
1849, A. B. Van Gaasbeck sold out his interest in
both stores to his brothers, William assuming con-
trol of the dry goods concern, and John the carpet
store. In 1852 A. B. Van Gaasbeck bought an
interest with his brother John, who had removed
to 34 Greene street. The firm name was then
changed to Van Gaasbeck & Brother. A short
time after the partnership was dissolved, John re-
maining at the old stand, and A. B. opened a new
store corner Broadway and Columbia, where he
remained for seven years. Since 1861 he has
occupied stores on North Pearl and Green streets,
and has recently taken possession of his large
store on North Pearl, nearly opposite the Kenmore.
Since that time he has had as junior partners
Frank Watson, W. Jennison, Chauncey Watson,
and George H. Redway, all of whom were clerks
prior to their interest in the concern. At present
Amos C. Van Gaasbeck, son of A. B. Van Gaas-
beck, is the junior partner.
Abram Koonz was a successful carpet dealer on
State street for many years, succeeded, after his
death, by his son, E. C. Koonz, who has gone out
of business. Martin Kramrath is a prominent
carpet merchant in Albany on South Pearl street
Carpets are also sold by W. M. Whitney & Co.
and Johnston & Reilly.
The Boston Steam Carpet Beating Company
carry on the business of cleaning carpets at 63
Quay street, and is the principal firm of its kind
in the city. Amos Temple is the proprietor.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
626
BENJAMIN F. MOSELEY,
senior member of the firm of B. F. Moseley &
Co., proprietors of the leading carpet warehouse
of Albany, was born in Massachusetts in 1812.
His father was Edwin Moseley, a native of West-
field, Mass. His mother was Marcia Patterson,
a native of Lebanon, N. Y.
Benjamin F Moseley.
He was educated in the public schools of his na-
tive town, and in 1825 came to Albany and entered
the employment of Seneca Mabbett as a clerk in
his store. In 1836 he established himself in the
dry goods trade at the corner of South Market and
Hudson streets, in • the old Museum Building,
whence he crossed to the opposite side of South
Market street. He had at this time taken a part-
ner, his firm being known as Moseley & Van Gaas-
beck. This partnership existed but a short time,
when the firm of Moseley & Van Gaasbeck was suc-
ceeded by that of Smith, Gary & Mosele)', which
was formed in 1839 and was not dissolved until
i86r, during most of which time its business was
carried on in North Market street. Upon his re-
tirement from the dry goods trade in April, i86r,
Mr. Moseley went to Canada, and was there for a
short time in the stove trade.
Returning to Albany, he engaged in the carpet
trade, in 1866, at No. 34 Green street. Seven
vears later he removed to South Pearl street, and
thence, in 1879, to No. 53 State street. In 1882,
his son, Frank E. Moseley, became his partner,
since when the business has been owned and con-
ducted by B. F. Moseley & Co. The business of
this house is located in a handsome five-story
marble building, furnished with all modern con-
veniences that good taste and enterprise can sug-
gest, including a duplex water elevator connecting
all the floors and rendering all of them almost
equally accessible. The line of goods displayed
here embraces all the leading novelties in carpet-
ings: seasonable designs in velvet and Brussels,
choice ingrains, drugget and felt crumb cloths; oil-
cloths; China, cocoa, and Napier mattings; imported
mats and rugs; linoleum, window shades, curtains,
and similar goods. The firm carry an extensive stock
received direct from the manufacturers, and show
an ample assortment of all the standard designs
and new shades and colors, their trade extending
throughout the greater portion of the State. The
Messrs. Moseley are worthy representives of that
active, enterprising class of business men who have
attracted the trade of a wide range of country to
Albany as a desirable purchasing center, and who
by their honorable dealings, progressive ideas, the
reliable character of the goods they handle, and the
many inducements they offer to the purchasing
public, have so firmly established the commercial
importance of Albany and given it a rank among
the leading mercantile cities of the State. Mr.
Moseley is in the best sense of the term a self-made
man. His standing in the community is very high.
A member of the Democratic party, he is yet no
politician. Early in life he was prominently iden-
tified with and for some years librarian of the
North Dutch Church, but for many years he has
been a member of the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
He was married in 1837 to Miss Orelia B. Barstow,
of Hadley, Mass., and has three sons and three
daughters.
GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS.
Christian Miller was for many years a prominent
grocer in Albany. He came from Germany in
1767, and settled in Albany in 1789, and in 1792
opened a grocery store, which he continued until
1825, when he retired from business. For many
of the late years of his life he discharged, with
marked ability, several offices both civil and eccle-
siastical. He was noted for his charities. A tablet
to his memory has been placed in the Second Re-
formed Dutch Church, of which he was a member.
He died in 1844.
James Caldwell, in the latter part of the last
century, was an extensive grocer, succeeded by his
son William in 1802.
The leading merchants in this business during
the first quarter of the present century were William
Cook & Co., Hudson street; A. Marvin & Co.,
South Market; George W. Stanton and Batchelder
& Sherman, Slate street; Wilson, Rathbone &
Chapin, Quay street; Mancius & Le Breton, corner
of South Market and State; and Daniel Wilcox,
South Market; Joshua Puffs, Pemberton & Mitchell^
J. & R. F. Slack, Granville Slack, N. & C. Scovill,
J. & E. M. Sayles, located on or near Quay street.
The firm of Tracy, Woolverton & Wilson is the
oldest established house of the kind now existing
in Albany. In 1 831, James A. Wilson and Charles
Badgele}', the founder of the present firm, started
in the grocery business at the corner of Quay and
Exchange streets. Here the store was located till
626
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
1861. In 1833 Mr. Badgeley died, and Peter
Monteath became a partner, under the firm name
of Wilson & Monteath. In 1845 Joseph D. Bage-
ley was admitted as a partner. In 1850 Mr. Wil-
son retired. In 1864 George Monteath was admit-
ted as a partner, under the firm name of Monteath,
Bageley & Co., remaining without change until
1865, when, by the death of Mr. Monteath and
the retirement of Mr. Joseph D. Bageley, the firm
dissolved. Since then, until 1873, it was conducted
by Mrs. Monteath & Son (Edward W. ), when Eg-
bert W. Tracy became a partner. In 1876 Edward
Monteath died and Peter Monteath in 1879. The
business was then managed by Mr. Tracy until the
firm of Tracy, Woolverton & Wilson was formed
in 1880. Mr. Woolverton subsequently retired.
The firm is now composed of Egbert W. Tracy
and Robert P. Wilson. They conduct a whole-
sale trade extending over several States. Their
store is located 54 and 56 Hamilton street
The antique building on the corner of Columbia
and North Pearl streets, which was built in 17 10,
was occupied by a Mr. McPherson as a grocery
prior to 1 8 1 8, when it was sold to the Pemberton
Brothers — Eben, Henry S. and John — and shortly
after opened by them as a grocery store. The
business established by these brothers, then mere
boys, was continued until 1 830, when only Eben
and John were interested in it. In 1859 Eben
died, from which time it was conducted by John
Pemberton, who died in 1885, and at the time of
his death was the oldest merchant in Albany in
active business.
In 1820, Jacob Mancius kept an East India store
at No. 6 1 State street, on the site now occupied by
the yo«7-«a/ building. He imported wines, liquors
and groceries. He continued it until 1838, when
he sold out to Edward R. Satterley. In 1843 ^^
associated with him his son Edward, under the firm
name of E. R. and E. Satterley. The house was
continued until 1840, when Frederick Vine be-
came proprietor and remained at the old stand
until 1856, when he removed to Nos. 7 and 9 North
Pearl street, where he remained until 1862. He
then sold out to Joseph J. Price and H. L.
Weatherhead. These gentlemen remained together
until 1866, when Mr. Price took his present store.
No. 75 State street Mr. Weatherhead opened a
store at corner of North Pearl and Maiden lane.
He died several years ago.
Edmund J. Lord is one of the oldest grocers in
Albany, having started in the store, corner of Wash-
ington avenue and Hawk street, he now controls.
As a clerk for Moses Wood, in 1836, and since
1 84 1, with various partners, he has been continu-
ously in the business.
In 1 8 II, William McBride opened a grocery
store just east of the old Fly Market, which stood
on South Market street He remained there until
1832, when he removed to Schoharie. Returning
in 1835, he opened a store on the southeast corner
of Washington avenue and Knox street in connec-
tion with his sons, William and John. In 1838
they removed to the opposite corner, where they
remained until 1853, when the founder of the old
house, William McBride, died. The firm was then
continued for some years under the name of John
& William McBride! In 1856 Thomas & Henry
McBride Brothers opened a store on the corner of
South Pearl and Hudson avenue. Four years
afterwards they removed to corner of Plain and
South Pearl streets, where they remained for eight
years, and, after a short time on Beaver street, re-
moved to the northwest corner of Grand and
Hamilton streets. Thomas died several years ago,
Henry in 1885.
William J. Maher has carried on a grocery busi-
ness at 7^ Lumber District since 1862. He was
born in Vermont, and is a prominent citizen, having
been Member of Assembly in 1876-77, and Receiver
of City Taxes under Mayors Nolan and Banks.
From 1 836 to 1 872 William B. Scott (a biography
of whom appears elsewhere) successfully conducted
a grocery store in this city.
Another prominent grocery firm is that of Daniel
Wiedman and John T. Kelly, under the firm name
of Wiedman & Kelly, the former of whom has
been in the business since 1842, a successful mer-
chant and worthy citizen. A history of his busi-
ness and career appear in connection with his bio-
graphical sketch. Mr. Kelly is an equally respected
merchant This store is located 443 Broadway.
The following prominent firms are also engaged
in the wholesale grocery trade: George A. Birch
& Co., George Boardman & Brothers, Burton &
Vine, Garrett & Beck, Mather Brothers, L. A.
Rogers, H. H. Slingerland & Son, Samuel Steven-
son, John E. Walker, Wilson, Lansing & Co. , and
Albert Wing, Sons & Co. The latter firm is one of
the best known and most reliable wholesale houses
in Albany. It has been established many years, and
successfully conducted by men of good business
judgment and unblemished business reputations.
Their trade extends over a wide territory. The in-
dividual members of the firm are Albert Wing,
James G. Wing, Eugene R. Hartt and Albert J.
Wing.
The retail grocery stores of Albany are numerous.
In 1885 there were over seven hundred of these
stores. A few of the most extensive are the fol-
lowing: George W. Kaynsford, Lancaster, corner
of Green; James Judge's Sons (Thomas J. and
Francis P.) 16 Van Woert, who also deal in coal;
Edward Doherty, 155 Clinton avenue; C. J. She-
han, 38 Clinton avenue; Peter Snyder, 349 South
Pearl; John Carey, Myrtle avenue, corner Philip;
James Wise, i'j Orange street; George W. Beck
and S. E. Garrett, under the firm name of Garrett
& Beck, conduct a wholesale fruit and fancy grocery
store on Broadway, corner Hudson avenue.
HENRY D. ERASER
was born in New York, January 17, 1837, and died
in Albany June 14, 1878, aged but little more than
forty-one years. He was a son of Alfred S. Fraser,
and was for many years, and until his death, con-
nected officially with the Seventh Ward National
Bank, at the corner of Pearl street and Burling Slip,
New York.
c)*Co4^. ^io-Ge-t^-t cJCa-t^pe-t^.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
637
Mr. Fraser became a leading business man of
Albany, and was for many years a member of the
firm of L. M. Palmer & Co., wholesale provision
merchants. On account of ill-health, he retired
from this firm, and from all active business, several
years before his death. His widow, a daughter of
Hon. A. Lanson Cook, of Troy, and two children
survive him. He ranked high in commercial cir-
cles, and in private life was known as a pure and
noble man, whose character commanded the love
and respect of all with whom he associated. Quiet
and unassuming, he took no part in political affairs,
preferring to devote his time and care to his busi-
ness and his home. He was connected with the
First Baptist Church of Albany.
ROBERT HARPER
was born near Holywood, County Down, Ireland,
March 12, 181 2. His father was a Protestant
Irishman of pronounced views, and his mother,
formerly Jane Bond, was a native of Scotland and
a staunch Scotch Presbyterian. Partly on account
of unpleasant religious dissensions in Ireland, and
partly with the hopes of bettering their fortunes in
the New World, they came to America and located
on the island opposite the lower part of the City of
Albany. At that time Robert Harper was a mere
lad, but he had obtained a rudimentary education
at Belfast, in his native land, and was possessed of
remarkable pluck and enterprise and business ca-
pacity for one so young. His father engaged in
market gardening, and Robert became an apt and
diligent student in that branch of agriculture. At
the age of twelve we find him market-gardening on
his own account, working leased land, employing
skillful help, and driving his own bargains in the
Albany market. This may be regarded as a re-
markable instance of precocious business enter-
prise. The boy was successful, and when he grew
up he was successful as a man in the same business
for many years, amassing considerable money,
which later he invested in real estate in Albany
and elsewhere so advantageously as to accumulate
a fine fortune.
Mr. Harper from early manhood took a deep
interest in all questions affecting Government —
Municipal, State and Federal. His convictions
upon questions of political policy and economy
were such as to impel him to ally himself with the
Democratic party. The sterling integrity and un-
flinching honesty, the genial disposition, the innate
friendliness, the admirable character which had as-
sured him financial success and won him hosts of
friends in business circles, brought him the confi-
dence and personal allegiance of his fellow-Demo-
crats, and made him against his will a local leader
in his party; and he possessed in a marked degree
the confidence and admiration of large numbers of
men of opposing political affiliations, and was, in a
broad and sympathetic sense, one of the most pop-
ular men personally in the city and county. He
did not care for self-aggrandizement, and he per-
sistently declined, rather than sought, official pre-
ferment. But party strength was so unfavorably
balanced in Albany and vicinity, that no Democrat
who was not extremely popular with the masses of
all parties could at times hope for election to any
city or county office. At such times Mr. Harper
was besought to stand as a candidate, and from
time to time he reluctantly consented, and no more
unequivocal evidence of his availability as a candi-
date could be adduced, than the fact that he was
never defeated at the polls, and his name on the
ticket became a watchword of victory. For many
years he was Chairman of the Democratic County
Committee of Albany County, and he was regarded
as a safe, shrewd, and effective political organizer.
Indeed his reputation as such was more than local,
and his fame as a manager of campaigns extended
not only to New York and throughout the State,
but to distant portions of the Union, and his coun-
sel and executive ability were sought from abroad.
At one time, Hon. Henry A. Wise, of Virginia,
then a Gubernatorial candidate, sent for Mr. Harper
to plan his campaign and organize his aggressive
forces. Mr. Harper responded, and not only or-
ganized Governor Wise's campaign, but gave such
valuable counsel as to its prosecution that it was a
brilliant success, upon which he was afterwards
complimented. Mr. Harper served his county as
County Clerk and his Assembly District as its
Representative in the State Assembly. His admin-
istration of public affairs was marked with all of
the vigor, integrity, and promptness which charac-
terized him in business life. It is said that all men
have what are popularly called hobbies. That
of Mr. Harper was one which did him great honor.
It was the cause of public education. The public
schools of Albany and the State at large had no
firmer, «iore hopeful or more generous friend than
he. He was an unstinting benefactor and an un-
tiring helper of the schools of Albany, and for
some years he filled the office of School Commis-
sioner, and as such was enabled to do even more
for the advancement of public instruction than he
had been permitted to do simply in his capacity of
private citizen.
Mr. Harper was not a member of any religious
body, yet he gave liberally toward the establish-
ment or support of many churches of various de-
nominations, without stopping to ask whether they
were Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Prot-
estant or Catholic. Essentially benevolent and
helpful in his instincts, he gave to churches as he
gave to other benevolent objects, without prejudice
or favor. It was in private, in the byways, rather
than in the broad highways of charity, that his
beneficence found its widest, its favorite field. He
was one who saw merit m the struggling poor and
delighted to help them to attain a higher plane of
existence; he delighted to extend a helping hand
to honest working men who were trying hard to
help themselves against adverse circumstances, and
in the very face of frowning fortune. He was one
who knew not a hard or cruel thought, and who
instinctively shrunk from giving pain to the most
humble of his fellow-men. No better exemplifica-
tion of this humane trait could be given than the
mere statement of the fact that, though often be-
638
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
sought to be a candidate for the Shrievalty of Albany
County, he invariably refused, on account of the
possibility that, should he be elected, he might be
called upon to inflict the death penalty upon some
poor wretch who had forfeited his own life to the
law by taking that of a fellow-being.
It was not until he was thirty-six years old that
Mr. Harper was married to Miss Sarah E. Capson,
who bore him six children, named as follows in the
order of their birth: John C, George, Mary, Frank,
Ira, and Sarah J. Of these, John C. , George, Mary,
and Frank are dead. Ira, the only surviving son,
read law with his uncle, Hon. John W. McNamara,
graduated from the Albany Law School, and has
been engaged in the practice of his profession for
the* past three years. Mrs. Harper died in Sep-
tember, 1863, and in April, 1866, Mr. Harper mar-
ried the widow of L. D. Holstein, once an eminent
criminal lawyer of Albany, who was formerly Miss
S. M. Ramsey, daughter of Rev. F. Ramsey, of
Schoharie County, and who survives him.
The death of Mr. Harper occurred in 1870. It
was accompanied by peculiar and distressing cir-
cumstances and surrounded by a mystery that for a
time gave it a sensational notoriety. On the 22d
of January Mr. Harper disappeared. He was seen
that day in his accustomed health and spirits, and
he was seen no more. He had passed from the
haunts of men, leaving no trace of his going, its
manner, or its exact time. He was such a man
that it was often said of him ' ' he had not an enemy
in the world;" yet those who knew him best be-
lieved that he had enemies, bitter, implacable, and
vindictive. Various conflicting theories as to his
disappearance were advanced. Those of death by
accident, suicide, and murder were discnssed in
turn. His friends scouted the idea of suicide. An
accidental death that would leave no evidence be-
hind seemed improbable. They favored — some of
them still favor — the theory of murder. Large re-
wards were offered for knowledge of his where-
abouts if alive, or the recovery of his body if dead,
Hon. John T. Hoffman, then Governor of the
State of New York, offering $600 on his own per-
sonal responsibility. Private citizens, the police,
and skillful detectives, all sought diligently to un-
ravel the mystery of Robert Harper's disappearance.
It was months before it was known positively
whether he lived or was dead. On the i8th of
April following his disappearance, his body was
found floating in the Hudson, at Coeymans.
Beyond the knowledge that he is dead, the m3'stery
of his death is yet unexplained.
Mr. Harper's widow and his remaining son and
daughter live on his homestead farm on Madison
avenue, where he passed the last years of his life,
and in which he took the greatest pride, loving it
as onl}' such men as he love the places whereon
are erected their domestic altars.
HORACE D. HAWKINS
was born in Pittsford, Vt., June 22, 1812, a son
of John and Persis (Hitchcock) Hawkins. He
received such education as was available to him in
the common schools of his native town, and while
yet comparatively young, became a resident of the
State of New York. In 1839 he engaged in the
grocery trade in Albany, opening a retail store.
His business was so successful that it was not many
years before he was largely engaged in the whole-
sale grocery trade. Later he turned his attention
to the commission business, and began to deal
heavily in pork, opening a packing-house, which
was one of the first, if not the first, of importance
in Albany. This business grew to be a very exten-
sive one, and Mr. Hawkins became largely inter-
ested in the same line of trade in Chicago, where
for some years he passed considerable time, and
operated with remarkable success. Retiring from
commerce, he devoted his time and attention to
banking and insurance interests in Albany, and
was associated with the direction of the Albany
City Bank, the First National Bank of Albany, and
the Commerce Insurance Company. He was
known as a careful, intelligent man of affairs, of
strict integrit)', unbounded enterprise, and zealous
application; a wise counselor, whose opinions
were usually sought and respected, and whose
uncompromising honesty made him powerful, ex-
cept among those who sought to attain means by
other than the direct course plainly discernible
when questions of right and wrong were involved.
He was ever one of the few to advise the adoption
of the right at any cost to the individuals or cor-
porations interested. Though not active as a
politician, he was deeply interested in all questions
affecting the public weal. He was an adherent to
the principles of the Republican party as they were
enunciated in his day, and contended earnestly,
though quietly, for those principles which early
marked that organization as the party of great
moral ideas. But he was of too retiring a nature
to mingle in the tumult of political strife. Though
often solicited to stand as a candidate for positions
of public trust and responsibility, he steadfastly
refused the honor intended. He was long an at-
tendant with his family at Rev. Dr. Sprague's
church, until the close of that distinguished clergy-
man's labors in Albany; and later was an attend-
ant at the State Street Presbyterian Church, until
his death, which occurred June 12, 1878. He
was married, in 1841, to Miss Lodimma Davis, of
Pleasant Valley, Otsego County, N. Y., who sur-
vives him, together with one daughter and three
sons.
LANSING MERCHANT,
Vice-President of the National Exchange Bank of
Albany, and one of the best-known business men
in the city, was born in Greenwich, Washington
County, N. Y., April 16, 1804, a son of Eliakim
and Charity (Birge) Merchant. His father was
born in 1771, and acquired the trade of a mill-
wright while yet a young man. He built many
mills, and was engaged upon other similar work
over quite an extensive area. Removing from
Nine Partners, Dutchess County, to Greenwich,
Washington County, he there married and made
his home.
^UAhM^/^ (A^pn ^
^v aV^3 h.\^ ^^ ^vw
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
629
Lansing Merchant attended the common schools
in vogue in his neighborhood at the time, until he
was ten years old, with much regularity. From
that time on, until he was fifteen, he attended only
in the winter. In April, 1822, he came to Albany
and became a clerk in the general store of S. & R.
Merchant, on Washington avenue, and remained
in that capacity until 1826, when, in partnership
with Seth Crapo, who had previously acquired an
interest in the business, he succeeded his former
employers. From 1828 to 1833 he was a clerk in
the store of Levi Phillips, on Broadway. In the
year last mentioned the firm of L. & W. Merchant
was formed, Lansing Merchant and his brother
Walter being the partners, and opened a grocery
and provision store on Division street near the
Dock. Nine years later the business was removed
to the corner store, contiguous to the Dock, where
it was continued successfully until 1871, when the
brothers Merchant retired from business.
Mr. Merchant possesses in a large degree those
sterling qualities which mark the successful and
respected business man. He early won a reputa-
tion for probtiy which brought him the confidence
of all classes The enterprise with which he was
so long identified took high rank among the mer-
cantile establishments of Albany, and Mr. Mer-
chant became identified with the leading interests
of the city. In 1865 he became a Director in the
National Albany Exchange Bank (now the National
Exchange Bank of Albany), and for some years
past has been its Vice-President; and he is also a
Trustee of the Exchange Savings Bank, one of the
most popular and trustworthy institutions of its
kind in the city. He has been a prominent mem-
ber of the Board of Trade of the City of Albany
since its organization.
In January, 1835, Mr. Merchant married Miss
S. M. Ives, daughter of the late Ambrose Ives, of
Herkimer County, N. Y. Politically he is a Re-
publican, having graduated naturally into that
party from the ranks of the old Whig organization.
In theology he is an adherent to the Unitarian
faith, and has been a regular attendant upon such
services of that denomination as have been from
time to time held in Albany, and no one deplores
more than he, the fact that there are no stated meet-
ings of Unitarians in the cit)'.
JAMES H. OSBORN.
James H. Osborn, a son of Jeremiah and Eliz-
abeth (Coburn) Osborn, was born in Albany,
June 17, 1817. His parents had come to Albany
from New Haven, and his father was a merchant
in the city, with a store on Broadway, from 1808
to 1820, when he removed to Olean, N. Y. , when
he engaged in the lumber business, in which he
continued until his death in 1822. After settling
his estate the family returned to Albany, where the
subject of this notice has since lived. Mr. Osborn
was educated in private schools, spending the last
two years of his school life at the old Lancasterian
school on Eagle street, on the site of the present
medical college.
At the age of fourteen he entered the store of
C. W. Bender, at the coner of Pearl and Madison
avenues, as a clerk. He was bright and active,
and took naturally to mercantile life, and his ad-
vancement was so rapid that, in 1837, with the
aid of Mr. Bender, who had become his firm
friend, he began business for himself, opening a
general store on a street corner opposite to that
where he had begun with Mr. Bender. Previous
to this, Mr. Bender had moved further up the
street, and young Osborn had been for some time
in charge of his store, thus familiarizing himself
with the management as well as the details of mer-
cantile operations. He was industrious, honor-
able and careful, as well as pushing and energetic,
and he prospered, continuing in trade in Albany
almost uninterruptedly until 1880, when he re-
tired. During some years of this period he had
as a partner Mr. James R. Hadley. After his
removal from his original location, he was located
until 1868 at the corner of Pearl and Westerlo
streets, where he bought property, in i860, and
built a store, disposing of which, he located at No.
8 State street, and there remained until his retire-
ment. Mr. Osborn was in trade in Albany during
a period which brought many changes with its pass-
ing years. The old general stores, something like
the country stores of the present day, gave place
to stores which were distinctively dry goods
or grocery stores. He became well and widely
known in the grocery trade, and, abandoning that
in 1868, he embarked in the produce trade, in
which he continued until 1880, since which time
he has lived in retirement from active business,
but has made some profitable investments in real
esiate in diff"erent parts of the city.
In 1842 Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Chris-
tina Van Rensselaer, of Albany, who lived about
forty years thereafter, bearing him three daughters,
of whom two are living, Mrs. William N. S. San-
ders, of Albany, and Mrs. Dr. Charles Devendorf,
of IDetroit, Mich. In October, 1883, he was
again married to Mrs. Eliza Bailey, of Albany.
Mr. Osborn has long been a communicant of St.
Paul's Episcopal Church, and has been a member
of the vestry since 1858. A few years ago he was
chosen warden to fill a vacancy caused by the
death of Mr. C. W. Bender, the friend of his early
days. Formerly a Whig, Mr. Osborn has been a
Republican from the inception of that party, but
while he has carefully watched the progress of
events and felt a deep interest in our national wel-
fare, his tastes have not inclined him to take part
in political life, and he has never accepted an}'
public office.
WILLIAM B. SCOTT.
This gentleman is a well-known resident and
real estate dealer in Albany. He was born in
Albany, April 19, 181 2, a son of William and
Nancy (Beatty) Scott. He had few educational or
other worldly advantages, and was obliged to un-
dertake the battle of life for himself at an early age.
He was employed as a clerk and otherwise until
630
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
JAMES A. WILSON.
1836, when he engaged in the grocery trade on
Canal street. In 1844 he bought a grocery store
at the corner of Swan and Second streets, where he
continued business until his retirement in 1872.
In the meantime he had begun to deal in real es-
tate, and since then has invested largely in different
parts of the city, notably on Arbor hill and at
West Albany.
In 1838, Mr. Scott married Mrs. Catharine L.
Chapman, daughter of Samuel Harbeck, of Albany.
She died in 1876, leaving a daughter, now an in-
mate of her father's home. Formerly a Whig, Mr.
Scott became a Republican upon the rise of the
latter party. He has interested himself in local as
well as State and national affairs, and has four
times been a member of the Board of Supervisors
of Albany County, and represented the Eighth
(now the Twelfth) Ward of Albany in the Board of
Aldermen several times. He is a self-made man,
and is in excellent standing both as a business man
and a citizen. He resides at No. 7 Hall place.
JAMES A. WILSON.
Of several former prominent business men of
Albany who have pased away during the past twenty
years, none are better remembered than James
Alexander Wilson, whose name has been perpetu-
ated in that of one of the streets of the city, named
in his honor. He was a son of Joseph Annan and
Maria (Fonda) Wilson, and was born in Albany,
December 8, 1807. He chose a business career
and became prominent in connection with various
imporiant interests of Albany and vicinity. He
was long known as the senior member of the firm
of Wilson & Badgley (later Wilson & Monteith)
wholesale grocers, and at different times he held,
among other important trusts, those of Director of
the Bank of Alban}', of the Albany Mutual Insur-
ance Company, and of the Albany Plank Road
Company, and was the first President of the Albany
and Rudand Railroad Company, and President of
the Board of Trustees of the Home Lawn Associa-
tion. He was a man of great enterprise and un-
impeachable integrity, a true friend and a good
citizen. His death occured June 5, 1872. One
of his daughters is Mrs. Daniel S. Lathrop, another
Mrs. Clinton Ten Eyck, both well known in
Alban)-.
DANIEL WEIDMAN.
This prominent citizen of Albany was born in
Berne, Albany County, N. Y., November 21, 1815.
Jacob Weidman, his great-grandfather, came from
Switzerland, arriving in this country with a party
of German emigrants who settled in the Schoharie
Valle}'. He was one of the first settlers and fanners
in the County of Albany. He followed the stream
called Fox Creek, which empties into Schoharie
Creek near the old stone church in Schoharie
Valley, and located at a fall or rapids which he
named Berne, after his native city in Switzerland.
He built the first house in Berne, and also a saw-
mill near the rapids, and subsequently erected a
<¥^
£.^i,.£::^!>^.^r^ ^Pg^^i^^
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
631
flouring mill. The place was long known as
Weidman's Mills. Here he took up tracts of land,
some of which were held under a lease from
Stephen Van Rennselaer, and others under the title
of a settler. Mr. Weidman's mother was a Schell,
whose father came from Germany at an early date
and settled in this vicinity. He was among the
patriots of those early days who resorted to the old
stone fort, now stone church, during the Indian
raids of the Revolution. Daniel Weidman's early
years were passed near the village of Berne, where
he attended the public schools until ten years of
age, when his father, Felix Weidman, died at the
age of forty, leaving a widow and seven children.
The subject of this notice was the fourth, and being
the eldest son, was called on to work in order to
meet the requirements of a well-stocked farm under
a good state of cultivation. Determined not to let
the farm suffer, he worked with a will, energy, and
judgment that surprised his neighbors. At the
age of fifteen — his mother having again married,
and his sisters being "also married — the farm was
let and he was released from the responsibility
he had so well sustained up to that time. He
then started out on his own account, and obtained
a clerkship in a county store at a place called West
Berne, about four miles distant from his native vil-
• lage, where he remained about a year, and then,
removing to Albany, obtained a situation in a
general store kept by Peter Van Wormer, located
in Pine street, which in those days was an impor-
tant business thoroughfare. Here he remained
two years, and was next employed in the carpet
and dry goods store of T. W. Ford & Son, in the
Museum Building, corner of Broadway and State
street, where he remained for three years. Wish-
ing to improve his education, he went back to the
country and attended Knoxville Academy for six
months, and then entered theGallupville Academy
in the town of Schoharie. The principal of this
latter school was a celebrated Scotch professor,
named \\'illiam McLaren, and is especially remem-
bered by Mr. Weidman as a good and able pre-
ceptor and a most excellent man. Leaving school,
Mr. Weidman went to New York City and ob-
tained a situation in a dry goods store in Grand
street, where he remained nine months. In the
meantime an uncle of his wrote and urged him to
return to Gallupville and join him in business
there, which he did, and was thus engaged for the
ensuing six years, when, selling his interest to his
uncle, he returned to Albany, and, with the mod-
erate amount of capital which he had accumulated,
went into the general grocery and provision busi-
ness in a new store at No. 6 Hudson street, now
Hudbon avenue. He occupied this store for two
years, and about 1845 removed to No. 10 State
street, the principal locality for the grocery busi-
ness in those days. There he remained until 1862,
when he removed to Broadway, in a large store
running from Broadway to Dean street, which he
occupied as a tenant for three years, and then pur-
chased the property, which he still occupies, con-
ducting a wholesale grocery and tea business, and
supplying a large portion of the retail trade in this
portion of the State. In 1839 Mr. Weidman mar-
ried Elmina E. Walden, by whom he had four
children, only one of whom is now living. Miss
Walden was descended from the De Waldens, who
originally came from France to England, and fig-
ured conspicuously in early English history. Her
family came from England and first settled in this
country at Mystic, Conn. Mr. Weidman's second
and present wife was the widow of William A. Gil-
bert, of Adams, Jefferson County, N. Y., and her
maiden name was Scott. His son, George Domin-
ick Weidman, was born June 29, 1842, and en-
tered the Union Army at the age of nineteen years,
with his father's consent, in response to the first
call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men. He
served three years and seven months in the South-
ern campaigns. Entering the army as Orderly-
Sergeant, he returned as Brevet-Major of Volunteers,
with an honorable discharge on account of phys-
ical disability, having served through the struggles
incident to the capture of Port Hudson and the
various battles of the lower Mississippi, and the
Louisiana campaigns under General Banks and
Butler. Later he connected himself with the
N. Y. S. N. G., and became Captain of Company
F, loth Regiment, and subsequently Colonel of
the Grant Battalion of Alban}', which gave General
Grant a notable reception in January, 1881. Upon
his return from the war he was admitted to a
partnership in his father's business, in which he
took an active part until his death, which occurred
March 17, 1883. He was deeply regretted by peo-
ple of all classes, and the general feeling of the
citizens of Albany is thus expressed in a memorial
adopted by one of the military organizations of
which he was a member:
" At a meeting of the Albany Burgesses Corps,
held at their armory on Monday, March 19, 1883,
the Commandant having announced the death of
George D. Weidman, the following memorial was
presented and unanimously adopted by a rising
vote :
"Comrades! Again the muffled drums are
beating and the sad cadences of a soldier's requiem
summon us to take the last farewell of a comrade,
vanished forever from our midst. Frequent and
severe as the conscriptions for the ranks of death
have of late been from amongst us, none has
caused us greater surprise or more profound sor-
row than the final leave-taking of our friend, com-
panion and fellow-burgess. Captain George D.
Weidman.
"Fate's final sentence met him in the prime of
life, yet not before, in all the parts where duty
called him, in peace and in war, in business and
in social life, his performances of their various
charges had entitled him to an honorable dis-
charge, and bound to him and his memory forever
a circle of warm-hearted supporters during life, a
host of sympathizing friends in death. Our mem-
ories will keep the inventory of his many virtues,
and, above all, of his generous charities, which,
'done by stealth, he blushed to find them fame.'
"To those near and dear ones upon whom the
blow falls heaviest, we extent our heart-felt sym-
632
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
pathy in this hour of darkness to their hopes, and
we will pay our last tribute of respect, with becom-
ing rites,, at the honored soldier's grave.
"Galen R. Hiit,
"Andrew Hamilton,
"James A. Schattuck,
" Henry W. Trowbridge,
"James Kyte,
" Committee.
"Attest:
' ' Walter Dickson,
' ' President.
"Charles E. Wolf,
' ' Secretary. "
Mr. Daniel Weidman has long been known in
this section of the State, not only as a sound and
substantial business man who has kept clear of
embarrassment during all the financial troubles
incident to the war and its after-consequences, but
also as a firm and staunch supporter of the Union,
ever ready to give his money and influence in the
times when friends were needed and disaster threat-
ened. A self-made man in the fullest sense, he
appreciates his country and its institutions, and is
thoroughly loyal and patriotic in all that implies
the progress and glory of the Republic and the
preservation of the Union.
PRODUCE, FLOUR, FEED AND SALT.
The produce, flour and feed dealers to a consid-
erable degree are coincident with grocery dealers.
In the earliest period of the commercial history of
the city, every grocer was, in some degree, a prod-
uce dealer. The leading produce merchants of
Albany during the forepart of this century were
Sylvanus P. Jermain, John Douw, William &
Clark Durant, William & John Newton, Willard
Walker & Elisha Pratt, all merchants of high
commercial standing in their day. William Du-
rant died in Albany in 1845. At one time he was
Trustee of the Albany Savings Bank. Clark Du-
rant died in 1873. He was prominent in financial
affairs, and the first President of the Board of
Trade.
The principal produce dealers at present in Al-
bany are Henry T. Bradt, 22 Hudson street;
George W. Hawes, 19 Hudson avenue; William
M. Hussey, 348 and 350 Broadway; J. B Jump, 22
Hudson avenue; Martin & Frost, 375 Broadway;
William Rattoone & Co., 62 State street; Smith &
Wood, 399 Broadway; E. M. Tinkham, 78 Beaver;
Franklin D. Tower, Museum Building; Water-
man & Bennett, 333 Broadway; Henry R. Wright,
328 Broadway.
Robert Geer, wholesale dealer in salt, flour and
feed, on the Pier opposite State street, has been
proprietor of his present business since 1863, hav-
ing succeeded to the business established by T. Y.
Avery in 18(10. He occupies six four story build-
ings on the Pier, Nos. 109, no, in, 112, 114
and 115. His trade is entirely wholesale, handling
10,000 to 12,000 tons of salt per annum. Mr.
Geer is one of the leading merchants of Albany,
and variously identified with its civil as well as its
financial affairs. He was President of the Board
of Trade in 1884, and is at present President of the
New York State Relief Association, New York
Masonic Relief Association, Supervisor Fourteenth
Ward 1 88 1 lo 1885, and Trustee of the Home
Savings Bank. In 1885 he was the Republican
candidate for State Senator.
Among the flour and grain merchants deserving
of mention are Peter J. Flinn, 860 Broadway, who
commenced business in 1858 at 846 Broadway;
Ames & Co., 317 Broadway; Barber & Bennett,
316 Broadway; Bouton & Geer; William L.
Clute, 385 Broadway; William Gumming, 199
Washington avenue; William J. Davis, 320 Broad-
way; Durant & Co., 475 Broadway; William H.
Falke, 844 and 846 Broadway; L. J. Hopkins,
Bassett, corner Franklin; Loucks & Beck, 315
Broadway; Proseus & Rowley, 10 State; John
T. Rielly & Bro., 264 Lark; Henry Russell, 322
Broadway; B. B. Sanders & Co., 343 Broadway;
Schifier&Co., Garden; Isaac Stevens, 5 Hudson
avenue; John H. Trowbridge, 14 Hudson avenue.
Salt is sold generally by grocers; but the mer-
chants who make a specialty of this product be-
sides Robert Greer, are I. A. Chapman, 9 and 11
State; Mather Bro=:., 12 State; Prosens & Rowley,
ID State; and F. Wooster & Co., 352 Broadway
and 121 Pier.
STUART McKISSICK
was bom in Saco, Me., November 27, 1807. In
18 16, while he was yet a mere lad, his parents
emigrated to Onondaga County, then almost a
wilderness. Here he remained until past twenty-
five years of age, when he engaged in running a
boat for a Detroit transportation line, and was so
employed about three years, during which he
gained a thorough knowledge of the business. In
1837 he came to Troy in the employ of the same
line, and, after a year's experience in that city, re-
moved to Albany, and established a transportation
and produce commission business, which was suc-
cessfully conducted by him till 1861, when he re-
linquished it to become a partner with Mr. E. P.
Durant in the flour trade. During a portion of the
period of his engagement in the transportation
business and produce trade, Mr. Abram Kirk was
his partner. The firm of Durant & McKissick was
dissolved in 1865, and, after a retirement of two
years, Mr. McKissick resumed the produce busi-
ness, in which he continued until 1873, when the
failure of his health hastened his permanent retire-
ment. He died August 29, 1882, leaving a wife,
three daughters and a son.
In all his life Mr. McKissick accepted but one
political position, and in that instance the office
sought the man and not the man the office. By
an Act passed by the Legislature of the State of
New York, April 7, 1866, entitled "An Act to
Create a Board of Public Instruction in the City of
Albany; to Establish Free Schools therein; and
Amendatory of the Several Acts Relating to the
District Schools of that City," he was appointed a
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
633
member of that Board, and while identified there-
with, he zealously advocated the building' of the
present High School, believing such an institution
was a necessity. During his long business career
he several times held the office of President of the
Board of Trade of the City of Albany, and it is in-
dicative of the esteem in which he was held by all
classes of business men, that whenever he would
allow himself to stand as a candidate before the
Board, he was invariably elected, no matter by
what faction he was put forward. At a meeting of
the Board of Trade, held on Thursday morning,
August 31, 1882, the following report was adopted.
It is quoted both as recounting some of the par-
ticulars of his connection with the Board of Trade,
and as showing the esteem in which he was held
by his former associates.
"The members of the Board of Trade have
heard with sorrow of the death of Stuart McKissick,
one of its oldest members. The name of Mr. Mc-
Kissick appears as an active member of the Board
in the year 1849. He was elected President in
1863, and was a Delegate to one of the conven-
tions of the National Board of Trade.
"Mr. McKissick was a member of the Canal
Convention of 1868, and frequently served on the
important committees of the Board of Trade. In
recognition of these important services, and of his
standing as a citizen and merchant, we do herewith
give expression to our sorrow and pay just tribute
to his memory.
"In this event, which sooner or later comes to
all, we recognize that inscrutable Providence whose
power and right it is to do with us as seemeth to
Him good, and that His works are true and right-
eous altogether.
"In the long and honorable career of our asso-
ciate and friend, standing in prominence as a
merchant, his dealings have been marked by sin-
gular probity, his counsel always wise, his judg-
ment broad and enlightened.
"As a private citizen and in the social walks of
life, he has ever commanded the respect and esteem
of all, and throughout a wide circle of friends and
neighbors he was most beloved by those who knew
him best.
"We extend to his bereaved family our deep sym-
pathy in their affliction, and commend them to the
care of Him who doeth all things well; therefore
"Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting
be entered on the minutes of the Board and a copy
be transmitted to the family of the deceased.
"A. EVERTSEN, ^
"E. A. DuRANT, \ Comviitiee."
"W. Lacy," )
Mr. McKissick was at one time a Director of
the National Albany Exchange Bank, and at the
time of his death he was a Trustee of the Albany
Exchange Savings Bank. At a meeting of the
Trustees of the last mentioned institution, soon
after the death of Mr. McKissick, the following
resolution was passed:
"The death of Stuart McKissick, which oc-
curred on the 29th of August last, removes a wor-
thy and valued member of our Board,
80
" Mr. McKissick had spent the larger part of
his life in Albanj'-, where he had established a
character for probity and upright dealing as a mer-
chant, and for genial and generous kindliness as a
man. He was a man of careful and deliberate
judgment, and his conclusions were usually sound.
He was, therefore, a reliable and safe adviser. In
all his intercourse with his fellows he exhibited the
courtesy and gentleness of a friendly and Christian
spirit. We mourn his loss as that of a faithful and
honorable associate, whose memory will be held
by us in cherished esteem.
"Resolved, That as members of this Board of
Trustees we sincerely sympathize with the widow
and bereaved family of our deceased brother; and
pray that the same fatherly hand which has inflicted
the blow may also afford the needed consolation."
Mr. McKissick was connected with the First and
Fourth Presbyterian Churches of Albany, and at
his death was an Elder of the first mentioned
church, which he had attended for more than
twenty years. The following is a copy of a me-
morial of Mr. McKissick entered upon the minutes
of the session of the First Presbyterian Church.
" The surviving members of session come to-
gether at their stated meeting with hearts bereaved
and minds solemnized by the death, since our last
meeting, of our beloved brother. Elder Stuart Mc-
Kissick.
"Recent deprivation from active participation
in the duties of his office had in no degree abated
his love for the Master's kingdom and the church
with which he was connected. Commending by
his life the doctrine of Christ, gifted with the spirit
of wisdom and conciliation, his counsels were ever
for promoting the peace of Jerusalem.
"In common with the church and the commu-
nity we shall miss the influence of his steadfast
Christian character, and while we cherish his pre-
cious memory and example, we are assured that he
was ready to depart to be with Christ.
" To that word of grace which was the guide of
his life and the solace of his hours of physical pain,
we commend the sorrowing ones of his immediate
household as we mourn with them the absence of
our venerated friend.
"Thos. p. Crook, ) ^
Nichols, | C-o/^^'/Ze^e.
"Chas. B,
"Walter D. Nicholas,
Moderator. "
FRANKLIN DWIGHT TOWER
is one of the young merchants of Albany who in a
few years has risen by his own tact, enterprise and
energy from the position of modest clerkship to
one of wealth, respectability and influence. He
was born in West Springfield, Mass., July 28,
1848. His parents were Levi and Julia (Wheeler)
Tower, in whose quiet farm-house, with one
brother, he spent his earlier years in attending the
Massachusetts public schools and in assisting his
father.
But he early showed a taste for mercantile pur-
suits, and was disposed to accept some position as
634
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
salesman. An opportunity occurred in 1864, in
Pittsfield, Mass. When sixteen years of age he
was employed as salesman in the large furniture
warehouse of Lyons & Thompson, in that beauti-
ful town. Two years later this firm had gone into
bankruptcy, and young Tower was appointed Re-
ceiver by the District Judge. The trust was dis-
charged with such intelligence and fidelity as to
commend him to the approbation of all concerned,
and to furnish him a splendid introduction, through
Judge Barker, to the merchants of Albany.
Mr. Tower came to this city in 1866, and en-
gaged with a prominent commercial house as sales-
man in the flour and grain trade. In the third
year he was receiving a salary three times the
amount paid him the first year, so valuable were
his services.
In 1869, he was a member of the firm of Mills
& Tower, 3 1 9 Broadway, in the commission grain
trade. He was at once recognized by merchants
as one of the most active and well-informed mem-
bers of the City Board of Trade, of which organi-
zation he was the junior member. Since that date,
he has continued to occupy a leading rank among
the men doing business on Broadway. He has
been one term Vice-President and twice Treasurer
of the Board of Trade.
For about ten years past his office has been in
the Museum Building, corner of State street and
Broadway. His business enterprises are conducted
in three different departments and at three different
locations in the city:
1. Located as above, he not only takes orders in
his extensive business, but is connected by pri-
vate telegraph even with the New York and Chicago
stock and grain markets, and constantly receives
reports of the state of the market from these places.
2. At the corner of South Broadway and Plumb
street, he has a large mill for the manufacture of
feed and plaster, which is doing a business second
to few in the country. In this business he has
been engaged for five years past. His plaster is
made from genuine Nova Scotia gypsum or sul-
phate of lime, and is in great demand in agriculture
and the arts.
3. At the corner of Broadway and Pleasant
street he has an extensive flour and feed store.
In 1878, he carried on the milling business in the
old stone mill near the Manor House, North Broad-
way. This mill was erected by one of the Patroons
over two hundred years ago, and was well known
throughout the country as the Patroon's Mill. It
was burned in 1880, soon after which disaster Mr.
Tower commenced the business referred to above
in feed and plaster.
His business has been constantly increasing, and
he enjoys the confidence of an extensive list of cus-
tomers. This confidence is the result of close
attention to business, a courteous and obliging
manner, and strict integrity in his dealings. His
rivalry is manly, his system is admirable. His ac-
tivity, enterprise and energy, united with prudence
and perseverance, assure continued success.
October 28, 1868, he was united in marriage
with Miss Catherine Becker Blessing, a lady be-
longing to the best Holland stock, who makes his
home, at 490 Madison avenue, one of taste and
refinement. Five daughters are the fruit of this
happy marriage.
HAT AND FUR DEALERS.
John S. Robbins is probably now the oldest hat
dealer in Albany, having been continuously in the
business since 1843, when he entered into partner-
ship with Francis Briselt as successors of Van Aimes
& Chase, on the corner of South Market street and
Trotter's alley. In the following May, Mr. Briselt
retired, when Mr. Robbins removed to No. 12
South Market (now 4 1 5 Broadway), and two years
later to the store now occupied by the Times Com-
pany. Two years later he removed to the store on
the opposite side of the street, now No. 400 Broad-
way. After the great fire of 1848, Mr. Robbins
sold his lease to Herrick & Osborne, and then took
possession of the store No. 73 South Pearl street,
where he remained a number of years. He after-
wards occupied the store on the southeast corner
of Hudson avenue, and remained there until 1862,
and then moved to 54 State street. At the same
time he ran an additional store at No. 66 State
street. In 1870 he opened a branch store at No.
53 South Pearl, and the same year admitted his
son, John, as a partner, who remained in the store
for eight years, and since that time Mr. Robbins
has conducted his business alone. In 1871 the
stores on State street were given up, and his entire
attention was given to running the store on South
Pearl street. In 1876 he removed to the south-
west corner of Green and State streets. He is at
present located at No. 66 State street
In 1822, Samuels. Fowler was engaged in the
hat business in Albany, and in 1835 Winne & Wil-
son carried on a similar business.
The early hat and fur dealers have been named
in another place in this book. The trade is now
well represented by the well-known houses of
Daniel Boughton, William E. Walsh & Sons, Cot-
trell & Leonard, Treadwell & Co., T. W. Cantwell,
W. R. Schermerhorn, George E. Latham and C.
F. Beebe.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
The firm of Cluett & Sons, dealers in organs,
pianos, and all kinds of musical merchandise, was
established in Albany in 1865, as a branch of the
Troy house of that name. This store, formerly on
North Pearl street, is located at 49 State street, and
is 25 by 130 feet in dimensions. Twenty-five hands
are employed. Their trade extends over the greater
portion of the State, being conducted by sub-agents.
A large stock of goods are kept, embracing a great
variety of organs, pianos, and other musical instru-
ments from the best manufacturers. F. W. Thomas
has been manager of this house for the last five
years, prior to which, with his brother, he con-
ducted a similar business in Catskill. From Cats-
kill he removed to New York, and finally to Al-
bany. His long experience in this line of business
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
635
has made him a proficient and reliable judge of
musical instruments. The individual members of
the firm of Cluett & Sons are Edmund, William
and F. A. Cluett, and N. L. Weatherby.
The firm of C. E. Wendell & Co. (Henry Kelly
and John McCammon) conduct a similar business
as the above at 89 and 91 North Pearl street, and
enjoy a high reputation for the excellence of their
wares and are the recipients of a large and growing
trade. Haines & Co., J. O. Montignani, F. W.
Tietz, J. A. Reed and W. C. Gomph are also music
dealers. Jason Collier has made this his business
for many years. J. H. Hidley, who died a few
years ago, was long a well known and extensive
dealer in musical instruments.
COAL.
The first coal yard in this city was established in
1821 by Mr. Peoples, who came here from Lan-
singburgh. His yard was located on Orange street,
near Montgomery street, where he conducted the
business for about three years, with annual sales of
from six to eight hundred tons. Four years subse-
quent to Mr. Peoples' venture, Ephraim De Witt
opened a yard on State Street Pier, remaining
there for about three years. During this time Mr.
De Witt had in his employ, as a cart-driver, Zebina
, Belknap, who afterwards went into the business,
and met with marked success. Matthew Gill was
the next to engage in the trade, and followed it for
some years with profit. Then came the firm of
Groesbeck & Belknap, the former cart-driver, who
located in Columbia street, where George W.
Luther & Son now are. They built up a fine trade,
and, as the profits then were from two to three
dollars per ton, made money. Mr. Belknap finally
retired from the firm and opened a yard in Broad-
way, above Clinton avenue, where he remained
until about 1878. Soon after the formation of the
last mentioned firm. Ten Eyck & Brinkerhoflf
located on Columbia and Montgomery streets, and
shortly after this, Crawford & Livingston on Wes-
terlo street and Broadway. The last named firm
continued in business one year, up to 1 840, when
John G. White became the proprietor. Mr. White
soon purchased the lot in Hudson avenue, where
the Methodist Church subsequently stood, and
Munson's collar factory now stands. After the
Methodist Society made the purchase of this prop-
erty, Mr. White bought that situated at the corner
of Hudson avenue and Philip street, of Thomas,
Lowe & Potts, known as the Old Furnace property,
and again started a coal yard. The Society of the
First Baptist Church soon bought this, and he then
located corner of Hudson avenue and Eagle street,
and on Herkimer street and Broadway, finally sell-
ing to Putnam & Hoyt. This firm afterwards
made a division, John Putnam taking the Herkimer
street yard and George B. Hoyt the one in Hudson
avenue, where he yet remains.
The growth of the coal interest from that time
has been steady and material. E. W. Howell,
dealer in coal, 388 Madison avenue and State
street Pier, began in 1877. The business there
was started some years before by John Artcher,
who had associated with him for some time his son,
Austin Artcher, now an attorney of this city. Mr.
Artcher sold out to James Taylor, who sold to
Leonard & Youngman, of whom Mr. Howell
purchased. After this last change the business in-
creased from two thousand two hundred tons in
1877 to twelve thousand tons in 1884. During
1879, Mr. Howell also ran a yard at the corner of
Church and Arch streets, which he purchased of
Kelchar & Wood. His present State street Pier prop-
erty was added in 1880. Upon this wharf he has
erected a yard with posts thirty feet high, with all the
conveniences necessary to a speedy and economical
transfer of coal from boat to coal-house or sheds.
In September, 1885, the following prices were
given upon bids for supplying coal for the public
buildings, including the Capitol and other State
buildings.
William McEwan was the lowest bidder and
obtained the contract for supplying 3,625 tons of
Delaware and Hudson Coal at $3.52;^ per ton.
The bids were as follows: T. C. RaflTerty, Pitt-
ston, $3.98; Leonard & Youngman, Delaware and
Hudson Canal Co., $3.53^; Leonard & Young-
man, Lehigh and Delaware and Hudson Canal Co.
combined, $3.83!; Rock & Casey, Delaware and
Hudson Canal Co., $3.63^; Rock and Casev, Pitt-
ston, $3.53^; Rock & Casey, Lehigh, $3.96; C. M.
Stuart, Delaware and Hudson Canal Co., $3,762;
C. M. Stuart, Lehigh, $4; C. M. Stuart, Coleiance,
$3.90; William McEwan, Delaware and Hudson
Canal Co., 3,52^; William McEwan, Lehigh, I4.-
09I; E. W. Howell, Delaware and Hudson Canal
Co., $3.59; E.W. Howell, Pittston, $3.61; and E.
W. Howell, Lehigh, $4.43.
The principal coal and wood dealers in Albany
at present are: Blackburn & Jones (John Black-
burn and John J. Jones), who have two yards, one
at the corner of Ontario street and Livingston
avenue, and the other on Livingston avenue, corner
of Water street; John H. Lynch, 55 and 57 Rens-
selaer street; Leonard & Youngman (Jacob Leon-
ard, V. H. Youngman and Oscar Leonard), Church,
corner of Madison avenue, and Canal, corner
Lark street; Thomas Mattimore & Son (Peter F.),
84 1 Broadway; Neil & Harris (John Neil and
Jeremiah Harris, Jr.), 610 Clinton avenue; Barton
Bretton, 61 and 63 Schuyler street; Gibbons &
Burhaus (G. W. Gibbons and George M. Bur-
haus), 591 to 597 Central avenue, and foot of
Westerlo street; William Casey, Dallius, corner
Cherry; Coonley & Waldron (H. W. Coonley
and J. G. Waldron), Broadway, corner Fourth
avenue, and 46 Schuyler street; T. C. RafTerty &
Co. (James H. Carrol), 831 Broadway, and coal
pockets foot of De Witt street.
ZEBINA BELKNAP
was born in Randolph, Orange County, Ver-
mont, November 6, 1803, a son of Moses Belknap,
and Margaret Richardson, his wife. He lived the
life of a farmer, boy and man, until he was twenty-
three years old, gaining his education in the dis-
636
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
trict schools and a neighboring academy, in which
he was for a short time a student, and teaching
near home several winters. In 1826 he came to
Albany. Finding employment, he remained about
six months, and in the fall following his arrival
went by canal to Western New York. During the
ensuing winter he taught a district school at Eagle
Harbor, a small village on the Erie Canal, near
Albion, Orleans County. Upon the reopening of
the canal, in the spring of 1827, he engaged to run
a boat carrying dressed staves from Albion to
. Albany. Two trips destroyed any desire he might
have entertained for a boatman's life, and during
the six months following he was employed at
Gowey's brewery, on North Broadway, Albany,
which he left to take charge of Walter R. Morris'
coal yard on the Pier. A year afterward Mr.
Morris, wishing to lessen the expenses of his bus-
iness, replaced Mr. Belknap with a cheaper and
less efficient man, and the former went to New
York and was there employed six months in Corn-
ing & Walker's hardware store. Returning to
Albany he was similarly employed for a time in the
old-time hardware establishment of Pruyn, Wilson
& Vosburgh, until his services were again se-
cured at advanced wages by Mr. Morris, who
placed him once more in charge of his coal yard,
where he remained as his assistant until 1833,
when he became a partner, and upon the death
of that gentleman he became sole proprietor of
the business. At different periods he had as part-
ners Colonel John Groesbeck and Duncan Mc-
Kercher. In 1855 ^^ purchased the interest of
the latter and presented it to his son, Charles M.
Belknap, and the business was conducted during
the ensuing nineteen years by Z. Belknap & Son.
In 1874 the health of Mr. Charies M. Belknap be-
gan to decline, and he saw the necessity of at once
giving up all business cares. His father had al-
ready amassed a competency, and did not feel equal
to the task of continuing the business alone. They
decided to sell out their combined interests and
retire, which they effected during the year last
mentioned. In 1878 Mr. C. M. Belknap died.
Since his retirement, Mr. Belknap has lived quietly
in Ten Broeck street. He was married, in 1832,
to Miss Fanny Osgood, who was born in his native
town of Randolph, Vt., who bore him a son and
a daughter, and died in 1879. Mr. Belknap was
formerly a Whig, and during the past twenty-five
years has been a Republican. He has served the
city as Alderman, representing the old Sixth Ward,
and the State as Weighmaster of the Canal, at
Albany, but has avoided political life and refused
to become a candidate for other offices. He is a
member of the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
637
CROCKERY, CHINA AND GLASSWARE.
During the early part of this century, the firm of
Webb & Dummer was prominent in connection
■with the crockery trade. They commenced busi-
ness on State street, opposite Green, in 1807. The
partners were George Dummer and John A. Webb.
They were followed in business in 1 828 by H. & C.
Webb & Co., composed of Henry L. and Charles
B. Webb and Alfred Douglass. This firm con-
tinued until 1 84 1, when the business was sold to
Gregory & Co. Mr. Douglass afterwards removed
to New York and went into the produce business,
and reinained there until his death, which occurred
in 1881. Charles B. Webb died in 1834, and H.
L. Webb about four years later. Gregory & Co.
continued in business here for several years, when
they removed to New York. Mr. Gregory is still
a resident of Albany, one of the oldest merchants
of the city.
In the early part of this century the following
firms were engaged in the wholesale crockery bus-
iness: E. C. & W. Mcintosh, South Market; David
E. Gregory and Peter Bain, North Market street.
Gregory & Bain commenced business in 18 14; the
former was a brother-in-law of the Marvins. E. C.
Mcintosh afterwards became President of the Mo-
hawk and Hudson River Railroad Company.
The oldest firm now doing business in Albany
in the crockery business is that of Van Heusen,
Charles & Co. , which was formed by Theodore V.
Van Heusen and D. D. T. Charles in 1843. They
bought out the firm of Wardwell & Bordwell, then
doing business at 66 State street, in an old build-
ing on the site of the present store of the Messrs.
McCIure, druggists. Van Heusen & Charles occu-
pied one-half of the store and J. & A. McClure the
other. In 1 844, Van Heusen & Charles removed
to 62 and 64 State street, formerly occupied by
Lewis Benedict & Co., hardware merchants. In
1856, Van Heusen & Charles bought the property
on Broadway known as the Mansion House, and
kept as a hotel for many years. On this site they
built the store now occupied by them. It extends
through the block from Broadway to James street,
and is 250 feet deep. In 1864, George W. Pierce,
who had been for years in their employ, became a
partner, under the firm name of Van Heusen,
Charles & Co. This firm does a large wholesale
trade, and is well known throughout the United
States.
The firms of McGue & O'Brien, O'Brien & Ma-
har and Daniel O'Brien and James Mahar, well
known during the last twenty years, have only a
historic interest, having gone out of existence re-
cently. The store of W. H. D. Woodruff, 14 North
Pearl, takes their place in large measure. The
stores of William Domett and Simon Bell, on South
Pearl, and Bell & Ledger, 414 Broadway, deserve
mention.
HARDWARE.
The firm of Corning & Co. was founded prior to
1 8 16 by John Spencer, who commenced business
on South Market street on the site now occupied
by the building No. 416 Broadway. In 18 16,
Erastus Corning was admitted as a partner, the firm
name being John Spencer & Co. Mr. Spencer sub-
sequently withdrew, when John T. Norton became
a partner. A few years after, James Horner was
admitted in place of Mr. Norton. Many years
after, a Mr. Sparhawk became a partner, under the
firm name of Corning, Homer & Sparhawk. About
1844, Mr. Sparhawk died, and the same year Gil-
bert Davidson became a partner. About this time
Mr. Corning erected the building in present use
by the firm. In 1848, Mr. Horner retired, and
Erastus Corning, Jr., was admitted. In 1854, John
F. Winslow was taken in as partner, but withdrew
in 1862. Two years later Mr. Davidson retired.
Erastus Corning, Sr. , who had been connected
with the firm for half a century, withdrew, when
the firm name was changed to Corning & Co. , being
composed of Erastus Corning, Jr. , Townsend Fon-
dey, William H. Nichols, James E. Walker and
Clarence H, Corning. Mr. Walker and Clarence
H. Corning both died in 1879. The firm is now
composed of Erastus Corning, William H. Nichols
and W. T. Fondey.
The other leading hardware merchants in the
first half of the present century were Spencer Staf-
ford & Co., Lewis Benedict & Co., Benedict &
Roby, and Steele & Warren, all on South Market
street; Alexander Davidson, Van Alstyne & Son,
N. B. Miles, Humphrey & Co., Cantine Tremper,
Lansing Pruyn, and others.
In connection with the hardware business, we
may call attention to the biographical sketches of
Noah Brooks Mills and Isaac W. Vosburgh, which
furnish much valuable information of the early
merchants of Albany.
Another old house deserving of mention is that
conducted by Maurice E. Viele, Nos. 39, 41 and
43 State street. Mr. Viele made his first business
venture here in 1845, when he commenced dealing
in hardware, and in that year, in connection with
the late Alexander Davidson, bought out the old-
established house of Van Alstyne & Son, doing
business corner of State and Green streets. In
185 1, the stock of Humphrey & Co. was not only
added, but a removal was also made to the store ot
that firm.
Shortly after the death of his partner in 1859,
Mr. Viele associated with himself Messrs. Coles
and Woodruff, and for four years the firm remained
unchanged. In 1865, these two partners retired,
and ever since Mr. Viele has conducted the busi-
ness alone. In 1870, he purchased the stock of
Cantine Tremper; in 1874, that of Van Santford &
Anable; and in 1875, that of L. Pruyn & Son,
which greatly added to his already extensive stock.
The present store is five stories in hight and 52
by 100 feet in dimensions. Intelligent and cour-
teous salesmen are employed, and everything is
done to add to the comfort of their customers.
The following constitute the principal hardware
dealers, besides those already mentioned, now en-
gaged in the trade: Gilbert H. Ackerman, 384
Broadway; William T. Burgess, 146 South Pearl
street; and M. Crannell, 208 Hudson avenue.
638
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ISAAC W. VOSBURGH
was born in Albany, December 21, 1801. His
parents were William and Mary (McDonald) Vos-
burgh, his father having been of the old Dutch
stock, and his mother a Scotchwoman.
He was educated privately, and at the age of
about twenty began his business career as a clerk
in the old-time hardware store of George Hum-
phrey, on State street. Here he applied himself
assiduously to business and famiharized himself
with the hardware trade as it then existed.
Some time between 1820 and 1830^ the firm of
Pruyn, Wilson & Vosburgh was formed, and con-
tinued in existence for more than thirty years, do-
ing business at No. 39 State street. Their house
became one of the most prominent mercantile
establishments in Albany, and the second in the
city in its line. The firm were for many years ex-
tensive importers of hardware, and their relations
with the trade extended over a wide territory. The
introduction of domestic manufactures, and of the
system of selling throughout the country by com-
mercial travelers, changed the character of the trade,
which is now carried on on an entirely different
basis from that in vogue for many years before the
War of the Rebellion.
Mr. Vosburgh is still living and in good health.
At the age of eighty-three years he is one of the few
men whose experiences connect the old Albany
with the Albany of to-day, and the changes which
have been wrought in the city during his lifetime
have been numerous and remarkable. He is in
full possession of his mental faculties, is genial and
hospitable, and retains that pleasant manner which
made him popular during his active life. Sur-
rounded by his family, he is passing in peace and
contentment the closing years of a long and well-
spent life.
NOAH BROOKS MILES
was the third Noah Miles in his family in the
line of direct descent. His grandfather was named
Noah Miles, and his wife was Hannah Hosmer.
Their son, Noah Miles, was born in Westminster,
Mass., December 22, 1751, and died at Temple,
N. H., November 20, 1831, aged seventy-nine. He
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1780, received
the degree of A. M., studied theology, and was
ordained Pastor of the Congregational Church at
Temple, October 2, 1782. It was as pastor of
that church that he died forty-nine years later.
He is remembered in literature by an able eulogy
on Washington. His wife was a Miss Pearson.
Noah Brooks Miles was born at Temple, N. H. ,
July 24, 1798. At the age of eighteen he came to
Albany and began his business career as a clerk in
the hardware store of Humphrey Brothers, on State
street. Faithful and honest, he ever considered
the interests of his employers, who after a few years
made him a member of the firm. In 1832 he be-
gan business for himself independently, in the
Rensselaer Hall block, on Hall street, above Pearl.
About 1 85 1 he purchased the stock of D. Hum-
phrey & Lansing, and removed to their old stand at
the corner of State and James streets, on the site
of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank. There he
remained until, in 1866, he retired from business
on account of failing health.
As a successful, trusted and respected merchant,
Mr. Miles won a reputation which gave him a
standing amongst the most honored in the city in
all commercial relations. His heart was kind, his
manners genial. He did favors with an open-
handed generosity that made his friendly unselfish-
ness the most conspicuous trait of his character.
In 1838, while in the prime of his life, he united
with the Pearl street Baptist Church (then located
on the site of Perry Hall), under the pastorate of
the late Rev. Dr. Welch; and from that time for-
ward to the day of his sudden and unexpected re-
moval from life (July 18, 1872) no one who knew
ever doubted his love for God or his fidelity to his
Christian vows. He was twice married; first in
1827 to Mrs. Eliza Fletcher, daughter of Captain
Lyman, of Rensselaer County, and the second
time, in 1848, to Miss Mary Newman, daughter
of the late Henry Newman, who during his life-
time was favorably and prominently known in the
business and social circles of Albany. Mr. Miles
had an inherent and unconquerable dislike for
politics and public life, but he took an intelligent
interest in public affairs, and numbered among his
friends many prominent men. It was in unos-
tentatious, helpful charity that he most delighted,
and he found his greatest reward in the concious-
ness that he had, unknown to any except himself
and the objects of his generosity, helped many a
good, but temporarily unfortunate, man to help
himself.
PLUMBERS, TIN AND COPPERSMITHS,
AND STOVE DEALERS.
The firm of Michael Delehanty & Son, plumbers
and sanitary engineers, was established in 1 840.
The present junior partner of the firm is John S.
Delehanty. They carry on a large trade in plum-
bers' supplies, and are sole agent for Magee's " New
Ideal" parlor-stove, wrought-iron furnaces, and
elevated ranges. They are located 26, 28, and 30
Green street.
Ridgway & Russ, 121 State street, and Thomas
Dugan, 27 James street, have long ranked among
the best plumbers in the city.
Edward Fitzgerald & Sons (John and Mark),
pursue the business of plumbers, roofers, and cop-
persmiths, at 28 Beaver street
William Guinan, 64 Beaver street, carries on a
general coppersmithing, plumbing, and roofing
business.
The firm of Carlisle & Hill, composed of James
Carlisle and William Hill, are engaged in the cop-
per and tinsmith business, being principally em-
ployed in making roofs. They are located at 636
Broadway.
The principal stove dealers, aside from those
engaged in the manufacture, are found on Green
street, Washington avenue, and Broadway.
^/^::^.=:z^€/''^/ -!%^
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aA:^.M:A^
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
639
James D. Walsh, 43 Hudson avenue, deals in
grates and heaters.
COMMISSION MERCHANTS AND FOR-
WARDERS.
The number of merchants who receive grain and
"other farm products to sell on commission is
numerous in Albany. The following are the most
prominent: Durant & Elmore, 505 Broadway; Gay
& Quimbj', 448 Broadway; Durant & Co., 473
and 475 Broadway; J. H. k F. A. Mead, 374
Broadway; Jeremiah Waterman & Sons, 463 Broad-
way; Barber & Bennett, W. L. Clute; James Farrell,
70 Pier; Peter McCabe, 102 Pier; H. A. Dwight,
W. M. Hussey, B. B. Sanders & Co., S. W. Settle,
M. H. Smith, Tallmadge & Co., R. W. Thacher,
H. R. Wright, and Wright & Anderson.
MEAT DEALERS.
During the preceding century most of the retail
meat dealers were located in what was known as
the City Market, which stood in Market street,
nearly opposite where Stanwix Hall now is. It
was a frame structure eighty feet long, and in both
ends the hook and ladder companies kept their
apparatus. The market was ordered out of the
street in 1807, and by an edict of the Common
Council three markets were ordered to be erected
in its stead. One was at the corner of Columbia
and Montgomery street, known as the North Mar-
ket; another on Court street, opposite Truax's
Tavern, at what was known as the watering place,
styled the South Market. The third was at the
corner of South Pearl and Lutheran streets, after-
wards designated as the Centre Market. For many
years State street has been the the principal place
where farmers, butchers, etc., have sold their ware.
In the morning they form their wagons in a line
on both sides of the road track, sometimes forming
a continuous line from Eagle street to Green street.
From early morning till noon this street presents
a lively appearance, crowded with buyers and
sellers.
Probably no name is more prominent in con-
nection with Albany meat dealers than that of
Fredenrich, members of which family for nearly
a century were connected with this business in
Albany. The original was John C. Freiedenrich,
who accompanied Burgoyne's expedition from
Canada. In 1791 he occupied a stall in the old
city market. At that time James Gibbons, John
Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy, and Johnny Williams oc-
cupied stalls in the same building. Soon after the
beginning of the present century, John Freden-
rich, Jr., was taken into partnership by his father,
who then supplied most of the influential citizens
with meat. Jn 1821 Johann C. Fredenrich died,
when his son succeeded him, and for nearly a cen-
tury afterwards conducted a meat market. He
died a short ime ago, over ninety years old. He
had two sons, John and Philip, who followed their
father's business. The latter conducts a meat market
at No. 83 Green street.
Meat dealers are numerous in Albany. There
are no less than one hundred and twenty-five meat
stalls, among which are those of Ignatius Wiley, at
61 Beaver street; John Battersby, John Featherby,
D. J. Hartnell, W. J. Maher, J. McQuade, George
Wiley & Brother.
FURNITURE.
The large furniture warehouse and factory in
North Pearl street of B. W. Wooster & Co., is the
outgrowth of a small concern. In February, 1843,
George O. Merrifield and B. W. Wooster com-
menced business as dealers in mahogany and fur-
niture, and undertakers. The firm continued to-
gether for eighteen years, when, by the death of
Mr. Merrifield, Mr. Wooster became the sole pro-
prietor. Soon afterwards, he sold out the under-
taking business, and confined himself exclusively
to furniture. In 185 1 he built the five-story brick
structure on South Pearl street, which he occupied
for thirty-five years. About a year ago he moved
into his present quarters on North Pearl street, a
building forty-four feet wide and two hundred and
seventeen feet deep, extending through to James
street. January i, 1884, his sons, Edwin B. and
B. W., were admitted as partners, under the firm
name of B. W. Wooster & Co. Benjamin W.
Wooster, the head of this establishment, was born
in Albany County, March 24, 1820, and is a gen-
tleman of a high order of business ability. He is
now President of the Albany County Bank.
The other furniture dealers of prominence are
Thomas Buckley, of 29 Washington Avenue; Ber-
nard Gloeckner, 81 and 83 South Pearl; Philip
Hertz, Jr., 112 South Pearl; John J. Hicks, 85
and 87 Beaver; Nelson Lyon, 4, 5 and 6 Central
avenue; E. Up DeGrove, 134 Lark; H. R. Watson,
19 to 25 North Pearl.
JOHN MEADS
was born in Polesworth, Warwickshire, England,
June 3, 1777, and died in Albany in 1869. His
parents were Elias and Sarah (Alsop) Meads. With
others who were seeking a new home and fairer
fortunes under foreign skies, he came to the United
States in his fifteenth year. He learned the trade
of a cabinet-maker, at which he served a regular
apprenticeship in New York, and worked as a
journeyman at the same trade there until 1802,
when he came to Albany. Here he soon opened a
cabinet-maker's shop on his own account. After
some years had elapsed, he admitted William Alvord
to a partnership in his business, which was contin-
ued until about 1847, when Mr. Alvord died.
Not long afterward, Mr. Meads, who had again
become sole proprietor, was succeeded by his son,
John Meads, Jr., who, in 1850, removed to New
York. This business was established on Broad-
way, between Maiden lane and Steuben street, and
subsequently removed to the building adjoining
that now occupied by the American Express Com-
pany, and which is now owned by members of Mr.
Mead's family.
640
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Retiring from the business in which he had passed
the years of his prime, Mr. Meads interested him-
self deeply in projects for the development of Albany
and vicinity, for he had since a very young man
taken a great interest in the growth and prosperity
of the city. He was one of several well-remem-
bered gentlemen who were associated in projecting
and constructing the Great Western Turnpike,
which in its day was designed as an internal im-
provement of no mean importance. For years he
had had plans in his mind for supplying the City of
Albany with water, and it was with much interest
that he watched the operations of the Albany Water-
works Company, which was organized early in the
present century, and was the first corporation or-
ganized for the purpose to which its energies were
directed. Mr. Meads identified himself with this
Company, and during the last twenty-five years of
its existence was its President and active Manager,
his son, Orlando Meads, during a portion of this
period serving as its Secretary, and his son James
as Clerk. The Corporation ceased to exist in 185 1,
when in the march of modern progress it gave place
to other means for furnishing a water supply to
Albany than those it had so long provided.
Mr. Meads was married in 1804 to Miss Louisa
Crane, of Albany, who died in 1854, having borne
him several children, of whom six — three sons and
three daughters — attained the state of manhood and
womanhood. These were, in the order of their
nativity, Orlando, Charlotte, Louisa, John, Jr.,
James, and Sarah Ruth. The Misses Charlotte
and Sarah Ruth Meads, the only survivors of the
family, live in their father's old home on Columbia
street. The Meads' residence was built in 1829.
Mr. Meads was a Whig, and later a Republican.
An active, energetic, enterprising man, of domestic
habits, he took no part in political affairs, except
to exercise his right of suffrage as seemed to him
right and fit. A great reader, as well as a wonder-
ful observer, he gained a wide range of political
and substantial knowledge, which often excited the
envy of men whose educational advantages had
been far superior to his. His good taste in all
matters of adornment or decoration was proverbial,
and his skill was called into requisition upon nearly
all public occasions. Great preparations were made
in Albany, as well as elsewhere throughout the
country, to cebrate the centennial of Washington's
birthday in 1832. That day was long a red-letter
day in the memory of many of the older inhab-
itants of the city, of a generation now unhappily
extinct The City Hall was to be decorated in
honor of the occasion, and Mr. Meads was chosen
to perform the task. He accepted the charge, and
the result of his artistic efforts was so pleasing that
he was presented with a silver water service, in-
scribed as follows:
Presented by the Managers of the Washington Centennial
Ball to Mr. John Meads, in compliment to his taste and clas-
sic design for the decoration of the City Hall on the evening
of the 22d inst.
Albany, February, 1832.
The Misses Meads have preserved a card of in-
vitation to that ball, of which the following is a
copy:
CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF WASHINGTON
The Honor of the Misses Meads' Company is requested at a BALL, to be given at the CITY HALL on
the Evening of the 22d inst.
Aluany, Feb'y nth, 1832.
John Townsend,
James McKeown,
Isaac W. Staats,
James Porter,
Joel A. Wing,
William Lush,
Augustus James,
George Dexter,
Herman Leonard,
Wm. M. Gregory,
Managers.
The Hon. Levi Beardsley,
" John McLean, Jr.,
" John Bird sail,
" C. L. Livingston,
" John A. King,
" Francis Granger,
" John McKeon,
" Philip Maxwell,
" Aaron Remer,
" James B. Spencer,
Of the
Senate.
I Of the
f Assembly.
James Stevenson,
Silas Wright, Jr.,
Peter Lansing, Jr. ,
John A. Livingston,
Peter Seton Henry,
J. B. Van Schaick,
Wm. A. Wharton,
A. H. Lovell,
Theodore Olcott,
Richard Yates.
Of these thirty managers only William M. Greg-
ory and Theodore Olcott are now living.
Mr. Meads was a nearly life-long member of St.
Peter's Episcopal Church, of which he was a stead-
fast friend and liberal supporter. The cause of
education also claimed his attention, and he gave
much thought and good counsel to the manage-
ment of the public schools of his day. His charity
was spontaneous and unquestioned. His solicitude
for the advancement and prosperity of the city of
his adoption was so marked, that he was always
found among the earliest to advocate and aid the
various public improvements of his time.
WATCHES AND JEWELRY.
The oldest established jewelry store in Albany is
that of William Wendell & Co. It was founded in
18 10 by Shepard & Boyd, in the building that
then stood on the southeast corner of E.xchange
and Market streets. It was continued by this firm
until the retirement of Robert Shepard, and was
then conducted by William Boyd for two years,
when he admitted John H. Mulford, and moved
into a store nearly opposite, on Broadway. In the
following year they moved to State street, where
Gray's book store now is. Here they continued
r^c/i^o-
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
641
until the death of Mr. Boyd in 1840, after which
Mr. Mulford carried on the business for two years,
when William Wendell was admitted as a partner,
under the firm name of Mulford & Wendell. This
partnership continued for twelve years, when Mr.
Mulford retired, and Robert L. Mulford, his son,
and William P. Feltman,were admitted as partners,
under the firm name of Mulford, Wendell & Co.
They remained at 480 Broadway until i860, when
the firm dissolved, Mr. Mulford withdrawing, and
thereafter, until 1864, when Mr. Feltham died, the
affairs of the firm were conducted under the firm
name of Wendell & Feltham. In 1865, Richard
H. Roberts became a partner, under the firm name
of Wendell & Roberts. In 1868 they removed to
No. 35 North Pearl street. In 1876 Mr. Roberts
withdrew from the firm, when James H. Leake
became a partner, the firm name becoming Will-
iam Wendell & Co. This firm has lately been
dissolved.
The jewelry store of Henry Rowland, 27 North
Pearl street, was established in 1832 by the present
proprietor, who keeps one of the largest and best
assortments of diamonds, watches, clocks and jew-
elry to be found in the city.
James Mix, No. 5 Beaver block, is another old
established jeweler who enjoys a large patronage,
and is widely known for the fine quality of his
goods.
The firm of Marsh & Hoffman, composed of
Benjamin Marsh and Frederick Hoffman, at 32
North Pearl street, are recognized dealers of essen-
tially high standing in the jewelry business.
The other dealers deserving of mention are E.
Max Fasoldt, 38 North Pearl; Otto H. Fasoldt, 83
North Pearl; P. D. F. Goewey; Benjamin L.
Hood, 71 South Pearl; W. H. Williams & Son,
488 Broadway; R. P. Thorn & Sons, 5 Green; all
of whom, by long experience and honorable deal-
ing, have gained public confidence and patronage.
WOOL DEALERS AND LEATHER
DRESSERS.
About 120 years ago, Charles Newman com-
menced the business of wool-dealing and leather-
dressing on Broadway. He was succeeded by
Henry Newman in 1785, who continued it for
seventy or more years. Thirty-six years ago
Charles Newman, son of Henry Newman, suc-
ceeded his father at his present store, 457 Broad-
way, in connection with his brothers, John L. and
James. For many years Charles Newman has con-
ducted the business alone, which represents the
oldest firm in the city, or perhaps in the United
States, that has been engaged in the same business,
on the same street and in the same city. It is said
this house never had a note go to protest.
John Wilson started the wood and leather busi-
ness on State street. A few years afterwards he
moved to No. 53 Dean street. In 1839, his son,
James, became a partner, under the firm name of
John Wilson & Son, which continued until 1847,
when the elder A\'ilson died. The business was
conducted by his son until a few years ago. In
1853, he built the large warehouse No. 54 Dean
street.
In the early part of the present century, Henry
Guest, Jr., was engaged in the leather business
on the corner of Church and Lydius streets. He
died in 1820, and was succeeded by Andrew Light-
body.
HON. ISAAC LEFEVRE,
of Albany, is a son of Daniel and Henrietta
(Schermerhorn) Lefevre, and was born at Roxbury,
Delaware County, N. Y., August 31, 1809. On
his father's side he is descended from a family of
those Huguenots who, driven from their native soil
by their intolerant fellow- citizens, crossed the sea
to give to the American race some of its most
valuable characteristics. Casper Schermerhorn, his
maternal grandfather, was of sturdy Dutch stock,
and in his time a thrifty tanner. Daniel Lefevre,
his son-in-law, also became a tanner, and in their
footsteps have followed Isaac Lefevre and his son,
Martin R. Lefevre, Daniel Lefevre's son and grand-
son respectively.
Isaac Lefevre possessed meager educational ad-
vantages, no other opportunities being his than
such as were afforded by the district school of his
day and locality. But he was gifted with a thought-
ful mind and remarkable powers of observation.
These, with a love of reading, enabled him in after
years to remedy, to a great extent, the educational
deficiencies of his youth. He learned his trade in
his father's tannery at Roxbury, and was for a con-
siderable time employed there. September 20,
1836, he married Miss Margaret M. Richtmyer, of
Blenheim, Schoharie Count)'. In 1845 he went to
Northville, Fulton County, and established a tan-
nery in that town on the Sacandaga River, a branch
of the Hudson. His business was successful and
he continued it until 1865, when he sold it to re-
move to Albany to look after some interests which
he possessed there. Since 1862 he had been a
partner in a leather commission trade, located at
No. 6 State street. In 1868 he formed a partner-
ship with Charles D. Rathbone, under the firm
name of Rathbone & Lefevre, opening a leather
commission store at No. 24 State street. Mr. Le-
fevre about this time bought a tannery at Beaver
Falls, Lewis County, where was manufactured
much of the leather handled at their Albany store.
The active management of this establishment was
assumed by Mr. Lefevre's son, Martin R. Lefevre,
who later purchased it of his father's firm and has
since conducted it with much success, gradually
adding to its productive capacity to keep pace with
his increasing business. Mr. Lefevre's health fail-
ing, he was obliged to dispose of his interest to
Mr. Rathbone, and retire from active business life
in 1878. During his long career as manufacturer
and merchant no stain ever fell on his good name,
and no creditor ever lost by him or his house.
Honest, energetic, pushing, and at the same time
aff"able, friendly and helpful, he combined all of
those qualities which gain the public confidence
and place a man on the highway of success.
642
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Mr. Lefevre has long been a liberal supporter of
the public charities of the city, and those who
know him best state that he has done much,
quietly and unostentatiously, to alleviate the ills of
his less fortunate fellow-beings. He is a generous
supporter of the Presbyterian Church, upon the
services of which his family are attendants. He
has never taken such an interest in politics as to
bring upon him the somewhat reproachful title of
politician. But his interest in the proper conduct
of public affairs has been both deep and intelli-
gent From a membership of the old Whig party,
he graduated naturally to identification with the
Republican organization, with which he has con-
sistently voted and acted since 1856. The con-
fidence of his fellow-citizens in his honor and
ability was demonstrated in 1855, when he was
elected to represent Fulton and Hamilton Counties,
then constituting one Assembly District, in the
State Legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Lefevre have had
three sons and two daughters, all of whom are
living. The sons are Martin R., William L., and
De Witt C. Lefevre. Miss Henrietta Lefevre is
now Mrs. Winfield S. Wylie, of Rome, N. Y.,
and Miss Elizabeth Lefevre, Mrs. W. R. Bill, of
Delhi, N. Y.
SEED STORES.
William Thorburn established a seed store at the
comer of Broadway and Maiden Lane in 1831,
which he continued until 1868, when he sold out
to V. P. Douw & Co. The firm of Price & Knick-
erbocker bought out the business in 1875, ^-i^d
have since conducted it at No. 80 State street.
When first established the trade was merely local,
but under the present proprietors it has grown to
large proportions, and extends not only all over
the United States, but to foreign countries. Both
a wholesale and retail trade is carried on. The in-
dividual members are G. H. Price and David M.
Knickerbocker. Over 3,000 varieties of seed are
carried in stock.
READY-MADE CLOTHING AND MER-
CHANT TAILORS.
The business of making and selling ready-made
clothing was not confined very extensively to any
one firm in Albany until 1846, when R. C. Davis
commenced the tailoring business on the east side
of South Market street, just south of Hudson street.
His establishment was destroyed by the fire of 1848,
after which he opened a store in the Museum Build-
ing. The following spring he moved into the Ex-
change Building. In 1853, Charles G. Craft be-
came associated with him, under the firm name of
Davis & Craft, and began the manufacture of
clothing for their own trade. The business of the
house increased rapidly, requiring several removals
to more commodious qiiarters. In i860 George
P. Wilson became a partner, under the firm name
of Davis, Craft & Wilson. In 1870, the firm dis-
solved and two separate houses were formed, one
conducted by R. C. Davis & Co. (Jesse M. White),
and the other by Craft, Wilson & Co. (Charles G.
Craft, George P. Wilson, James H. Gross and
Stephen P. Corliss). The first firm remained at
the old stand, while Craft, Wilson & Co. removed
to the corner of Maiden Lane and Broadway.
Davis & Co., in 1875, removed to 482 Broadway,
where they did an extensive business for some
years. They are not ngw engaged in business.
In 1875 Mr. Corliss retired from the firm of Craft,
Wilson & Co., and in 1878 Mr. Craft withdrew his
interest and opened a store on the corner of James
street and Maiden lane, where he is at present
located. Wilson & Gross, the remaining members
of the firm of Craft, Wilson & Co. , are located at
490 Broadway. The sales of these two firms, both
wholesale and retail, are very large.
At one time the manufacture of clothing was an
important element in the trade of Albany. In 1872,
the firm of R. C. Davis & Co. employed over 300
hands, their yearly pay-roll amounting to $125,000.
At the same date the firm of Craft, Wilson & Co.
employed between 500 and 600 hands. During
late years this branch of the business has been
practically discontinued in this city. Most of the
ready-made clothing sold here is purchased from
the large wholesale manufacturing firms in New
York, Boston, Rochester and other large cities.
Besides the two firms mentioned, Henry L.
Smith, 48 and 50 State street; Babcock, Shannon
& Co., 605 and 607 Broadway; Julius Saul, Keith
& Ward, the Rochester Clothing Company, etc.,
are extensively engaged in the wholesale and retail
clothing business.
Among the merchant tailors, for many years the
firm of Bailley & Brooks have occupied a leading
position. Jonn P. Bailley, who now carries on the
business, as remaining partner, at 25 North Pearl
street, was born in Lyons, France, and came to the
United States in 1859, settling in Albany in 1861,
where he has since successfully carried on the mer-
chant-tailoring business. John D. Brooks was
born in Schenectady and came to Albany in 1859.
He served in the Civil War and took much interest
in military affairs in Albany, and at one time was
Colonel of the Tenth Regiment, N. G. S., N. Y.
In 1820, Peter Relyea and Thomas Wright en-
tered into partnership at 371 Market street They
were the leaders of the profession for many years.
Ira Portis and Franois Horth, about this time, were
also tailors of high standing.
John T. Johnson is another merchant tailor
worthy of mention as a leading representative of
this branch of trade. Mr. Johnson established his
present business in Albany in 1878. He is now
located at 35 Maiden lane, where he occupies a
three-story building 25 x 70 feet in dimensions.
GAME, FISH AND OYSTERS.
Probably the oldest merchant in active business
in Albany is Joseph Clark, the well-known dealer
in game, vegetables and provisions, who com-
menced business in 1826 as a peddler of fish and
oysters. In 1837 he opened a small store in Wash-
ington street, on the south side, between Hawk
(jl/yxci/riAfr ^ P^u/i^/Xto^
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
643
and Swan streets. He remained there twenty-seven
years, when he removed to the building corner of
State and Lodge streets, where he has since re-
mained.
John Keeler is extensively engaged in the oyster
business at 85 and 87 Green street. He has recently
opened an oyster-house on State street. At both of
these places first-class restaurants are conducted.
James S. Livingston & Co., now on Broadway,
formerly on State street, have long done a large
oyster business on terms that increase public confi-
dence and patronage.
H. A. Simmons, dealer in fish, corner of Lodge
and Maiden lane, keeps up the long-established
reputation of this stand.
FRUITS.
The oldest house engaged in the fruit business is
that established by Augustus Wolenman, in 1840,
on the west side of North Market street. Four
years later he removed to the cellar under the
store now occupied by Joseph J. Price. In 1856
he removed to the old Staats House, on the corner
of South Pearl and State streets. In i860, Jacob
L. Lochner became a partner, under the firm name
of Wolenman & Lochner, which continued until
Mr. Wolenman's death, a short time ago.
Julius C. Wendt, on the comer of North Pearl
and State, deals in the same class of fruits.
The most extensive firm is that of P. V. Fort,
Sons & Co., wholesale dealers. It has been in
existence many years, and has established a large
trade. The individual members of the house are
P. V Fort, Charles W. Fort, and Jewelt N. Brown.
They are located at No. 427 Broadway.
James Stevens & Sons, 349 Broadway, do a good
business in bananas, oranges, and other fruits of
that class. Joseph Clarke, Garrett & Beck, William
Hagaman & Co., H. F. Henningway & Co., J. J.
Shelley, T. J. Shelley, John E. Walker, J. Wenz &
Co., and George W. Yerks deal extensively in fruits.
E. M. Tinkham keeps a large stock of fruits of all
classes, with almost every variety of groceries and
provisions, at 78 to 82 Beaver, corner Grand street.
Many firms engaged in other business deal quite
extensively in domestic fruits during the season.
WEST ALBANY CATTLE MARKET.
About the middle of the present century, the
growth of the railroad facilities of the country,
the rapid increase in population of the Western
portion of the United States, and the large pas-
turage there afforded for rearing live stock, soon
developed an immense traffic in the transportation
of cattle from the West to the East Nearly all
this business was done by the way of the New
York Central Railroad. Feeding places for live
stock were established at Buffalo, and it soon be-
came necessary to establish another such place at a
point about one day's journey from Buffalo. About
this time Erastus Corning, Sr. , was one of the di-
rectors of this road, and it was mainly through his
efforts that the Directors, in 1850, purchased three
hundred and fifty acres of what was then a wild
tract of sandy and barren land, with the purpose
of establishing a feeding-place at this point, now
known as West Albany. Here the Company set
apart a considerable portion of the land, upon
which was built extensive platforms to secure safety
in unloading, and covering some twenty acres with
substantial pens, or yards, for the security of the
different droves of cattle, where they could be fed
and stabled until the owners found purchasers,
shipped to other markets, or procured pasture lands
in the vicinity.
It was but a year or two subsequently that West
Albany became famous as a catde mart, and stead-
ily increased in the amount of business done, until
it became the greatest depot for the wholesale trade
in cattle of any market in the country.
Among the first to see the importance and reap
the advantages of the growing trade was Isaac
Moore, who opened the first yard at McGowan's,
on the Schenectady Turnpike; next at the old Bull's
Head Tavern, on the Troy road; then at Gallup's
Hotel, corner Washington and Swan streets. An-
drew R. Hunter and Nathaniel Gallup opened a
yard at West Albany in 1856, followed by P. L.
Eastman, M. Gillice, James Rooney & Co. , and A.
M. Bothick. R. McGraw is another pioneer stock-
dealer at West Albany, and at one time one of the
largest speculators in sheep.
The outlay of these persons, as well as the rail-
road, was heavy, and to a certain extent experi-
mental, but in the end justified their wisdom. In
1855 tl^e average monthly freight receipts at West
Albany were $25,200; in 1861 they were $67,800;
while in 1866, the hight of the cattle trade, they
were fully $75,000. In 1859 'he average weekly
receipts were 2,542 head; in i860, 3,141; in 1861,
3,348. At least two-thirds of the receipts were
sold at West Albany, and assuming the average
price to be $45 per head, it would appear that over
$100,000 changed hands here every week, or about
$5,ooo,coo yearly. This does not include the large
traffic in sheep and hogs, which kept even pace
with the cattle trade. Horses were also shipped
here in large numbers, and formed an important
element in the business done at West Albany. In
1866, when business was at its hight, 1,000 car-
loads of cattle were received weekly, and 100 was
a small average daily receipt.
During late years there has been a great reduc-
tion in the amount of traffic done at West Albany.
This has been due to several causes: mainly, the
growth of abattoirs at Chicago; the improved meth-
ods of shipping dressed beef in refrigerator cars,
and the appliances for feeding cattle on the cars.
The receipts of live stock during the past seven
years, as taken from the register at West Albany,
shows the following in car lots:
Year. Cattle. Sheep. Hogs. Horses.
1878 28,238 10,262 4,849 627
1879 31.484 9.923 5.449 949
1880 34.7iii 'o,3'2 5,234 1,058
1881 33.452 10,057 5,153 906
1882 24,208 9,497 6,172 788
1883 20,847 6,595 10.718 717
1884 17,444 6,925 10,891 815
644
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ANDREW R. HUNTER,
one of the most prominent residents of West Al-
bany, was born in the town of Hope, Montgom-
ery County, N. Y., August 4, 1810. His parents
were David and Affiah (Rich) Hunter, natives of
Massachusetts, who were early settlers in that sec-
tion. Mr. Hunter's life until he was sixteen years
old was passed on his father's farm, and in the
school afforded at that time in his native town.
In the meantime his brothers, David and Elkanah,
had removed to Albany and established themselves
as gardeners. When in his seventeenth year, he
joined them, and during the succeeding four years
assisted them and at the same time familiarized
himself with all the details of their trade.
At twenty he rented land on the flats above Al-
bany and engaged in gardening on his own ac-
count, in which he was successful and continued
for some years. From a small beginning he grew
to be a leading dealer in cattle and sheep, and
carried on that business in connection with his
gardening until about twenty-five years ago. At
that time he opened an extensive cattle-yard at his
then place of residence on the Troy road, and for
years was largely engaged in keeping cattle for
drovers. During this period he began purchasing
land quite extensively in West Albany, which he
improved and surveyed into lots, on some of which
he built. Many he sold on favorable terms to
house-seekers and business men. He also invested
largely in property in Albany, and at this time he
owns five houses on Livingston avenue, five on
Hunter avenue, and three on Central avenue,
West Albany, besides many vacant lots in that
part of the city, and a house at the corner of Hud-
son avenue and Willett street, together with other
real estate in Albany proper, and he has owned
and sold property on State and Lancaster streets
and on Clinton avenue.
But it is to West Albany that his most important
operations have been confined, and to him, as much
as to any other man, West Albany is indebted for
the rapid and steady growth it has enjoyed during
the past few years. When he began to purchase
land there, there was next to nothing to suggest the
West Albany of to-day, and men who stood high
in business circles, but who were shorter-sighted
than Mr. Hunter, did not hesitate to predict his
utter ruin as a consequence of the investments thus
made; but time has demonstrated the wisdom of
his scheme. His residence, one of the most sightly
and home-like in West Albany, was built in 1874.
Mr. Hunter has been three times married. In
1874 he married his present wife, Mrs. Margaret
Calhoun. They have a daughter eight years old.
He is a Republican in political sentiment, but has
never had either the time or the inclination to
mingle actively in political aff'airs. He has been
often sought out by those who would have thrust
upon him the cares of an office-holder and has
persistently refused to become a candidate; though
once, against his protest, he was chosen a member
of the Board of Supervisors, and as such served one
term with credit to himself and satisfaction to the
public. But it is to be borne in mind that he has
ever been a close and interested observer of public
aflfairs, and he has constantly advocated the choice
of upright men to places of public trust, and the
worthy and economical administration of govern-
ment.
BOOTS AND SHOES.
The wholesale trade is, perhaps, sufficiently indi-
cated under manufactures.
In numbers the retail boot and shoe stores of
Albany are next to the grocery stores, numbering
138 separate establishments. It might seem in-
vidious among so many, to mention any. All
will, however, agree that Joseph Fearey & Son,
M. B. Sherman, M. R Frank, Nye & Blatner, and
H. B. Tuttle, are among the largest dealers.
S. G. CHASE
was born at Rome, Oneida County, N. Y., De-
cember 28, 1806, and when about ten years of age
(in the year 1 8 1 7) was present at a gathering of a
few distinguished gentlemen, about four miles east
of Rome, to witness the throwing out of the first
shovelful of earth by Governor DeWitt Clinton, at
the commencement of the digging of the Erie
Canal. The work was pushed forward rapidly,
both East and West, and in 1825 the Erie Canal
was completed from Lake Erie to the Hudson
River at Albany. Mr. Chase took passage on the
trial trip of the first Erie Canal-boat that was ever
built She was towed by one horse from Rome
to Oriskany (a distance of eight miles) and return.
It took many hours to make the trip. The speed
had necessarily to be slow, for there was no one at
that time who had had any experience in steering
or in any way managing a canal-boat. The boat
ran ashore several times in making the trip. The
navigation was not considered dangerous, how-
ever, for the original canal was not to have more
than a depth of three feet of water in it Soon
after this memorable trip, his parents removed to
Little Falls, Herkimer County, N. Y. The young
man attended school during the winter months,
while navigation was closed, and was employed on
the canal in the summer season for some years.
While the rocks at Little Falls were being blasted
out to form the bed of the canal, two small packet-
boats were placed on the canal to ply between
Utica and Little Falls, and young Chase was em-
ployed on one of them as steersman. When the
canal had been completed to Schenectady, larger
packet-boats were put on to ply between these two
towns, at the tiller of one of which he was placed,
intrusted with its guidance; and it was while so
employed (in 1824) that he had the pleasure of
seeing General Lafayette, who was a passenger
on board. In 1827 he was employed by Messrs.
Dows & Cary, of Albany, owners of the Washing-
ton line of canal-boats, to take charge of one of
their boats as captain, carrying freight and pas-
sengers between Albany and Buffalo. The quan-
tity of freight in those days was well adapted to the
carrying capacity of the boats, for it was several
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
645
years before they could carry more than about
twenty tons freight, whereas they now carry two
hundred and forty tons. The early business of the
canal consisted chiefly of movers from the New
England States, with their household goods, to
settle somewhere in the West, and of foreigners
and their luggage emigrating to the West. The
east-bound freight consisted mosriy of staves from
Buffalo, Tonawanda and Lockport, and perchance
a little flour from Rochester. The lakes for some
time furnished the canal with but little east-bound
freight Mr. Chase continued master of a canal-
boat until 1835, when, coming to Albany to re-
side, he engaged with E. S. Prosser, Esq., on the
Pier as a tally clerk, loading canal-boats with mer-
chandise for the West. He remained in Mr.
Prosser's employ until the spring of 1841, when he
organized a line of canal-boats for freight and pas-
sengers to ply between Albany and Buffalo, con-
necting at Buffalo with the house of John R. Evans
& Bro. for the lakes, and at Albany with A. Van
Santvoord & Go's. " swift-sure line " of barges for
New York. All canal freights were reshipped at
Albany in those days. The firm name at Albany
was that of S. G. Chase & Go.
In 1856 eight different canal lines (that of Mr.
Chase included) combined, forming a stock com-
pany, with a capital of $800,000, under the name
and style of the Western Transportation Company
to do a carrying business between New York
and Chicago. Mr. Chase was one of its original
directors, and acted as its agent on the Pier at
Albany until 1879, when he disposed of his entire
interest and retired from business, after a period
of forty-four years in the transportation and com-
mission business on the old Albany Pier. He
was a member of the Albany Board of Trade
for several years, a Director in the Capital Insur-
ance Compan)', and a Trustee in the Jagger
Iron Company. Has been a member of the First
Presbyterian Church of Albany for many years,
and served several terms as an Elder in said church.
He has been twice married and has five daughters,
viz. : Mrs. A. K. Richards, Mrs. N. E. Simons,
Mrs. C. M. Sears, Mrs. Irving Knickerbocker, and
Mrs. John D. Parsons, Jr., all the issue of his first
marriage.
TEAS, COFFEES AND SPICES.
During comparatively late years, in all the large
centers of trade, stores have sprung up exclusively
devoted to the sale of teas, coffees and spices. In
Albany there are a number of such establishments
some of which transact a large business in these
commodities.
One of the leading houses in this line of trade is
that of Anthony N. Brady, which was established
by him in 1864 on South Pearl street. In 1867
he opened a store. No. i Beaver Block, and in
1874 another at No. 12 Central avenue. Both of
these, and one in Troy, established in 1884, are
under his proprietorship. His extensive and flour-
ishing business is the reward of diligent work and
fair dealing. Albert V. Benson, 86 State and 15
Clinton avenue; Walter McEwan and Albert Wing,
Sons & Co., are also large dealers in these goods.
JOHN THOMAS, Jr.,
was a prominent business man in Albany for many
years. His father, a native of Wales, came to
America when very young, married in due time,
and lived in Mark lane (now Exchange street),
which was then a very fashionable part of the city
and in and near which many wealthy Albanians had
their residences. There John Thomas, Jr., was
born, September 27, 181 5, the second son in a
family of eleven children. At the age of seventeen
he entered the old-time establishment of Gregory &
Co., to learn the trade of upholsterer and carriage-
trimmer. After serving his apprenticeship he went
to Texas and remained there one year. On his return
to Albany he engaged in the provision trade, which
he continued for some years. About 1845 he
purchased Goffe's coffee and spice business at No.
10 Exchange street, and some years later removed
his establishment to the corner of Dean and Ex-
change streets, where his name and that of his
establishment, the Premium Coffee and Spice
Mills, gained reputation throughout the country.
One night in January, i860, his store took fire and
was utterly destroyed. He opened a new .store in
the north part of Greene street and remained there
until the erection of the building at the corner of
Dean and Exchange streets, which he afterwards
occupied until his death.
About 1840, Mr. Thomas joined the Albany
Fire Department, as a member of Independence
Hook and Ladder Company No. i, and served
some years with credit, taking his part in such work
as there was to be done, and making many friends
among the firemen of that da}', when the compa-
nies were largely made up of the leading business
men of the city. His knowledge, thus acquired,
served him in good stead when his store was
burned, as has been stated, in i860. The weather
was intensely cold, and it was almost impossible to
manage the engines, which were brought to the
scene by hand. Mr. Thomas himself directed the
streams thrown upon a certain portion of the build-
ing, fearing a large boiler therein would fall and
cause a loss of life, a calamity which he was suc-
cessful in preventing.
May 27th, 1844, he married Sarah Ann Parsons,
who bore him six children, and was a most devoted
and exemplary wife and mother. She died July
21, 1867. Mr. Thomas was a prominent and
helpful member of the Pearl street Methodist
Church and lived consistently with his profession.
He was liberal and charitable in his views of his
fellow-men; strictly honorable in his dealings;
and in his family indulgent and generous — such a
man as makes friends of nearly all with whom he
comes in contact, and gives none just cause for ill-
will. His temperament was bright, genial and
happy. He was fond, above all else, of his home
and its comforts, and the companionship of his
family. Friendly and hospitable in a remarkable
degree, he loved to entertain, and the friends who
646
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
SIMEON WATSON.
met at his fireside were many and steadfast. He
died June 4, 1 865, of pleurisy, after only a brief
illness. Five of his children survive him.
SIMEON WATSON
was bom in Middleville, Fairfield Township, Her-
kimer County, N. Y., September 25, 1817, and
died in Albany, March 8, 1872. He was a son of
William Watson and Clarissa Ford, his wife. Gain-
ing the rudiments of an education in the public
schools then in vogue in his native town, he came
to Albany at the age of eighteen, and obtained
employment with George Harris, a cartman. He
was industrious and savmg, and was soon enabled
to purchase a horse and cart and engage in carry-
ing merchandise on his own account His prompt
attention to business soon brought him to the
notice of merchants and others requiring such ser-
vices as he could render, and his business increased
rapidly and steadily, until he was the owner of
forty horses and numerous carts and wagons, and
constantly employed many men.
It is said that Mr. Watson is entitled to the dis-
tinction of having conveyed the first load of mer-
chandise over the swing bridge between Albany
and Greenbush, which may be an item of interest
to those who delight in picking up odd scraps of
local history. In 1841 he married Miss Almira E.
Kenyon, of Herkimer County, who survives him,
as does also a daughter. Mr. Watson, as the result
of long and earnest labor and the exercise of good
business abilities, amassed a competency. He
made his own way in the world, unaided by wealth
or influence. To him, the calling which had
placed him on the highway of prosperity was good
enough to follow to the end. He did not change
his business, but constantly enlarged it; nor did he
branch forth into any of the byways of speculation.
He was honest and upright in all the relations of
life, and among the business men who knew him
he stood high for all those qualities which gain
confidence and insure success. Belonging to no
church, he gave liberally to many; he was chari-
table to the poor, helpful to those who were strug-
gling for a foothold in life, and an indulgent hus-
band and father. A Republican in principle, he
took no active interest in public affairs.
PAINTS, OIL AND GLASS.
About the beginning of this century the firm of
Thomas, Joseph & Elihu Russell were the leading
merchants in paints, oils and glass. They dissolved
partnership in 18 17, after which Elihu Russell &
Joseph Davis continued the business. The Russell
Brothers all became prosperous merchants and in-
fluential in commercial circles. The leading firms
in this business at present are William Dey
Ermand & Co., 381 Broadway; Thomas Easterly,
165 South Pearl; John Kurtz, 376 to 384 Central
avenue; and \^^lliam Prescott, 676 Broadway.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
647
TOBACCO AND CIGARS.
The smokers of cigars and chewers of tobacco
are as numerous in Albany as elsewhere. Most of
the wholesale dealers and manufacturers treated of
elsewhere, are also engaged in the retail trade. Es-
pecially is this true of Benj. Bayn's Sons and G.W.
Van Slyke & Co. All of the retail stores manufac-
ture to a certain extent. There are over one
hundred firms engaged in this branch of trade in
Albany. Among the first-class cigar and tobacco
dealers are James Quinn, 174 South Pearl; D. A.
Lawler's Sons, 776 Broadway; J. S. Hutman, 6
Music Hall.
ICE.
During late years the consumption of ice has in-
creased to a wonderful extent in this country.
Large capital is invested in cutting and storing it
during the winter. The excellent water of the
Hudson, and the streams and ponds of this vicinity,
afibrd unequaled facilities for this important branch
of trade, not only for home consumption, but for
extensive exportation. The Albany merchants en-
gaged in this business are well represented by
Parker Hall, a son of O. Hall, deceased, whose
office is located at 932 Broadway; Hiram Hotaling
& W. C. Saxton, 55 Broadway; John Mullon &
Sons, office No. 936 Broadway; Patrick Ronan, 19
Lumber District; Sanford Vroman & Co., Quay,
corner Cherry.
UNDERTAKERS.
The merchants, if such they may be called, who
follow the business of undertaking, are the most
reluctantly patronized business men in any com-
munity. Albany has its share of those who faith-
fully attend to these melancholy necessities of civi-
lization. For many years Marshal W. Tebbutt was
the leading undertaker in Albany. He died a short
time ago. His sons succeed him in the business.
The following may be justly considered as those
receiving the largest share of public patronage:
Carr & Clark (E. J. Carr and James J. Clark), 1 1 7
Madison avenue; John Harrigan, 21 Canal street;
James W. Morange, 5 1 Maiden Lane; John Metz
& Son, 21 Central avenue.
TRUCKING.
The carting of freight and merchandise in this
city necessitates the employment of a large number
of men and horses. The firm of Eraser, Lockwood
& Co. probably employ the largest number of men
and horses in this business in Albany. They do
the trucking for the People's line of steamers.
Charles McGinnes, 377 Madison avenue, is the
proprietor of a large business. Jacob D. Van Buren,
363 Hudson avenue, is another truckman largely
engaged in trucking.
R. G. Dunn & Co.'s commercial agency has an
office in Albany at 479 Broadway. F. E. Griswold
is manager of this branch office in this city.
DRUGGISTS.
Louis Sauter established a drug store at 84
Green street in 1852. In 1861 he opened his
present store at the corner of South Pearl and Plain
streets. He has another store at 8 North Pearl
street.
H. B. Clement opened a drug store at the corner
of Broadway and Clinton avenue in 1859. I" 1867
he leased the adjoining store on Clinton avenue to
accommodate his trade; and in 1872 the adjoining
store on Broadway. The three combined make a
store 33 by 56 feet in dimensions. E. T. Rice be-
came associated as partner in 1873. He retired in
1885, when H. J. Grose became a partner, under
the firm name of Clement & Grose.
A. B. Heusted commenced the drug business
at the corner of Eagle street and Hudson avenue
in 1868, and has conducted it ever since. Dr.
Heusted is an educated physician and pharma-
ceutist.
Louis Gaus commenced business at 254 South
Pearl street in 1876. He purchased from C. Sprim-
hart, who had conducted a similar business from
1850.
J. J. Mattimore,wilh Mr. Ingraham, commenced
the drug business at the corner of Madison avenue
and Eagle street in 1879. In 1881 he purchased
Ingraham 's interest, and has since conducted the
business alone. In 1884 he removed to his pres-
ent location, 44 Philip street.
Robert F. & E. Eddy Safford first engaged in
the drug business in 1882, at corner of Hamilton
and Pearl streets. In 1885 removed to present
location, corner of Lancaster and Dove streets.
F. B. Waterbury and Mr. Goffe became asso-
ciated in the drug business on Hamilton street in
1881. Mr. Goff'e retired in 1883. In 1885,
George E. Jones became a partner. Moved to
present location. No. 91 Hudson avenue, in 1884.
Firm name, Waterbury & Jones.
The present wholesale drug house of A. McClure
& Co. (composed of Archibald McClure, William
H. McClure, William J. Walker and Charles Gib-
son) was founded in the early part of this century
by James and Archibald McClure. In 1833, George
Dexter was admitted as a partner. This house
occupies a high position in the drug trade all over
the country. It is located at Nos. 74 and 76
State street.
The wholesale drug firm of Douw H. Fonda &
Co. was organized in 1865. It is the continuation
of a business established in the -beginning of the
present century by Thomas and Joseph Russell. The
present firm is composed of Douw H. Fonda, Will-
iam B. French and Henry R. Wright. Their estab-
lishment is situated at 70 and 72 State street, in a
commodious four-story building, 35 by 347 feet in
dimensions. Paints, oils and varnishes form a
very important feature of their stock. The trade of
the house is confined principally to New York,
Vermont and Western Massachusetts, and requires
the attention of three traveling salesmen, while a
force of twenty assistants, besides the members of
the firm, are employed in the store.
648
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The drug store of Turner Brothers, corner of
South Pearl and Schuyler streets, was founded in
1850 by the present proprietors, George H. &
Charles Turner. They have built up a large busi-
ness, and the house is well known to the drug
trade. They also carry besides the usual variety of
drugs, a large assortment of paints, oils, varnishes,
window-glass and brushes.
The pharmacy of Charles H. Smith, at 246
Washington avenue, opposite Townsend Park, is a
well-stocked drug store. Mr. Smith manufactures
the American Stomach Bitters and his own fluid
extracts.
William F. Elmendorf opened a drug store at
Nos. 218 and 220 South Pearl street in 1879. He
was succeeded by the present proprietor, William
S. Elmendorf
Martin W. Macomber has been engaged in the
drug business in Albany since i860. His store is
situated at 42 Hudson avenue.
John C. McEwen established a drug store on
Lancaster, corner of Dove street, in 1884. In 1885
he removed to 100 Washington avenue.
Joseph Bandorf, present proprietor of the well-
known store corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane,
succeeded Charles H. Teller, George G. Jewell,
Edwin T. Bedell, R. S. McMurdy and George L.
Brown.
Samuel C. Bradt has kept a drug store on Wash-
ington avenue many years. Charles Frothingham
was for some years a leading druggist on Broadway,
just north of State; succeeded by Peter M. Murphy
in 1866.
Among other druggists of the past, we find Henry
Rolls, in Apothecary Hall, 57 State street; William
Russell, near McClure's, on State street; Dr. Carr,
Dr. Wyncoop, Dr. Elkins, Joseph Davis, A. B. &
D. Sands, Edwin A- Clapp, Joseph Russell, Dr.
^^'harton, Dr. Hall, Dr. Spaulding, Dr. Springsteed,
Dr. Rossman. Druggists were popularly called
"doctors" in former days, because they dealt out
"doctor's stuff." The title is now confined chiefly
to all, be they coarse or refined, educated or
charlatan, neophyte or wise, who gravely di-
rect or deal powders, pills or drops to be given
to the sick as long as life remains. What's in a
name!
Dr. Stringer & Dr. Bay kept a full stock of the
medicines used in the days of the Revolutionary
War in medical practice in the family dispensary.
Old Dr. Mancius kept quite a supply outside of
his own practice.
The first educated druggist, who came to Albany
about 1788, and opened the first real drugstore,
was Samuel Dexter, from Boston. Before his time
a few common drugs were kept in nearly all the
retail stores and by the physicians.
Mr. Dexter had two sons who graduated at
Union and became lawyers — James and George —
both very much esteemed. George, after his father's
decease, kept up his business, holding it till re-
cently, venerated for his years and chaiacter.
Joseph Nellegar, now in the drug business on Stale
street, was his partner some years, beginning March,
1850.
WILLIAM SAWYER
was born in the City of Albany, March 14, 182 1.
His father, Luther Sawyer was born in the good
old town of Lancaster, Worcester County, Mass. ,
in which place his ancestors were among the first
settlers. He came to Albany in 1813, and followed
the occupation of a brick and stone-mason. He
died February 7, 1827.
His mother, still living at the age of eighty-six
in remarkable health and vigor, bore the maiden
name of Ann Lombard. Is a native of the City of
Boston, where she was born in 1 799. She came to
Albany in 18 14 and was married in 1815.
On his mother's side, Mr. Sawyer descended
from Stephen Hopkins, one of the pilgrims of the
Mayflower. Of the forty-one males who made
up that noble band that founded "a church with-
out a bishop and a state without a king" on
Plymouth Rock in 1620, one. Miles Standish, had
the rank of Captain, and ten the respectable title
of Mr., a prefix then given to men of exceptional
influence and distinction. Among these "upper
ten " are recorded Stephen Hopkins with John
Carver and others.
When duties involving much discretion and re-
sponsibility came up, Mr. Stephen Hopkins was
usually "adjoined for counsel and advice," with
John Carver, Miles Standish, William Bradford
and Edward Winslow. We find him thus asso-
ciated with these distinguished men in locating
lots, la}ing out plans, trading with the Indians,
and other matters of importance. He is spoken
of as a householder and as having eight persons
in his family, including two men servants. Among
his numerous and highly respectable descendants
is Stephen Hopkins, of Rhode Island, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Eseck Hopkins, the first commodore in the
American navy, was brother to Mr. Sawyer's grand-
mother on his mother's side. His home was in
Boston. Atkins Lombard, a Boston sea captain,
who died in 1 799, was the father of Ann Lombard,
the mother of Mr. Sawyer.
It is a matter of history that the continental flag
was first displayed on the 3d day of December,
1775, on the ship of Eseck Hopkins, who, on the
6 th of November preceding, had been appointed
Commander-in-Chief of the first American fleet
The Declaration of Independence was publicly
read for the first time on the 8th of July, 1776,
by Commander Hopkins of the navy, to an as-
semblage of citizens in the old State House yard in
Philadelphia.
The subject of our sketch is the architect of his
own fortune. Left fatherless and without patrimony
at the age of five years, with a kind, prudent mo-
ther, who had only her hands with which to pro-
vide for her two sons, aged five and seven years,
William Sawyer had none of the ease of wealth,
none of the advantages of education in his early
years. At nine years of age he was put to learning
the trade of shoemaking, which he pursued until
1 87 1, when he retired with a competence, having
all these years given himself to his business
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
G49
with remarkable persistency, sagacity and frugality.
Most of his life of sixty-four years so far, he has
spent in his native city. His life has been an act-
ive one. In 1836-37, he had his home in Beth-
lehem. In 1837 he was instrumental in starting
the first Sunday School in that town, near Jerusa-
lem church, at Feura Bush.
In 1838, he pursued his trade in the City of
Syracuse and Geneseo, Livingston County, but re-
turned to Albany late in the autumn of that year.
This was before the Genesee Valley Canal was
built, and Mr. Sawyer walked the thirty miles from
Rochester to Genesee. On his return it took
three days and three nights from Rochester to Utica
by the Erie Canal. The railroad was opened from
Schenectady to Utica that fall. The trip by rail from
Utica to Albany occupied a whole night. After
working about two years at his trade he went into
business for himself, which he followed until 1849.
In 1 85 1, he opened a shoe store in Fulton street,
Brooklyn, opposite the City Hall, In 1852, here-
turned to Albany and opened a store at his old
stand on South Pearl street, where he remained
nineteen years, successfully engaged in buying
boots and shoes on the ready cash system and in-
vesting his surplus in productive real estate.
When the War of the Rebellion broke out, he
bought a large stock of boots and shoes, selling
them rapidly at war prices! The profits he in-
vested in Government bonds, in real estate, chiefly
in Kenwood, and in stores on Pearl street. He
continued in the retail shoe trade a few years after
the war. Since 1871 he has been actively engaged in
works of benevolence, and in the care of the wealth
which his shrewdness, energy and economy have
placed in his trust. The wisdom of his investments
has been well attested by time and experience.
With a minute knowledge of the affairs of the
city, with open ears, and a keen eye to the main
chance, taking counsel of himself, he is well known
as a prompt, reliable man of business, and a firm
friend and supporter of law and order.
650
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
His lack of early opportunities for education has
largely been supplied by native tact and keen ob-
servation. In the year 1850, with a laudable de-
sire to make up early deficiencies, he left his trade
for a time and devoted some of his earnings, under
a skillful instructor, in acquiring a good practical
knowledge of arithmetic and book-keeping and
other branches most needed in daily life.
It is a matter of honest satisfaction to Mr. Saw-
yer to be able to say to the young of to-day, that he
never used intoxicating drinks, never used tobacco
in any form, and never attended a circus or a
theatre.
In matters of public policy he was an active anti-
slavery man, and has ever been a decided friend of
the American policy of encouraging and protecting
home labor, sustaining free schools, and treating
every honest citizen as an equal before the law.
During the canvass that resulted in electing
Abraham Lincoln, he was among the foremost
of the ' ' Wide Awakes " that did such effective
service.
In religious preferences Mr. Sawyer is a decided
Baptist. In 1840, he united with the Pearl Street
(now Emmanuel) Baptist Church, while Elder Jacob
Knapp was assisting Rev. Dr. B. T. Welch. In
1 87 1, he removed his church relations to the Cal-
vary Church.
His interest in the Sabbath School and mission
work of the Baptist Church has been great and con-
stant for many years. To it he has given much
time and toil and money. July 29, 1866, the Ken-
wood Chapel, which was started in 1864, was duly
dedicated, Rev. Dr. Magoon preaching the ser-
mon. This he gave to the Albany Baptist Mission-
ary Union as a chapel for church purposes forever.
On the day of its dedication the cars of the Albany
Railway made the first trip to Kenwood. The
Sunday School here numbers about 100.
The Robin Street Baptist Chapel was established
by Mr. Sawyer in the German Baptist Church on
Washington avenue, November 4, 1866, and re-
moved to the Robin Street Baptist Chapel, into a
building formerly used as a cabinet factory, which
he had purchased and remodeled for that purpose,
April 7, 1872, as an Independent Sunday School.
To its interests he has ever given his most watchful
care. The school now numbers about 300.
The Madison Avenue Chapel was purchased by
him for Sunday School purposes in the spring of
1867. The school was started August 4, 1867,
and placed in charge of the First Baptist Church.
It has about 150 members.
Mr. Sawyer was one of the earliest and most
active workers for the establishment of the Home
for Aged Men, in soliciting subscriptions, organiz-
ing, and in selecting its location. He was a mem-
ber of the first Board of Trustees. He has often
addressed audiences of young and old in exhorta-
tion and textual discourse. His knowledge of the
Scriptures, his zealous spirit, his nervous and
rather eccentric manner, have made these addresses
effective.
Mr. Sawyer was united in marriage with Catha-
rine Blakeman, of Albany, June 28, 1843. Their
surviving children are Catharine, Agnes, Mary, and
Jeannett, who married Michael T. Adams, Decem-
ber 13, 1882.
BOOKSELLERS.
Among the earliest booksellers in Albany are
William Seymour; D. K, Van Vechten; Obadiah
Penniman, who came to Albany under the great
printer, Isaiah Thomas; C. R. & G. Webster; E.
& E. Horsford, who kept a store at 100 State street,
closed about 1828; E. F. Backus, who made a
specialty of law books; Daniel Steele & Son, on
Broadway, north of Hudson avenue, who kept the
largest and best assortment of books outside of New
York City. Daniel Steele died in 1828, and was
succeeded by his son, Oliver. In 1836, the firm
of Steele & Durrie was formed, succeeded, in 1849,
by S. R. Gray and W. B. Sprague, Jr. , under the
firm name of Gray & Sprague. In 1855, the firm
was dissolved, when S. R. Gray became the sole
proprietor and has so remained. The present
marble front building, 42 and 44 Slate street, was
built by Mr. Gray in 1874, and covers an area of
35 X 100 feet, where he deals in a large and varied
stock of books and stationer)'.
A unique business in the book line is that of
Joseph Lord, who during the year 1844, while
plying his trade of shoemaker, began to deal in
stationery in a small way. About 1856, Mr. Lord's
business had grown to such proportions that he
gave up his shoemaking trade and devoted his
whole time to the book and stationery business.
In 1869, he built his present store, No. 19 Philip
street, where he carries a large stock of the old and
rare books, and the latest publications of books
and periodicals.
S. W. Johnson, Samuel Shaw, and E. W. Skin-
ner & Co., were prominent in the bookselling busi-
ness in the early part of the present century.
Webster & Skinner was another'old firm. They
kept a store at the Elm Tree corner. They did
an extensive publishing business until about 1838,
when they went out of business.
B. D. Packard conducted a book store at 71
State street, about 1820. He was succeeded, in
1828, by the firm of Packard, Hoffman & White,
which was succeeded, in 1833, by Elias Gates, who
went to Troy about 1850, where he did a large
business.
J. Orville Taylor, in 1836, carried on the book-
selling business in Albany. He was succeeded by
James Henry in 1840.
Joseph McDonough is chiefly engaged in selling
antique books. His store. No. 30 North Pearl
street, is the headquarters for the lovers of old
books. His stock embraces a varied assortment
of the antique in literature, and few booksellers
know more about the contents of their books.
D. R. Niver makes a specialty of Sabbath-school
and juvenile publications; E. H. Bender, on State
street, has long been a well-known bookseller; and
Edwin Ellis & Co., succeeded by B. & J. B. Sanders,
keep a well-stocked and popular book store at 19
North Pearl street.
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
651
BILL POSTING.
The printing of the handsome showbills heralding
the coming of theatrical troups, etc., has grown to
to be very extensive in this country. The posting
of most of these bills is done by Frederick A.
Keeler, No. 15 Green street, who owns most of the
prominent bill boards in the city. He has been
engaged in this business for many years, and the
name of "Keeler, the bill-poster," has become as
familiar as any name in the city. It is only a few
years since the death of CapL John Smith, who was
once a theatrical manager, and always a worthy
man. He was for many years the leading bill-
poster of the city.
SALOON KEEPERS.
The following are proprietors of liquor saloons
at the places designated: P. Lasch, 395 South
Pearl; John Brannigan, Hudson avenue, corner
Grand; John G. Gannan, 60 Beaver street; and
Thomas W. Dwyer, 276 South Pearl street. John
J. Garrity is the proprietor of a restaurant at 24 1
Hudson avenue.
There are, besides these, saloons of every grade
in Albany, from the sumptuously fitted bar-room
to the modest place devoted to the sale of lager
beer.
WINES AND LIQUORS.
The store of William J. Hill, importer and
wholesale dealer in wines and liquors, was founded
in 1869, who holds a prominent position in this line
of trade in Albany. His premises at 96 Madison
avenue consist of a three-story building, 25 x 90 feet
in dimensions, which affords ample accommoda-
tion for a large and complete assortment of foreign
and domestic liquors. He imports foreign wines,
brandies, gins, etc., direct from the producers.
Mr. Hill has resided in Albany for the past
twenty years, where he is well known and gener-
ally esteemed.
M. D. Holbrook, 524 Broadway, deals largely
in best California wines, and keeps a fine assort-
ment of other liquors. P. Cushman & Co. have
long been in the business, and have earned a widely
extended, well established reputation for integrity
and intelligence. E. Schell, 312 Broadway, sells
wines from his own vineyard in California, and
keeps the best of liquors for medical and domestic
use. Charles Tracey, 20 State street, succeeds his
father, John Tracey, who established the business
in 1838, as rectifying distiller and dealer in choice
liquors.
W. H. Livingston, 76 State street, succeeds his
father, Hiram Livingston, a dealer in the best
varieties of wines and liquors. Mr. Livingston, Sr.,
was a native of Albany, born in 1814, long a pop-
ular hotel-keeper, and a worthy member of the
honored Livingston family. He died in 1879.
The retail liquor stores of Albany are very nu-
merous, and, as is now universally the case, every
drug store deals in wines and liquors for medicinal
and domestic use.
ALBANY HOTELS.
THE earliest hotel of much importance in Al-
bany was the City Tavern, known later as
Lewis' Tavern. It was said to have been built as
early as 1667 by one of the Schuyiers. It stood
on the corner of State, and what was then a narrow
arched passage on the south side of South Pearl
street,, and was removed in 1856, when the latter
street was opened. Its interior finish was elaborate
for that day. It continued to be the leading hotel
until the Tontine Coffee House was built during
the latter part of the last century. Here Robert
Lewis became famous as a landlord. He died
June 17, 1798, and was succeeded by his son
Stewart, during the proprietorship of whom it was
the daily resort of the leading citizens of leisure,
and of all distinguished visitors of that day. Im-
portant deliberative meetings were held there.
The King's Arms Tavern was a well known hotel
prior to the Revolution. It stood on what is now
the corner of Green and Beaver streets. It bore the
device of the King's Arms, which, during the Rev-
ulution, became very obnoxious to the Sons of
Liberty. Many was the threatening glance cast at
the royal emblem by the patriots. At length the
hostile feeling culminated in an open attack upon
it by the populace, who tore it down and burned it
at the foot of State street in the presence of a large
concourse of people, amid cheers of patriots and
the execration and hisses of the Tories.
At one time it was known as the Albany Coffee
House. In 1 81 2 it was kept by a Mr. Ladd. In
1820 it was opened by Christopher Dunn, and
afterwards known as Dunn's City Coffee House.
Mr. Dunn was a jolly and popular landlord. He
came to Albany from New England about 1803,
and died in 1830, aged 67 years. This hotel was
torn down when the street was widened. During
the days of coach travel it was a famous resort,
where all the stages stopped.
The Tontine Coffee House in State street was
built about 1795, and for many years was the prin-
cipal hotel in the city. Worth refers to it in 1803 as
the only one worth naming. In 1798 it was kept
by the old stage properietor, Ananias Piatt, who
was succeeded, in 1803, by Matthew Gregory, one
of the most famous landlords of his day. He was
born in Wilton, Conn., August 21, 1757, and
died in Albany, June 4, 1848. He held commis-
sions, and served with honor during the whole War
of the Revolution. He became proprietor of the
Eagle Tavern in 1806, and having acquired a for-
tune, in 1 8 14 he bought and occupied the Con-
gress Hall propert)'. He was a careful citizen, sup-
porting all good objects. He was always connected
in some official position with local matters of busi-
ness, religion, and benevolence. The Tontine
House was the resort of leading politicians and dis-
tinguished men of the State.
Congress Hall, which stood on the corner of
Park Place and Washington street, was removed in
1878, to prepare a site for the New Capitol. For
more than half a century it was the chief hotel of the
city. For many years it was kept by I^verett
663
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Cruttenden, by whose name the hotel was best
known. He was born in Guilford, Conn., and
died in Bridgeport, July 14, 1838, aged 67 years.
Mr. Cruttenden was a man of reading and of ready
and brilliant humor, and from his talents and great
popularity was usually one of the after-dinner so-
cial circles. His hotel was the headquarters of the
legal fraternity, members of the Legislature, and all
distinguished travelers. Here Lafayette waa enter-
tained during his stay in Albany in 1824. The sign
of the house was the well remembered picture of
Washington. Adam Blake was the last proprietor
of this hotel.
The Eagle Hotel was another one of the earlier
hotels of note in Albany. It stood on Hamilton
street, near the dock, and was destroyed by the fire
of 1848, after which stores were built upon its site.
In 1810, Commodore Perry was tendered a recep-
tion at this house in honor of his naval victory.
Matthew Gregory, Leverett Cruttenden, H. H.
Crane and H. Bamman were at different periods
proprietors of this house.
The Adelphi Hotel was a popular resort in the
last part of preceding and the fore part of the pres-
ent century. It stood on the site now occupied
by the Commercial Bank, and was torn down in
1816.
Crosby's Hotel, corner Beaver and South Pearl,
was a well-known resort in the first quarter of the
present century. It was a queer building in archi-
tecture. It contained a large room, called the
long room, suitable for large gatherings, where mili-
tary companies and civic societies were frequently
entertained. It was destroyed by fire, and the
Clinton Hotel was built upon its ruins.
The Mansion House, Market street, almost op-
posite the steamboat landing, was another hotel
worthy of mention in the early history of Albany.
Among its early proprietors were the well-known
landlords, Sidney Chapin, Hugh Cruikshank, Na-
thaniel S. Skinner and F. Lathrop. The site of
this hotel is now occupied by the Ransom iron-
front store. For a short time it was called the City
Hotel.
The Albion Hotel, which used to stand on the
corner of Broadway and Herkimer street, was made
memorable as the place where the great fire of 1848
started, caused by a washerwoman's bonnet taking
fire.
In 1828, Nathaniel S. Skinner left the Mansion
House on Market street, and took the house ad-
joining the Commercial Bank, and converted it
into a hotel long known as Skinner's Mansion
House. In 1856 it was sold, and Van Heusen &
Charles erected a store on the site.
The present American Hotel was established
many years ago. It is located 100 State street. In
1832 John Thomas was proprietor. For a num-
ber of years it was conducted by C. N. Bement, an
efficient landlord, and well known to the traveling
public forty years ago. The present proprietors are
Babcock & Hopkins.
During the period of the greatest travel over the
Great Western Turnpike, a few years prior to the
opening of the Erie Canal, Albany was an advan-
tageous site for hotels. For a distance of a few
miles beyond Albany there were from fifteen to
twenty taverns. The father of the Hon. Eli^Perry
for many years during this period kept a' hotel
on the corner of Washington avenue and Swan
street.
The Stanwix, on Broadway, corner of Maiden
lane, was opened as a hotel in 1844. The building
was originally erected in 1833 for business ofifices,
and was lour-stories high, the front built of Quincy
granite. It stands on the site of the house where
General Gansevoort, the hero of Fort Stanwix, was
born. The main building was formerly surmounted
by a hemispherical dome, forty-eight feet in diam-
eter, said to have been at that time, in fortii, the most
beautiful in the world. Underneath this dome
was a large hall, sixty feet high, finished in the
Grecian Ionic order. The first proprietors were
Wheeler & Bromley. The present proprietor is
Cebra Quackenbush.
The Delavan House was erected by E. C. Dela-
van, on the site of a hotel of the same name, in
1845, at a cost of |20o,ooo. It was opened as a
temperance house by Nathaniel Rogers, of Boston,
in 1845. Since then the proprietors who have
been prominently connected with this house are
Charles E. Leland and Theophilus Roessle. The
present proprietors are T. Roessle, Son & Co.
The Delavan House has since its erection taken
a front rank among the best hotels in the State.
It is the resort of a large number of members of
the Legislature and the leading State politicians.
For years most of the political work attending the
organization of the Senate and Assembly has been
done within its walls. The reputation of the
house as a first-class hotel is well maintained by
the present proprietors.
The principal hotels in Albany at the time of
the opening of the Delavan House were the Stan-
wix Hall, Mansion, Townsend, American, Con-
gress Hall, City, Eagle, and the Franklin House-
all well-conducted hotels. The Townsend Hotel
was afterwards changed to the Globe, and kept as
a temperance house by Mr. Brayton. It is now
ably conducted by ex-Sheriff James A. Houck.
The present Mansion House, 387 Broadway,
conducted by William Thompson, is the third of
that name.
The Kenmore Hotel was erected in 1878, and
was run until the time of his death by Adam
Blake, a colored gentleman, a worthy and respected
citizen, and first-class caterer for the public. At
one time he was proprietor of Congress Hall.
Since his death the hotel has been successfully and
admirably managed by his widow. This house
enjoys a first-class patronage and is one of the best
equipped hotels in the city.
Besides the hotels mentioned, the following are
worthy of notice: Hotel Brunswick, 530 to 538
Broadway, George C. Gale, proprietor; Hotel Fort
Orange, 40 and 42 Beaver street, Mrs. E. Engel,
proprietress; the Belvidere House, 39 Beaver street,
Mrs. E. Zeller, proprietress; Hotel Germania, 34
Beaver street, is conducted by Mrs. J. Bissikum-
mer, daughter of John Wachter, who kept the
/; r f /
/-, C-
1 //('C/^(''-
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
653
National Hotel on Broadway, the first German
hotel in Albany.
The principal hotel in West Albany is the
Drovers' I^xchange, of which Richard Scully is
proprietor.
THEOPHILUS ROESSLE
was born near Stuttgardt, in the Kingdom of Wur-
temberg, Germany, March 19, 181 1. His father was
a contractor and a market-gardener and vigneron,
and a man of importance in his community. Like
all the children in his native kingdom, young
Roessle received a good education, and from his
early boyhood he was familiar with the peculiarities
and cultivation of plants — for the uses of the plow,
spade, hoe and pruniug-knife were made known to
him in turn, as he became large enough to be of
service on the farm. He was born with a spirit of
venture and enterprise, and early conceived a strong
desire to visit the New World, of whose wondrous
opportunities he had heard so much, and in 1825,
when only about fourteen years of age, he came to
this country. He had relatives in Boston and New
York, to whom he made a brief-visit, at the expira-
tion of which he set out to see the country at large.
Civihzation was much more circumscribed in its
boundaries in the New World than it is now, and
Rochester, N. Y., was only a small place on the
Western frontier. With another lad he found his
way thither, but at Utica the baggage of both was
lost, and they were left penniless in a land of
strangers. His companion sickened and died in
Rochester, and young Roessle, dispirited and care-
worn, painfully trudged back on foot to Utica, in
the bare hope of recovering his lost trunk. It was
a fruitless errand, however, and he turned his face
toward Albany again. For many a weary day he
walked in his worn shoes, without a change of rai-
ment or a penny in his pocket, a strange lad in a
country where he could not make his commonest
wants known except by signs. He arrived at length,
foot-sore and weary, at the last toll-gate on the
Schenectady turnpike, and while he was speculat-
ing on his chances for a breakfast, a farmer drove
his team up to the door of a tavern close at hand,
and, beckoning the lad to him, got him to hold his
horses while he went in to eat his breakfast. For
this service the boy was paid a sixpence, an insig-
nificant sum, yet it was the foundation of a fortune.
Arrived in Albany, young Roessle met a little
girl selling matches, and inquiring of her for her
father, was led to a dirty room in a dirty street,
where the girl's father, an old Swiss, and his wife
and several children slept on straw. Roessle ob-
tained the privilege of a night's lodging, and the
next morning, finding that a few inches of snow
had fallen during the night, he borrowed a shovel
of the old man and went out to earn some money.
He made a dollar and a half that day, and the next
earned a like sum by sawing, splitting and piling
some firewood. He then got a job of sawing a
dozen cords of wood for an old Dutch dominie,
and while he was engaged at this work, the attention
of old Dr. Peter Wendell being attracted to the
diligence of the lad, a bargain was made by which
Roessle was to have his board, two suits of clothes
and $40 in cash per annum, in return for sweeping
out the doctor's office and riding his rounds with
him. He was thus employed nearly four years,
and then went out to a small farm on the Western
Turnpike, which he leased for a term of years from his
employer. He now began market-gardening on a
small scale, feeling his way and using his little capital
to the best advantage. An English landscape gar-
dener named Searstook board with him, and Roessle
employed the opportunity afforded by the long win-
ter evenings to learn as much of Sears' beautiful
profession as he could. The following spring he
was employed to lay out the place of Mr. John
Prentice, and the work was so well done that a
number of lucrative jobs were in succession offered
to and accepted by him. Uniting the two trades,
working hard early and late, and living with the
strictest frugality, Roessle accumulated property
and bettered his circumstances by slow degrees.
The quality of his vegetables became at last so well
known that his marketing business increased, until
he was forced to abandon landscape gardening al-
together. Celery was his heaviest crop, for he not
only retailed but jobbed it out in Albanj', sold it at
wholesale to other gardeners, and supplied Wash-
ington and Fulton Markets in New York, the river
boats, the Saratoga hotels, the Catskill Mountain
House, and the City of Schenectady. From 1835
to 1840 he sold an average of a thousand bunches a
day. It is probable that he could raise then as
fine a crop of celery as he has raised since, but as he
could never succeed in keeping it over winter, he
was no better off than his neighbors. It was only
after failures, losses and disappointments that he
discovered the simple expedients detailed in " How
to Cultivate and Preserve Celery," a useful little
volume which was issued in i860 as the first of a
series of "Hand-books on the Cultivation of Culi-
nary Vegetables." Mr. Roessle's gardening was
begun on seven acres, but as his sales increased
he leased other land, and used successively fifty,
a hundred, and a hundred and sixteen acres.
In 1840, he bought his place on Central avenue,
where he has built one of the most elegant and
comfortable residences in Albany, in the midst of
a great expanse of land which is under cultivation
in season, and is supplied with the latest and most
extensive facilities for vegetable cultivation. Thus
Mr. Roessle is enabled to provide a home supply
of vegetables to the various hotels with which his
name has become associated, and do considerable
market-gardening besides.
After a time, notwithstanding the success which
had crowned his efforts in America, the desire of
Mr. Roessle to again behold his native land and
the faces of his kindred grew so strong within him,
that he was impelled to make a visit to the father-
land. He visited his family near Stuttgardt, and
made a tour of Europe. What he saw abroad made
him still more firmly believe that America was the
land best adapted to poor and energetic men. The
trip cost him all his money, except a bare hundred
dollars, with which he got back to Albany. His
654
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
credit was so good that he had no trouble to get
what land he needed, and he went to work again
in good earnest. That year there was a severe
drought in Southern New York, and vegetables
were very scarce and very dear in ihe market.
With characteristic shrewdness, Mr. Roessle bought
up all the crops about him in advance, and from
their sale and that of his own produce realized a
clear profit of $2,000. This made him again a
free man, and he has kept so ever since, ranking
high to-day among the wealthy citizens of Albany.
In 1849 he opened negotiations for the lease of
the Delavan House. At that lime the hotel was
poorly conducted on a cheap plan by a man against
whom Mr. Roessle had a claim considerable in
amount on account of vegetables furnished him,
and with whom he became joint owner of the lease
of the house. It was not long, however, before
Mr. Roessle became sole owner of the lease, and
he then inaugurated the system which has since
made the house one of the most famous hotels in
the United States. He made improvements of all
kinds constantly until he had realized his own lib-
eral idea of what a hotel should be, and began to
reap wealth as his reward. In 1865 he disposed of
his lease to Mr. Charles E. Leland, but repossessed
himself of it in 1882. In the meantime, in 1866,
he had bought the Hotel Fort William Henry at
Lake George, and in 1869 assumed control of
the Arlington House in Washington, D. C, thus
becoming as extensively engaged in the hotel busi-
ness as almost any man in the United States, and
managing first-class houses exclusively. In the
management of these great enterprises he has long
been ably assisted by his son, Theophilus E. Roes-
sle, and his grandson, Edward Roessle, son of the
latter. The business is now carried on by the firm
of Theophilus Roessle, Son & Co., Mr. Roessle,
though still retaining a large interest, having prac-
tically retired from business. The Delavan House
is ably managed by Mr. Edward Roessle, and the
Hotel Fort William Henry and the Arlington House
are under the skillful supervision of Mr. Theophilus
E. Roessle.
Mr. Roessle was married in 1831, at the house
of his early and staunch friend. Dr. Wendell, to Miss
Jane Booth, an Englishwoman, who died March 5,
1850. In May, 185 1, he married Mrs. Maria
Hurlburt, who is still living. His career has been
a remarkable one, and may be fitly pointed to as an
example to all aspiring young men. It has been a
career in which industr)', integrity and perseverance
have wrought their allotted tasks and reaped their
legitimate rewards. Mr. Roessle's life may be re-
garded as a life well spent His motto through life
has been, "Honesty, industry, economy and en-
durance." In his declining years he numbers his
friends by thousands, and not a few of them are
among the foremost men of our land. He is one
who sympathizes with the struggling poor, and it
is said that his encouragement of such worthy ones
has many times gone far beyond kind words, and
that more than one man looks gratefully back to
the time when in Theophilus Roessle he found a
friend indeed. Such men are blessings to the world.
and their examples cannot but inspire the faint-
hearted with courage, and make still braver the strong
and resolute. No one begrudges success to such
men, and their successes always bring added pros-
perity to all with whom they come in contact.
Every step ahead that they make opens a way for
the advancement of many who are less self-reliant
and less far-seeing.
PUBLIC HALLS.
Albany is and always has been deficient in the
number, capacity, and architecture of its public
halls.
The old Academy of Music stood in South
Pearl street, near Beaver. It was built in 1825,
and used as a public hall and theatre. It was 1 1 6
feet deep, 60 feet wide, and 40 feet high. The
auditorium consisted of a pit and three tiers of
boxes, a portion of the upper tier being used as a
gallery. The stage was 58 x 52 feet. Bad man-
agement on the part of the managers caused it to
be closed in 1839, shortly after which it was sold
to St. Paul's Episcopal Church. In 1862 it was
again sold to Mr. Trimble, of New York, who
opened it as a public theatre, under the name of
Trimble's Opera House in 1863. It was destroyed
by fire in 1 868. The Leland Opera House sprung
from its ashes.
Tweddle Hall was built in i860, and destroyed
by fire in 1881, since which the present Tweddle
building was erected without a hall. During the
years of its existence, Tweddle Hall was the favorite
place for nearly all popular lectures, school anni-
versaries, and other large public gatherings in the
city, whether of a social, literary, scientific, mus-
ical, political, or theatrical nature. Since the de-
struction of Tweddle Hall, Albany has had no hall
ample and desirable for large assemblies.
Bleecker Hall, 529 Broadway, is the headquar-
ters of the Burgesses Corps, and sometimes used
for fairs and dancing parties.
Music Hall is now leased and occupied by
Jacobs & Procter, although it once competed with
Tweddle Hall for patronage of the same class. A
Skating Rink on Lark street has lately been fitted
up to aid in meeting the public demand for a
larger hall. There are many halls of small size
adapted to societies, clubs, social parties, and such
like. The Female Academy and the High School
have halls for their own convenience, rarely rented.
In earlier times the hotels had halls amply large
for the public needs; and, for some purposes the
halls of State and city building, and even the audi-
ence sittings of churches, were occupied by public
assemblies.
POLICE DEPARTIMENT.
During the early history of Albany, from the grant-
ing of the charter in 1686 to 1851, the maintenance
of order, the enforcement of the laws and ordi-
nances of the Common Council had, in all ordinary
cases, devolved upon the constables appointed by
the Board of Aldermen. The charter of 1686 pre-
COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.
655
scribed that one high constable and three sub-
bordinate constables, one from each ward, should
be yearly appointed. In 1737 the number was
increased to two constables in each ward. Among
their duties were the collection of taxes, the keep-
ing of the pound, and at least one officer was re-
quired to be on duty on Sunday. For many
years no regular salary was attached to this
office, and the only pay received consisted of
regulated fees. At what time they began to be
salaried offices we are unable to learn. The first
High Constable of whom we have record was
Anthony Bries, appointed in 1696; immediately
following him were William Hogan and Johannis
Harmesen. Constables in the early part of this
century began to be designated as Police Con-
stables. In 1827, the duties of these officers had
so increased that the Constables asked the Com-
mon Council for increased pay, since the duties
required all their time.
In 1810, the Police Office so-called, was located
at the corner of Sleuben and Monlgomery streets.
In 18 16 it was removed to the southwest corner
of State and Pearl streets. It was afterward re-
moved to the basement of the City Hall, where it
remained until 1845, when it was ordered by the
Common Council to be removed to Centre
Market, the site of the present city building, the
headquarters of the present Police Department. In
1851, the laws relating to the establishment of a
police force in Albany were enacted, under which
the system was organized practically similar to its
existence to-day. ' It consisted of one Chief, four
Captains, four Assistant-Captains, forty Policemen,
four Doormen, and six Constables. John Morgan
was made the first Chief of Police. During the
first year of the existence of the new force, 1,067
arrests were made. The expense of running the
department for 1852 was $27,000. Under the
laws of 1 85 1 the force was maintained until 1856,
when it was reorganized.
The Police Department is now under the entire
control of the Police Board, which consists of the
Mayor, ex q^cw. President, and four Commissioners,
two of each party, elected to serve four years. With
the exception of the Commissioner, who serves as
Secretary, for which he receives a yearly salary of
five hundred dollars, they serve without pay.
The city is divided into five precincts, each of
which is in charge of a Captain, two Sergeants,
and one Roundsman. The First Precinct includes
that part of the city south of Hamilton and east of
Eagle street, extending to the river and south end
of the city. Force, twenty-two Patrolmen; Station,
No. 59 South Ferry street.
The Second Precinct line extends along the
river from Hamilton to Quackenbush street, up
Quackenbush and Clinton avenue to Lark, through
Lark to Spruce, to Eagle, to Hamilton, to the
river. Force, twenty Patrolmen; Station, City
building. Here is also located the office of the
Chief of Police.
The Third Precinct includes all of the city north
of Clinton and east of Lexington avenues. Force,
twenty-two Patrolmen ; Station, 799 Broadway.
The Fourth Precinct line runs from Eagle
through Spruce to Lark, thence to Clinton avenue,
to Lexington Avenue, and along the south line of
the city to Eagle. Force, twenty Patrolmen ;
Station, 153 Lancaster street.
The Fifth Precinct includes all that part of the
city limits west of Lexington avenue. Force,
twelve Patrolmen ; Station, 284 Central avenue.
The entire police force of the city consists of
the Chief, salary $2,500; five Captains, salaries
$1,200; twelve Sergeants, salaries $i,coo; ninety-
one Patrolmen, salaries $900 ; five Detectives,
with a Captain; five Station-House Keepers ; four
Police Court officers ; one Property Clerk ; one
Police Surgeon; total, one hundred and twenty-six
men. The annual expense of running the depart-
ment is about $125,000. The number of arrests
for 1884 was 4,893, of which 1,940 were for drunk-
enness ; 753 for assaults in the third degree; 324
breaches of the peace; 231 for vagrancy.
In 1820, the duties of the Police Justices had
become so much of a sinecure in the estimation of
several of the magistrates, that they expressed their
willingness to perform the duties without salarj',
and a resolution was offered in the Common Coun-
cil to discontinue the payment of salary to that
officer. But the resolution was lost by a vote of
eleven to six. The Board then elected Philip
Phelps and Teunis Slingerland, Police Magistrates.
After this date John O. Cole, Kane, Cicero
Loveridge, Isaac N. Comstock, Sylvanus H. H.
Parsons, John W. McNamara, William K. Clute,
John C. Nott, Myer Nussbaum, and John Gutman
have held the office of Police Justice. Mr. Clute
has held it for many years so judiciously as to re-
ceive the confidence and support of all parties, and
continues to so hold it.
John Morgan, Amos Adams, George B. John-
son, Campbell Allen (Superintendent of the Old
Capitol Police), John MoUoy, and Thomas H.
Willard have held the office of Superintendent or
Chief of Police.
The Captains and Sergeants have been too
numerous to mention. Among the best known
and popular we may name John Domery, Robert
Davidson, Harmon Bowers, George W. Oliver,
Michael E. Riley, George M. Hagadom, Frederick
E. Bailey, Henry C. A. Sauer.
John Orton Cole, than whom no one so long or
more worthily honored the post of Police Justice,
was born in Sharon, Conn, October 5, 1793. His
father, William Cole, served in the Revolutionary
Army, and married Thankful Orton. While he
was yet a mere lad, John O. Cole removed, with
his parents, to the State of New York, and for a
short time resided near the village of Catskill. He
then removed to the town of Duanesburgh. At
thirteen years of age young Cole came to Albany
to learn the printer's trade in the office of Solomon
Southwick. The simple routine of the printer did
not satisfy the active energies of his mind, and,
while working at his case, he employed much of
his time in reading law. In 1818, after passing
the required examination, he was admitted to the
Bar.
656
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
February 22, 182 1, he was appointed by Gov-
ernor Clinton, Justice of the Justices' Court and
Justice of the Peace. This office he held almost
uninterruptedly for nearly fifty years. In connec-
tion with this he will be best remembered. Prior
to 1846 the office was appointive, but when it be-
came elective, he was nominated for his former
position and elected. So remarkable was his fit-
ness for the office; so faithfully did he administer
justice; and so greatly did criminals fear him and
just men respect him, that party lines were ignored,
and he was elected many times without opposition.
In June, 1870, Mr. Cole tendered his resignation
as Police Magistrate to the Common Council, an
office he had so long and so faithfully filled.
For many years Mr. Cole was prominently iden-
tified with the Public Schools of Albany as School
Commissioner, as Member and President of the
Board of Education, as Member and President of
the Board of Public Instruction, and Superintend-
ent of Public Schools. In all these positions he
was regarded as a most painstaking official and a
valued friend of public education and educators.
The present High School owes its existence more
to his exertions than to those of any one man.
At an early age Mr. Cole evinced an interest in
military matters. During the War of 1 8 1 2 he was
a Sergeant in Captain Henry Snyder's Company.
He was a member of the Albany Military Associa-
tion, and a member of General Stephen Van Rens-
selaer's staff, with the rank of Major. It was in
the latter capacity he accompanied General Lafay-
ette during his tour through this State. He was
one of the original members and the first Captain
of the Albany Burgesses Corps, with which organi-
zation he remained until his death.
During the Civil War he held positions under
Governor Morgan relating to organizing military
companies, and was often consulted by the Gov-
ernor in relation to military matters. In the Ma-
sonic order he was especially prominent, having
been connected with it in Albany continuously
from 1820.
In his religious life he evinced the same thorough
earnestness that was shown in his official. In
politics he was never a partisan.
In 181 7 Mr. Cole was married to Eleanor H.
Sharp, to whom four children were born. In 1830
Mrs. Cole died, and in 1831 he married Adelaide
Dougherty, who still survives him. Thirteen chil-
dren were born to this marriage, seven of whom
are still living.
Mr. Cole died January i, 1878, respected and
esteemed as a useful citizen, whose long life had
been spent in honorable deeds.
When the Capital Police Department was organ-
ized. Captain Campbell Allen was appointed first
Superintendent, and discharged the duties of his
office for four years with great vigor and executive
capacity.
Mr. Allen was born in Nelson, Madison County,
N. Y., February 8, 1830, and had the Yankee
blood of Ethan Allen, and the Scotch-Irish blood
of Richard Montgomery in his veins. His eager-
ness for knowledge made him a constant student
of the English, German and French languages and
literature, in which he made himself a proficient
scholar. He was very fond of the study of ethics,
philology, psychology and geography, and was
familiar with such writers as Herbert Spencer, John
Stuart Mill, Hamilton, Kant, Voltaire and Hum-
boldt. After teaching district schools, he taught in
Cohoes, and afterwards ten years in the Albany
Grammar Schools with marked success. In 1861
he enlisted in the Ellsworth Regiment, Forty-
fourth N. Y. S. v.; was Captain of Company F;
served four years, and was breveted Major for
bravery and ability. During his term he served
some time as Provost-Marshal of the Fifth Army
Corps.
He was a useful citizen and a genial and faithful
friend. His death from apoplexy was very sudden,
occurring October 7, 1877.
Captain Francis E. Bailey was born in Coleraine,
County of Antrim, Ireland, October 21, 1841. He
came to America when he was six years old, and
resided with his parents in St. John's, Philadelphia,
New York City, and Toronto until the death of his
mother in 1855. Until the War of 1861 he was
engaged in various ventures on river schooners, on
the Erie Canal, on the farm, and on voyages by
sea. He enlisted in the U. S. naval service, in
which he honorably and bravely served for his
three-years' term of enlistment on the frigate Wa-
bash, which went into action at Hatteras Inlet and
Port Royal, and on the monitor Montauk, which
was several times in hot fights in Charleston harbor.
He returned to Albany and worked as a blacksmith
until he was appointed Patrolman on the Capital
Police Force in 1865, upon which he has served
with uncompromising fidelity to law and order ever
since. He has followed up many noted criminals,
whose career had baffled detective skill, and arrested
and brought them to justice. He has held the rank
of Sergeant of Police during about ten years. His
whole service has been honorable to himself and
useful to the city.
Captain George W. Oliver was born in Bethle-
hem, Albany County, May 29, 1844. Enlisted in
Forty- fourth N. Y. S. V., Ellsworth's Regiment,
September, 1861, and served with great distinction
as Corporal for three years in all the battles of the
Army of the Potomac, including Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, and Spottsylvania. At the latter place,
when he saw the regimental color-bearer shot down
and the flag in danger, he, with great promptness
and daring, ran and seized it, and safely bore it
aloft until the battle was over. He has served
faithfully as Patrolman, Sergeant of Police and Cap-
tain in the Albany Police for twenty years past
without a blot on his record.
The venerable Elisha Mack deserves special men-
tion. We prefer that he speak for himself:
"Prof Tenney: I herewith reply to your kind re-
quest. I was born on the 7th of February, 181 1,
in Windsor, Berkshire County, Mass. In the spring
of 1 8 1 2 my parents removed to a village in the town
of Watervliet, known as Washington. In 1816
we came to this city. On the 4th of March, 1 8 1 9,
my mother died, and I was sent to my paternal
MAYORS OF ALBANF.
657
grand-parents in the town of Middlefield, Hamp-
shire County, Mass., where I lived about four years,
when I returned to my father's house. I attended
the following named schools in this city: the Lan-
caster, Miss Jenks', and Mr. Moulton's. When
about sixteen years old, my father had a silver
French watch stolen. A few days after the occur-
rence I saw two young men engaged in swapping
watches. I approached toward one of the men,
whom I at once accosted: 'I guess you can tell
me where my father's watch is 1 ' The watch had
a picture on the dial, which I described. The
stranger told me he had seen the watch. It was
thereby recovered.
"In 1838 I was appointed a police officer. The
police records kept by the Magistrates — Cole, Kane,
Comstock, and Loveridge — will show that I have
been of service by making important arrests. I
ascertained the name and home of the Pye rob-
ber. In the spring of 1856 I was superseded as
a police officer by John Maloy.
"An excellent opportunity shortly after oc-
curred to test the detective qualifications of every
member of the Police Force. Chief Morgan
communicated to every officer that two remark-
able forgeries had been perpetrated in this city —
one for $4, coo on the Bank of Albany, and
the other for $3,000 on the Bank of the Capitol.
Some six weeks had elapsed and not the slightest
clue had been obtained as to the forger or his ill-
gained funds. I was sent for by the officers of the
banks, at whose request I took the case in hand,
confident of success. I soon obtained sufficient
evidence to make it almost, if not quite, certain
that one William Inglis, of Fordham, Westchester
County, was the perpetrator of the forgeries. I re-
turned and obtained a warrant for the arrest of
Inglis, and, with the Teller of the Bank of Albany,
went to Brooklyn, where the accused claimed to be
doing business on a large scale in flour. The Chief
of Police in that city was called upon and informed
by me of the object of my visit. He scouted at the
charge, and declared Inglis to be an honest man.
He the same day found Inglis, and that the accused
should not be disgraced, came hither with him and
confronted the Teller of the Bank of the Capitol
and assured him that William Inglis was an honest
and religious man and a member of the Presbyterian
Church at Fordham. The Teller declared that In-
glis resembled the forger in every particular, and
that he would have testified that he was the per-
son who presented the forged checks, but, rely-
ing upon the declarations of the Brooklyn officer,
he thought that he might probably be mistaken.
Inglis was suffered to return to Brooklyn with
his friend. The rascal obtained a summons and
complaint against Justice Parsons for issuing the
warrant for his arrest for the felony. He had de-
clared damages to his 'good name' in the sum
of $10,000, The Justice took the papers to the
President of the Bank of the Capitol, who agreed
to defend him. The President went to Fordham
and called upon the Pastor of the Presbyterian
Church of that place, who, in reply to inquiry of
the President, assured him that Mr. Inglis was a
consistent Christian and a prominent member of
the church of which he was Pastor. On the return
of the President of the bank he sent for me. On
entering his room he commenced to accuse me of
making a sad mistake, which would cost the bank
$io,oco. After the President had finished his vitu-
perations, I said; 'I will not rest until I prove
that William Inglis is the scoundrel who perpe-
trated the forgeries on the Banks of Albany and
the Capitol.' After the lapse of a few months, I
received letters purporting to be written by George
Corning, which were identified by Mr. West, Surro-
gate of the City and County of New York, as the
writing of William Inglis. The letters were shown
to the once-alarmed President, who compared the
writing with that of the forged checks, when he de-
clared that the letters and checks were written by
the same person.
"William Inglis was arrested at Louisville, Ky.,
for forgery, convicted, and sentenced to State Prison
for ten years."
MAYORS OF ALBANY.
THE first Mayor of the City was appointed by
Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Dongan, in the
first Charter granted, under date of July 22, 1686.
He was to be appointed in like manner, " upon the
feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, yearly,"
and was made Commander of the Militia of the
County, given the authority of Justice of the Peace,
Coroner, Commissioner of Excise, and Clerk of the
Market. Twenty-six Mayors were thus appointed
under the Colonial Government down to 1770,
among which were five Schuylers, three Bleeckers
and three Cuylers. Peter Schuyler and Edward
Holland each held the office eight years.
83
After the Declaration of Independence, the May-
ors were first appointed by the Governor of the
State, subject to approval, and afterwards chosen by
the Common Council of the city until 1839.
In 1840, and ever since, the Mayors have been
chosen by the people. Other peculiarities of may-
oralty elections are mentioned under the sketches
of the Mayors, which are made as complete and
accurate as our space and sources of information,
gathered with much research and inquiry, permit.
In two hundred years, fifty-four different men,
not including acting Mayors, have served in this
office.
658
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The first Mayor of the City of Albany was Peter
Schuyler, who was appointed July 22, 1686, in the
first charter of the city, called the Dongan Charter,
and held the office until 1694. He was the second
son and fourth child of the first immigrant of the
name, Philip Pietersen and iVEargaret (Van Slechten-
horst) Schuyler, and was born September 17, 1657.
He was buried February 22, 1 724. He was a brave
officer of remarkable organizing power, command-
ing the County Militia as Major, and afterwards as
Colonel, during King William's War and subse-
quently. He was active and firm in his opposition
to the rule of Liesler, looking upon him as a usur-
per. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly,
and, by virtue of his office, held the position of Vice-
Governor very acceptably.
His influence over the Indians was very great.
For some years he was Indian Commissioner. In
this capacity he went to England in 1710, taking
several Indians with him, who excited great interest
in London. He had a home at the "Flats," and
another in the city on Broadway, just below State,
and was buried on the west side of the same street,
near Hamilton. His father married Margaret Van
Schlechtenhorst, daughter of the plucky first Direc-
tor of Rensselaerwyck, December 22, 1650, when
she was twenty-two years old. He died March 9,
1684.
John Abeel, second Mayor, was appointed by
Governor Fletcher for one year, from October 14,
1694, and served another term in 1709-10. He was
Alderman and Justice before he was Mayor, and also
Sheriff' of the county. He is named as Recorder
in 1702. He was a merchant in New York in 1796,
but returned to Albany two years later. He mar-
ried Catalina Schuyler, April 10, 1694, and had sev-
eral children. A few years since his tombstone was
dug up near the Old Second Dutch Church in
Beaver street, on which was the following inscrip-
tion:
" Here lies the body of John Abeel, who de-
parted this life y' 28th day of January, 1711, in the
44 year of his age.
" Dieut begin von wel to leven
Ging der weer den Hemel waert
Uyt den Hemel was gegoven
Storf maar verliet de Aert."
Evert Bancker, born January 24, 1665, was the
son of Gerrit Bancker and Elizabeth Dirkse, daugh-
ter of Dirk Van Eps, one of the first settlers of Sche-
nectady. He was a merchant of prominence in
Beverwyck, and held several important offices. He
married Elizabeth, daughter of Stoffel James Abeel,
September 24, 1686, by whom he had a large fam-
ily. His sons, Christopher, Adrian and Gerardus,
settled in New York, and Willem and Johannes
in Albany County, as farmers. In 1692, Bancker
was Justice of Peace, and Mayor of Albany
1695-96, 1707-9. He was appointed Indian Com-
missioner August ID, 1696, and again in 1706,
1710, 1720, 1724, 1726 and 1728. He was elected
to a seat in the Assembly in 1702. Mr. Bancker
was appointed Master in Chancery October 13,
1705. He lived in the house next to his father's,
on Yoncker, now State street, but retired to his
farm in Guilderland during the latter part of his
life.
Mr. Bancker was buried July 10, 1734, his wife's
burial having occurred on March 20th of the same
j'ear. He made his will March 13, 1734, and it
was proved July 31, 1734. In it he gives to his son,
Johannes, £^0, "provided he continues to live
with me till my decease, or till I dispose of my farm
where I now live. " He left a large estate, much of
it invested in lands.
DiRCK Wessels was Mayor 1696-98. He was
also the first Recorder under the Charter of 1686.
His real name is given as Dirk Wesselse Ten
Broeck. Born 1642; a servant of Peter Van Al-
len, of Beverwyck, in 1662; became a succesful
trader, exporting some years 5, 000 beaver skins. He
was active in public affairs in Albany, especially in
those relating to the Indians. He held rank as
Major in the militia of the county in 1691. He
married Christina Cornelise Van Buren, by whom
he had thirteen children. He resided on a lot
purchased of the Anneke Jans heirs, east corner of
State and James street. The following notice of
his death is taken from an old family Bible :
"171 7, Den 13 Sept. in Roeloff Jansen's kil is
myn fader Dirk Wesselse in den Heere genest op
syn bouwery op Roeloff Jansen's Kil. De Heere
geve hem een zalige opstandinge. "
Hendrick Hansen held the office of Mayor in
1698-99. He was the eldest son of Captain Hans
Ilendrickse, who was one of the early traders in
Beverwyck, and whose descendants took the sur-
name of Hansen. Nicholas, the last male of the
name, died in 1869. Hendrick was active in pub-
lic affairs, having held office as Alderman, Com-
missioner of Indian affairs, and Assemblyman.
Complaint of him was made in 1669 for having
charged the public for " good fyrewood, " when he
furnished only "young green pine." He was a
merchant. September 21, 1692, he married Deb-
orah Van Dam and had seven children. He was
buried in the church February 19, 1724.
Peter Van Brugh, son of Johannes Pieterse
Verbrugge, a leading Holland trader, was born
July 14, 1666. His mother was a daughter of the
celebrated Anneke Jans. His sister Catrina mar-
ried Hendrick Van Rensselaer, of Greenbush, an-
cestor of most of the leading members of the Van
Rensselaer family. He held the office of Mayor
in 1799 and 1700, and the years 1721-23. He
was sworn in and took the oaths prescribed by
Parliament at his appointment, November 9, 1720.
He married in New York, November 2, 1688,
Sara, daughter of Hendrick Anna Cuyler, of Al-
bany. They had one daughter, Catharine. His
house was on the south side of State street, west ot
Pearl. In military matters he ranked as Captain.
He was buried in the church, July 20, 1 740.
Jan Janse Bleecker was Mayor in 1 700-1. He
emigrated from Messpel, province of Overyssel, in
1658; first as a blacksmith and afterwards as a
trader. He was born in 1641, and died Novem-
ber 21, 1742, and was buried in the church. He
was Recorder 1696-99; Justice of the Peace in
1697; and Member of Parliament in the Provincial
MAYORS OF ALBANY.
659
Assembly 1 698-1 700. He married Margaret
Rutse, daughter of Rutger Jacobsen Van Schoen-
denwoert, January 2, 1667, and had nine children.
Johannes Bleecker, Jr., Mayor in 1701-2; was
born in 1 668. In 1 686 he was carried captive to Can-
ada and returned the next year. He served as Indian
interpreter; was Recorder in 1 700; Member of Gen-
eral Assembly 1701-2. He married Anna, daughter
of Hendrick Coster, October 29, 1793, and had
nine children. His death occurred December 20,
1738; he was buried in the church. His house
lot was on the northwest corner of North Pearl and
Maiden lane, running through to Chapel.
Albert Ryckman, Mayor in 1702-3, is called
by the military title of Captain. He was a brewer,
and had his brewery on or near the southeast
corner of Hudson avenue and Broadway. He
married Neeltie Quackenbos and had twelve chil-
dren. He was born before 1663 and was buried
January 12, 1737.
Johannes Schuyler, Mayor 1703-6, son of
Philip Peter Schuyler and brother of Peter, the first
Mayor, was born April 5, 1668. Attached to
General Winthrop's army in 1691 was this John
Schuyler, then holding a Captain's commission, a
man of great bravery and energy of character, and
of considerable experience in border warfare.
Schuyler was dissatisfied with the decision of the
Council of War relinquishing the Canada expedi-
tion, which he considered weak and cowardly,
and declared that the campaign should not be
abandoned so easily. Beating up for volunteers,
he soon gathered around him a little band of
twenty-nine followers, each as bold and daring as
himself. To these he added one hundred and
twenty Indians, and loading a number of canoes
with provisions, proceeded on the i3ih of August,
1791, as far probably as Whitehall, where he en-
camped for the night. Embarking the next day,
he reached a point near Chembly on the 21st. On
the 23d he intercepted the enemy coming out of
the fort at La Prarie, killed six and took nineteen
prisoners. He also killed one hundred and fifty
cattle, and prudently hastened his retreat. On the
31st of August he reached Albany in safety with
his prisoners. This was at the beginning of King
William's War, and records the kind of man he was.
In 1698 he was sent by the Earl of Bellomont, the
newly arrived Governor of the Province, in com-
pany with the Rev. Mr. Dellius, to Canada, to
convey the account of the Peace of Ryswick and
to solicit a mutual interchange of prisoners. He
was Alderman for several years, and was among
those who took the oath of allegiance in 1699.
He was an Indian Commisioner, and in 1705 was
chosen to the Colonial Assembly. He married
Elizabeth Staats, widow of John Wendell, April
25, 1695. They were the parents of Margarita,
"the American Lady," born January 12,1701, who
married her cousin. Colonel Philip Schuyler, and
became a widow on his death in 1745. Captain
Schuyler had his city home at the corner of State
and Pearl streets, where he died July 25, 1727.
David Schuyler, 1706-7, was one of the five
sons of David Schuyler, brother of Philip Pieterse,
who came from Amsterdam. The two brothers
were the first of the name in America. David
married Catalyn Verplanck, of New Amsterdam,
October 13, 1667. His widow was living in 1692,
on the south corner of Broadway and Steuben
street. He had five sons, Pieter, Jacobus, Abra-
ham, David and Myndert, and perhaps daughters.
Mayor David married Elsie, daughter of Herman
Rutgers, January i, 1694, and after her death
Elizabeth Marschalk, in New York, May 3, 1719.
He had six children by his first wife and one by
the last. He held the office of Alderman, Justice,
and Commissioner, besides that of Mayor.
Robert Livingston was Mayor 17 10-19. He
was the first settler bearing this name in the
province, from whom descended many eminent
men, among whom may be named Philip, signer
of the Declaration of Independence, Chancellor
Robert R., William, Edward, and others. The
family is of Scotch descent and was always on the
side of learning and good government. All were in
the patriot cause during the Revolution. Robert
was Secretary of Albany, about the same as City
Clerk, from 1675 to 1721, nearly fifty years. He
was also Indian Commissioner, and executed other
and special trusts with great judgment He mar-
ried Alida Schuyler, widow of Rev. Nicholas Van
Rensselaer, and had seven children. His house lot
was on the northwest corner of State and North
Pearl streets, where Tweddle Hall now stands. He
died April 20, 1725, and was buried in the church.
Robert, Jr., his nephew, was his successor as Sec-
retary.
Myndert Schuyler, Mayor 1719-21, and 1723-
25, was son of David Pieterse Schuyler, one of the
Schuyler brothers who early settled in Beverwyck,
by his wife, Catalyn Verplanck, daughter of Abra-
ham Isaacse Verplanck and Maria Vigne. His birth
is thus recorded in his father's Bible;
ILno. } 16 January. Soo is Gebooren, Myn Soon
Myndert Schuyler."
Colonel Myndert Schuyler was a merchant. In
1703, and for the greater part of his life, he resided
on the south side of Yoncker street (now State),
the third house east from South Pearl street. He
married in New Amsterdam, October 26, 1693,
Rachel Cuyler, daughter of Hendrick Cuyler.
Colonel Schuyler was a prominent citizen in
1700. In the following year he, together with
Dirk Wessels and John Abeel, was returned to
the Assembly. A new election was ordered and
He was again returned to the Assembly October
20, 1702. He continued to be returned at each
succeeding election until 17 10. In 1706 he
was one of the "Church Masters" of the old
Dutch Church; 1707-9 he was one of the Alder-
men from the First Ward. On the organization of
the expeditions in 1709 and 1711 for the reduction
of Canada, he was appointed one of the Commis-
sioners for promoting them and for victualling the
troops. On the occasion of peace, in 171 2, he
carried the news to Canada. In 1713 he was
again elected to the Assembly and sat there till
1 71 5. In 1 71 8 he was re-chosen Alderman, and
re-elected in September 1719. During his mayor-
660
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
alty in 1720, he was sent to the Seneca country,
and succeeding in dissuading the Five Nations
from going to war against the far Indians. On
the death of Hendrick Hanson, in 1724, Lieut-
enant-Colonel Schuyler was again sent to the As-
sembly; was re-chosen in July, 1728, and sat until
1737. In addition to the several offices mentioned,
he held the office of Commissioner for Indian
affairs from 1706 to 1720, and from 1728 to 1746,
when the Board was abolished, and Colonel Will-
iam Johnson was appointed Commissary. John-
son becoming dissatisfied, the Board was revised
and Schuyler was reappointed Commissioner, and
served as such until 1755. Colonel Schuyler had
two daughters, Rachel, who died in youth, and
Anna, who married Johannes de Peyster, Mayor and
Surrogate of Albany, grandson of Johannes de
Peyster, the first of the name in America, No-
vember 24, 1715, who died September 13, 1750.
Colonel Schuyler's death is thus recorded in the
Bible of his son-in-law, Johannes de Peyster.
" 1755, den 10 October, 15 minuten na 8 in de
avoud Is Groot Vader, Mj'ndert Schuyler, in de
Heer outslapen na dat hy 10 dagen Sieck, gewees
is en is den 21 te 4 Uren na te middag in de
Kerk Begreren, hy was ont 84 Jaren 8 maenda
and 4 dayen toen hy stieif "
His wife was buried in the church, July 24,
1747. His will, dated March 7, 1739, proved July
24, 1756, gave his "Groot hipvrouw Rajel '" the
possession, rents, and profits of his whole estate
during her life.
Colonel Schuyler was largely interested in real
estate, and had amassed, for those days, a large
fortune. His position brought him in contact
with a variety of persons, and he was looked up to
and revered by rich and poor. He was generous
to a fault, and many a little Dutch urchin had
cause to bless the HeerSchuyler on Saint Nicholas'
day.
Johannes Cuiler, Mayor 1725-26, was a son of
Hendrick Cuyler, who came to Albany as a tailor
in 1637. Johannes, his eldest son, was born in
1641. In 1696 he was a freeman in New York
City, by occupation a trader. He married Elsie
Ten Broeck November 2, 1684, and had twelve
children. His house lot was the second south of
Steuben on North Pearl street, extending to James.
RuTGER Bleecker, Mayor 1726-29, was Re-
corder in 1725; married Cataligna, daughter of
David I. Schuyler, and widow of John Abeel, May
26, 1712, and had four children. He was buried
in the church, August 5, 1756. In 1720 he had
a lot, probably on the northwest corner of North
Pearl and Steuben streets.
Johannes de Peyster, Mayor 1729-31, 1732-
33, and 1741-42, son of Johannes de Peyster,
Mayor of New York, a prominent member of the
Provincial Legislature, grandson of Johannes de
Peyster, Schepen, Alderman, Burgomaster, and
Deputy Mayor of New York; one of its wealthiest,
most influential and patriotic citizens, and the
founder of the family in America; a Huguenot of
the Huguenots; was born January 10, 1695, in
New Amsterdam. His mother was Anna Bancker,
eldest daughter of Gerrit Bancker and Elizabeth
Dircks; her brother. Evert Bancker, was Mayor of
Albany.
Mr. De Peyster married, November 24, 171 5,
Anna, daughter of Colonel Myndert Schuyler and
Rachel Cuyler. The ceremony was performed
by old Dominie Van Driessen at Albany. The
issue of the marriage was seven sons and two
daughters. Six of the sons died shortly after birlh,
and the remaining one only grew to opening man-
hood. One of his daughters, Anna, married
Volckert P. Douw, Mayor of Albany; and the
other, Rachel, married Tobias Ten Eyck, of Sche-
nectady.
Mr. de Peyster died February 26, 1789, his wife
having deceased September 13, 1750. His death
is thus recorded in the Bible of his son-in-law,
Volckert P. Douw:
" j^""f5'^ '^ 1 Is Juden heer ont slapen Vader
iTs's. ' j John de Peyster, omtrent te twa-
lief uren, Jn de naeght en Begrose Inde Kerk ten
nor, on Waechey syn plaes Inde Kutr hawt ont
syn de Dorn, haef Steuf 95 year senmant en Swe
dage. "
His will dated May 14, 1788, proved before
Abraham G. Lansing, surrogate. May 27, 28,
1789, gives to his descendants a goodly estate.
He was Recorder 1716-28. In 1734 he be-
came one of the Commissioners of Indian affairs.
He was subsequently a contractor with the Govern-
ment to supply Oswego and other outporls with
stores. He was reappointed Indian Commissioner
December 5, 1739, and again in 1742. Mr. de
Peyster was the first Surrogate of Albany Co. , hav-
ing been elected to that office April 3, 1756. He
was re-elected March 23, 1778, holding the office
till 1782. In 1744 he is spoken of as a Member
of the Assembly and a Commissioner of Indian
Affairs. In 1750 he was in the Committee for
repairing the Fort in Albany. In 1751 Mr. de
Peyster was on a Committee for the Collection of
duties on goods carried to Oswego. In 1753 he
was Commissioner for constructing barracks for
soldiers, and repairs to Fort Orange. In 1754 he
held the office of Officer and Inspector of Ord-
nance. Mr. de Peyster was, in 1755, one of the
two Commissioners for carrying on an expedition
against Crown Point, and also a Commissioner for
paying the forces in the expedition in which John-
son defeated Dieskan.
Hans Hansen, Mayor, 1731-32, took his of-
ficial oath October 14 th. He also held the same
office 1754 to 1756. He is reputed as a successful
trader. He married Sarah Cuyler, April 25, 1723,
and had nine children. He was buried December
6, 1756.
Edward Holland, Mayor from October 24,
1733 to 1740, was the first man of English descent
who held that office. He was son of Captain
Henry and Jenny Seely Holland, who was in com-
mand of the garrison at Albany in 1732, when he
was incapacitated " by the Providence of Almighty
God." Edward was baptized September 6, 1702.
His first wife, Magdalena, was buried in the En-
glish Church in 1737; his second wife was Frances,
MAFORS OF ALBANY.
661
daughter of William Nicolls, by whom he had two
daughters.
John Schuyler, Jr., Mayor 1740 to 1741, took the
oath of office October 31st. He was the second son
of the late Mayor John Schuyler and Elizabeth
Staats, his wife. He was born October 31, 1697.
He had nine children, one of whom was the
eminent Major-General Philip Schuyler, of revolu-
tionary times. He died November 7, 1746. As
there were several Schuylers near this date bearing
the name of John, and the records are not very
clear, we have given what seemed to us most
probably correct. But little is known of him.
Cornelius CiiYLER, Mayor from 1742 to 1746,
took his first oath of office October 14, 1742. He
had a house on south side of Steuben, fourth west
from Chapel; married Catharina Schuyler, December
9, 1726, and had nine children, one of whom was
Colonel Abraham Cuyler, born April 11, 1742, and
Mayor of Albany in revolutionary times.
DiRCK Ten Broeck, Mayor 1746 to 1748, married
Margarita Cuyler November 26, 17 14, and had
twelve children. He was buried in the church,
January 7, 1751.
Jacob C. Ten-Eyck, Mayor 1748-50, married
Catharina, daughter of Abraham Cuyler, August i,
1736, and had four children. He was one of the
Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, and lived
a long and useful life. He died September 9,
1793, aged 88 years.
Robert Sanders, Mayor, 1750-54, qualified by
oath, October 15, 1750, was a prominent mer-
chant. He married, first, Maria Lansing, Decem-
ber 6, 1740, and second, Elisabeth Schuyler,
January 1 1, 1747, by the first of whom he had one
child, and by the second, nine children. His will
is dated May 7, 1765, and was proved June 6, 1765.
Sybrant G. Van Schaick, Mayor 1756-61, son
of Goosen and Catharina Staats Van Schaick, was
born December 19, 1708. He married Alida Rose-
boom December 11, 1735, and had eight children.
He was prosecuted at law by his successor in office
to recover the proceeds of sale of " Freedoms" and
excise licenses during his term, which was settled
in 1763 by the payment of ^150.
VoLKERT Peter Douw, Mayor from September
29, 1 76 1, to September 10, 1770, was one of the
nine children of Petrus Douw and Anna Van
Rensselaer (daughter of Hendrick). He was born
at Wolvenhoeck, in Greenbush, March 23, 1720,
and married Anna, daughter of John De Peyster
and Anna Schuyler, May 20, 1742, and had ten
children. His son, General John De P. Douw,
was a distinguished citizen, who died at his resi-
dence in State street, February 26, 1835. Mr.
Douw was Mayor of the city in trying times, but
proved himself equal to the occasion. From Octo-
ber 2, 1759, to January 10, 1770, he was, by royal
appointment, presiding Judge of the Court of Com-
mon Pleas. Regardless of personal considerations,
he took a decided stand in the cause of the colo-
nists in oppoi-ition to royalty. For this reason Gen-
eral Dunmore refused to reappoint him to office.
He was Recorder of the City from 1750 to 1760;
member of the Provincial Assembly in 1757-59.
He was also a member of the important Indian
Commission. May 4, 1775, he became an active
member of the Committee of Safety, and in 1779
was appointed Commissary of the Northern Army.
In 1775 he was a member of the First Provincial
Congress and its Vice-President. After the organi-
zation cf the State Government he was made First
Judge of the County Court, which office he held
until his resignation, March 26, 1781. From 1786
to 1793 he was a State Senator. In the battle of
Lunenburg, in 1780, he was a Captain. He was a
famous horseman and kept a stable of thorough-
bred horses. He lived in great style for those
days, never keeping less than twenty slaves. He
was 6 feet 2 inches in hight, straight as an arrow,
and very fine looking. Judge Douw died March
20, 1801, and his wife June 14, 1794, and were
both buried at Wolvenhoeck. His will, dated
July, 1794, was proved May 4, 1801. In civil and
domestic relations he was esteemed a pattern, and
no man in Albany died more regretted.
Abraham C. Cuyler, Mayor 1770 to 1778, was
the last of the mayors by Royal Commission. A son
of Cornelius Cuyler and Catharina Schuyler, he was
born April 11, 1742. He married Jannetse Glen,
April 10, 1764, and had five children. He held
the military rank of Colonel. He was lukewarm
from the first toward the patriot cause, and finally
becoming an avowed Loyalist, he went to Canada,
and died in Yorkville, February 5, 18 10.
John Barclay, Mayor, 1778-79, received his ap-
pointment from the State government, and was the
first Chief Magistrate of the city holding office
under State authority, after the reinstatement of the
City Council by law, April 17, 1778.
The City and County Committee of Correspond-
ence and Safety was organized in the latter part of
1774, and Mr. Barclay was made its first Pres-
ident. When there was no State nor City Govern-
ment, this Committee had great responsibility and
exercised great power. All over the territory north
and west of Ulster and Dutchess, it exercised the
legislative and executive functions of civil govern-
ment for about three years. In pure, zealous, self-
sacrificing patriotism and good judgment, there
could have been no better man. His office ter-
minated with his death, early in 1779.
Abraham Ten Broeck, Mayor September 1779-
83, and September 29, 1796-99, son of a former
Mayor Dirck Ten Broeck and Margarita Schuy-
ler, was born May 19, 1734. Married Elisabeth
Van Rensselaer in 1753, by whom he had five
children, and died January 19, 18 10. He was a
merchant, but was early called into public life.
From 1760 to 1765 he was a member of the Co-
lonial Assembly, where he always threw his in-
fluence and his vote with the minority in favor of
popular rights. In 1775 he was a member of the
Provincial Congress; and in 1776 was a delegate
to the State Convention, of which he was made
President. Early in the revolutionary contest he
was made Colonel of Militia, and, soon after, Brig-
adier-General of all the Militia in Dutchess and
Ulster Counties, and all north and west of those
counties. His services were rendered with zeal and
662
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ability, especially in the campaign that ended with
the surrender of Burgoyne. After the war closed,
he was called to civil service. He served from
1780 to 1783 as a member of the State Senate,
Maj'or of the City as above, and, from 1 78 1 to 1 794,
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a
Director and President of the Albany Bank. In
all public positions he made himself a record of
high ability, unquestioned patriotism, and stainless
integrity. In private life his virtues showed him a
tried moralist and a true gentleman; in politics he
was a Federalist; in religion he was a devout and
consistent member of the Dutch Reformed Church.
Such a man deserves the grateful recollection of
this city. His home was for many years on Ten
Broeck street, near Third, in the house afterward
bought and occupied hy the late Thomas W.
Olcott. His funeral was attended by a large con-
course of citizens and with military honors. No
descendants are known in Albany. It is believed
that the first of the jamily who came to America
bore the name of Wessels von Ten Broeck.
John Jacob Beekman, Mayor June 27, 1783-86,
was the first who held that office after the close of
the Revolution. He married Maria Sanders and
had six children. His death occurred December
17, 1802.
John Lansing, Jr., Mayor September 29, 1786-
90. Married Cornelia Ray, April 8, 1781, by
whom he had ten children. In 1805 he lived on
the north corner of Broadway and Steuben street.
He was one of the delegates to the convention
that framed the United States Constitution in 1787,
but declined to support the adoption of that instru-
ment. In 1788 he was a member of the Constitu-
tional Convention of New York State, and for many
years was Chancellor of the State. Visiting New
York City on business, he suddenly disappeared
as he was about to take a steamer to return to Al-
bany, December 12, 1829, and was never heard of
afterwards. Conjecture had it that he was waylaid,
robbed, and murdered. Others think he was ac-
cidentally drowned while attempting to get on board
the steamer.
Abraham Yates, Jr., Mayor September 29, 1790-
96, son of Christoffel Yates and Catalyntje Winne,
was born August 23, 1724, and died June 30, 1796.
He was a noble patriot, prominently identified with
the revolutionary history; a member of the Commit-
tee of Safety; President of the Provincial Congress of
New York, 1775-76; Receiver of the city in 1778-
79; and a trusted leader in most of the activities of
the city and county during his time.
Philip S. Van Rensselaer, appointed December
27, 1798, and held office from January i, 1799, to
1 816; reappointed July 3, 18 19, and held the office
two years, making in all nineteen years, the longest
in service of any Mayor of the city. He was son
of Stephen and Catharine (Livingston) Van Rensse-
laer; born April 15, 1766, and died September 25,
1 824. He was younger brother of General Stephen
Van Rensselaer, and grandson of Philip Livingston,
the Albany signer of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. He married Ann Van Cortlandt, who died
January 10, 1855. His residence was on State
street, where now resides Mr. Erastus Corning.
He was a pubHc-spirited citizen, and particularly
active in promoting the educational, moral, and
business interests of the city.
Elisha Jenkins, Mayor July 8,1816 to 1 819, was
born in Hudson, a son of Thomas Jenkins, from
Connecticut, one of the original proprietors of that
city. He was on the staff of Governor Clinton,
with ranik of Colonel; Member of Assembly; State
Senator; Secretary of State, 1806-9; Comptroller,
1 801 to 1806; and Regent of the University. He
was Quartermaster-General of the Northern De-
partment in the War of 18 12. He was liberally
educated, but attained his wealth in a mercantile
life in his native city. Came to Albany about 1801,
and was a man of great activity in public matters,
in which he was distinguished for amenity of man-
ners, strict integrity, good sense, and thorough
business habits. He was a man of fine personal
appearance and splendid manners. He was twice
married, but left no children. He died in 1851 in
New York City, aged about eighty years.
Charles E. Dudley, Mayor February 14, 1821,
to March 10, 1824, and from May 29, 1828, to
January 19, 1829. Came from England to Rhode
Island with his father, who was the King's Collector
of the Customs in that State at the beginning of the
Revolution. He was educated at Newport; came
to Albany in 18 19; engaged in mercantile pursuits,
making some voyages to India to promote his busi-
ness interests. He was a public-spirited citizen,
acting his part in the Canal and most of the other
improvements of the day. He was a State Senator,
1823-25, and United States Senator, 1829-31.
He married Blandina, daughter of Rutger Bleecker,
who was born October i, 1783, and died March 6,
1863. She inherited great wealth from her father,
who bought confiscated estates after the Revolution-
ary War, and realized great profit therefrom. She
did much good with her wealth; among others
founding Dudley Observatory, which is named in
her honor. Mr. Dudley died January 23, 1841,
aged sixty years.
Ambrose Spencer, Mayor March 10, 1824, to
1826, was born in Salisbury, Conn., December 13,
1765; died in Lyons, N. Y., March 13, 1848;
graduated at Harvard, 1783; LL.D., Harvard,
1821. About 1785 he entered upon the practice
of law in Hudson, N. Y., and was called almost at
once to an important office in that city and in the
State Legislature. In 1802-4 he was Attorney-
General, and began to reside in Albany, which was
his home until 1839, He became Justice of the
Supreme Court in 1804, and Chief Justice 1819-
23. He was a member of the New York Con-
stitutional Convention, 1821; Member of Con-
gress, 1829-31. In the city he held many im-
portant offices, including that of Mayor. The
Common Council held a meeting January i, 1824,
and declared the office of Mayor vacant, and pro-
ceeded to the election of a new incumbent Mr.
Dudley presided and voted for himself, thus mak-
ing a tie of 1 1 to 1 1 and defeating the intended re-
moval. February 9th, the Council again met and
balloted for Mayor ten times, giving at each ballot
MAYORS OF ALBANF.
663
1 1 votes to John N. Quackenbush and 1 1 to
Ambrose Spencer. Finally, on the second ballot,
taken March 8th, Ambrose Spencer was elected
Mayor by ii votes against lO for John Lansing,
Jr., and i blank. At the election at the expiration
of his term, January, 1825, Judge Spencer was
unanimously re-elected for one year, at the end of
which time he declined another re-election. He
was truly a great and good man, one of the shining
lights of his time. His legal decisions stand to-
day among the highest in authority. In political
councils he had great weight. At the same time,
like all truly great men, he was simple-hearted,
easily approachable by all who needed sympathy
and comfort, and as just and inflexible as old Cato.
James Stevenson, Mayor February 14, 1826 to
1828. Under date of May 23, 1828, the city pa-
pers of the time say: "James Stevenson, who
had held the office of Mayor for two and a half
years, with credit to himself and to the entire
satisfaction of the people, sent in his resignation,
alleging pressure of private business." Mr. Dudley
was elected to fill the unexpired term. Mr. Steven-
son was an active, prosperous, and public-spirited
citizen. He was born in Albany, was liberally
educated, studied law ; but having wealth, and a
zeal in public affairs, he gave attention to useful
public interests with practical good sense and un-
obtrusive modest)'. He was a high-toned, old
school, polished gentleman, sauve in manner, and
very popular. He died July 3, 1852, aged sixty-
five years.
John Townsend, Mayor, February 9, 1829 to
1831, and February 14, 1832 to 1833. Mr. Town-
send succeeded Mr. Dudley, who resigned to take
his place as United States Senator, to which he was
elected as successor of Van ]3uren, January 15th.
The Common Council balloted twice, February
2d, giving Francis Bloodgood and John Townsend
each ten votes. Bloodgood withdrew, and a week
later Townsend was elected by eighteen votes.
Isaiah and John Townsend were brothers, and
for many years partners in business, and distin-
guished among the prominent manufacturers not
only of Albany alone, but of the State. They
were both born at Sterling Iron Works, in Ster-
ling, Orange County; the former, April 5, 1777,
the latter, June 14, 1783. Isaiah came to Albany
in 1799, first as partner in the firm of Stewart
& Townsend, and soon after alone, engaged in
the iron trade. John came to Albany in 1802,
and in 1804 the firm of J. & I. Townsend was
formed and continued until the death of Isaiah in
Februar}', 1838. During its continuance nothing
but the most intimate and kindly relations existed
between them. Says a writer: "As merchants, the
house of I. & J. Townsend ever enjo3ed an enviable
reputation for solidity and fair dealing. The
brothers, like those beautiful creations in Dickens,
ever lived with their large families in close affec-
tion, under adjoining roofs, from a common purse
and almost from a common table." The business
of the house was the purchase and sale of mer-
chantable iron of all descriptions, both foreign
and domestic; also, cut rails. Its surplus earnings
were invested in various industries, such as the
Troy Nail and Iron Factory, a furnace and ma-
chine-shop in Albany, a cotton mill at Cornwall,
Orange Count}', a line of passenger boats on the
Hudson, a flour mill at Greenbush, and largely in
real estate in Albany, Syracuse, and the States of
Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. In Syracuse, then "a
sickly morass" a company was formed in 1824,
comprising William James, I. & J. Townsend, and
James McBride, which immediately set about de-
veloping the great salt interests there, and initiated
and carried on other improvements which have led
to the growth of that beautiful city.
Isaiah Townsend was exceedingly averse to public
office, often quoting that "private life is the post
of honor," a maxim which he fully illustrated in
every relation as husband, father, business man,
and citizen. His second wife, Hannah, daughter
of Solomon Townsend, an eminent New York
merchant, a lady of great worth, died in 1854.
She was the mother of five sons and two daugh-
ters, all of whom attained adult age, and names
known and honored in their native city, viz. : Isaiah,
graduate of Union, now of Cornwall ; Annie, wife
of Henry H. Martin; Captain Robert, of United
States steamer Wauchusett, who did gallant ser-
vice in the Rebellion, and died in 1866; General
Franklin, who has held many distinguished trusts
in business, in the city, and in the State; Dr.
Howard, a man of high position and a Professor in
the Albany Medical College; General Frederick,
who did eminent service in the War of the Rebel-
lion, has been Adjutant-General for seven years, has
done much to reform the State National Guard,
and was Presidential elector in 1882; Mary, who
married W. H. T. Walker, of the regular army,
residing near Augusta, Ga.
John Townsend was linked with his brother dur-
ing his life in all public as well as business enter-
prises. They were among the advisers of De Witt
Clinton in the Erie Canal project. In 181 1 they
were the first in starting the Albany Insurance
Company, which, during its long and prosperous
existence of more than seventy years has always
had some of their descendants on its Board of
Directors, usually as President or Vice-President.
John Townsend was one of the incorporators
and Vice-President of the Albany Savings Bank, '
founded in 1820, and President from 1840 to 1854.
His son Theodore has been a Trustee and is now
its Treasurer. Mr. Townsend was one of the Di-
rectors of the Commercial Bank, founded in 1825,
and soon after elected its President, which office
he held until his death. He was also President
of the Albany Exchange Company, of the Water
Commission, and several other local organizations.
Henry Burden whose name is perpetuated in the
large Iron-works at Troy, commenced his success-
ful career under the Townsends; and the first cast-
iron plow-shares were made in the foundry, which
was the first north of the Highlands. Mr. Town-
send, last year as Mayor, 1832, was called the
cholera year, during which his labors were vastly
increased, and his good name made dearer to his
fellow citizens. He married, in 18 10, Abby,
664
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
daughter of Chief- Justice Ambrose Spencer, a lady
of great refinement and benevolence. She was the
mother of his thirteen children, four of whom
died in infancy. Laura, the eldest, was the wife
of John S. Walsh; Ambrose died many years ago.
There are now living: Mrs. Allen Monroe, of Syra-
cuse; Mrs. Joel R. Reed, and Mrs. Charles R.
Lansing, of Albany; Rev. John Townsend, of Mid-
dleton, Ct. ; and Theodore Townsend, a well-known
and esteemed business man of this city.
Mr. John Townsend died August 26, 1854.
Francis Bloodgood, Mayor 1831-34, was a
son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Van Valkenburgh)
Bloodgood, and great-grandson of Francis Bloet-
goet, of Flushing, L. L, born June 12, 1775.
His father was a merchant interested in the early
West India trade. He is mentioned as having
made a successful venture as early as November
3, 1770, as consignee of Albany merchants. Fran-
cis graduated at Yale; was a lawyer; once Clerk
of the Supreme Court; Director and President of
the Stale Bank; and President of the Albany Insur-
ance Company. He died March 5, 1840; his
wife, Anr a, died in Philadelphia, March 5, 1865.
Major William Bloodgood was his son, whose son,
Captain EdwarJ, of the regular army, died at Fort
Lamed, July 31, 1867. His daughter, Mrs. Na-
thaniel H. Hall, died at Plattsburgh, January 19,
1865. Mr. Bloodgood was distinguished for the
excellence of his temper and the integrity of his
character.
Erastus Corning, Mayor 1834-37, was born
in Norwich, Conn., December 14, 1794; came to
Albany in 1814, and died April 8, 1872, after a
long and honorable career as a merchant, banker,
public officer, and benefactor; interesting himself
in every enterprise that promoted the wealth,
morals, and intelligence of the city. An extended
biography appears in another part of this work.
Teunis Van Vechten, Mayor 1837-39 and
1841-42, grandson of Teunis and Judith (Ten
Broeck) Van Vechten, and son of Teunis and
Elizabeth (De Wandelaer) Van Vechten, was born
November 4, 1785, and died February 4, 1859.
In 1805, his father was a merchant on the west
corner of Broadway and Maiden lane. He was,
in 1807, admitted to the Bar as a lawyer, and was
for many years counsel for the Old Patroon and
his son, Stephen. He succeeded to the practice of
his uncle, Hon. Abraham Van Vechten, one of the
most able lawyers and valued citizens that Albany
ever had, who was born in Catskill December 5,
1762; married Catharina Schuyler, May 20, 1784;
had thirteen children; and died January 6, 1837.
Teunis was for many years a Director and Presi-
dent of the Albany Insurance Company, and was
more than once an Alderman. He married Cath-
arina Cuyler, who died March 24, 1853, ^g^d 64
years. One of his daughters married Hon. Elisha
P. Hurlbut. A eulogy upon his character is given
in a printed sermon by his pastor. Rev. E. P.
Rogers.
Jared L. Rathbone, Mayor 1839-41. Mr. Rath-
bone was elected Mayor January 21, 1839, to com-
plete the unexpired term made by the resignation
of Mr. Van Vechten, and was re-elected December
20th for the year 1 840. He was the first mayor
elected by popular vote. Previous to this the
mayors were elected by the Common Council after
the days of appointment by the Governor came to
an end.
He was Trustee and President of the Albany
Medical College, and held many other offices con-
nected with the educational, benevolent, and in-
dustrial interests of the city. He was of Connect-
icut parentage. Died in 1845.
Barent P. Staats, Mayor 1842-43, was a
member of one of the oldest Holland families in
this State. Was born in Rensselaer County in
1796. He died in 1871, in the seventy-fifth year
of his age. For fifty-four years he had been a prac-
ticing ph)-sician, nearly fifty years of which were in
this city. He was not an office-seeker, but for more
than forty years held important offices of trust be-
cause he was called for. He was an Alderman when
the best men were placed in that office; he was a
Supervisor for many years; and Physician to the
Penitentiary the last year of his life. In 1834 he was
a member of the Assembly. In his profession he
was regarded as very skillful. On the 20th of
June, 1867, a dinner was given by the Albany
County Medical Society to its then oldest physi-
cians, Drs. MacNaughton, Staats, and Wade, who
had been in practice over fifty years. His personal
qualities of genial humor, generous sympathies,
and strong attachments; strong sense of justice, and
strict temperance; united with a broad public spirit,
made him a favorite among his friends and popular
among his fellow-citizens.
Friend Humphrey, Mayor 1843-45 and 1849-
50, was born in Simsbury, Conn., in the year 1787.
Came to Albany in 1811; engaged in the leather
trade; became a successful and leading merchant;
interested in promoting every worthy enterprise;
was very energetic and very popular, not only as a
business man, but as a citizen. He was especially
known in all the movements for the advancement
of learning and sound morals. When Mayor he
closed the markets on Sunday. Says an old mer-
chant: " He was sound on every point." His sec-
ond election was April 9, 1 844, by a Whig vote of
3,268 to a Democratic vote of 2,628 for George
W. Stanton. He died March 15, 1854. General
Chauncey Humphrey was his brother, and Theo-
dore F. Humphrey, of Boston, and James Hum-
phrey, of New York, were his sons.
He was courageous, strong, very energetic, never
afraid to do right. Albany never had a Mayor
better understood or more popular.
John Keyes Paige, Mayor 1845-46. Mr. Paige
was a lawyer, and held, for nineteen years prior to
his election as Mayor, the office of Clerk of the
Supreme Court. He was elected by a plurality
April 7, 1845, as follows: John K. Paige, Demo-
crat, 3,148; Friend Humphrey, Whig, 3,124;
Isaac Lansing, native American, 160; Nathaniel
Safford, Abolition, 12. After leaving Albany on
the failure of the Canal Bank, of which he was
President, he resided in Schoharie, and later in
Schenectady, where he died December 10, 1857,
MAYORS OF ALBANY.
665
at the age of seventy. At the time of his death he
was a Regent of the University, to which he had
been appointed in 1826. His first wife was Helen,
a daughter of Governor John C. Yates, who died
January 25, 1829. His second a daughter of the
late Mayor, Francis Bloodgood.
Notwithstanding his long career of pubHc ser-
vice, he was singularly reserved and retiring in his
manners and attached to domestic life, and neither
professed the arts of popularit}', nor that knowledge
of the world which is often necessary to a man of
business.
William Parmalee, Mayor 1846-48 and 1854-
-56. He was born in Lansingburgh, N. Y., 1807;
graduated from Yale College in 1826; began to
practice law in Albany in 1830; in 1836 was City
Attorney; was County Judge in 1839 and 1847-
52 ; Recorder of the City 1840-46. He mar-
ried Helen, daughter of Dr. T. Romeyn Beck.
While in his last term of office as Mayor, he died of
cancer in the throat, March 15, 1856. Charles W.
Goddard was appointed by the City Council, April
28th, for the unexpired term of Judge Parmalee's.
On April 14, 1846, William Parmalee, Whig, was
elected by a vote of 3, 106 over John K. Paige,
Democrat, who received a vote of 2,512. In 1847
Mr. Parmalee was re-elected by a vote of 4,088
ove-t James Goold, 1,168; Mr. Hendrickson, 605;
and Mr. WoodruflF, 78.
John Taylor, Mayor 1848-49, was born in
Durham, England, March, 1790, and died in Al-
bany September 31, 1863. He migrated to Brook-
lyn with his father when a mere infant, and to
Albany in 1793. He engaged in the business of a
tallow-chandler with his father when he was seven-
teen years old, and before he was twenty-three he
had been burned out four times. Then his fortunes
changed. He began to make money about 18 13
as an army contractor. In 1822 he became a
brewer, and from this business realized an ample
fortune. He had branches in Boston and New
York later, conducted by his sons. He gave freely
of his wealth to the poor, and to all objects that
promised to benefit the city. He became a great
reader, and accumulated a library larger and more
valuable than any in the city in his time. He
gained great popularity and wealth at the same
time by a steady course of industry, enterprise, in-
tegrity, philanthropy and virtue. Taylor's Brewery
is still occupied at 133 Broadway.
Franklin Townsend, Mayor 1850-51, was the
son of Isaiah and Hannah Townsend, and nephew
of John Townsend, a former Mayor, under whose
name the outline of his family history is given. He
married the only daughter of Rufus H. King, once
a noted merchant and banker of this city. His
life has been one of great activity, marked by evi-
dences of public confidence. While 3'et a boy, he
took charge of the Townsend Furnace and Ma-
chine-shop in this city, no w managed by his son,
Rufus K. Townsend. He has served on the Board
of Aldermen, and as Supervisor. He has also been
a Member of the Assembly, and for nearly nine
years Adjutant-General of the State. He has been
prominent in the social and business affairs of the
city; President of the State Bank, and Vice-Presi-
dent of the Albany Savings Bank. In all positions
he has acquitted himself with honor.
Eli Perry, Mayor 1851-54, 1856-60, 1862-64.
An exciting contest attended the civil years of
1856-58. April 8, 1856, the city election was
held, when it was declared that Dr. John V. P.
Quackenbush was elected by a majority of twenty
over Eli Perry. An indignation meeting was held
April 14th, protesting that Perry was defeated by
fraudulent votes in the Seventh and Eighth Wards.
Subsequently the new Common Council, after con-
sidering these frauds, declared, by a vote of eleven
to nine, that Perry was elected. The election was
contested by Quackenbush.
Each of the contestants persistently claimed his
right to act as Mayor. The case was taken to the
Courts at last under a proposed compromise, by the
terms of which Recorder W. S. Paddock was to act
as Mayor pending the litigation. The case never
came to trial. The Recorder served out the term
of Perry and Quackenbush, each of whom received
the full salary of Mayor. Mr. Perry was elected in
April 13, 1858, by a vote of 4,699, to 4,601 for Dr.
Quackenbush, serving until April, i860. Again
he was elected for the two years from 1862-64.
He held the office of Alderman and was two years
a Member of Congress, and active and influential
in banks and other public institutions.
He was born in Washington County, N. Y.,
December 25, 1799, and died in Albany, May 17,
1 88 1. His biography appears at length in another
part of this volume.
George H. Thacher, Mayor 1860-62, 1866-
-68, 1870-74. Mr. Thacher was descended from
the celebrated Rev. Thomas Thacher, the Puritan,
and first pastor of the old South Congregational
Church in Boston. On his mother's side he is
grandson of the late Judge Hornell, of Hornells-
ville, N. Y., where he was born June 4, 1818.
His early life was one of penury and self-denial.
In Albany, since 1848, his career has been one of
business prosperity and public distinction. His
biography appears in another part of this volume.
His election in 1872 was contested very hotly in
the case of "The people ex rel. Edmund L. Jud-
son vs. George H. Thacher." The trial resulted
in a verdict for the defendants. An appeal to the
Court of Appeals was taken, and resulted in an
order for a new trial. Pending the new trial, Mr.
Thacher resigned January 17, 1874, having served
twenty months of his last term. During the litiga-
tion concerning the Mayoralty, John G. Burch,
President of the Board of Aldermen, acted as
Mayor. Edmund L. Judson filled out the un-
expired term of Thacher, and was elected for the
full succeeding term.
Charles E. Bleecker, Mayor 1868-70. Grace
Strover, the wife of Mr. Bleecker, died August 28,
1868.
Edmund L. Judson, Mayor 1874 to 1876, is
a grandson of Nathaniel Judson, one of the New
England immigrants who came from Connecticut
to Albany in 1796, and son of Ichabod L. Judson,
who kept a provision store here many years, and
666
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
was a prominent business man. Mr. Judson was
born in this city, November 13, 1830, and suc-
ceeded to the business of his father about thirty-
five years ago. He is a member of the firm of
Judson, Capron & Smith, dealers in flour and pro-
visions, 359 and 361 Broadway. He was always
a citizen well informed upon public affairs and
actively interested in them, and yet not given to
place-seeking. He was Alderman in 1862-66.
His contest for the Mayor's office, to which he was
no doubt elected in 1872, is mentioned under the
sketch of Ex-Mayor Thacher. His influence, in
a quiet way, is still a power in the Republican
party and in civil affairs of the city.
A. Bleecker Banks, Mayor 1876-78 and 1884-
86, is a native of New York City. Since 1872
he has been a member of the law-publishing
house of Banks Brothers, 475 Broadway — Mayor
Banks residing at 327 State street, and his brother,
David Banks, residing in New York City, in charge
of the leading store. They are sons of David
Banks, the founder of this ancient house, estab-
lished in 1804. Mr. Banks represented Albany
County in the Assembly in 1862, and in the State
Senate in 1868-71. His last election as Mayor
was by so small a majority over Dr. Swinburne,
that many of his opponents doubted his legal elec-
t'on, but no contest was made to unseat him.
He is actively interested in several financial and
business interests of the city, notably in the Albany
and Greenbush Bridge, and in the Albany and
Greenbush Street Railway, of which corporations
he is President.
Michael N. Nolan, Mayor 1878 to 1883, a
native of Ireland. Mention of his resignation in
June, 1883, is made in the sketch of Dr. Swinburne.
He was a Member of the U. S. Congress in 1881 to
1 883. After his resignation. Dr. W. H. Murray,
President of the Common Council, was acting
Mayor until Dr. Swinburne took the office. Mr.
Nolan is President of the Beverwyck Brewing Co.,
24 North Ferry street, of which the late Hon.
Terence J. Quinn was a member. The firm is
still called Quinn & Nolan, and is widely known
for the production of lager. Mr. Nolan's sagacity
and executive ability, either in business or in pub-
lic affairs, is acknowledged by all who know him.
John Swinburne, Mayor 1883-84. The biog-
raphy of Dr. Swinburne is fully presented in an-
other part of this volume. The contest for the
office of Mayor at the Charter Election of 1882,
was a very exciting one between Michael N. Nolan
and John Swinburne. Nolan was declared elected
by a small majority. Frauds were alleged and
proved, and after a legal contest in the case, "The
People ex rel. John Swinburne vs. Michael N.
Nolan," Mr. Nolan resigned, after filling about
fifteen months of the term, and Dr. Swinburne was
seated in the chair June 25, 1883, and served the
remainder of the term.
SOME VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT 1800.
STATE STREET, LOOKING EAST.
THE above cut represents a view of State street
in 1805. We are supposed to be standing
near the head of the street, in front of St. Peter's
Church, and on the site of old Fort Frederick, a
I strong, quadrangular fortification, with a bastion at
each corner, which stood upon the high hill there.
The altitude of its heavy stone walls was equal to
that of the roof of St. Peter's at the present day. The
S03fE VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT 1800.
607
above illustration gives a view, looking eastward,
of the rough and irregular street, at the front of
which is the old Dutch Church. The house on the
left is that of Philip S. Van Rensselaer, a )'ounger
brother of the Patroon. The two houses next to
Van Rensselaer's belonged to the Webster Brothers,
and the frame building next to them was their office,
and was familiarly known as
Websters' corner. Next below
Websters' is seen the Living-
ston house and elm tree, and
the Lydius house, occupying
opposite corners. The house
just below the Lydius corner is
now occupied by the State
Bank. Pearson, a tobacconist,
and Dr. Dexter, a druggist, oc-
cupied the next taller build-
ings. Next east of Dexter's
building was the Tontine Cof-
fee House. Almost in front
and at the steepest part of the
street is seen one of the old
well-curbs of the city, used be-
fore the construction of water-
works. The tall house seen
over the angle of the old Dutch
Church belonged to the Kanes,
well-known merchants. The
house on the right of the
church, in range with the
most distant lamp-post, be-
longed to Dr. Mancius, and
the city post-office was kept there for some
years.
In the portion of the street opposite to the Liv-
ingston elm were two noble but dissimilar build-
ings; one of them was erected by Herman Wendell
in 1 71 6, the other was built by John Stevenson in
1780. The former was in the ancient Dutch style.
The Stevenson House was
in its day a wonder in archi-
tecture, and in a style quite
different from anything in Al-
bany. It was purely English
throughout, and was known as
' ' the rich man's house. " Both
of these buildings were de-
molished in 1841.
Coming up State street, on
the south side was the spacious
brick residence of George Mer-
chant, over which six birds are
seen. The peaks and chim-
neys beneath the single bird
are those of the old Geological
Hall, which stood back of
Merchant's house and occu-
pied the site of the present
Geological Hall. The build-
ing with a projecting ridge for
hoisting was a carpenter's
shop, and the last one seen
on the right of the picture
was the chair factory of Mr.
McChesney.
THE WENDELL HOUSE.
THE STEVENSON HOUSE.
668
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
NORTH PEARL AND STATE STREETS.
This cut exhibits the corners of North Pearl
and State streets, looking up Pearl. The most
conspicuous objects are the ancient building
known as the Lydius House (6) with its terraced
gable, and the adjoining mansion (7) of William
Pitt Beers. The corner house was built about
1657 for the parsonage of the Dutch Church. All
the materials were said to have been imported from
Holland. Its interior was elaborate. The parti-
tions were made of mahogan)', and the exposed
beams ornamented with carving.
On the opposite side of the street is seen the
frame building (i) known as Websters' corner, pre-
viously alluded to. The white house (2) next to
it was the site of the residence of Peter Livingston,
one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. The old elm tree, recently removed, was
planted by INIr. Livingston. The large building
with two gables (3) in front was known as the Van
Derheyden Palace. It was just below Maiden
lane on the site now occupied by the Perry Build-
ing.
A little beyond the Palace is seen the homestead
of the Pruyen family, a Dutch house (4) with ter-
raced gable fronting the street. Dr. Hunloke
Woodruff, an eminent physician, owned the next
(5) more modern residence on the corner of Maid-
en Lane and Pearl street.
NORTH PEARL STREET, FROM MAIDEN LANE NORTHWARD.
SOME VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT iSoo.
C69
The cut on preceding page is a continuation of
Pearl street from Maiden lane northward. The
Woodruff House (i) is first seen. The small build-
ing (2) next to it was the Dr.'s office. At that
time dentistry, as a distinct profession, was not
practiced in Albany. Next to the doctor's office
was a stately Dutch building (3), erected by Will-
iam Eights s imewhere after 1776. The frame
building adjoining was long occupied by Dick
Thompson, who was quite celebrated as a waiter.
The next house with terraced gable (6) had a brick
front, and was occupied by David Groesbeck, in
the immediate rear of which is seen the Second
Presbyterian Church. It was last occupied by Mc-
Caffrey & Holmes, bakers. It adjoined the Female
Academy on the south. The tall building (7) was
occupied by Dr. C. C. Yates. No. 8 was occu-
pied by Cornelius Brown, some time baker, after-
wards a cartman. The last building (9) was the
famous Uranian ITall, erected by the Society of
Mechanics, where the children of mechanics were
educated.
NORTH PEARL STREET.
This is a continuation of the last view, a por-
tion of North Pearl street. The first house (10)
was for man}' years the house and store of Henry
Bleecker. It was built prior to the Revolution by
John Nicholas Bleecker. About 1800 it was oc-
cupied by William McClellan, an eminent Scotch
physician. On the site of buildings (8, 9 and 10)
the present Female Academy stands, founded in
18 14, and then known as Union School. In house
II dwelt John B. Romeyn, D.D., of the Presby-
terian Church. Next to Dr. Romeyn resided
Peter Elmendorf, one of the leading lawyers of the
city. Gerardus Lansing, brother-in-law of General
Ten Broeck, resided in No. 13. Next to No. 13
was a house, which has been omitted, built and
occupied by John Rutger Bleecker, a surveyor.
Between dwelling 14 and the little school-house
(15) was a play-ground for the boys. Looking
over that inclosure and among the trees is seen the
family mansion or homestead of the Bleeckers.
The last house (16) was the residence of John An-
drews, a well-known police constable, who was the
terror of evil-doers eighty years ago. No i 2 was
the last of the old houses in this row, and was taken
down about twenty-five years ago.
Our next view of North Pearl street is a continua-
tion of the west side from Canal to Patroon street.
The buildings possess little interest, except the
church with two steeples, the edifice of the North
Reformed Dutch Church, erected in 1798. With
the exception of the church, all the other buildings
have long since passed away. They were of wood,
all painted red, and gave a very dull appearance to
the street. On the left (i) is seen a portion of the
Vandeberg Mansion. Adjoining it (2) was the
shop of John Bantam, a blacksmith. The next
building was occupied by an Irish schoolmaster
named Crabbe. Back of these (4) is seen the tool-
house of the church, and upon the distant emi-
nence beyond, then known as Arbor Hill, is seen
the country seat (5) of General Ten Broeck, of the
Revolution, and three years Mayor of Albany.
Arbor Hill is now occupied by Thomas W. Olcott.
Next to the last of the small buildings in the direc-
tion of the church was then occupied by ]\Ic-
Gourghey, a chocolate manufacturer, and in the
last (7) the sexton of the church resided. Fox
Creek formerly flowed across the street (now under
it) where the fence is seen, adjoining 7, and so be-
tween the trees. Opposite the church is seen a
670
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
H — '-
-tF^
Tr
-
'
Iff
':s
"K^:
'r
r
^
d!l
.pl«
tvp^
^s*^-^'A*s ?»-^'fei-« .- ^'
lijp.3
CoSSU^B^i'*' i^U^^^'^^^Sf^^
NORTH PEARL STREET.
small building, which was then occupied by Beck-
ing, a famous cake baker. The two little figures
in this picture represent a fashionably-dressed cou-
ple in Albany in 1805. The lady has not yet
"found her waist," and the gentleman has his
roundhead hat, narrow-skirted coat and huge
white-topped boots, then just beginning to be
worn.
MARKET STREET.
This view represents that portion of JMarket
street, east side, from State street to Maiden lane.
The public market, which gave the name to the
street, is seen in its center. Beginning on the left
we have a view of the residence (i) of Paul Hoch-
strasser, a wealthy German merchant. The next
(2) on the corner of Maiden lane was the house in
which General Peter Gansevoort, one of the most
active of the Revolutionary officers, was born.
The larger house (3) was occupied by Hill, a glove
and leather-breeches maker. In the upper part
Fairman, the engraver, started business. The more
SOME VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT 1800.
671
stately brick mansion (4) was built and occupied
by Thomas Hun, agent of the Patroon, and after-
ward by his son, Abraham Hun. It was at one
time occupied as a post-office. Next to it, and
partly concealed by the market (5), was the store of
Barent & John G. Bleecker. The terraced gable
of Ford's carpet store is seen next beyond it, and
looming above all is the grand mansion of David
Fonda, a dry goods merchant. It occupied the
site of Ransom's iron-front store. Beyond the
market was the auction store of John Jauncey, and
rising above it (19) is seen a large brick building,
the store and dwelling of the Kane Brothers, al-
ready referred to. Back of these is seen the roof
of a building, recently the site of the Exchange,
now occupied by the Post-oflFice Building. Next
to Kane's was the apothecary store of Dr. Mancius,
where the city post-office was kept.
MARKET STREET, NOW BROADWAY.
This represents the appearance of Market street
(now Broadway) in the year 1805. On the extreme
left (i) we have a corner of the old Dutch Church,
then a low yellow building, known as Robinson's
Corner, where the Albany Museum building now
stands. Next (3) was the brick dwelling-house
and store of John Van Schaick, then an eminent
merchant. In the two-story white frame building
(4) David Waters sold groceries, and in the adja-
cent brick building (5) lived David Newland, a
Scotch settler. Albert Willett lived in the next
brick building, and in the taller one adjoining was
the Albany Bank. Its nearest neighbor was the
' spacious brick dwelling of John Maley, one of the
, merchant princes of Albany. It was long known
i as the Mansion House Hotel. Abram R. Ten
; Eyck's book store was next to Maley's, and the
j smaller house, with a large chimney, belonged to
! Peter Douw, a merchant. His neighbor (11) was
Barent G. Staats, also a merchant. In the small
building lived Teunis Van Vechten, a wealthy
burgher. The last house (13) was built of Holland
I brick. It was a double house. On the corner
I dwelt Richard Lush, and in an adjoining part
' of the building John Brinkerhoff had a hardware
store.
MARKET STREET NOW BROADWAY.
In house 14 John Meads resided for a while,
and was succeeded by Lawson Aumsley in 18 14
with a looking-glass store. The next house (15)
belonged to Martin Beekman, and was occupied
by Richard Dunn & Sons before they removed to
Court street. House 16 was occupied by John
Jacob Lansing. He died in 1808. The tall build-
ing adjoining (17) was the residence of Barent
Bleecker, an extensive merchant at this day. It
was painted yellow, and appeared very gay by side
of its neighbor (18), a dull red house, built in the
antique Dutch style, of Holland brick, and occu-
pied by General John H. Wendell, a Revolutionar\-
officer. Adjoining it was the law office of Stephen
672
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Lush. The grand house of Dr. Samuel Stringer
( 1 8) towers above all the edifices on this part of the
street. It was demolished in 1856. Next to it
was Dr. Stringer's office, separated t}' an alley from
the large brick house (20) of Andrew Brown.
Dudley Walsh occupied the house next to Brown,
and on the corner of Steuben is seen the old brick
house of Sanders Lansing, a celebrated cake-maker
of that day. Opposite the cake-maker's shop was
the fine old brick residence of Chancellor Lansing,
Mayor from 1786 to 1790. This completes a de-
scription of this portion of Market street in olden
times, then, as now, one of the principal business
streets of the city.
OLD HOUSES AND LANDMARKS.
One of the most interesting features of Albany
is its old houses, of which the most noteworthy are
hereafter mentioned.
OLD STAATS HOUSE.
The Staats House, corner State and Pearl, is re-
garded as the oldest edifice in the city. It is one
of two which stood there when South Pearl was a
lane, entered by a gate. When the street was
widened, the upper house known as Lewis's
Stevens was taken away. There formerly ran
across the front of these two houses, underneath
the eaves, in iron letters, the words Anno Domini,
and below, over the upper story, the figures, also in
iron, 1667. When the upper house was taken
away the word Anno was left on the house still
standing, and is there yet.
LANSING (NOW PEMBERTON) HOUSE.
SOME VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT 1800.
673
The Pemberton House, corner Columbia and
North Pearl Street, is another old building. When
constructed; no two adjoining rooms were on ihe
same level, the ceilings were not plastered, but
the beams and sleepers were polished, and the jambs
of the fire-place faced with porcelain, ornamented
with Scripture scenes. In earlier days this house
was occupied by the widow Visscher. It was
especially distinguished as the lodging place for
Indians when they came to Albany for the purpose
of trading their furs, too often for rum and worth-
less ornaments. Here many stirring scenes tran-
spired, when the Indians held their pow-wows,
and became uproarious under the influence of
strong drink. At such times the widow would use
her broomstick freely. It was a potent scepter in
her hands in restoring order, for the most stalwart
Indian who had once felt its power, looked upon
it with awe.
The Vanderheyden Palace stood on Pearl street,
on what is now the site of the Perry building. The
palace was built in 1725 by Johannes Beekman.
The bricks were said to have been imported from
Holland, and the house was one of the best spe-
VANDERHEYDEN PALACE.
cimens of Dutch architecture in the State. It
was occupied by Mr. Beekman as his family resi-
dence, until his death in 1756, after which his two
daughters resided in it until a short time previous
to the Revolution. In 1778 the mansion was pur-
chased by Mr. Jacob Vanderheyden. The dimen-
sions were 50 feet front by 20 feet in depth, having
a hall and two rooms on a floor. The edifice was
so antique that it arrested the antiquarian fancy
of Washington Irving, and is described by him in
the story of Dolph Heyliger, in " Bracebridge
Hall," as the residence of Herr Antony Van-
derheyden. It was demolished in 1833. The
weather vane, a horse under great stress of speed,
now glitters above the peaked turret of the portal
at Sunnyside.
The Lydius House stood till 1852 on the north-
east corner of State and Pearl. It was built ex-
pressly for a parsonage. The bricks, tiles, iron,
and wood-work were all imported from Holland.
They came over with the church bell and pulpit in
1657. The partitions were mahogany, and the ex-
posed beams ornamented with carvings in high re-
lief representing the vine and fruit of the grape.
To show the relief more perfectly, the beams were
painted white. Balthazar Lydius was its only oc-
cupant for many years. He was an eccentric old
bachelor, and was the terror of all the boys. He
was a tall, thin Dutchman, with a bullet head, fond
of his pipe and bottle, and gloried in celibacy until
his life was in the "sere and yellow leaf." Then
he gave a pint of gin for a squaw, and calling her
his wife, lived with her as such until his death, in
181 5.
The Van Rensselaer] Mansion, at the head 01
North Broadwa}', was erected in 1765. It
is commonly known as the Patroon's, and until
Patroon
lately was occupied by his descendants. The front
door opens directly into a spacious hall, upon the
walls of which is paper of most curious and
elaborate design, put on when the house was built,
674
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
having been imported from Holland expressly for
the purpose.
The Van Rensselaer Mansion in Greenbush
stands nearly opposite the blast furnace, and is
supposed to have been built by Johannes Van
Rensselaer as early as 1663. It is of brick brought
from Holland. An addition was built in 1740.
The original building was used as a fort, and some
of the port-holes are visible in the stone walls. In
the addition are forty or fifty curious tiles, repre-
senting Scripture scenes.
Schuyler Mansion.
Schuyler Mansion, head of Schuyler street, a lit-
tle west of South Pearl, is of brick, with a closed oc-
tagonal porch in front. It was built by Mrs. Schuy-
ler while her husband, General Philip Schuyler, was
in England, in 1760-61. The old family mansion,
large and highly ornamented in the Dutch style,
stood nearly upon the site of the present City Hall,
and was taken down in 1800. In this latter man-
sion General Schuyler and his family dispensed a
princely hospitality for almost forty years. When
General Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga in 1777,
he and other prisoners were sent forward to Albany,
General Schuyler writing to his wife to give the
English General the very best reception in her
power.
"The British commander was well received, '
writes the Marquis de Chastellux, "and lodged in
the best apartment in the house. An excellent
supper was served him, the honors of which were
done with so much grace that he was affected even
to tears, and said with a deep sigh: ' Indeed this is
doing too much for a man who has ravaged their
lands and burnt their dwellings.'"
In 1 78 1 a plan was laid to capture General
Schuyler and take him to Canada. A party of
Tories, Canadians and Indians surrounded the
house for several days, and at length forced an en-
trance. The famil}' collected in an upper room,
forgetting to take with them an infant child sleep-
ing in the nursery. The mother was flying back
to the rescue when the General prevented her, but
the third daughter, afterwards the wife of the last
of the Patroons, rushed downstairs, snatched her
sister from the cradle and bore her off in safety.
As she sprang up the stairs, an Indian hurled a
tomahawk at her, which cut her dress a few inches
from the infant's head, and struck the stair-rail at
the lower turn, where the mark is still pointed out.
The assailants were frightened from their purpose
and fled to Canada, carrying with them much of
the General's plate, but not the General. In this
house Lafayette, Count de Rochambeau, Baron
Steuben, Aaron Burr, Benjamin Franklin, Charles
Carroll, of Carrollton, and many other notable per-
sonages were entertained. December 14, 1780,
Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler were
married in this house, and another notable wedding
that took place here was that of Mrs. Mcintosh,
who owned the property, to ex-President Fillmore.
Robert Yates' House.
Robert Yates was one of the leading jurists and
statesmen of his time. The above cut is a view of
his residence on State street.
CHURCHYARDS AND CEMETERIES.
In the earliest days of our city the dead were
buried near the places where they cast off their
mortal coil, and turned to dust without any monu-
mental mark of any kind. When lands began to
be occupied at a later date by families, some spot
was selected on the homestead and inclosed for
burial of their dead. Sometimes a tomb was erected
for this purpose.
Around the churches a home for the dead, "God's
acre, " was always reserved, called the churchyard.
The first churchyard was set apart close by the first
church erected, on what is now Church street,
near old Fort Orange, in 1643. Thirteen years
after, in 1656, another edifice was erected at the
junction of State street and Broadway, around
which the dead were buried for many years, until
the third edifice was built, some forty years later,
on Beaver street. Here a church stood for about
a century and three quarters, long known as the
Middle Dutch Church. Many changes were made in
the structure to adapt it to growing demands, until
recently it was taken down and the ground occupied
by a building called the City Market. A new and
admirable structure succeeds it at corner of Madison
avenue and Swan street. Here about the Beaver
street Church the city dead were laid away for
over a century, numbering thousands. From 1722
to 1759, tl^s records give a list of 1,759 burials.
Many were removed from the State street grounds,
SOME VIEWS IN ALBANY ABOUT iSoo.
675
and 3'et human bones have recently been exca-
vated there of some neglected ones.
When the churchyard became completely cov-
ered with tombs, a layer of earth was superim-
posed, and new graves were made, so that three
tiers of coffins, closely compacted side by side, lay
one above another. About 1780 the place had
been abandoned, and a city burial lot was estab-
lished south of the old Capitol Park. A new-
church structure was erected on the old lot in
1805, but it no longer had a city churchyard.
The new lot south of the Capitol, and appropriated
for a common burial ground in 1789, was bounded
by Eagle on the east. State on the north, and
Lancaster on the south. Lots were set apart for the
different churches.
LODGE AT RURAL CEMETERY.
The Lutherans had a burial ground in connection
with the Evangelical Lutheran Ebenezer Church,
founded in 1680, on the site of the present Music
Hall and City Building. For over a century this
church buried their dead here. When the old
Centre Market, which occupied this ground many
years, was demolished in 1868, the remains were
removed to the Rural Cemetery.
The Firit Presbyterian Church, established in
1763, had a burial lot until about 1760, in con-
stant use, in the square bounded by Hudson ave-
nue, Grand, Beaver, and William streets.
The next public cemetery, established far outside
the setded part of the city, in State street, near
Knox, began to be occupied in 1806. It was
surrounded by a fence ten feet high, and divided
among the different religious congregations. It
was thus used about sixty years, when, in 1868, the
bodies were removed to the Rural Cemetery, and
the ground was made a part of Washington Park.
The reinterment was made at the expense of the
city, under arrangements with the various religious
congregations which occupied burial lots on these
grounds. The Common Council appointed a
committee, consisting of Peter M. Carmichael,
William S. Paddock, William H. Taylor, Edmund
L. Judson, and Thomas Mulhall, to act in its
behalf
The Albany Rural Cemetery had its origin in a
sermon preached by the Rev. B. T. Welch, D.D.,
in the Pearl street Baptist Church, December,
1840. April 2, 1841, an Association was in-
corporated, consisting of Rev. Dr. B. T. Welch,
j first President of the Association; Anthony M.
I Strong, first Secretary and Treasurer; Stephen Van
! Rensselaer, John A. Dix, John Q. Wilson, James
Homer, Peter Gansevoort, Thomas W. Olcott,
Ezra P. Prentice, John Wendell, Ellis Baker, Ira
1 Harris, Archibald Mclntyre. The Committee to
\ locate and improve the grounds were B. T. W^elch
I and Thomas W. Olcott, who selected the site
April 20, 1844. The cemetery originally contained
100 acres, a part of which formerly belonged to
Thomas Hillhouse. This portion was consecrated
October 7, 1844, with impressive and imposing
ceremonies.* The first interment was made in
May, 1845. Additions by purchase have been made,
and the Association now owns 28 ij acres.
This beautiful and diversified cemetery is situated
in the township of Watervliet, about three miles
* At the consecration, Daniel D. Brainard was the orator; Alfred B,
Street, the poet. Revs. Dr. W. B, Sprague and H. Potter were the
clergy; and active on that day and in the whole work as long as they
lived, besides the Trustees, were Gideon Hawley, Amos Dean, Otis
Allen, Lewis Benedict, Matthew Patten, and many others. General
Rufus King was the Marshal. In natural and artistic beauty, this
cemetery has been spoken of by good critics as excelled only by that
of Cincinnati.
6M
mSTOkV Of THE cot/NTT Of albanv.
north of the City of Albany, and is easy of access
by private conveyance on the Troy Turnpike road,
by the West Troy Horse-Cars, and by the Delaware
and Hudson Canal Company's Railroad. This road
has a station near the entrance to the cemetery.
The cemetery grounds possess in a remarkable
degree the natural conditions desired in physical
structure and adaptability. Its undulating con-
tour and diversified variety; its picturesque expanse
of hill and dale, ravine and dell, stream and cas-
cade, sparkling rivulets, bubbling fountains, placid
ponds, rocky cliffs, sylvan nooks, and miniature
forests — attractions rare and unique — combine to
place this cemetery among the finest in the
country.
The whole grounds are planned and platted
with the taste and skill of artistic engineering, and
the sculptor's work is seen from every point, as
the eye wanders over the many monuments and
other mementoes of the departed.
Broad avenues and drives lined with shade trees,
intricate labyrinths of walks and paths, serve to per-
plex the visitor in his rambles here, in this silent
city of the dead.
A natural feature is the division of this area into
three ridges, designated South, Middle and North,
running east and west, through which pass two
never failing streams of water, which are used to
advantage in ornamentation and giving wide di-
versity of scenic eflfect
Jeffrey P. Thomas, succeeding his father, is the
Superintendent and Surveyor. He is a man of
excellent taste and judgment.
St. Agnes' Cemetery adjoins the Rural Cemeterj'
on the south, and is approached by a beautiful
tree-lined avenue, nearly half a mile long, by the
same public conveyances that serve for the Rural.
This cemetery contains 50 acres, and is on the
same ridge with the Rural, and handsomely and
tastefully arranged. The Association was incor-
porated Ma}- 9, 1867, with the following offi-
cers: Right Rev. John J. Conroy, Rev. Edgar P.
Wadhams, Peter Cagger, Presidents; William S.
Preston, Secretary and Treasurer; John Tracey,
James Hall, William Cassidy, Thomas Mattimore,
John Stuart, Joseph Clinton, Robert Higgins, John
McCardle, John Mullen, Henry Lucke, Directors.
Thomas Kearney is Superintendent. The cemetery
grounds were consecrated on the 19th of Ma}',
1867, by the Right Rev. Bishop Conroy, assisted by
the clergy of the city, in the presence of a large
assembly, who witnessed the solemn and impressive
ceremony.
Anshe Emeth Cemetery adjoins the Rural Cem-
etery on the northeast, and contains four acres.
It was first appropriated as a place of interment
for the Members of the Jewish Congregation, Anshe
Emeth. In 1862 it was surveyed into lots; and
in 1875 it was incorporated as a Cemetery Associa-
tion. The grounds are arranged in excellent
taste, and general simplicity is observed in the
order of design, which adds much to the whole
appearance. The natural features in some respects
resemble those of the Rural, yet lack in the great
diversity and changeable character of surface.
This cemetery is reached by the Loudonville
plank road, also by the way leading to the Rural.
The officers are Joseph Sporberg, J. Laventall,
Isaac Waldman, S. Bonday. C. Tasler is Super-
intendent.
Other cemeteries are those of the Catholic
Congregations of St. Mary and St. Joseph, within
the bounds of the city on Washington avenue.
St. John's Catholic Church has a cemetery on
Delaware avenue, which has been used since
August 28, 1 84 1, and another near Bethelehem
centre.
St. Patrick's Catholic Church has its cemetery on
the Albany and Schenectady Turnpike. St John's
Evangelical Lutheran Society has one on the Sand-'
hill road, consecrated in 1846 and abandoned
about ten years later. The cemetery at the Alms-
house is devoted to the burial of those who die
while in the institution or in the Penitentiary, and
the unclaimed dead of the streets and river.
St. Peter's Church occupies ground once devoted
to the burial of the early settlers. Lands near
Hudson and Grand, and on the corner near Howard
and South Pearl, were also used. Some years
after this a portion of Washington Park was used.
The people of the old town of Colonic had lands
given them by the Patroon for burial purposes on
Arbor Hill between Second and Third streets,
above Ten Broeck, where St. Joseph's Church now
stands. It was used about twenty years.
On the southwest corner of Hamilton and
South Pearl streets was the family burial ground
of the Halenbecks. The property was sold for taxes,
a portion of the proceeds being used for the pur-
chase of a lot and monument in the Rural Cem-
etery, to which their remains were removed in i860.
MOHAWK AND HUDSON RIVER RAIL-
ROAD.
The cut on next page represents the style of the
first passenger train propelled by steam in America.
It was used on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad
between Albany and Schenectady, the first success-
ful railroad in this country for carrying passengers.
The charter for the building of this road was
granted by the Legislature March 27, 1826.
Stephen Van Rensselaer, the Old Patroon, was the
leading capitalist in what was then considered a
visionary scheme. Work upon its construction
began July 29, 1830, and may be said to have
been completed September 24, 183 1. An excur-
sion over the road was then given by the Directors,
to which were invited State and city officials and
eminent citizens.
The cut used in connection with this article is
said to be a faithful representation of the train
used upon this occasion. The cars were simply
stage-coach bodies made by James Goold, the
famous coach-builder, and placed upon trucks for
temporary use, affording seats for twelve or eighteen
passengers each. A speed at the rate of thirty miles
an hour was reached.
This road, as at first constructed, extended from
the junction of the Western Turnpike and Lydius
CITT BUILDINGS.
6W
street in this city; and from this point, a distance of
twelve and a half miles, to the brow of the hill at
Schenectady. Both of these points were first reach-
ed by stages, and afterward by an inclined plane,
which passengers were carried to the railroad sta-
tions in a car drawn by a rope by means of a sta-
tionary engine. The Albany Station was where
Van Vechten Hall now stands. Some years later
the grade of the road was so much reduced that
the inclined planes were done away with and the
road constructed over them. The use of the streets
for railway travel was opposed with varying success
by the Common Council and many citizens. The
starting point on the river was at Gansevoort street.
FIRST STEAM PASSENGER TRAIN IN AMERICA.
The Chief Engineer was John B. Jervis; the Resi-
dent Engineer, John T. Clark, who acted as Con-
ductor, and Fireman John Hampson.
The following were passengers on this memor-
able trip: Governor Enos T. Throops, Senator
Charles E. Dudley, Comptroller Azariah C. Flagg,
Lieutenant-Governor Edward P. Livingston, Ex-
Governor Joseph C. Yates, Chancellor Reuben H.
Walworth, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Francis Blood-
good, Joseph Alexander, John Meigs, Erastus Corn-
ing, Lewis Benedict, John Townsend, Jesse Buel,
John L Boyd, Thurlow Weed, William Bay, Sim-
eon De Witt Bloodgood, ^^'illiam B. Winne, and
L. H. Tupper, of Albany; Samuel Swartwout,
Philip Hone and Jacob Hays, of New York; John
\. De Graff, Schenectady; David Mathews, builder,
and Churchill C. Cambreling, President of the road.
Railroad Men op To-day. — Albany has grown
to be a railroad center of great importance, and
furnishes employment to a large force of men in
this city. Among those deserving honorable men-
tion are the following gentlemen, who form an
important element in Albany's industrial popula-
tion, all of them connected with the New York
Central and Hudson River Railroad: P. H. Mann,
Ticket Agent for many years; Lyman F. Chamber-
lain, Superintendent New York Central Sleeping
Car Company; S. H. Foster, Depot Master; E.
J. Graham, Secretary Bridge Department; G. W.
Gibbons, Freight Agent; C. B. Chittenden, Track
Superintendent; Joseph P. Morris, Baggage Agent;
L N. Coley, Train Dispatcher ; J. H. Adams,
Isaac Soule and John Ternouth, connected with
the New York Central Locomotive Works.
The following are connected with the Boston
and Albany Railroad Company: J. B. Chapin,
Assistant Superintendent; William H. Russell, Jr.,
Division Superintendent; J. E. Doran, Master Car-
builder; William H. Fisher, Stock Agent; E. P.
Haley, Superintendent of Tracks; John T. Lozier,
Train Dispatcher; Thomas P. Purvis, Jr., Me-
chanic.
The followiiig are connected with the Delaware
and Hudson Canal Company : C. W. Wentz,
Chief and Consulting Engineer ; F. C. Ward,
Paymaster ; Dudley Farlin, Assistant General
Freight Agent; Hamilton Patterson, Track-layer;
William K. Harcourt, Ticket Agent ; Joel W.
Burdick, Superintendent Telegraph ; C. D. Ham-
mond, Superintendent Susquehanna Division.
CITY BUILDINGS.
THE Old City Hall stood on the site of the pres-
ent City Plall. It was begun in 1829, the ground
having been purchased of St. Peter's Church for
$10,259.95. August 31, 1830, the corner-stone
was laid by Mayor John Townsend with Masonic
ceremonies. The building was completed in 1832
at a total cost of about $92,000. It was a comely
and commodious structure, built of white marble,
with an entrance porch supported by four Doric
columns, simple in their classical dignity. On the
roof was a gilded dome, somewhat similar to the
present State Hall. Tliere was but little of orna-
mentation to the interior of the building, yet the
artistic was not wholly wanting. A full-length
statue of Alexander Hamilton stood in the center
of the upper hall, between the Court-room and the
Common Council Chamber. Upon one side of
this hall was a bas-relief of DeWitt Clinton, with a
view of the primitive canal-boat in the distance; and
on the opposite wall a similar figure of Sir Walter
Scott, in like style of art. The origin of the fire
that destroyed the building in Februar}', 1880, is
among the unsolved mysteries. The most im-
portant papers and other matters of value were
rescued from the flames.
NEW CITY HALL.
This building was erected in 1881-83 on the site
of the old City Hall. In architecture it is consid-
ered one of the finest buildings in the State. H.
H. Richardson, distinguished as the architect of
Trinity Church, Boston, and as one of the Advisory
Board of Architects of the New Capitol, planned
the structure.
678
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
CITY HALL.
The City Hall is built of reddish granite, trimmed
with Long Meadow brownstone, and is a free
treatment of Gothic from the South of France.
The tower, 202 feet, is divided into twelve stories,
for storing records. The cost, including furnishing,
etc., was $325,000, of which $290,000 was ob-
tained by the issue of city bonds. The expense of
construction and maintenance is borne half by the
city and half by the count}'. This is considered by
some an unfair division, as the city is a part of the
county, bearing a larger share of the county's half.
The building was erected by a Commission, cre-
ated by legislative act, consisting of the Mayor,
Michael N. Nolan; Chairman of the Board of Su-
pervisors, Edward A. Maher; and Erastus Corning,
C. P. Easton, Robert C. Pruyn, Leonard G. Hun,
Albertus W. Beeker, and William Gould. It con-
tains the county offices and all the city offices not
in the City Building. Next to the New Capitol, it
is the building which attracts most attention.
THE CITY BUILDING.
This building occupies the site of the old Centre
Market, corner South Pearl and Howard streets.
It was begun in 1868; is of the Lombardic style of
architecture, ornamented with a Mansard roof It
is built of brick, faced with Lake Champlain lime-
stone, at an expense of $200,000. It contains the
Police Court- room; City Court; offices of Overseer
of Poor, of the Park Commissioners and Engineer,
Fire and Police Commissioners, Fire Alarm Tele-
graph, Chiefs of the Police and Fire Departments,
Property Clerk and Detectives; Second Precinct
Station House; the Rogues' Gallery; and the Ex-
cise Commissioners.
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
679
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
UNION UNIVERSITY IN ALBANY.
IN 1767-68, Eleazer Wheelock, who conducted
an Indian charity school in Lebanon, Conn.,
decided to remove the school to some location
more central and better adapted for the purposes
intended. In his search for such a place he was
naturally attracted to Albany, which at this time
was one of the principal cities in the country and a
place of interest to the Indian tribes. The Common
Council of the city became interested in the estab-
lishment of such an institution in the city, and
voted to raise $7,500, to be devoted to the erection
of the necessary buildings, if located here. Several
letters were interchanged between Mayor Douw
and Mr. Wheelock relating to the subject, but for
some cause the project proved unsuccessful, and
the school was removed to Hanover, N. H., and
became the foundation of Dartmouth College in
1 769. This was the first movement toward a col-
lege in Albany.
During 1779, when a project was started for the
incorporation of Clinton College at Schenectady, it
was represented in the preamble of the charter that
a large number of the respectable inhabitants of the
Counties of Albany, Tryon, and Charlotte were
heartily in favor of the erection of the college. The
Journals of the Legislature of 1779 show that the
petition upon which this charter was granted was
signed by eight hundred and fifty inhabitants of
Albany and Tryon Counties. The proposed incor-
porators of this college contained the names of the
following citizens of Albany: Eilardus Westerlo,
Philip Schuyler, Robert R. Livingston, Abraham
Ten Broeck, Abraham Yates, Jr., Robert Yates,
John Cuyler, and Robert Van Rensselaer.
This early attempt at the founding of a college at
Schenectady, although it was unsuccessful, natu-
rally led the way for the establishment of Union
College some years after, in the establishment of
which many Albanians took a prominent part.
Something of an effort was made to have it located
in Albany. In 1792 the Corporation resolved to
convey to Trustees, thereafter to be appointed, a
part of the public square in the city for the purposes
of a college, and a subscription was assured by the
citizens, with a view of carrying the project into
immediate effect. But the Regents of the Univer-
sity decided upon Schenectady as the place. The
first Trustees of Union College, when founded,
February 25, 1795, contained the following names
of citizens of Albany: Robert Yates, Abraham Yates,
Jr., Abraham Ten Broeck, Goldsbrow Banyar, John
V. Henry, George Merchant, Stephen Van Rensse-
laer, and Joseph C. Yates. Albany has always
taken a great interest in this college. Its first Pres-
ident, Rev. Dr. Eliphalet Nott, was called from
the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in
Albany, and other of the college instructors have
been taken from this city. Most of the Albany
boys who have received a collegiate education have
graduated from Union. The Albany Medical
School, Albany Law School, and Dudley Observa-
tory, with Union College, now constitute Union
University.
Old Normal School.
The Albany State Normal School is the oldest of
its class in the State. It was established by legis-
lative act May 7, 1884, as an experiment, and
opened with twenty-nine pupils December 18,
1844, in the old depot building of the Mohawk and
Hudson River Railroad Company, provided by the
city. The first principal was David B. Page, of
New Hampshire. The inception of the school
was by such minds as Samuel Young, Alonzo Pot-
ter, Gideon Hawley and Francis Dwight. In
1848 the school was made a permanent institution,
and during this year a new building was erected
on Lodge street, at a cost of $25,000, and was
opened for pupils July 31, 1849. Ever since then
it has had an able corps of teachers, a large pa-
tronage, and enjoyed the fullest confidence of the
State and of all friends of education. Mr. Page
died in 1848. His successors have been George
R. Perkins, in 1848; Samuel B. Woolworth, in
1852; David H. Cochran, in 1856; Oliver Arey,
in 1864; Joseph Alden, in 1867; Edward P. Wa-
terbury, in 1882. In 1885 the school was removed
to the new building on Willett street, facing Wash-
ington Park, erected at a cost of |i40,ooo. It is
built of freestone, of the Old Capital and Philadel-
phia brick, 128 by 160 feet, court in center 50 by
90 feet, and will accommodate 670 pupils, includ-
ing 400 normals, 200 in the model department,
50 in Kindergarten, and 20 in object class. The
building was designed by Ogden & Wright, Albany
architects. Since the establishment of the school,
2,850 scholars have been graduated, and more than
10,000 undergraduates have taught district school?.
The "Historical Sketch of the State Normal
680
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
School at Albany: a History of its Graduates for
Forty Years," prepared by President Waterbury, and
published in 1884, contains a proud record of the
work and the workers of the school, and a descrip-
tion of the remarkably fine new building on Willett
street, with illustrations.
NEW NORMAL SCHOOL.
THE ALBANY LAW SCHOOL.
In 1851 the Legislature incorporated the Univer-
sity of Albany, giving it authority to organize a
literary department, a law department and a sci-
entific department, and providing that the Albany
Medical College, already existing, might, if so dis-
posed, unite with the departments to be formed.
The literary department was never formed, and
the Scientific Department was confined to the Dud-
ley Observatory, which has never been used for in-
struction, but only for scientific work.
The department of law, however, was immedi-
ately organized into the Albany Law School, and
has maintained a flourishing existence ever since,
having conferred diplomas on nearly two thousand
graduates, and having had on its rolls almost as
many more students who attended lectures for a
while without graduating.
At that time there were very few, if any, other
law schools in the country than the Law Depart-
ments of Harvard, Yale and Cincinnati. There ■
are now of all grades something over fifty schools
and colleges where law is taughL
The first Board of Trustees was organized as fol-
lows: President, Hon. Greene C. Bronson; Vice-
President, Thornas W. Olcolt; Secretary, Orlando
Meads; Treasurer, Luther Tucker.
In 1855 Thomas W. Olcott became President,
and so continued till his death in 1880, when Or-
lando Meads succeeded him, and held that office
till his own death in 1883. Marcus T. Hun was
elected Secretary in 1880.
The first Faculty consisted of Hon. Ira Harris,
LL.D., who lectured on Practice, Pleading and
Evidence; Hon. Amasa J. Parker, LL.D., on
Real Estate, Wills, Criminal Law, Personal Rights,
and Domestic Relations; Amos Dean, LL.D., on
Personal Property, Contracts and Commercial Law.
For seventeen years the Professors continued to
constitute the Faculty till the death of Professor
Dean in 1869, followed by the resignation of Pro-
fessor Parker in 1870, and the death of Professor
Harris in 1875.
Professors Harris and Parker were Justices of
the Supreme Court Chancellor Reuben H.
Walworth at an early date became President of the
Faculty, but took no part in instruction. In 1856
the name of Amasa McCoy appears as Professor of
Rhetoric and Oratory, which position he filled for
several years.
Isaac Edwards, LL.D., succeeded to the chair
of Professor Dean; Hon. Mathew Hale, LL.D., to
that of Professor Parker; and C. T. F. Spoor, Esq.,
to that of Professor Harris.
In 1870 a large accession was made to the ranks
of the students, and the Faculty was enlarged by
the addition of William L. Learned, LL.D., Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court, who lectured on Equity,
Jurisprudence, Civil Law, and the Trial of Causes;
and William F. Allen, LL.D., then Judge of the
Court of Appeals, who lectured on Real Estate.
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
681
In 1873 the University of Albany united with
Union College to form Union University.
In 1874, Hon. John T. Hoffman, LL.D., Gov-
ernor of the State of New York, was added to the
Faculty, as Professor of the Law of Real Property.
In 1878, EliphaletN. Potter, D.D., LL.D., be-
came lecturer on the Feudal System; Henry Cop-
pee, LL.D., on International Law; Hon. Henry
E. Sickles on Evidence; and C. T. F. Spoor,
Esq., on Practice and Pleading at Common Law
and under the Code.
In 1879 Professor Edwards died, and was suc-
ceeded by Hon. Horace E. Smith, LL. D., as
Dean, and lecturer on Personal Property, Con-
tracts, Commercial Law, Common Law, Pleading,
Torts, and Medical Jurisprudence. Henry S. Mc-
Call, Esq. and Irving Browne, Esq., entered the
Faculty about this time. Professor McCall lecturing
on Real Estate and Wills, and Professor Browne
on Domestic Relations and Criminal Law.
Hon. Nathaniel C. Moak commenced to lecture
before the school in 1883 on Books and Judicial
Systems.
Professor Dean published a History of Civilization;
Professor Edwards published several text-books,
one on Bailments, another on Bills and Promissory
Notes; and Professor McCall published a Form
Book, and a work on Real Estate. Professor
Sickles has long been Reporter of the Court of
Appeals. Professor Parker published a series of
Criminal Reports; Professor Browne edits the
Albany Law Journal, and has published several
text-books; Professor Moak has edited several le-
gal text-books, and is publishing the English and
the American Reports; and Professor Coppee has
published a text-book on Logic and other works.
So that a vast amount of literary work has been
and is being done by the Professors of the Faculty.
Judge Parker survives and is a trustee, though no
longer a lecturer.
The first course of lectures was delivered in the
Exchange Building, on the site now occupied by
the F"ederal Building on the corner of State street
and Broadway, commencing the first of December,
1 88 1, and continuing sixteen weeks. The two
following years the lectures were delivered in the
Cooper Building on the corner of State and Green
street, and continued for the same length of time.
In 1854, the south wing of the Medical College,
now Alumni Hall, was erected for the law school,
and the course was extended to two terms of twelve
weeks each. This arrangement continued until
1 880, when a two years' course was adopted. Now,
to entitle a student to graduate with the degree of
LL.B., he must have attended two years at the
school, or one year of three full terms, preceded
or supplemented by a year of approved legal study
outside.
The exercises of the school consist of about three
hundred and fifty lectures during the year; a week-
ly oral examination; two Moot Courts each week
during most of the time; a written examination at
the close of each term; and every candidate for
graduation is required to read an original thesis
upon some legal topic before the Dean, or some
other member of the Faculty, and the school prior
to the close of the course.
On the accession of Profesor Smith, it was evident
to him that the building in the Medical College,
where lectures had been delivered for a quarter of
a century, was no longer suitable nor adequate to
the requirement of the school, and a new site was
found in the Universalist Church on the north side
of State street, above Swan, to which the school
was removed, and where it still remains. This
building, through the liberality of Thomas W. 01-
cott, Esq., President of the Board of Trustees, was
converted into a pleasant and very convenient
building for school purposes. It was dedicated to
its new use on the evening of March 10, 1879,
when addresses were made by Hon. Amasa J.
Parker, LL.D., Hon. Samuel Handl, Charles E.
Smith, Esq., then editor of the Albany Evening
Journal, and Professor Smith.
The first class that attended the law school in
1 85 1, but graduated only seven in 1853, namely
Edwin E. Bronk, Charles A. Fowler, Worthington
Frothingham, Willard P. Gambell, John C. Mc-
Clure, Edward Wade and George Walford, con-
tained twenty-three members; in 1854 was fifty
members; in 1855-56, eighty-five; 1857-58, one
hundred and eight; in 1859-60, one hundred and
twenty-nine. These statistics are taken from a his-
torical sketch, published in " The Concordiensis, ''
for December, 1883, and probably include all
the students in attendance, many of whom did not
receive diplomas.
The official catalogue shows, of actual graduates,
in 1860-61, ninety; in 1861-62, fifty-seven; and in
1862-63, fifty-nine.
At the close of the war, the classes were larger
than ever before, one class numbering one hundred
and fifty members. At one time every rank in
the army, from Private up to Brigadier-General, was
represented among the students. For the last few
years the classes are smaller than formerly, which
is attributed to the great increase in the number of
law schools throughout the country.
The Almuni Association was organized in 1883
under favorable anspices, which has awakened new
interest in the school among the numerous gradu-
ates scattered throughout the land.
The writer entered the law school in the fall of
i860. At that time the three original Professors
were there. Most of the instruction was given by
Professor Dean,and all the routine work of the school
fell to him, as well as the conduct of the Moot
Courts, which were then, and are still, a part of the
school system. We had then, the Kent Club, which
still survives, after all the changes of nearly thirty
years ago, when it was first organized, the Mans-
field Club, and the Associated Congress, both of
which are now defunct. It was during our time
that Judge Harris was elected to the United States
Senate.
In the following spring, at the outbreak of the
Rebellion, a drill company of the students was
organized under the Captaincy of William P. Pren-
tice. Many of the members afterwards joined the
army.
682
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
No record is found of any earlier clubs than
those above named, but a year or two later we
find mention of the Webster Club; and in 1872 of
the University Court, Edwards, Allen, and 290
Clubs; University Lyceum, Literary Association, and
Associated Congress. The Kent Club is not men-
tioned in this list, although it was subsequently
revived, or else another bearing the same name,
which stands on the present list, along with the
Learned, the Smith Debating, the McCall Real Es-
tate, the Edwards Moot Court, and the Sickles Moot
Court Clubs.
The present attendance is about fifty students,
and the Faculty consists of Learned, Smith, Presi-
dent Potter, Hale, McCall, Spoor, Sickles, Brown
and Moak.
It is considered one of the best law schools in
the country.
DUDLEY OBSERVATORY.
The Dudley Observatory is located in the north-
ern part of the city, near the line of the Cenlral
Railroad. The grounds on which it is placed are
the highest in Albany, and are 200 feet above mean
tide. They are about eight acres in extent, and are
planted with trees and shrubbery. The buildings
consist of the Astronomical, the Meteorological and
the Physical Observatories, and a large dwelling-
house, the official residence of the director. The
Astronomical Observatory is a handsome structure
of brick and freestone, in the general form of a cross.
DUDLEY OBSERVATORY.
80 by 70 feet. It is surmounted by a large revolv-
ing turret, which contains the great equatorial re-
fractor of 13-inches aperture, and 15-feet focal
length. In the west wing of the Observatory is a
large and excellent transit instrument, which is
among the latest productions of the celebrated firm
of Pistor & Martins, of Berlin. In the east wing is
the great Olcott meridian circle, one of the largest
and finest of its class. This instrument is also the
work of Pistor &' Martins. Its optical qualities are
not exceeded by any similar instrument in the
world. The object-glass is eight inches in diam-
eter, and the telescope is about ten feet in length.
The mounting of this instrument is specially massive
and costly. Its principal feature consists in three
enormous monoliths of limestone, of which one,
weighing several tons, forms the cap-stone of the
main pier, while the other two, weighing each
nearly eight tons, rest upright upon this and serve
as the direct supports of the instrument In the
same room is a variety of delicate and costly appa-
ratus auxiliary to the principal instrument, which
is in constant use for the most refined operations of
astronomy, and employs the chief activities of the
observing corps. Among other remarkable instru-
ments belonging to the Observatory are the Sheutz
tabulating engine, the Clark comet-seeker, the disk
and printing chronographs, astronomical clocks,
self-recording meteorological instruments, etc. The
Observatory also possesses an astronomical library
of about 2,000 volumes, besides numerous pam-
phlets and charts.
This institution was founded by the munificence
of Mrs. Blandina Dudley, widow of the late Hon.
Charles E. Dudley, and leading citizens of Albany.
The act of incorporation was secured in 1852. The
Observatory building was formally dedicated to as-
tronomy in August, 1856, under the auspices of
the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (which that year held its annual session
in this city), and in the presence of many distin-
guished men of science from abroad. Geological
Hall had been opened on the previous day. The
address commemorating the inauguration of the
Dudley Observatory was delivered in the Academy
Park by Edward Everett, and has since become
celebrated as a fine specimen of American orator}'.
Previous to the delivery of the address, an addi-
tional gift of $50,000 to the Observatory was unex-
pectedly announced from Mrs. Dudley, whereupon
Professor Agassiz, who was seated on the platform,
arose, and, delightedly swinging his hat, proposed,
in trumpet tones: "Three cheers for Mrs. Dud-
ley ! " It is needless to say that the audience was
electrified, and warmly responded to the summons.
The total donations to the Observatory up to the
present time exceed $200,000. Of this sum, Mrs.
Dudley gave $105,000. More than $100,000 have
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
683
been expended in buildings and equipment, and
about $100,000 is safely invested as a permanent
fund for the support of the institution.
Since 1878, the astronomical operations of the
Observatory have experienced a new impulse, in
the zone work, which has been undertaken in co-
operation with European observatories, under the
general direction of the International Astronomical
Society. In aid of this enterprise, considerable do-
nations have been made by citizens of Albany and
others.
From the normal clock of the Observatory, stand-
ard time is furnished to the various railroad and
telegraph offices in this vicinity. At 9 a.m. and 9
P.M. the fire bells of the city are struck in coinci-
dence with a signal from the Observatory clock, by
the Fire Alarm Telegraph Service. At noon each
day, the standard time of the Observatory is trans-
mitted over the lines of the Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company's system of railroads, and also over
some of the Western Union telegraph lines. There
is also a system of clocks controlled electrically
from the Observatory.
Among the distinguished astronomers who have
been in charge of this Observatory are Dr. B. A.
Gould, now Chief Astronomer of the Argentine
Confederation, South America; Professor O. M.
Mitchel, who afterwards died in 1862, Major-Gen-
eral of a corps U. S. Volunteers; and Dr. Brunnow,
since Astronomer-Royal of Ireland. The present
Astronomer and Director is Professor Lewis Boss,
a graduate of Dartmouth College. The manage-
ment of the Observatory is intrusted to a board of
sixteen Trustees. The Observatory is opened Tues-
day evenings, when visitors are admitted in limited
numbers.
THE ALBANY ACADEMY.
In the summer of 1780, the question of erecting
an Academy in the city occupied much of the at-
tention of the Common Council, and in September
of that year the matter had proceeded so far that
proposals were accepted by George W. Merchant,
of Philadelphia, to take charge of the same in
school-rooms which had been fitted up for the
ALBANY ACADEMY.
Academy until more convenient buildings could be
erected. These school-rooms were in the house
occupied by Mr. Ryckman.
As early as 1804, the citizens of Albany held a
meeting to devise ways and means to establish an
Academy, but without immediate results. Again in
1806 the agitation was renewed, only to be again
abandoned or deferred. Atiast in November, 18 12,
notwithstanding the war with England, then just
commencing, under the auspices of Philip S.Van
Rensselaer, then Mayor of the city, the movement
was resumed, and January 18, 1813, the Common
Council called a meeting of citizens to be held at the
Capitol on January 25th. It also appropriated the
old jail, on the south side of State street, just below
Eagle street, now the site of Van Vechten Hall,
then valued at $(5,000; also about l5,ooo of other
property.
The institution was incorporated March 4, 1813,
by the Regents of the University. The first Board of
Trustees was composed of Stephen Van Rensselaer,
John Lansing, Archibald Mclntyre, Smith Thomp-
son, Abraham Van Vechten, John V. Henry, Henry
Walton, Rev. Wm. Niell, Rev. John M. Bradford,
Rev. John McDonald, Rev. Timothy Clowes, Rev.
John Mcjimpsey, Rev. Frederic G. Meyer, Rev.
Samuel Mervvin, and the Mayor and Recorder of
Albany, ex officio. The Trustees held their first
meeting March 23, 1813.
The Common Council donated the site where
the Academy building now stands, between Elk
street and the Capitol Park. They also appropriated
684
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
funds for the building, and further grants were
made by the Regents of the University and by
private citizens.
On July 29, i8i5,the corner-stone was laid, and
the building was erected within the two following
years at a cost of $90,000. Some of the inside work
however was not finished till many years later. It
is a handsome freestone structure, consisting of a
main building 70 by 80 feet, with wings on each
end 30 by 45 feet; with a cupola surmounting
the central portion of the main building.
Meanwhile the school opened temporarily, in a
large wooden building owned by Kilian Van Rens-
selaer, on the southeast corner of Slate and Lodge
streets. Here on the i ith of September, 1815, the
first session was held, under the presidency of Ben-
jamin Allen, LL.D., then recently from Cam-
bridge, and previously from Union College. The
Principal and Rev. Joseph Shaw, Professor of
Languages, together with Trustees Niell, Beck and
Sedgwick, welcomed the first students to the Acad-
emy. There were about eighty enrolled that year.
The Faculty was soon afterwards augmented by
the accession of Moses Chapin, afterwards Judge
Chapin, of Rochester, as tutor.
In August, 18 1 7, Theodoric Romeyn Beck,
M. D. , LL.D., was appointed principal, and con-
tinued to hold that office till 1848, with the excep-
tion of the period from 1841 to 1844, when Rev.
Andrew Shiland acted as Principal. At the accession
of Dr. Beck, the present building was occupied, in
September, 18 17. It was during Dr. Beck's time
that the events occured which Have made the Al-
bany Academy world-renowned. He was born at
Schenectady in 1791; graduated at Union College
in 1807; and, at the time of his accession to the
principalship, he was a practicing physician in Al-
bany. He combined extensive erudition with a
rare faculty as an educator. His especial delight
was in chemical, geological and meteorological
studies, and he organized courses of lectures on
chemistry which were largely attended by citizens
as well as students. He and his brother, John B. ,
published the work on " Medical Jurisprudence,"
which has ever since been a standard authority, and
is still referred to, notwithstanding the great ad-
vance in science during the generation that has
passed since its publication. He also took great
interest in the State Library, and contributed largely
by his efforts in building it up to its present stage
of usefulness. Another brother, Lewis C. Beck, was
for a time Professor of Chemistry, and author of a
text-book of that science, and of several other works.
But it was reserved for Joseph Henry, LL. D. , Pro-
fessor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy from
1826 to 1832, to make within the historic walls a
discovery of more profound significance and far-
reaching results than almost any other — that of the
possibility of conducting the electric curent through
long distances, and transmitting signals which
could be understood by a mere touch of the key at
the other, perhaps distant, end of a wire. In 1830,
and subsequent years, he coiled in an upper room
of the Academy a mile or more of wire, and for the
first time transmitted through it those electric sig-
nals which have since become so well known
wherever the electric telegraph extends; and where
does it not .? Professor Henry afterwards organized
the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.
Rev. Peter Bullions, D. D., was Professor of Latin
and Greek from 1824 to 1848. He published a
series of Latin and Greek te.xt-books which were
extensively used, and have passed through numerous
editions, being still preferred by many educators to
any other. His style is clear and simple, and eas)'
to grasp and remember. He adopted the continental
system of pronouncing Latin.
In 1823, and for several years subsequently, four
boys each year were promoted from the Lancas-
terian school and educated in the Academy.
Since 1836, when H. W. Delavan died, and left
by will $2,000 to the Academy, the income of this
sum has been used to educate five poor boys from
year to year, no one receiving the benefit of the
fund for a longer period than two years. The in-
come now suffices only to educate one or two boys.
Some of the most brilliant of the Academy Alumni
have been beneficiaries of this fund.
The medal system too, dates from the Beck
regime. In 1831, William Caldwell gave $100,
the income of which was to be devoted each year
to the purchase of a medal for the student of four
years' standing who has made the greatest profi-
ciency in mathematics. The first recipient was
William Austin. In 1832, the record says " no
public examination in consequence of the preva-
lence of the cholera. " We thus learn that the origi-
nal design was to determine the question of pro-
ficiency by examination; but this method had fallen
into disuse at the time the writer first became an
academician, in 1854, and the four medals that
were thereafter distributed were given without
any explanation of the' method, and were gen-
erally supposed to be awarded in conformity
with the notion of the Principal, except the Beck
medal for literary essay, which was awarded by a
committee. The original method of examination
has now been restored, and the number and variety
of awards at the annual exercises is bewilderingly
great. Competition for the earlier medals was
limited to students who had been for three or four
years in attendance, and as students used to publish
burlesque programmes, this was spoken of in these
burlesques as a distribution of medals for long at-
tendance.
From the time of the first occupancy ot the
Academy building, the Albany Institute has had
a room there, where meetings are held twice a
month, and the Institute library is kept.
The later Principals have been Rev. William H.
Campbell, 1848-51; George H. Cook, A. M,
1851-53; Rev. William A. Miller, A. M., 1853-
56; David Murray, Ph.D., LL.D., 1856-63; James
W. Mason, A. M., 1863-68; Rev. Abel Wood,
1869-70; Merrill E. Gates, Ph. D. , LL. D. , 1870-82.
In 1856, the merit roll system of marks and
grading was adopted, and has continued ever since.
For a long time prior to 1858, the records show
no graduating class, and but very rarely a diploma
conferred. In that year a class of six was gradu-
SCHOOLS AND OTtiJEk LlfEkAkV INSTITUTIONS.
085
ated, and from that time on, graduating classes
have been the order of the Academy. This first
class, given in the order of the catalogue, which is
a transcript from the merit roll, consisted of Wirt-
iam H. Hale, Charles E. Smith, Edward S. Lawson,
Thomas M. Gaffney, Thaddeus R. White, and
Thomas S. Willes.
In the spring of 1862, the Academy was con-
verted into a military school, with cadet uniform
and drill.
A semi-centennial celebration was held at
Tweddie Hall, June 26, 1863, which was presided
over by Peter Gansevoort, for fifty-one years a
Trustee, and for twenty-one years President of the
Board of Truste.es. Prayer was offered by Rev.
Dr. Isaac Ferris, Chancellor of the University of
New York, formerly a Tutor in the Academy. Valu-
able historical addresses were made by Orlando
Meads, Esq., and Alexander W. Bradford, LL. D.,
both former students. A commemorative volume
was also published, containing a list of all former
students, believed to be complete, except for the
years 1839-47, in which there is some confusion
of the records.
The Academy was formerly inclosed by a high
iron fence, which has within a few years been re-
moved, and the Park neatly laid out in conformity
with the modern ideas of landscape gardening.
Many historic associations cluster around this
Park. It was here, in August, 1856, under the
auspices of the American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, that the Dudley Observatory
was dedicated, with the immortal address by Ed-
ward Everett. Here, too, in 1864, was held the
Sanitaiy Fair for the benefit of the Union army.
Between six and seven thousand students have at
one time or another been enrolled on the lists of
the Academy. Its instructors have numbered over
one hundred and thirty, not counting repeated
names. Many, both teachers and pupils, have be-
come eminent.
From the original complement of two, the
Faculty has increased in number to fourteen,
under the direction of James M. Cassety, Ph.D.,
the present Principal, who entered into the office
in 1882. The number of students on the catalogue
of 1884 was 322, said to be the largest attendance
in the history of the institution.
A notable circumstance is the drafts which
Rutgers College has made upon the Principals,
she having called Campbell and Gates to the pres-
idency, and Cook and Murray to professorships.
Principals Beck and Murray have been Secre-
taries to the Regents of the University of the State
of New York, and Presidents of the Albany Insti-
tute.
The hours of instruction have always been, as
now, from nine o'clock until two.
There were no literary societies until September
28, 1849, when Principal Campbell called a meet-
ing of some of the older boys, and a few who had
but recently left the Academy, and suggested to
them the desirability of organizing a society. The
students thus assembled, thirty-two in number,
formed the Alpha Sigma society, taking their name
from the Greek letters which form the initials of the
words Anthropoi Sophoi, wise people. This societ)'
is said, however, to have had some other motto
wiih the same initials. Possibly as the lads matured
they concluded to adopt the better Greek oi Andres
Sophoi, wise men. The first president was John
T. McKnight; one of the presidents subsequently
was John E. McElroy. To this society was
entrusted the management of the Academy's semi-
centennial. Very few new members were ever
elected, and the membership dwindled to about
sixteen in 1871, when the last meeting of which
there is any record was held on December 26th,
and William Headlam was elected president.
Since these lines were written, on January 8, 1885,
the society reconvened.
The Phi Mu Alpha (Phren Melron Andi'os) was
founded November 26, 1851, and its first meeting
held December 5th of the same year. Its first presi-
dent was J. Campbell Boyd. The last meeting re-
corded was held in March, 1855, and the last
president was William Lansing. In those daj's,
the society's desk, with the Greek letters inscribed
on it, stood in the school-room, and proved a per-
plexing mystery to the boys who were not initiated.
The Delia Sigma Gamma (Devwkratikos Sullogos
Grammatos) originated about 1853 or '854, and
continued to meet regularly till about i860.
The longest lived society in connection with the
Academy was organized December 11, 1857, and
continues to the present day. As a name for it, Nit
Lambda Epsilon {Neanion Logike Ekklesid), Youth's
Debating Society, was adopted. A few years later
this was changed to the Beck Literary Society, and
the days of the Greek letter societies were numbered.
The first president was William H. Fassett, another
name which has become celebrated by the renown
of the lady whom he afterwards married, who ac-
quired great celebrity as a contralto singer. This
society was developed out of a prior organization
called the Young American Assembly, which used to
co-operate with the Young American Senate till the
latter broke up and left the Assembly to become a
literary instead of a political union. Among the
leading members of the Young American Senate
should be named its first president, Charles E.
Smith, who there learned the elements of that
political skill which in later life made him the
framer of numerous political platforms at the Con-
ventions of the Republican party.
The Nii Lambda Epsilon, or Beck Literary So-
ciety, was the only society in the Academy for
nearly a quarter of a century — not reckoning the
Alpha Sig?>ia,-whose members were no longer school-
bo3's — till the Gates Literary Society was foundetl
September 24, 1883, with Edmund C. Knicker-
bocker as first president, and it now divides with
the elder organization the honors of the Academ}'.
ALBANY FEMALE ACADEMY.
A school for the higher education of Albanj-
girls was started in this city, mainly through the
efforts of Ebenezer Foot, a prominent lawyer of
his day. It was opened on May 21, 18 14, in
686
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
a one-story building on Montgomery street, and
known as Union School. It was incorporated,
under the title of the Albany Female Academy,
Female Academy. .
February i6, 182 1. The first Board of Trus-
tees were James Kent, John Chester, Joseph
Russell, John V. Henry, Asa H. Center, Gideon
Hawley, William Fowler, Teunis Van Vechten
and Peter Boyd, who in the same year built a
school building, in the rear of the Delavan House,
at a cost of $3,000, capable of accommodating 120
pupils. The growth of the institution more than
met the expectation of its early friends. In 1833,
the school building was again outgrown by the
increasing number of its pupils, when the present
edifice on North Pearl street was begun. It was fin-
ished in 1834 at a cost of $30,000, and opened May
12, 1834. Itsarchitecture was planned by Jonathan
Lyman, and was pleasing in effect and well adapt-
ed to its uses, "i'he front faces the east, and is
ornamented with a beautiful hexa-style portico of
the Ionic order. The proportions of the columns,
capitals, bases and entablature are taken from the
temple on the Ilissus, the most beautiful example
of the Ionic among the remains of antiquity.
The first principal was Horace Goodrich, who was
succeeded by Edwin James, and then, in 1815, by
Lebbeus Booth, who remained until 1824, when
Frederick Matthews came in charge. Alonzo
Crittenden succeeded Mr. Matthews in 1826, and
remained as principal until 1845, during which
period the success of the Academy was remarkable.
He was a pioneer in advanced female education in
America. L. Sprague Parsons was Mr. Critten-
den's successor, remaining at the head of the school
until his resignation in 1854, when he was suc-
ceeded by Eben S. Stearns, who resigned in 1868.
Miss Caroline G. Greeley became, for a brief term,
his successor. Miss Louisa Ostrom soon after be-
came principal, and remained as such until 1879,
since which time, with a short intermission, it has
been under the management of Miss Lucy A.
Plympton, who has advanced its high character.
The Academy is now in a flourishing condition.
The corps of professors and teachers is full and
efficient. The course of study extends from the
kindergarten through a post-graduate course, in-
clusive of elocution, music, drawing and painting.
It is the oldest institution in the world devoted ex-
clusively to the higher education of women. The
Presidents of the Board of Trustees have been
James Kent, John Chester, Isaac Ferris, Greene C.
Bronson, John Ludlow, John W. Campbell, Will-
iam L. Marcy, Amasa J. Parker, and William L.
Learned. Miss Lucy A. Plympton, the present
judicious and energetic principal since 1879, is a
native of Massachusetts and a graduate of a leading
female college in New Hampshire.
CONVENT AND ACADEMY OF THE SA-
CRED HEART.
The Right Rev. John McCloskey, Bishop of Al-
bany, desirous of procuring the advantages of high-
er education for the Catholic young ladies of his
diocese, made application for religieuse, in 1853, 'o
the Mother House of the Ladies of the Sacred
Heart, at Paris, France. These religieuse had a
high reputation for learning and refined culture.
His request was granted, and the Rev. Mother
Hardy, the Provincial for the United States, by
the direction of the Mother-General, sent Mothers
Jennings and Dunn, with several companions, from
the convent at Manhattanville to found an Acad-
emy and School at Albany.
Upon their arrival in the city, they opened a
boarding and day school in the Westerlo Mansion
at No. 4 1 North Pearl street. The pupils increased
so rapidly that it was found necessary to provide
more ample accommodation for them; and, for
this purpose, the extensive and beautiful grounds
of Thomas Hillhouse, on the Troy road, were pur-
chased.
The building was altered and fitted up for an
academy, and the pupils and the religieuse took
possession of their new home.
In 1858, the magnificent residence of Joel Rath-
bone, situated on the Bethlehem Turnpike, near
the village of Kenwood, was offered for sale.
The house, which had been lately erected, was
elegant and commodious, and attached to it were
forty acres of land, laid out in gardens, groves and
flower-beds.
The Ladies of the Sacred Heart, deeming the
site very desirable for an academy, on account of
its situation, commanding, as it does, for several
miles a charming landscape of the Hudson and
its valley, by the permission of Bishop McCloskey,
requested the Very Rev. J. J. Conroy and Mr.
John Tracey to purchase it for them.
The purchase was accordingly made for the sum
of $45,000.
The property on the Troy road was sold, and
the academy and school were removed to Ken-
wood.
The house of Mr. Rathbone, though large, soon
became inadequate for the daily increasing num-
ber of applicants for admission to the academy.
In 1 8 36, a large building was erected, affording
accommodation for about two hundred pupils.
On account of the retired and quiet situation of
the convent at Kenwood, Rev. Mother Hardy con-
sidered it particularly adapted to the training and
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
687
fonnation of novices and young religieuses. She
therefore resolved to remove the novitiate from
Manhattanville to Albany.
The original dwelling of Mr. Rathbone was
taken down, and the materials incorporated into a
large wing to serve as the novitiate and training
academy for those young ladies who wished to
consecrate themselves to God as religieuses of the
Sacred Heart.
There are usually in this building about fifty
novices.
To provide chapel room for the sisters and pu-
pils, Mother Hardy erected a large and beautiful
chapel. It is situated in the center of the building
between the academy and novitiate. It is of Goth-
ic architecture, and the interior is elegantly carved
and decorated. There are three beautiful marble
altars, the gifts of friends to the academy.
The convent is situated on the brow of a hill, and
presents a river front of three hundred and ten feet.
It is heated by steam and has all the modern im-
provements for cooking, laundry purposes, etc.
The convent and the grounds around it are laid
out with great taste. The buildings are estimated
to have cost over $200,000.
On the grounds, at some distance from the acad-
emy, is a large and commodious school-house,
in which one hundred and sixty children receive a
gratuitous education in all branches usually taught
in the common schools.
In the academy the young lady pupils are in-
structed in all branches of higher and refined mod-
ern education.
Numbered among its Superiors are the Rev.
Mothers Hardy, Jones, Thompson, Peacock, Hen-
ratty, Dunn, Fowler, Hogan and O'Rorke.
For several years the Ladies of the Sacred Heart
conducted a day school in the city. Their first
day academy was opened corner of Broadway
and Wilson street. They afterwards removed
to 766 Broadway, and in 1868 purchased the
mansion of the late Thurlow Weed, on Beaver
street. They had a daily attendance of one hun-
dred scholars.
In 1 87 1, to the great regret of the Catholics of
Albany, their day school was closed, and was
merged into the academy at Kenwood.
ST. AGNES' SCHOOL.
This school was founded in 1870 by the Right
Rev. William Croswell Doane, Bishop of Albany,
for the education of Christian women. The Corn-
ing Foundation for Christian Work was incorpo-
rated March 14, 1871; the ground for the building
erected on this foundation was broken May 8th,
ST. AGNES' SCHOOL
and the corner-stone laid )une 19, 1871. It was
modeled after St Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J.
The school was opened Hallowe'en, 1872.
The financial basis of this worthy institution was
laid by the Hon Erastus Corning, Sr. In all its
appointments this worthy institution is success-
fully carrying out its noble purpose, the training
of our girls into the learning and character de-
manded in an intelligent. Christian womanhood in
this age. Its situation is admirable; its guardian-
ship and teaching judicious. The building accom-
modates no with board and lodging; its gradu-
ates number over 225; its annual attendance is
about 200 pupils. Its trustees are Rt. Rev. Bishop
William C. Doane, S.T. D., LL. D., Erastus Corn-
ing, Walter A. Wood, Thomas Hun, James G.
Averill, Selden E. Marvin, Amos R Palmer, Abra-
ham Van Vechten and Erastus Corning, Jr.
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' ACADEMY,
132 State street, was founded in 1864, and incor-
porated by the University Regents of New York,
August 3, 1869. The object of the institution
is to train young men for business or college life.
Besides the ordinary training, it off"ers a purely
moral and religious education to its students.
Though attended mainly by Catholics, yet no ob-
688
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
jection is made to the reception of students of other
denominations, who are, however, obliged to as-
sist at the rehgious instructions given.
The course of studies in the academic depart-
ment embraces rhetoric, essay-writing, literature,
debate, extempore speaking, oratory, algebra,
geometry, trigonometry, surveying, navigation, cal-
culus, Latin, German or French, architectural and
ornamental design, and the duties of a Christian.
The commercial course, specially adapted to
prepare young men for mercantile pursuits, em-
braces arithmetic, penmanship, reading, grammar,
composition, phonography, book-keeping, German
and plan-drawing.
Many of its former students at present rank
high in the ecclesiastical and legal professions,
both in this city and elsewhere.
The staff consists of six members of the order of
Christian Brothers, and several secular professors.
ALBANY BUSINESS COLLEGE
is located at 51 and 53 North Pearl street, Car-
nell & Carhart, proprietors. C. E. Carhart, Pres-
ident, J. R. Carnell, Business Manager. Fac-
ulty, C. E. Carhart, J. R. Carnell, E. G. Folsom,
B. H. Spencer, C. H. Gorsline, B. S. Hoit, O.
Hazelton.
This institution is devoted to the practical educa-
tion of young men and women, and was establish-
ed by Bryant & Stratton, January i, 1857, as one
of their system of business colleges then and
now located in every important city in the Union.
No change of location has occurred in the his-
tory of the college, and but few in its management.
Prof E. G. Folsom, who may be said to be the
father of the present system of business colleges,
after several years' experience in teaching book-
keeping and penmanship at Cleveland, Ohio, came
to Albany in 1862, where he remained as an
earnest and successful commercial teacher until
1884. He was the first to introduce commercial
law in the curriculum of business studies; the first
to add political economy and business ethics;
among the first, if not the first, to introduce the
modern system of actual practice into the course
of instruction. As an author, Mr. Folsom is wide-
ly known. His "Logic of Accounts " is a work
of recognized merit among business educators.
Mr. Folsom was born May i, 182 1, in Ashtabula
County, Ohio, and graduated from Oberlin College
in 1847. Bryant and Stratton were Prof Folsom's
pupils in his Mercantile College at Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Folsom was associated as proprietor, with
Bryant & Stratton until 1866, and from 1878 to
1884 with C. E. Carhart, at which time he dis-
posed of his interest to J. R. Carnell, who was, for
ten years, proprietor of the Troy Business College,
the two gentlemen last mentioned being now the
college proprietors.
During the twenty- nine years of its existence,
the Albany Business College has had upon its rolls
the names of some five thousand pupils; and to-
day its representatives may be found in every line
of honorable occupation. The branches taught
embrace book-keeping by single and double entry,
arithmetic, penmanship, correspondence, bus-
iness practice, spelling, reading, grammar, ste-
nography, type-writing, telegraphy and commer-
cial law. Mr. Carhart's text-book on "Business
Law " has long been recognized as a standard work
on that subject.
The annual attendance at the day and evening
sessions of the college now averages three hundred
pupils.
CHAUTAUQUA LITERARY AND SCIEN-
TIFIC CIRCLE.
There is a branch of the Chautauqua Lite-
rary and Scientific Circle in Albany, formed in
1880 by Mrs. J. B. Jump, and Misses Gussie
Lord, Anna K. Staats, Ada Viele and Eva Ken-
nedy. During the first year, and since, lectures
have been given by Rev. Dr. J. H. Vincent, the
founder of the institution, and others. Regular
meetings are held at which literary subjects are
discussed. It now numbers about seventy-five
members. Its exercises are of great literary ad-
vantage to its members. It includes a course of
study, which contemplates a graduating diploma
when completed.
INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
The Industrial School, on Beaver street, near Dan-
iel, is under the care of the Children's Friend Soci-
ety, which was organized in 1856, and incorporated
April 7, 1863. The managers seek to gather into
the school, vagrant children who, from poverty or
vice of parents, are unable to attend the public
schools, and to instruct them in morals, industry
and the elements of learning. Girls are received
between the ages of four and fifteen; boys, four
to fourteen. The school is supported by individual
and church contributions and sales of articles.
Number of scholars, 160. The new building
cost, including ground, $15,500; was completed
and dedicated in the spring of 1884; and is free
from debt.
NEW YORK STATE LIBRARY.
The New York State Library was founded by
act of the Legislature, passed April 21, 18 18.
The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Chancellor,
and Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court for the
time being, were constituted a Board of Trustees,
who were directed to cause to be fitted up some
proper room in the Capitol, for the purpose of
keeping therein a public library for the use of the
government and the people of the State. The
Trustees of this period had mainly in view the col-
lection of an extensive library of law books, and a
great proportion of the appropriations were ex-
pended for this department. The Legislature, how-
ever, needed for consultation works on political
economy, and books on such other subjects that
touched upon their legislative labor, and thus the
field for collection was- gradually enlarged. For
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
689
thirty years the library continued under the con-
trol of the officers above mentioned as Trustees (to
whom, in 1824, were added the Secretary of State,
Attorney-General, and Comptroller), and its mag-
nitude and importance then made it necessary that
a more permanent Board of Trustees should be in-
trusted with Its management. Accordingly, on the
4th of May, 1844, the Legislature enacted that the
Regents of the University should be the Trustees
of this library. Upon assuming this trust they
caused an inventory of the library to be taken, and
its whole arrangement was reconstructed. One
result of the inventory was the discovery that three
hundred and eleven volumes were missing, some
of which, however, were recovered by advertising.
It was determined to be important to secure for
the State every historical work illustrating Ameri-
can history, and especially the history of New
York. The growth of the library has been a steady
one, depending on a moderate annual appropria-
tion, which has heen increased some years for the
special purpose of large collections. Among such
notably was the Warden collection in 1843, made
by David B. Warden in Europe, numbering over
two thousand volumes relating to American history.
In 1853, the Legislature authorized the purchase
of the correspondence and other papers of George
Clinton, the first Governor of the State. These
manuscripts are of the highest importance, cover-
ing the period of the Revolutionary War, and
illustrating the part taken b}' New York in the
struggle for independence. They have been bound
in twenty-three folio volumes, and a calendar since
added. A copious index to all names mentioned
in these papers is now in preparation. Enough of
other Clinton manuscripts have since been pro-
cured to fill ten similar volumes. The papers
found on the person of Major Andre by his captors
atTarrytown, were among the Clinton manuscripts,
and have been framed and put under glass. The
papers of Sir William Johnson, covering a period
of the history of Central New York from 1738 to
1 774, were also purchased and arranged, and bound
in twenty-two folio volumes.
In 1854 the library was removed to a new build-
ing, west of the old Capitol, constructed by the
direction of the Legislature of 185 1. It was in-
tended to be fire-proof, and was so considered be-
fore the great fires of Chicago and Boston. It was
intended to accommodate 100,000 volumes; it
had, before the removal to the new Capitol, packed
and padded on the shelves, over 125,000 volumes,
besides scores of volumes of atlases and thousands
of dupHcate books for exchange. The duplicate
volumes are chiefly the reports of the several de-
partments of the State Government and Institutions,
and books presented to the library from time to
time by various persons. In order to make room
for preparing the approach to the new Capitol on
the east, it was decided to take down the building.
The library was removed during the months of
September and October, 1883, to the new Capitol,
the law library occupying the well-known golden
corridor and the general library the adjoining room,
formerly prepared for the Court of Appeals. This
is inadequate to afford shelf-room for all the books,
but nearly all are accessible to the public. Ample
rooms are in process of preparation on the third
floor of the west side of the Capitol.
The library of to-day represents the best thoughts
of the human mind and the record of human ac-
tion for the last six thousand years. While every
department of letters is represented on the shelves,
yet the library is by far the richest in works relating
to American history. Hundreds of books have been
printed in this country in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, of the editions of which not
twenty copies remain undestroyed. Quiet, unre-
mitting watchfulness and care for the past thirty
years have succeeded in gathering in most of these
publications, so that few libraries on this continent
are richer in early Americana. The library does
not seek literary curiosities as such; but when a
book is offered which is needed to complete the
set of laws, or illustrate the history of the State, it
is obtained, as when, in the spring of 1880, f 1,600
was paid at auction for the first book of the laws of
the State, of which but two or three perfect copies
are known to be in existence. The library con-
tains, in addition to these rare or almost unique
volumes, many illustrated volumes of travels, of
natural history, and of ancient and modern art.
Among these are " Kingsborough's Mexican Antiq-
uities," the text of which is mainly in the Spanish
and Italian languages; the great work on Egypt,
in twelve folio volumes, executed under orders of
Napoleon I; "Audubon's Birds of America," in
four volumes, elephant folio; and twenty volumes
illustrating the humming birds of Central and South
America. The leading journals of France and
England are represented in almost complete files
of the Moniteiir and London Times. Sixty thou-
sand pamphlets have been preserved, to illustrate
ever3'phaseof human industry, eccentricity, passion,
patriotism, stupidity, or genius. The collection
of American genealogies is, perhaps, unsurpassed
by any other country. About three thousand vol-
umes of specifications and drawings of English
patents are stored on the shelves, besides those of
the United States, Canada, France, and Victoria.
Hardly a library day in the year passes that one or
more readers do not ask to consult some of these
patent volumes. The law library has but one equal
in the extent and value of its collections in this
country, and that is the Library of Congress at
Washington. Every book and pamphlet in the
library is catalogued under the author's name, in
alphabetical order, and in addition to this cata-
logue is a subject-index, in which, under subjects
presented in alphabetical order, are given the treat-
ises, in book or pamphlet form, upon that subject.
In addition to the books, other articles of value
and interest have drifted in as to a safe place of de-
posit for the inspection of visitors. Among these are
a sword and pistol and the surveying instruments of
Washington; busts of some of the eminent states-
men of New York; portraits in oil of many of the
Governors, and of the Regents of the University,
and a numismatic collection of considerable value.
It is a reference library, and only members of the
690
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Legislature, heads of departments of the State
government, and the Trustees of the hbrary have
the privilege of taking books to their residences.
There is hardly a field of human industry that is
not represented in applicants for information to
assist them in their several spheres of labor in
office, workshop, or outdoor occupation.
The library is open daily from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m.,
except Sundays and holidays, and from the 5 th to
the 20th of August
The new rooms now being prepared for the
library consist of one large reading-room and sev-
eral smaller store-rooms for the books, from which
the attendants in charge will bring the volumes
required by readers. The stairway leading to the
library will be the most magnificent one in the
Capitol.
ALBANY INSTITUTE.
The Society of the Albany Institute dates back
through other organizations, of which it is the
legitimate successor, to the year 1791. Its charter was
granted February 27, 1829, the Society for the Pro-
motion of Useful Arts and the Albany Lyceum of
Natural History having consolidated under that
name. Its membership has included many per-
sons of distinction as scholars and in professional
and civil life. Its standard publications are ten
volumes of Transactions, two of Proceedings, and
one entitled " Field Meetings of the Albany Insti-
tute." The annual fee for resident members is $5.
There are now about two hundred members.
Meetings are held each alternate Tuesday evening,
from October to June, in the Albany Academy.
The library contains about six thousand volumes,
and many old newspapers, including a collection
made by De Witt Clinton; but, owing to lack of
proper accommodations, it is not easily accessible;
hence, not very useful. The institution is respect-
able, and has been very useful; but it needs
among its members more vitalizing influences, and
ought to command more popular sympathy.
YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION.
The Young Men's Association, rooms comer of
North Pearl and Steuben streets, is the oldest in-
stitution of its character in the United States. It
was founded, with a membership of about 750, De-
cember 10, 1833. Amos Dean was its first President,
elected December 13th, and re-elected at first annual
meeting, February 3, 1834. It was incorporated
March 12, 1835, for the purpose of establishing
and maintaining a library, reading-room, literary
and scientific lectures, and other means of promot-
ing moral and intellectual improvement For
twenty-two years it sustained a debating society. It
occupied rooms in Knickerbocker Hall, on Broad-
way, where Nos. 451 and 453 now are, until 1840;
in Exchange Building, where the new Government
Building now stands, until 1852; in the Commer-
cial Bank Building until 1870; in Music Hall
Building until 1877, when it came to its present
rooms, having leased the Bleecker Building, on
North Pearl, Steuben and Chapel streets, for ten
years, with right to re-lease for ten years longer. It
has some valuable pictures, a good variety of cur-
rent magazines and newspapers, and a well-selected
circulating and reference library of about seventeen
thousand volumes. Its largest benefactions have
been f 1,000 in books from Dr. George Cooke;
$10,000 in a bequest from Hon. Erastus Coming;
and $1,000 from Miss Catherine Quackenbush.
All real estate and vested funds are under manage-
ment of a board of trustees. The ordinary aflairs
are managed by a board of managers, eighteen in
number. Life members, of which there are over
one hundred and eighty living, pay $50 at one
time. Annual members, male and female, pay
$2. The Association deserves, as it has, the strong-
est claims upon the sympathy and support of the
best men and women of Albany. A catalogue of
two hundred and ninety pages, prepared by Profes-
sor Jonathan Tenney,was published in 1880, and a
supplement of forty-two pages in 1882. Annual
election occurs fourth Thursday in March. Mem-
bership about 2,000.
Presidents of the Association from its organiza-
tion to the present: Amos Dean, Robert E. Ward,
Charles A. Hopkins, John Davis, Robert H.
Pruyn, Denison Worthington, William E. Bleecker,
Charles P. Smyth, Walter R. Bush, Arthur C.
Southwick, Rufus King, Charles H. Stanton,
Franklin Townsend, William A. Rice, Hooper C.
Van Vorst, George B. Steele, William Dey Ermand,
Rufus G. Beardslee, James I. Johnson, Theodore
Townsend, Gilbert L. Wilson, George C. Lee,
Ralph P. Lathrop, Richard Merrifield, Clinton
Cassidy, Charles T. Shepard, Robert L. Johnson,
Charles P. Easton, Edmund L. Judson, John T.
McKnight, John Templeton, Samuel Hand, Frank-
lin Edson, William D. Morange, Edward De
Forest, Frank Chamberlain, Robert Lenox Banks,
Granville Tremain, John S. Delevan, Frederick T.
Martin, John Swinburne, Henry C. Littlefield,
Charles A. Robertson, Amasa J. Parker, Jr. , Fred.
W. Brown, Jacob S. Mosher, Thurlow Weed
Barnes, John M. Bigelow, William P. Rudd,
George E. Oliver, Fred'k Harris, Oren E. Wilson,
Eugene Burlingame, Isaac D. F. Lansing. The
successive librarians of the association are as fol-
lows : Robert Gray, Abraham F. Lansing, William
C. Minor, Abraham F. Lansing, Joseph F. Winne,
Dwight Adams, Jonathan Tenney, Cornelius H.
Chase, Joshua E. Crane. It is the only popular
library in the city and, by its lectures, books and
periodicals, has been a great blessing to the citi-
zens. In 1883 it celebrated its semi-centennial.
DANA NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.
This ranks among the leading literary societies
of Albany. It was organized November 19, 1868,
at a meeting of ladies, and named in honor of
Professor James D. Dana, of Yale College. Its act-
ive members are all ladies of scientific tastes and
culture, who meet statedly for the study of nature,
and are engaged in collecting a library and cabinet
to aid in this study. At its meetings papers are
read, recent scientific facts reported and principles
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
691
discussed. Public lectures are given occasionally
by scientists, and classes in botany, geology and
other special topics in science are formed. Field
meetings in the country are usually held in late
spring and early autumn, oftentimes in connection
with the Albany Institute and Troy Scientific As-
sociation.
The number of members is not far from one
hundred, including honorary members, among
whom are Professors Dana, Hall, Peck, Lintner,
Tenney, Ward, Boss, Perkins, Bradley, Prescott
and other scientific gentlemen. Its Presidents
have been Miss Lottie Titcomb, 1868 ; Mrs. David
A. Thompson, 1869 ; Mrs. William Barnes,
1870-71 ; Mrs. Daniel J. Pratt, 1871-72 ; Mrs.
Arthur Bott, 1873-74 ; Mrs. John E. Bradley,
1874-75 ; Mrs. Jonathan Tenney, 1875-82 ; Mrs.
Robert D. Williams, 1882-85; Mrs Ira B. Samp-
son, 1885-86. Annual meeting last Tuesday in
November. It is a growing and useful institution,
reflecting great credit upon its members and
officers.
THE DICKENS CLUB
is the outgrowth of the Flower Mission of the Con-
gregational Church, and its membership is confined
to ladies who attend that church or its Sabbath-
school. It originated in 1875, and has held stated
meetings ever since for the study and rendition
of English authors, beginning with Dickens. It
has given several successful public readings and
renderings of some of these authors in public. Its
Presidents have been Miss Josephine B. Sedam,
Mrs. J. E. Sherwood, Mrs. I. B. Sampson, Miss
Anna MacNaughten, Miss Annie Kingsbury, Miss
Harriet E. Ludington, and Mrs. J. M. Lawson.
JONATHAN TENNEY.
[Compiled chiefly from "Class Memorial" and "The Academician."]
Jonathan Tenney was born in Corinth, Orange
County, Vt., September 14, 1817, eldest son of
Jonathan and Lydia Owen (Crane) Tenney. His
father died in 1865, aged 69 years; his mother is
now living, in her 91st year.
Thomas Tenney, the common ancestor of the
Tenneys of this country, was an English Puritan,
from Yorkshire, England; a member of the Rev.
Ezekiel Rogers' colony of sixty families, which, in
1637, settled the "Rogers Plantation," now Row-
ley, Bradford, Georgetown and Merrimack, Mass.,
and vicinity. His descendants have always been
among the leading men of New England.
Hon. Samuel Tenney, his grandson, had twelve
children. He was a truly great and good man.
He was a member of the Colonial Assembly from
Bradford, Mass., in 1725, when, 50 years before the
Declaration of Independence, he was one of the 30
who voted against receiving the King's Charter, a
step more bold than that of the 56 signers of 1776.
Not a few of his numerous descendants inherit the
same spirit of daring to do right.
From his early boyhood, young Tenney had his
home with his parents on a farm, and was attending
public district schools. During these years, his
paternal home was chiefly in Bradford and New-
bury. In the Seminary in Newbury, under the
tuition of Rev. Charles Adams and Rev. Osmon C.
Baker, D. D., since a Bishop in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and in Bradford Academy, Vt,
Rev. Franklin Butler, Principal, he pursued his
studies preparatory to Dartmouth College, which he
entered in 1839, and from which he graduated in
1843-
In 1846, he received the degree of M. A., and
in 1 880, the honorary degree of Ph. D. from Dart-
mouth.
For the nine winters previous to his graduation,
he was a popular teacher in the district and village
schqols of his native State.
The following is abridged from a sketch of Dr.
Tenney prepared by Hon. Henry Barnard, late
Commissioner of the National Bureau of Education,
and published in the American Journal of Education.
* * * After graduating in 1843, he taught
the Academy in Hebron, N. H., but resigned in
order to establish a High School in Newbury, Vt,
which was saccessfully organized under his care.
He was then five years Principal of Pembroke
Academy, near Concord N. H., which attained
under his management a very high reputation and
popularity. Many of his pupils of this and other
schools graduated from college, and are found in
prominent positions all over the country. A portion
of his time was here devoted to the study of law;
but his success led him to adopt teaching as his pro-
fession. From this time he lost no opportunity to
extend his acquaintance with the best schools and
educators, their principles and methods. A desire
for wider experience, a spirit of independence and
progress, and an unwillingness to become settled
in any one routine of thought and action, have in-
duced a frequent change of position by voluntary
resignations, and have prompted the undertaking
of much collateral work.
In August, 1849, resigning his place in Pem-
broke, he became Master of the South Grammar
School in Lawrence, Mass. Being elected Prin-
cipal of the new Pittsfield High School, Mass.,
he entered upon this trust in November, 1850;
organized the school, and remained in its charge
until his resignation in March, 1853. The "His-
tory of Pittsfield," lately published, speaks of Mr.
Tenney, after an interval of thirty years, as the
first principal of the school and "a teacher of
very high ability.'' While there, he was actively
engaged in the educational work of the State, es-
pecially in Berkshire County. While in Dartmouth,
he attended lectures in the Medical College there;
and while in Pittsfield, he attended lectures in
the Berkshire Medical Institute, and gave much
spare time, then and since, to the study of medi-
cine, especially to make himself more useful as a
teacher.
Returning to New Hampshire, he was chosen
Principal of the Manchester High School in April,
1853, and held the place until he resigned in
November, 1854, to become Editor and Publisher
692
ttlSTORY OP THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
^^^-.^Q^y^
of the Stars and Stripes, which he conducted
with great success as an independent newspaper.
Its influence resulted in placing the Republican
party in power in the State. From 1855 to
1857, he was, at the same time, Chairman of
the School Committee of Manchester, Commis-
sioner of Schools for Hillsborough County, and
Secretary of the State Board of Education. His
reports in these several capacities were full,, able,
and models of their kind. During this time he
introduced various reforms in the city schools;
visited many schools of the State; conducted
Teachers' Institutes; and lectured upon and taught
various subjects in all parts of the State.
In 1854, he was the originator of the New Hamp-
shire State Teachers' Association, and was one of its
most active and practical workers and supporters.
He was elected its President in 1855 and 1856.
After January, 1862, he was the resident editor of the
New Havipshire Journal of Education. He prepared
a catalogue of the teachers and schools of Massa-
chusetts, with notes, the first that ever appeared in
any State. He has contributed largely to the edu-
cational and other statistics of the country. * * *
During the years 1855-57, he was occupied
chiefly in his duties as Chairman of the School
Committee of Manchester; in visiting the schools
of the thirty-one towns of Hillsborough Co. ; in
giving about seventy-five public addresses; in ar-
ranging and conducting his own County institutes;
in lecturing in those of the ten counties of the
State; in conducting correspondence as Secretary
of the Board of Education; and in preparing the
City, County and State School Reports. The work
demanded great industry, system and energy.
In 1856, the Trustees of Boscawen Academy.
New Hampshire, a school founded by Rev. Dr.
Samuel Wood, and Daniel and Ezekiel Webster,
having proposed to repair their buildings, lease the
same free of expense for twenty years, and sur-
render to him their trust, Mr. Tenney accepted the
propostion; opened his school in 1857, under the
name of Elmwood Literary Institute, and success-
fully sustained it through the next nine years of
financial depression and civil war.
During the War he was very active as an officer
of the State Union League, in forming Town
Leagues, over one of which he presided; in en-
couraging enlistments in the Union service; and
in furnishing aid to the soldiers. More than 100
of his pupils enlisted. The delicate duty of Enroll-
ing Officer of his district was entrusted to him.
While in Boscawen he was Superintendent of
the Schools of this good old town, the native place
of John A. Dix and William Pit Fessenden; and
also Commissioner of Schools for Merrimack
County.
In September, 1866, having sold his interest in
Boscawen six months previous, he purchased, in
Newton Center, Mass., and opened a family and
day school for girls, called Silver Lake Institute,
five miles from Boston, which he disposed of in
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LlTEkAAY iMTlfVTiONS.
693
July, 1868; went to Albany, N. Y., the health of his
family requiring the change. He had accepted, for
one year, the State agency of a New York Life In-
surance Company, with no idea of giving up his
work as an educator.
From October, 1869, to August, 1874, he was a
resident of Owego, Tioga County, N. Y., a part
of the time as Superintendent of the Village
Schools and Principal of the Owego Free Acad-
emy. The rest of the time he was an Institute
conductor.
In 1874, having been appointed Deputy Super-
intendent of Public Instruction for the State of
New York, he removed to Albany, where he has
ever since had his home at 484 Madison avenue,
opposite Washington Park. Two years later he was
made Librarian of the Young Men's Association,
the library of which was entirely re-formed, im-
proved and catalogued by him, so that it is now a
delightful and useful place of resort. In 1883,
after seven years service, he resigned this place to
enter upon the editorship of "New England in
Albany, " and the ' ' History of Albany County and
City"'
In civil affairs, besides being an officer in several
political organizations, he was Moderator of Town
Meetings, Coroner and State Justice of the Peace
and Quorum, and held other civil offices in New
Hampshire.
He is a Corresponding Member of the Vermont,
Wisconsin, and New Hampshire Historical So-
cieties; of New England Historic-Genealogical
Society, New York Genealogical Society, and other
literary and scientific associations.
He has lectured before academies and educa-
tional associations in New England and New
York. He has been an officer in Essex County,
Middlesex County, Berkshire County, and Massa-
chusetts State Teachers' Associations. In Man-
chester, Lawrence, Pittsfield and Owego, and in
every large town where he has taught, he has or-
ganized and helped sustain Teachers' Associations.
Out of the one in Manchester originated the New
Hampshire State Association, which was organized
at Concord in June, 1854, by a large Convention
called by him, incorporated the next July, and has,
ever since, been the most interesting and efficient
agency in the educational progress of that State,
through its annual meetings and publications. He
was its first Secretary, then its President, Director,
and Editor of its works, while he resided in that
State.
Besides Institute work in New Hampshire, he has
done the same work in Vermont, Massachusetts
and Maine. From 1867 to 1874, he was Con-
ductor of Institutes, with marked success, in many
of the Counties of New York, under appointments
from Superintendents Rice, Weaver and Ruggles.
In several of these counties he revived Teachers'
Association.s. In the work of education he has
always been earnest, faithful and practical; partic-
ularly zealous in his effisrts to elevate the teach-
ers by stimulating them to cultivate self-respect,
sound scholarship, character, and best methods of
teaching and government. School reports abound
in commendation of his labors, and he has a warm
place in the hearts of thousands who have enjoyed
his instruction.
Besides numerous contributions to newspapers,
magazines and educational publications, he has
written and edited "Septenary History of Dart-
mouth Class of 1843;" Reports on the Schools of
Manchester, N. H. ; Six Annual Reports on Schools
in Boscawen N. H. ; Tenth and Eleventh Annual
Reports of New Hampshire Board of Education;
"Watch Repairer's Hand-book," Boston, 1868;
"Class Memorial of Dartmouth Class of 1843," ^'
bany, 1869; Two Reports on Schools of Hills-
borough County, N. H. ; "Genealogical and Histor-
ical Memoirs of the Tenney Family;" "History of
Congregational Church, Owego, N. Y. ;" "New
England in Albany;" "History and Catalogue of
Young Men's Association,' Albany;" "History of
the County and City of Albany;" also numerous
catalogues, reports, papers and circulars on various
topics.
He married in Boston, Mass., March 20, 1852,
Harriette Ackland Bachelder, Preceptress of Pitts-
field High School. She died in Boscawen, N. H.,
September 13, 1864.
He married September ig, 1866, Ellen J. Le
Gros, of Great Falls, N. H., Associate Principal in
Elm wood Institute, Boscawen, N. H., in Rhode
Island Normal School; and in the Lincoln Young
Ladies' School, Providence, R. I. Mrs. Tenney
is a lady of rare gifts and accomplishments, and
held in high estimation for her works' sake by all
who know her. She is an excellent pianist and
organist. Quick perceptions, ready tact, common
sense, pure benevolence, delicate love of justice,
womanly modesty and great energy, are united in
her character in a wonderful degree.
His children are Calvin Pettengill, born Septem-
ber 2, 1853; Harriette Lydia, December 7, 1857;
Hermann Jonathan, March 29,1860; Ellen Celina,
June 30, 1864; Edgar Herbert Le Gros and Mary
Laura Adelaide, December 20, 1870; Edbert Le
Gros, March 14,1875; Laurence Harlow, June 28,
1878. Four of these are now living.
Prof Tenney was made a Mason in the Horace
Chase Lodge, No. 72, Penacook, N. H., and rep-
resented that Lodge several times in the Grand
Lodge of the State. He is now a Member of
Temple Lodge, No. 14, Albany.
Dr. Tenney is a man of quiet and retiring
habits. He is exeedingly fond of domestic life and
ardently devoted to his family. To him there
is no place like home. In his friendships he
is true and constant — intimate with fev/, but
courteous to all. He is a reader of character;
cordial and frank when approached by the whole-
souled and honorable; distant and reticent with
the artful and cold-hearted. Patient in details,
diligent and methodical in work, without vain
boasting and showy demonstration, he accom-
plishes more than he promises. His efficiency is
seen when results are reached. Deliberate, care-
ful and conscientious, his conclusions can be de-
pended upon. He unites in an unusual degree
an excellent memory and sound judgment.
694
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
While a good conversationist, showing, when
once engaged, a mind laden with valuable knowl-
edge, as a public speaker he is not of the off-hand,
flippant kind. He speaks only when he has some-
thing to say. His well-studied lectures abound in
brilliant thought, terse expression and pointed
logic. Says one "they are solid gold." His mind
is given to philosophy, but his action is exceed-
ingly practical. His literary style is didactic, and
his utterance direct and without attempt at orator-
ical display. As a scholar he is accurate and
sound, but never pedantic. He hates nothing
more than sham and affectation.
In religious faith he is a Congregationalist, hav-
ing for forty years been a member of that Church.
But no man is more liberal and charitable.
He has intimate friends among all creeds. He
holds that home is the most sacred place on earth,
and that the purest worship and noblest duty is to
be done there, not "to be seen of men." He has
been an active Sabbath School worker, holding for
many years the office of Superintendent and Bible
Class Teacher. He was licensed as a preacher, by
vote of the Susquehanna Congregational Associa-
tion, and was made Moderator of its meetings.
He has often been delegate to Congregational State
Associations and other religious bodies. He is a
Life Member of the American Home Missionary
Society and of the American Board of Commis-
sioners for Foi^ign Missions. In politics he was
first a Whig; then a Republican in the days of
Lincoln, Grant and Garfield. But he has little
confidence in the poliiics of partisan office-seekers
of any name. He prefers country to party, and
votes by his convictions of duty. He is a friend of
all good causes, and does what he can to promote
them, be they social, moral, benevolent, literary,
patriotic or religious.
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
In the article on "Education in Albany County,"
the state of schools and of learning, as there given,
includes the City of Albany. It is made evident
that very little attention was given to these matters
by the public, and that only the rich enjoyed the
benefits of such teaching as there was. And it may
be added, that, for many years after the Revolu-
tionary War, the rich even gave more attention to
making and hoarding wealth than to any learning,
except what could be turned into good business
account, and that the poor had no time or money
to give to the education of their children.
Judge Campbell tells us that Rev. Mr. Dunlop
had a school in Cherry Valley from 1 74.4 to the
Revolution, which was attended by boys from Al-
ban}'. He took them under his paternal care in
his own house, and it is said they often followed
him as he cultivated his fields, and recited their
lessons as he plowed, planted, hoed, and gathered
his crops. The Judge calls this the first Gram-
mar School in the State west of Albany.
Elkanah Watson, who came to Albany in 1788,
observes in his "Reminiscences" that the schools
were taught mostly in the English language.
As early as 1796, a movement was made by the
Common Council of Albany in relation to free
schools. During this year, an ordinance was passed
authorizing their establishment; but beyond this
passage of the law, nothing practical was done for
a long time afterwards.
It is recorded in the Gazette, November 26, 1804,
that in a school building erected by the contribu-
tions of the benevolent for the benefit of helpless
and neglected female children, were gathered a
school of twenty-three such children, under the
care of a discreet governess, who were daily in-
structed in reading, writing, and plain work, and
in the strict observance of every Christian and moral
duty.
In Munsell's Annals, we read, under date of
August, 1 8 ID : "As yet it is believed there were no
public schools in this city. The corporation had
under consideration the project of establishing a
free school on the plan of Joseph Lancaster."
Twelve years later, fifty schools of all grades, both
pubhc and private, are reported, including a Lan-
caster School, a Mechanics' Academy, the Boys'
Academy and the Female Academy.
In 1 8 13, we find the schools and teachers follow-
ing as having a local habitation and a name :
Widow Catherine Goheen, i Liberty; Widow Es-
ther Bedford, 119 Washington; Catherine Peck,
39 Hudson; Widow Martha Wilson, 39 Steuben;
Miss Brenton, 118 State; Catherine B. Thompson,
Young Ladies' School, 38 Colonic; Sarah Mc-
George, Young Ladies' Seminary, 66 Market; Mrs.
Smith, School, 13 Washington; John Nugent,
Young Ladies' Seminary, 81 Pearl; and the fol-
lowing male teachers: Thomas D. Huggins, 43
and 45 Pearl; John Keys, 57 Church; Joshua
Tinker, 16 Deer; George Upfold, 8 Van Tromp;
William Andruss, 19 Pearl; Robert O. K. Bennet,
67 Pearl; James W. Blacket, 70 Hudson; John
Brainard, 35 Chapel; Joseph Caldwell, 25 Steuben;
Thomas Ennis, 48 Beaver. History doesn't tell
us what they taught, or how they taught, or what
they were paid. We have only their names, but
these indicate that there was a demand for "school-
ing," which was soon outspoken in the Albany
Academy, the Female Academy, the Lancaster
School, and other noted schools, some of which
are having a green old age amongst us to-day. But
the time for tax-supported public schools had not
come to Albany in 18 13.
LANCASTER SCHOOL..
The nearest approach to a free school was made
in 18 1 2, when the Legislature passed a law incor-
porating the Albany Lancasterian School Society.
The trustees of this school were composed of thir-
teen citizens, among whom was Mayor Philip S.
Van Rensselaer, who was President of the Board.
The members of the Common Council were also
members of this society, ex officio. Any person
contributing $25 to its benefit was entitled to the
tuition of one child. Its first and only principal
was William A. Tweed Dale, a Scotchman and a dis-
ciple of Joseph Lancaster, England. Charles R.
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
695
Webster was one of the leaders in founding the
school. The school was first situated in the upper
part of the building of the Mechanics' Society on
the corner of Chapel and Columbia streets. In
1 815 the site now occupied by the Medical College
Lancaster School.
was purchased, and a school-house was erected
thereon at a cost of $24,000, and opened April 5,
1 81 7. It was capable of accommodating 500
pupils.
The income for the support of the school was
derived from various sources. The Corporation
made an allowance of $500 a year from the receipts
of the Excise Board. About the same amount was
appropriated from the school fund, and the tribute
received from scholars amounted to $400, aver-
aging $1 a piece yearly. All the expenses of the
school were paid out of this sum.
The Lancaster School was continued until
March 28, 1836, when it was closed by order of
the Common Council. At this time the number
of scholars in this school had greatly decreased,
and it was found that they might be accommodated
more cheaply in the common schools.
During the twenty-four years of the existence of
the Lancaster School, it was stated that 10,000
boys had been educated at that institution. In
Albany it paved the way for the present free-school
system. Mr. Dale, who so long and acceptably
held the position of preceptor, was a graduate of
Edinburgh University, a man of strong will, great
patience and persistence. His perfect control of
400 boys and girls gave evidence of his wonderful
tact and knowledge of child-life. Mr. Dale died
in 1856.
The Lancasterian system proposed the education
of the masses of the children by means of few
teachers and self-help. It made excellent readers
and spellers, and ingrained the first principles and
formulas of arithmetic so thoroughly that they
were never forgotten. When the Lancaster School
was discontinued, the school building passed into
the hands of the medical faculty, and has since,
with some alterations, been used as the Albany
Medical College.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
From 1830 to 1866, we can say little in com-
mendation of the system of the Public Schools of
Albany. The importance of the subject does not
seem to have been considered by the citizens. They
kept pace neither with the growth of the city nor
the demands of the times.
The first important step toward the Free School
system in Albany occurred April 17, 1830, when
an act of the Legislature was passed, providing
that a Board of School Commissioners and a Board
of School Inspectors should be elected annually
by the people — one Commissioner and one In-
spector from each ward. By this act the city was
divided into nine districts for common schools.
The Commissioners had power to appoint three
trustees for each school district. They appor-
tioned the money received from the State, to which
each district was entitled, on the basis of the num-
ber of scholars of school age, and they fixed the
rate of tuition so as not to exceed two dollars a
quarter for each scholar. Under this law the Su-
pervisors were directed to cause a sum of money
to be raised to be paid to the Chamberlain for the
support of the Common Schools in the City of Al-
bany. The schools east of Perry street were to be
kept nine months of the year, and those west of
Perry street four months, in order to receive this ap-
portionment of the public money. The Inspectors
examined teachers and gave them certificates of
qualification. The several Boards of Trustees at
this date were compelled to supply the want of
proper rooms or buildings for school purposes, for
which no provision had been made by the city au-
thorities. The school in the first district was kept
in a building which had formerly been a stable.
In the Ninth District, the cellar of the old Univer-
salist Church on Herkimer street was used; but
this school was soon removed to the basement of a
church in Westerlo street. District No. 8 was
held in the lecture-room of St. Peter's Church for
some years. Another school occupied the upper
part of the engine-house which stood back of
where Martin Hall now stands, on William street,
while the remaining schools occupied quarters
equally unsuitable and incommodious.
Such was the character of the public school
buildings until 1832, when the first building for
school purposes, with the exception of the Lan-
caster School, was erected by the Trustees of Dis-
trict No. 2, at a cost of $22,000. It was three-
stories high, and contained four large rooms for
school purposes, two large halls, and a room occu-
pied by an engine company. It was located at
218 State street. It was sold in 1884, when the
present school building, 29 Chestnut street, known
as No. 2, was erected, at a cost of $27,650.
In September, 1833, a petition, signed by many
citizens, was sent to the Common Council, asking
them to abolish the Lancaster School, and to
erect new buildings in the several districts. At
696
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
this time there were 6,277 children in the city of
school age, of which number 3,578 had been
taught by thirty-four teachers.
A new impulse was given to the cause of public
education in 1838 by the erection of eight new
school buildings. The unwise and narrow policy
of exacting school rates still prevailed throughout
the State, and proved a serious impediment to the
advance of general education. The children of
those who were too poor to pay tuition were called
charity scholars, and this degrading distinction
prevented many from attending the schools. The
right of free education was not recognized till
1862, when the odious system of school rates,
through the influence of Victor M. Rice, was abol-
ished.
The location and character of the school build-
ings erected in 1838 were as follows: School No.
I, 310 South Pearl, three-stories, cost $13,000,
312 seats; School No. 3, 7 Van Tromp street,
three-stories, cost $13,000, 200 seats, sold in 1882;
School No 4, 55 Union street, three-stories, cost
$11,000, 206 seats, sold in 1882; School No. 5,
172 North Pearl street, three-stories, cost $13,000,
296 seats, sold in 1882, when a new building, sub-
sequently referred to, was erected on the same
street, now known as No. 5; School No. 7, 56
Canal street, three-stories, cost $11,000, 300 seats;
School No. 8, 157 Madison avenue, three-stories,
cost $17,000, 338 seats; rebuilt in 1880, with eight
rooms, 448 seats, cost $25,000; School No. 9,
corner South Ferry and Dallius streets, three-sto-
ries, cost $12,000, 210 seats; School No. 10, 182
Washington avenue, three-stories, 312 seats; School
No. 18, formerly No. 6 Madison avenue, corner
of Western avenue, originally one-story, cost
$7,000; another added in 1870. The change in
the number of this school was caused by the pas-
sage of a law by the Legislature defining the city
limits for school purposes to be east of Perry
street. This school then passed out of the juris-
diction of the Board of Education and came under
the control of the Trustees west of Perry street,
when the school on Second street (Arbor Hill), in
1849, took the number which originally belonged
to No. 18.
In 1838, $119,000 were expended on school
buildings, while, with the school building erected
in 1832, accommodation was furnished to 2,783
pupils. But at this time there were at least 7,000
children of school age in the city, a greater part of
whom attended private or select schools. The
Public Schools remained in the same condition in
regard to capacity from 1838 to 1849, when the
school 105 Second avenue, now known as No. 6,
was erected.
In 1844, a law was passed creating the Board of
Education. Their powers were more restricted,
but otherwise similar to those now performed by
the Board of Public Instruction. The members
of this Board were elected by the people, and was
something of an improvement upon the old system
of Commissioners and Trustees.
In 1854, School No. 24, formerly No. 11, 417
Madison avenue, was erected. It was enlarged in
1868, and, on completion of the Grammar School
adjoining, the number was changed, the Grammar
School taking the old number, and No. 24 given
to the old building. It has 576 seats. In 1856,
School No. 12, corner of Washington avenue and
Robin street, was erected, at a cost of $50,000,
786 seats. At this time, when there were but thir-
teen Public Schools, there were seventy private
schools, besides the academies. During the school
year ending May i, 1856, 6,813 pupils were regis-
tered as attending the Public Schools, about double
the number for which there were proper accommo-
dations; 5, 292 attended private or select schools,
and 602 attended incorporated schools.
In the report of the Board of Education for 1857,
it was declared that the capacity of the Public
Schools was inadequate, and in the following few
years a great deal was done in the way of building.
School No. 16, known as 201 Hudson avenue, the
Wilberforce School for colored children, was opened
with acommodation for 143 pupils. In 1874, it
ceased to exist as a distinct colored school, the
colored children being received in all the schools.
It was sold in 1883. The several school buildings
erected in 1832 and 1838, from No. i to 10 in-
clusive, except No. 6, were overhauled by putting
on another story or adding buildings for recitation-
rooms, in the years 1856-58.
In 1858, the Common Council purchased the old
State Arsenal, corner of Broadway and Lawrence
street, for §10, 800, erected in 1799, and remodeled
it into a building suitable for school purposes for
594 pupils, at a cost of $73,000. It is known as
School No. 13.
School No. 14, 70 Trinity place, at a cost of
$41,000, was built in i860, being three-stories
high, and now capable of accommodating 928
pupils. It was not opened until 1861, and was
the last school building erected under the super-
vision of the old Board of Education. In 1861,
there were 1 54 schools with a registered attendance
of 8,395 pupils, almost double the real seating
capacity of the schools. Ninety-three teachers were
employed.
By an Act of the Legislature in 1866, the Board
of Education became known as the Board of Public
Instruction. When the new Board took posses-
sion of the City Schools under the new Act of
1866, the number of schools or capacity had in-
creased from 1861, but the number of teachers
had increased to 100. The estimated value of
school property was estimated at $187,000, and
the annual expense of maintaining the schools was
about $69,000. At this time (1866) there were
two academies in the city, 71 parochial and other
incorporated schools.
The establishment of the High School, the
natural outgrowth of the public school system, had
a corresponding beneficial effect upon the common
schools, and from 1868, it can be truly said the
Public Schools of Albany began a rapid growth,
and soon became adequate to the educational in-
terests of the city. A night school was first opened
December 2, 1867, in School No. 6 (Arbor Hill),
and has been continued in other schools with vary-
SCHOOLS AND OTHER LITERARY INSTITUTIONS.
697
ing success at different times. At present the city
does not support a night school.
School No. 15, corner of Herkimer and Frank-
hn streets, was erected in 1871, at a cost of
$92,000. It was the first school-house of modern
construction built on the "single school plan."
Here nineteen teachers are employed, with room
for 928 scholars.
School, formerly known as No. 19, located at
West Albany, came within the jurisdiction in 1870.
It accommodated 130 pupils. It was abandoned
in 1876, and in 1877 the School, 54 Canal street
(No. 19) was erected, to take its place, at a cost of
$5, coo, and consists of four rooms, with seating
capacity for 225 scholars.
Old School No. 17, corner of Second avenue
and Steuben street, was erected in 1856, and was
built by the town of Bethlehem. It came under the
jurisdiction of the Board by enlargement of the city
bounds in 1870. In 1878 it was enlarged by re-
building, and now accommodates 448 scholars.
The School, formerly in Tivoli Hollow, known
as No. 2 1, was erected by the town of Water-
vliet. It was a small affair, and came within
the city limits in 1870. It was abandoned in
1875, when School No. 21, 658 Clinton avenue,
was erected, at a cost of $3 1,000, to take its place.
It has nine rooms and accommodates 764 scholars.
School No. 20, formerly on Mohawk street, was
erected in 1872. It was sold in 1880, when the
present building, corner North Pearl and Second
streets, was erected in its stead, at a cost of about
$22,000. It is two-stories brick, nine rooms, and
accommodates 666 pupils.
School No. 23, 140 Second avenue, was pur-
chased from the Trustees of the Fourth Presbyterian
Church in 1 871, and was known as Second Street
Mission. It was opened in 1872, is one story,
with seats for 184 pupils.
School No. 22, Second street, west of Lexington
avenue, was erected in 1877 at a cost of $31,000.
It is two stories, with seats for 504 pupils.
School No. 25, on Morton street, between Hawk
and Swan streets, was erected in 1878. It is two
stories, brick, eight rooms and contains 448
seats.
School No. 1 1 (referred to in connection with
School No. 24), 409 Madison avenue, was erected
at a cost of $56,250, in 1873, and was first used
June 4th of that year. It is three stories, and seats
560 pupils.
In 1882, school buildings Nos. 3 and 5 were sold,
when the Tabernacle Baptist Church, North Pearl
street, was purchased and converted into a school
building in 1883, known as No. 5, 206 North
Pearl street, at a cost of about $35,000. It con-
tains accommodation for 598 pupils.
The twenty-four schools (1885) have a seating
capacity for 12,391 pupils, the net registration
13,720, and an average daily attendance of 9, 740.
There are 234 teachers employed, excluding the
High School, compared with 59 in 1857, and 100
in 1867. At the latter date the average was about
88 registered scholars per teacher. At present it
is about 58.
HIGH SCHOOL.
The new Board of Public Instruction was con-
fronted with grave educational problems to solve.
The inadequacy of the schools was clearly manifest,
yet the opposition of the public to enlarge the
school facilities by the expenditure of any large
money, at a period of financial uncertainty con-
sequent upon the close of the war, and already
suffering under heavy taxation, was particularly
strong.
The want of a higher department where more
advanced studies could be pursued by the grad-
uates of the common schools was almost a neces-
sity. The more liberal of the citizens favored the
idea of building a Free Academy to meet this
want. A majority of the Board were also in favor
of the project, and December 17, 1866, submitted
a draft of a bill to the Legislature to establish a
Free Academy. It met the opposition not only of
a large body of citizens, but of the Common Coun-
cil. The latter body went so far as to pass a resolu-
tion instructing the Legislature not to pass the bill
proposed. The Board of Public Instruction, thus
far, had labored under the impression that it re-
quired the passage of a law to authorize the con-
struction of the institution; but a careful examina-
tion of the law of 1866, under which the Board was
organized, revealed the fact that the Board was
clothed with ample authority to authorize the build-
ing of an Academy, and that further legislation was
unnecessary. Accordingly the Board leased Van
Vechten Hall on State street. Here the Normal
School was held until 184-, when the Lady's street
building was erected. A select school had been
held in it for a number of years. The Free Acad-
emy as it was then called, was opened September
1868, with Professor John E. Bradley as principal,
and 141 pupils. Besides the principal, the follow-
ing teachers were employed: Charles W. Cole,
Samuel B. Howe, Mary Morgan and Rebecca I.
Hindman. A short time after, Mr. Howe re-
signed, to accept the Superintendency of Public
Schools in Schenectady, and Charles A. Home was
chosen in his place. Soon the capacity of Van
Vechten Hall proved too small, and other rooms
connected with the premises were procured. The
rooms over Harris' livery stables, fronting on
Maiden lane, were fitted up in 1870; those in the
second story, formerly part of Watson's carpet store,
were hired in 1873.
The success and rapid growth of the Free Acad-
emy, in attendance and proficiency of instruction,
even under the disadvantages of inadequate quar-
ters, proved the best argument for the existence of
such an institution.
The Free Academy was placed under the visita-
tion of the Regents of the University by an Act
of the Legislature, in 1873, ^' which time its name
was changed to the Albany High School. Of the
money appropriated by the Regents according to
number of Academic Scholars — that is those hold-
ing Regents' preliminary certificates — since January,
1874, to January 1885, $29,568.48 have been re-
ceived by the institution. In 1874 there were 130
698
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Academic Scholars in the High School, and in
1885, 527.
The High School was held in Van Vechten Hall
until 1876, when the present commodious struc-
ture was erected. It is in the style of architecture
known as the domestic Gothic, and stands 87 feet
front on Eagle street, 135 feet 4 inches on Steuben,
120 feet on Columbia, and 92 feet and 7 inches
wide on the rear. It comprises sub-cellar, base-
ment and three stories above the basement. The
superstructure is of Philadelphia pressed bricks,
with light stone trimmings, interspersed with
courses of black stone and white bricks, pre-
senting an outward appearance singularly attract-
ive and pleasing to the eye. Fortunate in its
location, beautiful in appearance, and complete
in all its appointments, it is one of the most
perfect of its kind in the State. It was designed
by the Albany Architects, Ogden & Wright, and
cost about 1 1 40, 000. The High School is still
ALBANY HIGH SCHOOL.
under the direction of John E. Bradley, its princi-
pal, a discreet manager and an able instructor.
He is assisted by eight male instructors and
twelve female teachers. In 1885, there were
608 scholars. The language studies pursued
consist of Latin, Greek, German, French and
English. The other branches are mathematics,
chemistry, physics, drawing, vocal music, rhetoric
and elocution, and the various English branches.
John Edwin Bradley, Principal of Albany High
School, was born in Lee, Mass., August 8, 1839.
He was educated in Lee, Mass., "High School, and
Williams College, from which institution he grad-
uated in 1865. After leaving college he was Prin-
cipal of the Pittsfield High School until 1868, when
he came in charge of the Albany Free Academy. The
remarkable success of this school has been in great
measure due to his excellent management. Mr.
Bradley received the degree of Ph.D. at the Con-
vocation of Regents in 1879. ^n 1878 he was
appointed Commissioner to the Paris Exposition
on the educational exhibits, upon which he made
an able report. Dr. Bradley has been very prom-
inent in all public educational interests of the city.
He married, in 1870, Martha Jeannette Gould,
eldest daughter of William Gould, the law book
publisher. His energy, executive ability, and
magnetism have made him a teacher widely known
and respected.
Finances. — The average yearly expense for pub-
lic schools in Albany from 1844 to 1853 was over
$14,000; in 1854, $27,000; in 1857, $47,000;
1858, $61,000; i860, $49,000; 1867, $69,000;
1872, $196,000; 1875, $3i9,ooo. The total in-
come of the Board for the year ending August 31,
1885, was $314,954, of which $170,750 was raised
by tax, $91,49408 was carried over from the pre-
ceding year, and $47,394.76 was received from the
State. The total expenditures were $219,923.37,
of which $149,225.69 was for teachers' salaries.
The cost of yearly tuition per pupil, based on total
expenditure and registered number, is $16.02.
The estimated value of school property in 1858
was $117,000; in 1871, $362,000; in 1885,
$766,000. The salaiies of teachers range from
$1,800 to $350 The Principal of the High School
receives $3, 200 ; the Superintendent of School,
$2, 500. The net cost of pupils in the High School,
based on registered number for 1885, was $33.52.
The Public Schools are divided into primary and
grammar grades, ten being of the primary and
twelve of the grammar grade. The Board of Pub-
lic Instruction is composed of twelve members.
Four members go out of office each year. Their
successors are chosen at the annual election — two
Democrats and two Republicans. The Board has
entire charge of the Public Schools, fixes the grades
of study, appoints teachers, builds, maintains and
regulates school-houses, etc. No salary is attached
PRIiSfTERS AND PRINTING.
699
to the office. The rooms of the Board are in the
High School Building, where meetings are held on
the first and third Monday evenings in each month,
except August The Board chooses its own Presi-
dent. The Secretary of the Board acts as Superin-
tendent of Schools.
Table showing number of schools and registered
number of scholars for the following years.
No. Registered
Year. Schools. Number.
1845 4,320
1846 S.025
•847 5.053
1848 5,009
1849 5,830
1850 6,798
1851 6,744
1852 6,679
1853 6,302
1854 6,079
1855 6,036
1856 6,813
1857 12 6,529
1858 13 7,760
■859 13 7,832
i860 14 8,395
1861 15 9,182
1862 15 9,614
1863 15 9,507
1864 15 8,917
1865 15 8,850
1866 15 8,924
1867 15 8,880
1868 15 9,414
1869 16 9,665
1870 16 9,933
1871 22 10,939
1872 24 12,060
1873 24 12,327
1874 25 12,460
1875 25 13,773
1876 24 13,941
1877 24 14,412
1878 25 14,024
1879 26 14,632
1880 26 14,049
1881 26 13,976
1882 26 13,984
1883 26 13,914
1884 24 13,708
1885 24 13,720
Table showing the registered number of students
in High School since its establishment.
Year. Total.
1868-69 141
1869-70 209
1870-71 279
1871-72 314
1872-73 328
1873-74 362
Year. Total.
1874-75 429
1875-76 494
1876-77 532
1877-78 580
1878-79 581
1879-80 595
1880-8 1 583
1881-82 584
1882-83 591
1883-84 607
1884-85 608
Members of the Board of Public Instruction
since its organization in 1866: John O. Cole,
George W. Carpenter, Michael Delehanty, Charles
P. Easton, Paul F. Cooper, John G. Treadwell,
Charles Van Benthuysen, Stewart McKissick, James
L. Babcock, Bradford R. Wood, Jacob S. Mosher,
William C. McHarg, Howard Townsend, Portis L.
F. Reynolds, Joseph Lewi, Robert H. Waterman,
Warren S. Kelly, William L. Learned, Barent B.
Sanders, Daniel V. O'Leary, William L. Learned,
John Tracy, Daniel L. Babcock, Arthur C. Quinn,
Alfred Edwards, Thomas Hayes, Addison A. Keyes,
John McKenna, Charles Senrick, George B. Hoyt,
James J. Franklin, James H. White, John V. Lan-
sing, Samuel Templeton, Joseph P. Morrow, John
Kautz, Peter J. Flinn, Isaac Edwards, Timothy D.
Keleher, James Morris, William Morgan, Daniel
Casey, Henry P. Lipman, Charles A. Robertson,
John H. Lynch, John A. McCall, Jr., Linzee T.
Morrill, Andrew S. Draper, Douw H. Fonda, Her-
man Bendell, Alden Chester, Charles E. Jones,
James M. Ruso, Henry T. Sanford, Robert D.
Williams, Edward J. Graham, Oren E. Wilson,
Edward A. Durant, Jr., Peter A. Stephens, Francis
B. Delehanty, Robert G. Scherer, John Neil, Jr.,
Edward Phillips.
Officers of the Board of Public Instruction since
its organization in 1866 —
Presidents: John O. Cole, George W. Carpenter,
Charles P. Easton, Addison A. Keyes, Charles P.
Easton, Herman Bendell, Alden Chester, George
B. Hoyt, Peter J. Flinn.
Secretaries and Superintendents of Schools:
Henry B. Haswell, John O. Cole, Charles W.
Cole.
Superintendents of Buildings: John G. Tread-
well, Alexander Sayles, Hugh J. McDonnald.
Number of Graduates of the High School :
1871, 27; 1872, 43; 1873, 46; 1874, 47; 1875,
49; 1876, 65; 1877, 58; 1878, 69; 1879, 76;
1880, 84; 1881, 73; 1882, 79; 1883, 76; 1884,
68; 1885, 86.
PRINTERS AND PRINTING.
THE first printing-office in Albany was estab-
lished by Alexander and James Robertson, who
came from New York for that purpose, in 1771.
From the best information that can be gathered,
Albany was the second place in the State of New
York into which the art of printing was introduced.
Their office is said to have been in Barrack, now
I Chapel street. The first work of importance done
by this firm was the publication of the Albany
Gazelle, the first newspaper published in this city.
The only other work of which we have any knowl-
edge is a copy of the city ordinances, bearing date
1773, now in the City Chamberlain's office.
They remained in Albany until 1776, when they
700
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
joined the Royalists in New York. On the evacua
tion of that city by the British, they took refuge,
with many others, at Port Roseway, Nova Scotia,
where Alexander died in 1784, aged forty-two.
James died in London in 1802.
In 1782, Solomon Balantine and Charles R.
Webster established a printing-office in Albany.
Their printing materials consisted of as many
t3'pes, as Balantine often said, as a squaw could
carry in her- bag. In the Philadelphia library
is a copy of a pamphlet by the Rev. Thomas
Clarke, of Cambridge, in Washington County, en-
titled "Plain Reasons: being a Dissuasive from the
Use of Watts' Version of the Psalms in the Worship
of God," printed by this firm in 1783, and, perhaps,
the oldest pamphlet ever issued from the Albany
press. In 1783, Mr. Webster dissolved his con-
nection with Balantine, and removed to New York.
Balantine left soon after, when Webster returned
and again established a printing-office in Albany. In
1 784, he printed the first number of what came to be
the well-known Webster Almanac, still annually
published by Joel Munsell's Sons. About the same
time the New England Primer was reprinted in Al-
bany. At this time his printing-oflfice, which was de-
stroyed by fire in 1793, stood on Middle lane, a nar-
row alley connecting State street and Maiden lane.
A short time after he erected a building on the old
Elm-tree Corner, where he conducted his business
until his death in 1 832. Here bookselling, printing,
and binding was carried on. For a number of
years his brother, George, was associated with him.
This firm was dissolved in 1821 by the death of
George Webster, when E. W. and George Skinner
became associated with Mr. Webster under the
firm name of Webster & Skinners, which continued
until Mr. Webster's death.
New York State has been for many years the
most liberal patron of the printer. At the pres-
ent time many thousands of dollars are annually
expended by the State for its public printing,
and, with few exceptions, this work has been
done by Albany printers. In the early days of
the State government, the position of State print-
er was not such a lucrative position as at present.
In 1 79 1 he was allowed a salary of $250. In
1788 the Journal of the Assembly was contained
in 143 pages; and in 1796 the whole amount paid
for State printing was $832.40, a sum less than is
now expended by the Board of Supervisors of
the counties of the State for county printing.
The first State printers after the Legislature was
removed to Albany were S. & J. Louden, of
New York; but the work was done by Thomas
McMurray in Barrack street, Albany.
In 1795 there were but seven printing-offices
west and north of Albany. About 1793 John
Barbour and Solomon Southwick formed a part-
nership in the printing business in Albany. "They
were chiefly known as the proprietors of the Albany
Register. In 1793 the}' printed Poor Richard Re-
vised, being the Farmer's Diary, or Barbour and
Southwick' s Albany Almanack. In 1808 Barbour
died,' aged fifty years. He was printer to the State,
and a man highly respected for his moral and
social worth. The establishment was continued
by Mr. Southwick. He was at one time State
printer.
John McDonald conducted a printing-office in
Albany some time previous to 1796. In the latter
year, his office in State street, first house below the
corner of Pearl, on the south side, was burned.
He commenced business again in Middle lane,
now James street.
In 1798, Joseph Fry and Henry C. Southwick
were engaged in the printing business in a building
on the corner of Dean street and Mark lane, now
Exchange street. In 1799, Mr. Fry left the printing
business, and is now chiefly known as the com-
piler of the .first Albany Directory, published by
Webster & Skinner in 18 13. Packard & Conant
advertised a new book store and bindery at 41
State street
In 1806, the celebrated establishment of E. & E.
Hosford was opened at 72 State street. They did
a large printing and publishing business for that
day. In 1810 they removed to 100 State street.
They issued a volume of sermons by Timothy
Clowes, Rector of St. Peter's Church, in 1817, en-
titled " December Sermons. " They became lax un-
der prosperity, and having met with heavy losses in
printing an edition of Hume and Smollett's History
of England, followed by other reverses, the con-
cern was sold by the sheriff in 1827.
In connection with this article, it may not be
out of place to state that as early as 1807, John
Rodgers was engaged in making printing presses
in Albany. In an advertisement which appeared
in a newspaper of that day, he states that he is
prepared to make all the " newest fashioned and
most approved printing presses " at his shop in
Chapel street. How long or to what extent this
business was carried on we were unable to learn.
A. Romeyn, an Albany printer, in 1808, advertised
that he had invented a new method of locking up
forms with screws. He also made a model of a
printing press which he claimed possessed superior-
ity over the presses then in use.
In 1807, Van Benthuysen & Wood established
a printing-office in Albany in connection with a
literary paper called The Guardian. This was
the germ of what is now one of the largest printing
establishments in Albany.
In 1 8 13, Jesse Buel, printer, commenced the
publication of the Albany Argus, which is still con-
tinued. In connection with this paper a great
amount of printing, such as books, pamphlets, etc.,
has long been done. It has one of the best stocked
Job offices in the city.
Moses Pratt, Jr. , had a printing-office in Albany,
at 162 Lion street, now Washington avenue. He
was an eccentric character. He died in 1845.
Pratt & Doubleday conducted a printing-office
at the corner of Lion street and Academy square in
18 13. Doubleday afterwards went to Auburn and
was a Member of Congress from that district.
In 1 8 14, George J. Loomis, a book-binder, lo-
cated at No. 9 Washington street, where he con-
ducted a stereotyping and printing business. The
following year the firm of George J. Loomis & Co.
PRINTERS AND PRINTING.
701
was formed. Their office was located on the cor-
ner of State and Lodge streets.
For some years the firm of George Churchill and
Daniel McGlashan was engaged in the printing
business in Albany; but in 1815 it was dissolved,
and the firm of Churchill & Abbey was established
with an office at 95 State street. In 181 5, Abbey
retired, and at the time of the rebellion in Canada
enlisted in the cause and was captured and hung.
Churchill went to Illinois and was a Member of
Congress from that State.
The oldest printing firm in Albany is that of
Van Benthuysen & Sons. It has been chiefly con-
ducted by members of the same family since 1807,
when Obadiah R. Van Benthuysen & Wood es-
tablished a printing-office at No. ig Court street
The grandfather of Obadiah, Paulus Martense
Van Benthuysen, is supposed to have come to Al-
bany from the town of Benthuysen prior to 1666.
He had three sons. The eldest was Baltus. He
had a son named James Parker, who married Lydia
Daley in the City of New York, 1707. He had
nine children. His eldest son, James Parker, Jr.,
married Sarah Cooper, February 6, 1741. The
result of this marriage was nine children, the
youngest of whom was Obadiah Romney, who
was born in 1789, and the one referred to in this
sketch.
O. R. Van Benthuysen continued in partnership
with Wood but a short time, and, in 1808, opened
a separate office in Liberty street, rear of present
376 Broadway. In 18 13, Robert Packard became
associated with him, under the firm name of Pack-
ard & Van Benthuysen. At this time the aggregate
value of all printing materials of this firm, including
two hand presses, amounted to only $2,290.86.
Prior to 1827-28, the office was located on the
northwest corner of Beaver and Green streets,
when it was removed to the present location on
Broadway. In 1839 the firm of Charles Van Ben-
thuysen & Co. was established, composed of O. R.
Van Benthuyfen and his son, Charles. In 1848,
Charles Van Benthuysen was the sole member of
the firm. He continued as such until 1866, when
Charles H. and Frank, sons of Charles Van Ben-
thuysen, became members of the firm. Since then
it has been known by the firm name of Charles Van
Benthuysen & Sons, although the father died a few
years ago. Besides carrying on a large printing
and binding business, this firm makes its own
paper, type and ink, and has a stereotype and elec-
trotype foundry; all of which it now carries on,
with the exception of the paper mill, which was
sold in 1 88 1. For about eighteen years preceding
1840, it did all the Legislative printing and binding,
under Crosswell, who was State printer at that time.
This printing-house, in 1828, was the first in the
United States to employ steam to run printing
presses. All grades of printing, electrotyping and
binding are done by this firm, now employing a
force of one hundred and eighty men. Their pres-
ent location is 403 to 409 Broadway and 53 and 55
Dean street, where fifteen rooms, averaging 25 x 60
feet, are required. A branch office is located at 64
College street.
From 1820 to 1850, considerable of the printing
in Albany was done by the newspaper offices, inost
of which had job offices connected with them.
Henry D. Stone, Edward Henly, H. H. Van Dyck,
Thurlow Weed, George Dawson, Edwin Croswell,
Hugh J. Hastings, A. B. Case, John Weed, all prac-
tical printers, may be mentioned at this period as
connected with printing outside of journalism.
In 1831 the well-known printing-office of Joel
Munsell was established at 78 State street. An ac-
count of Mr. Munsell's work as a printer and pub-
lisher will be found in another part of this History.
Since his death the business has been conducted by
his sons, Frank and Charles Munsell. At this
office a general line of printing, electrotyping, and
binding is conducted. Special attention is given
to works of genealogy, biography and history.
No printing firm in this State is better known
than Weed, Parsons & Co. It was founded, in 1843,
by James B. Weed, a son of the late Thurlow
Weed, and John D. Parsons, both practical print-
ers, the latter of whom is still an active member of
the firm. Their first office was located in the sec-
ond and third stories of No. 73 State street, over
the clothing store of Grange Sard, their whole out-
fit costing less than $1,000, and consisting of two
Washington presses, a Gilmore card press, type,
etc. For two years they continued at this loca-
tion, and by untiring business energy established a
lucrative business. May i, 1845, they moved their
office to No. 75 State street, third story, over the
store now occupied by Joseph J. Price as a grocery.
October 12, 1847, Weed & Parsons, and the pro-
prietors of the Albany Evening Journal, then consist-
ing of Thurlow Weed, George Dawson and Visscher
Ten Eyck, became partners in the book and job
printing, under the firm name of Weed, Parsons &
Co. At this time the office was removed to the
third and fourth stories of the Journal building,
Nos. 65 and 67 State street, corner of James. A
book-bindery and a large addition in printing ma-
terials were added. By this arrangement a rapid ad-
vancement in business was the consequence.
June 18, 1 85 1, James B. Weed, of this firm,
died. He had not only a .practical knowledge of
the printer's art, but possessed admirable business
qualities, and his loss was a great blow to the firm.
In 1852, the increase of business again made it
necessary to move to more commodious quarters.
This was obtained by moving to Nos. 7 and 9 James
street, with an entrance through the Evening Journal
office. They also rented rooms in the adjoining
building of Van Heusen & Charles, on James street,
the upper stories of Nos. 59 and 61 State street,
and two large rooms on Morton street At this
time their employees numbered about two hun-
dred. Their facilities for printing had increased
fourfold, and lithographing, electrotyping and ste-
reotyping had been added. From 186 2-^69, va-
rious changes took place in the firm. Visscher
Ten Eyck retired May i, 1854, his interest be-
ing sold to W. F. Seward, son of Governor W.
H. Seward, and Phillip Ten Eyck. Seward dis-
posed of his interest to Dawson, Parsons and Ten
Eyck in 1869. Samuel Wilkeson, now one of the
702
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
editorial stafT of the New York Times, was a mem-
ber of this firm 1856-58, when he sold his share
to Thurlow Weed. The latter, in i860, sold half
of his interest to Dawson, Parsons and Ten Eyck.
In 1869, the amount of bu^iness done by this
firm made it necessary to procure quarters where
the work could be concentrated in one building.
The dividing up of various departments and so
widely separated, was a decided disadvantage. To
remedy this matter,lhe property Nos. 37, 39 and 41
Columbia street, running through to Van Tromp
street, was purchased, and a five-story building was
erected. This was first occupied November, 1869.
Here they combined under one roof all the various
departments. A more commodious and well-ar-
ranged printing-office at this time did not exist in
the State. From 300 to 400 men were employed.
In the midst of success, April 7, 1871, the entire
property was destroyed by fire, entailing a severe
loss to the firm. But business adversity displayed
the energy and perseveiance of the members of
this firm. Rebuilding was begun at once, and in
seven months from the fire, their present building
was completed and occupied. In the meantime
the large building on the north end of Van Rens-
selaer Island was used as a printing-oflSce, having
been stocked with all the needed materials in
three weeks after the fire, sufficient to begin full
operation with 300 men. Since 1878, the interest of
Thurlow Weed has been assigned to Thurlow Weed
Barnes. By the death of George Dawson a few
years ago, his interest reverted to his wife and son.
For many years this firm has done all the Legis-
lative printing, and since 1850 has done the Stale
Department printing. In late years this work has
grown to immense proportions. From this establish-
ment yearly is published a large number of law
books. The excellent character of their work and
their large facilities for doing it, has made this firm
known all over the United States. They now
average over 300 employees.
In the article on "Journals and Journalism " in
this Histor)', other printers in Albany are named;
and many of more recent date are to-day honoring
their craft and extending their patronage by doing
first-class work, among whom are Brandow & Bar-
ton, Burdick & Taylor, C. E. Houghtaling, Prouty
Printing Co., Riggs Printing and Publishing Co. ,
C. F. Williams Printing Co., and the newspaper
firms of the Press Co., Times Co., Argus Co.,
Morning Express Co., Journal Co., M. & E. Grif-
fen, all of which do printing and publishing in
almost every variety called for.
LAW BOOK PUBLISHERS.
In no city in the United States is the publication
of law books carried on on a larger scale than in Al-
bany. The first law book publisher in Albany was
William Gould, located at 104 State street. A few
years after, David Banks, father of the present
Mayor, A Bleecker Banks, became associated with
him, under the firm name of Gould & Banks. At
this time a branch store was opened in New York
City, in which William Gould, David Banks and
Stephen Gould were associated as partners. This
partnership was dissolved in 181 7.
William Gould died in 1846. He was succeeded
in the same business by Anthony Gould, brother of
William. He died in 1856, and was succeeded by
William Gould, a nephew of the first publisher of
that name. In 1867, the firm of William Gould &
Son was established. This firm continued to exist
until 1885, when William Gould, Sr., retired from
the firm, and the present firm of William Gould, Jr.,
& Co. was formed, and consists of William Gould,
Jr., Otis Allen Gould, and Albert L. Gould.
In 1850, this firm was located at 475 Broadway,
and in 1857 removed to the present store, 68 State
street.
The firm of Banks Brothers was established in
1804 by David Banks, who remained in this busi-
ness until his death, in 1872, and at that time was
the oldest bookseller in the United States. He was
succeeded in 1872 by his sons, David and A. Bleecker
who have conducted the business ever since. Their
warehouses and sales-rooms in this city, 473 and
475 Broadway, have a total floor space of 80,000
square feet. There is another large store belonging
to this firm at 144 Nassau street, New York City,
which has been occupied by them since 1835.
The firm of W. C. Little & Co. was established in
Albany, in 1828, by W. C. Little, a native of Ban-
gor, Me., born in 1805, who engaged in the publi-
cation and sale of law books as successor of E. F.
Backus, who, in a small way, began the business
here. Mr. Little was very successful in the trade,
and became widely known. He was succeeded
by his son, C. W. Little, who carries on the busi-
ness at the old stand, 525 Broadway, since his
father's death in 1885.
The law books published by Albany firms em-
brace a most extensive list of standard volumes, and
are sold to the legal profession wherever English
and American law is consulted.
PHOTOGRAPHY.
Few of the arts have made such rapid strides as
has that of photography. It is comparatively a few
years ago since the first photographs made their ap-
pearance, and, wonderful as they were, they would
appear as ridiculous caricatures if placed beside the
life-like portraits produced at the present time by
the improved photographic appliances. The Albany
artists have kept pace with their brothers in the
profession, and in no place is a higher order of
photographic skill displayed and demanded. Prob-
ably the leading studios of Albany are those of
Aaron Veeder, 32 North Pearl street, and the Not-
man Photographic Company, 48 North Pearl street.
Mr. ^'eeder is a native of Albany, and for fifteen
years devoted himself to landscape photography;
but, in 1881, he began to make a specialty of por-
trait photography, in which he has shown remark-
able skill and taste. A number of colorists, re-
touchers and artists are employed in addition to the
regular photographers.
The Notman studio is a branch of the Notman
Photograph Company of Montreal. It has been
THE ALBANY STAGE.
703
located in this city for a number of years. The ar-
tistic work done at this studio is of a high order of
excellence. A specialty of this house is photo-
graphing large groups, notably the yearly group of
the members of the Legislature, classes graduating
from schools, clubs, etc.
Besides the two firms named, the following are
engaged in this business: J. L. Abbott & Son, prob-
ably the oldest firm in Albany; John N. Byron, R.
E. Churchill, V. W. Horton, McDonald & Starry,
Charles S. Robinson, John M. Wood, and W. W.
Wood.
THE ALBANY STAGE.
IT has with truth been said that "the history of
the Albany stage is, in a great measure, the
history of the drama in America." Before the time
when the land was dotted with cities, every city
with its "opera house," the field for the drama
was not only sterile, but limited. With Boston and
Philadelphia further away by days than they now
are by hours, Albany, on account of its river com-
munication with New York, was looked upon as a
convenient place in which to expend any mana-
gerial effort over and above what had exhausted
the possibilities of profit in the Metropolis; and af-
terwards, actors waiting for a New York engage-
ment, were glad to put in their time so near by as
Albany.
So it happened that in the summer of 1769, the
first American company organized in England by
the Hallam Brothers having worn out their wel-
come in New York, obtained permission of the
Governor of the Colony, Sir Henry Moore, Baronet,
to play in Albany for one month, three times a
week, opening July 3d, in Otway's "Venice Pre-
served." This was the first recorded visit of
professional players, although, as Mrs. Grant's
"Memoirs of an American Lady" tells us, the enact-
ment of the "Beaux's Stratagem," by officers of an
English regiment stationed here in 1 760, created
such a division of sentiment in regard to the mor-
ality of stage plays as to lead the worthy dominie.
Rev. Theodorus Freylinghausen, to start back in
despair for his native Holland, being induced to do
so by an emblematic message in the shape of a
club, a pair of old shoes, a crust of bread and a
dollar in money, left at his door the morning after
preaching a scathing sermon against the wickedness
of amateur theatricals. Taking the hint that he
was no longer « anted, and that, therefore, his op-
portunity for usefulness was gone, he sailed awa}',
and never came back, having been drowned on
the passage, whether by accident or suicide none
ever knew, although the latter was surmised.
Of the first visit of the Hallam company nothing
is known, except that they played in the Hospital
to a schedule of six, four and two shillings. The
Hospital stood near the site of the present Lutheran
Church on Pine street. The city then contained
only about 3,000 inhabitants. There was no news-
paper, consequently all record of the season is
lost.
In 1785, when, after the Revolution, a detach-
ment of the American company again came up
from New York to try their luck in Albany, they
found the Gazelle ready to publish their advertise-
ment, which appeared December 5th, announcing
a performance, "by authority," of "Cross Pur-
poses," and "Catharine and Petruchio," for De-
cember 9th. It did not take place, however, till
December 1 3th. Meantime the storm of opposition
to the theatre, common throughout the country at
that time (except in the South), broke forth in
great violence Seventy inhabitants signed a peti-
tion to the city authorities asking them to recon-
sider the permission given by them November 28th,
for the players to act, and a whole number of the
Gazelle was given up to the consideration of the
subject by correspondents, most of whom were vio-
lent in their denunciations of the drama; and one
or two went so far as to threaten to destroy the
building in which the plays were to be presented.
But the Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Assistants,
after due deliberation, decided, by a vote of 9 to 4,
that consent having once been given, and that
without haste, and the players having been to ex-
pense in fitting up the rooms, the city could not
withdraw from the contract without dishonor; and
so the performances began and were given twice a
week till the latter part of February, when the com-
pany, after paying all their debts, departed for Mon-
treal.
In 1803, the company then managed by William
Dun lap, assisted by Lewis Hallam, played here
three nights a week, from August 22d to October
27, in a dancing-room which stood on what is
now North Pearl street, two doors south of Clinton
avenue. It was much the strongest company that
had ever visited Albany, and numbered among its
members Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jefferson, grand-
parents of the Jeff'erson of the present day. Several
ineffectual attempts to establish the drama here by
other and less important companies followed, and,
in the spring of 181 1, John Howard Payne, the
author of "Home, Sweet Home," played a star
engagement, being then about twenty years old,
with two years' stage experience, It is fair to sup-
pose that he aroused here something at least of the
enthusiasm which attended his performances else-
where.
Up to this time there had been no building
erected for a theatre. In November, 181 1, John
Bernard, actor, manager and lilUraleur, came on
from Boston, with this project in his head. The
burning of the Richmond (Va. ) theatre, with its
704
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
loss of seventy-one lives, which occurred Decem-
ber 26th, following, had a most depressing effect
upon the plan. It threw a gloom over theatricals
in all parts of the country, and was looked upon
by many excellent persons as a visitation of Hea-
ven's wrath upon unholy amusements. The pul-
pits renewed their thunders against the play-house;
the newspapers teemed with long and wordy argu-
ments for and against this form of amusement, and
the controversey waxed warm and bitter, as it has
done time and again, from the days of Jeremy
Collier to the present. In Albany, where the
proposition to build a permanent theatre was
just being agitated, the feeling was intense, and
a ihotion was made in the Board of Aldexmen to
put down all theatrical exhibitions as a nuisance.
This being referred to the Law Committee, they
made, January 12, 18 12, a long report, supposed
to have been written \>y Recorder John V. N.
Yates, and advancing the opinion
"That a well-regulated theatre, supported by
the respectable portion of society, so far from be-
ing contrary to good order and morality, must es-
sentially contribute to correct the language, refine
the taste, ameliorate the heart, and enlighten the
understanding."
The report closed with a resolution " that the
Board cannot legally interfere, nor would it be ex-
pedient for it to pass laws regulating or restraining
theatrical exhibitions in this city." This was adopt-
ed, ten to three, and the theatre-building went
slowly on; Mr. Bernard, meantime, acting at the
old Thespian Hotel, as the hall near Clinton ave-
nue was called.
The theatre was formally opened to the public,
January 18, 1813. The building still stands (1886)
on Green street, west side, south of Hamilton. It
is of brick, and was originally 56 by no feet Its
builder was Lewis Famham, and it was owned by
a stock company, among whom were Recorder
Yates, Isaac Hansen, George C. Sharpe, Isaac Q.
Leake and John J. Godfrey. Mr. Bernard was the
manager. The opening bill was the ' ' West In-
dian " and "Fortune's Frolic." Admission |i,
75 and 50 cents. Solomon Southwick wrote the
opening address. Leigh Waring, father of Mrs.
J. W. Wallack, was the star, and in the company
were Mr. and Mrs. Bernard, the Placides, and
Mrs. Young, afterwards Mrs. Hughes, the favorite
"old woman" for so many years at Burton's.
Mr. Bernard managed the theatre for four seasons,
and soon after returned to Europe, where he died
November 29, 1828, aged seventy-two, in desti-
tute circumstances. His " Retrospections of the
Stage " show him to have been a man of wit and
learning, as he was unquestionably a fine comedian,
while his character was beyond reproach. Alto-
gether, Albany's first manager was an ornament to
the profession.
The theatre did not have a very long life. In less
than five years it was found to be hopelessly un-
profitable, and in June, 181 8, was sold to the Bap-
tist Society, for a church, for which purpose it was
used till 1852. Its brief existence as a temple of
the drama has proved a mine of theatrical reminis-
cences, well worked by Sol. Smith, the veteran
actor, who first went on the stage there, and by
Thurlow Weed, who was a frequent attendant. N.
M. Ludlow, the veteran Sl Louis manager, made
his start from the same place, having appeared on
the stage there for a few times, and then running
away from home with Drake's expedition, which
started from here, via Cherry Valley and Coopers-
town, for the wilds of Kentucky, en route introduc-
ing the drama in Utica, Auburn, Geneva, and
other towns in the west of the State. With them
went Miss Denny, a native of Albany, afterwards
Mrs. Drake, and for more than forty years a star in
the Western theatres.
In 1824-25 a theatre was built on South Pearl
street by a stock company. It stood on the site of
the present Leland Opera House, and is in part the
same building, although for nearly twenty-five years
it was used as a church, and once, all but the front,
was destroyed by fire. Philip Hooker was the orig-
inal architect. The building was 62 b)' 116 feet,
and cost, with lot, about $25,000. It was opened
May 13, 1825, under the management of Charles
Gilfert, with " Laugh When You Can," and " Rais-
ing the Wind." The company was of the best, and
included George H. Barrett, in his prime, a prince
of light comedians; Mrs. Henry, a beautiful woman,
soon after his wife; Thomas Faulkner, George P.
Hyatt, Mrs. Stone, and others. The elder Booth
was the first star, and he was followed by the bright-
est and best in the profession. For a time Albany
had a model theatre. In the second season, Edwin
Forrest was a member of the stock company, and
here made rapid advance towards the greatness he
soon after reached. Here he played second to
Edmund Kean. It was the only time they were
associated upon the stage, and the great actor's in-
fluence upon the young American was of the ut-
most importance, while Kean publicly expressed
his admiration for Forrest. The company was soon
found too expensive for Albany patronage, and the
opening, on North Pearl street, of a popular circus
resulted in Gilfert's abdication in May. He took
most of the Albany company with him to the Bow-
ery Theatre, of which he was the first manager, and
which opened the following October.
At the circus dramatic performances were given
in connection with equestrianism and spectacles,
and the place was largely patronized for a time, at
50 and 75 cents.
George Barrett, Henry Wallack, C. W. Sanford,
George Vernon, Duff'y & ' Forrest, Dinneford &
Blake, H. W. Preston, and others, managed the
South Pearl Street Theatre during the next thirteen
years, none of them making much money. How-
ever, the best attractions of the day were seen here,
including Fanny Kemble and her father; Macready,
Clara Fisher, Hackett, George Hill, Master Burke
(who subsequently resided near here), TjTone
Power (who was nearly mobbed because he de-
clined to play one evening to a small audience),
the elder Booth, Forrest (frequently), Josephine
Clifton, James W. Wallack, T. D. Rice, James E.
Murdoch, Charles Kean, Celeste, and many others.
The firm of Duffy & Forrest consisted of William
THE ALBANY STAGE.
705
Duffy (an excellent actor, an Albanian by birth,
who was stabbed by one of his company, John
Hamilton, and died March 12, 1836) and William
Forrest, brother of the tragedian.
In October, 1836, Charlotte Cushman, afterwards
the very famous actress, became a meniber of the
stock company here, and on the very stage where
Forrest perfected himself in his life work, she prac-
ticed in a great variety of characters. She was here
till the following April, and became a favorite both
on the stage and in society.
In 1839 this theatre was also turned into a
church, and was used by the Congregation of St.
Paul's (Episcopal) till 1863.
In December, 1840, Samuel H. Nichols opened
an amphitheatre on Dallius street, corner of West-
erlo, and for some time it was both popular and
fashionable. Alfred B. Street wrote the opening
address. Later it was used for dramatic perform-
ance, and, under various managements, Hackett,
Edwin Forrest, the elder Booth and others ap-
peared. William Warren, Boston's favorite come-
dian for so many years, was in the company in 1841.
The last performances were given in 1845, ^.nd a
year or two after the building was partly destroyed
by fire.
The Odeon on Broadway, east side, south of
Division street, was the next theatre to open, which
it did February i, 1847. It was small, but well
arranged, and many attractive performances were
given. It was burned in the great fire of 1848.
Meantime the Albany Museum, started in a
small way as early as 1808 or 1809 (there was a
Museum as early as 1798), by Trowbridge, and
continued by Harry Meech in 1826, was removed
January i, 183 1, from the corner of Hudson
avenue and Broadway to the corner of State and
Broadway, and established in a new building
owned by Thorpe & Sprague, and which for
many years was a very popular resort. At first
largely devoted to curiosities and freaks of nature,
the Siamese Twans, Joyce Heth, Tom Thumb and
other Barnum enterprises were exhibited here.
Concerts, monologues, lectures and light entertain-
ments of various sorts were frequently given, and
more and more the place assumed a dramatic
character. In 1848 it was considerably enlarged,
and then became the leading, and at times the only
place of amusement in the city. Mary Wells,
Mary Gannon, Mary Taylor, Mrs. Vernon, Mrs.
John Drew and Mrs. Maeder (the famous Clara
Fisher of former days), frequently played long en-
gagements, and there were stars almost without
number. The last performance was given here
April 28, 1855.
Before this, however, the drama returned to its
old home in this city, the old Green street theatre,
which, having been given up by the Baptists, was
opened July 5, 1852, by Henry W. Preston, man-
ager, who proved unfortunate, and December 20th,
by Madame de Marguerites, an opera singer and
dashing adventuress, who fitted up the old place in
the most lavish manner, with two great mirrors for
the curtain. Her career was short and troubled.
E. S. Connor next tried his hand, with equally dis-
ss
astrous results, then Frank Chanfrau, with like ex-
perience; then C. T. Smith. Under the latter. Rose
Eytinge played her first permanent engagement in
a stock company. In the season of 1857 and 1858
Burton played here, as did Matilda Heron. Later,
under the management of Captain John B. Smith.
Adah Isaacs Menken, in 1861, made here her first
appearance as Mazeppa, the rble in which she at-
tracted so much attention in this country and in
Europe.
Another Green street theatre was the Gayety,
opened March 30, 1859, on the east side, south of
Beaver. The second season J. W. Albaugh was
the acting and stage manager. The Menken,
John Wilkes Booth, E. A. Sothern, George Hol-
land and other stars appeared here before the place
degenerated, as it did within two or three years,
into a concert saloon.
In 1863, the city being without a respectable
theatre, John M. "Trimble, a well-known theatre
builder, who had retired from active life on ac-
count of blindness, bought the Pearl street prop-
erty and remodeled it from a church back to its
original purpose. The opening was December 22,
1863. It was run for four or five seasons with
good stock companies, which, from time to time,
supported the principal stars. Mr. Trimble died
in June, 1867, and the next season his daughter
Ada was the manager, till January 29, 1868, when
the theatre took fire in the morning and burned
to the ground. For a year or more there was
not so much as a drop-curtain in the City of Al-
bany, although Tweddle Hall, corner State and
North Pearl (erected in i860, burned January 16,
1883), was occasionally used for dramatic per-
formances.
October 4, 1869, a theatre, made out of a church,
in Division street, east of Pearl, was opened under
Frank Lawlor's management, and for a year or
two did extremely well, both artistically and finan-
cially, although the location was against it, and
the rebuilding of the Pearl street theatre eventually
made it unprofitable. Tony Denier, Walter Kee-
ble and others succeeded to the management, and
a number of afterwards well-known actors played
in stock companies. The theatre was burned De-
cember 8, 1876.
The present Pearl street theatre was rebuilt by
Lucien Barnes in fifty-one days, and opened as the
Trimble Opera House December 31, 1869, with a
strong company. Mr. Barnes managed it for two
years and a half in a liberal manner — too liberal for
the support given and his limited capital. The
property became the subject of much litigation,
but its title was finally acquired by Charles and
Warren E. Leland, who, in November, 1873,
leased it to Mr. J. W. Albaugh, who was the man-
ager of the Leland Opera House, as it is still
called, till August 27, 1881. Mr. Albaugh was
the last manager to employ a stock company in
this city. His leading lady for several seasons was
Ada Rehan, now one of the favorite comediennes
of the metropolis. September 15, 1881, Mrs.
Rosa M. Leland assumed the management, which
she still retains, playing, as is the custom in all
T06
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
cities outside the very largest, traveling combina-
tions in from one to six-night engagements.
Another place of amusement which should not
be overlooked is Music (originally Martin) Hall on
Pearl street, corner of Beaver. It was erected in
1870, General John S. Dickerman being the first
agent. It was partly burned March 11, 1872, but
at once repaired, and has been the scene of many
notable performances. Charlotte Cushman made
her last appearance in this city here. For the past
two seasons it has been devoted to amusements
afforded at very low prices by Jacobs & Proctor,
and, so far as attendance is concerned, has become
the most popular place of entertainment Albany
has ever known, with two performances daily, and
crowded houses being the rule every evening in the
week, Sundays excepted.
The history of the Albany stage has been quite
fully written by H. P. Phelps, under the title of
"Players of a Century " (Albany, 1880).
JOSEPH K. EMMETT.
The truthful history of the struggles of any 3'oung
man to earn his living in that mimic world, the
stage, has never yet been written. When it is,
it will make very entertaining reading. It will
have, of course, to be done in the most intimate
manner, and must include so many curious studies
and strange episodes, that its author, when he
comes, will perhaps do best to postpone the pub-
lication of his work until he himself is comfortably
tucked away under that grassy counterpane, be-
neath which the most reviled or the most lauded can
sleep in peace. Such a history would include the
narrative of many feasts of reason and unreason;
it would tell of many acts of kindness and many of
heartless oppression; it would lay open to the
world's view the life of the oddest society, the most
mixed, intimate and discordant to be found on the
surface of this planet. How generously befriended,
how zealously helped by kindly men who are al-
most strangers, how pitilessly swindled, how stabbed
in the back, how wealthy with a transient dollar,
how poor with a liberal income — all these must be
faithfully described. The human animal is, how-
ever, so constructed, that he can become accus-
tomed to the strangest ways of living.
A typical life, one which has embraced poverty
of the acutest kind, giving place to opulence and
a life of success, rarely met outside the vivid im-
agination of the dreamer, is that of Joseph Kline
Emmett, known to the world as " Fritz."
He was born in St. Louis, Mo., March 13, 1841,
in Sixth street, between St. Charles and Locust
streets, and next door to Armstrong's school. His
father, William B., and his mother, Evelina, were
of Irish descent, the latter being a member of the
famous Nihell family, of Ireland. Their circum-
stances were humble. When Joseph was ten years
old his father died, throwing upon the lad the sup-
port of his mother and two sisters.
Their little store of money was soon exhausted.
One day he discovered his mother and sisters in
tears, and, in reply to his query, his mother said
' ' My boy, we are starving 1" Fired by hope and
love, he exclaimed : "You shall be hungry no
longer," and left the room in search of work. His
age was almost an insurmountable barrier.
Finally, near the close of the day, he entered a
hominy mill and applied for work — "Work!
Work ! Anything to give my mother bread 1"
The miller told him he was too young, that his
work demanded the strength of a man. Joe per-
sisted and begged for a trial. Touched by the
boy's evident earnestness and independence, he
asked him, as a trial, to lift a large tub of corn and
empty it into the bin. This was done, and, upon
a promise that he would do the same during ail the
day's working hours, he was engaged at a salary of
$1.50 per week and all the "hominy the family
could eat." Some money was advanced, and, filling
a large basket with bread, the happy boy returned
home. To this day Emmett's eyes fill with tears and
his voice falters when relating the joy of his mother.
When commenting upon his after success, "If my
poor mother could but have lived to enjoy it with
me," is a frequent expression from him. He
worked in the mill for five months, doing the work
of a man. Down to 1856, in which year occurred
the greatest grief of his life, he found a livelihood
at different occupations. In this year his mother
died. His sisters soon married and he was left
alone. There is nothing wonderful in this old
story of a boy's struggle with poverty. That is
only too common. But the independence then
shown has been the marked characteristic of the
man. Emmett loves to tell the story of his early
life. There is no false pride in him.
A few years afterwards, Mr. Emmett met Eliza-
beth Webber, daughter of Mahlon and Ellen Web-
ber, the former of Philadelphia, the latter belong-
ing to a leading family of Tennessee. The ac-
quaintance grew into friendship, and from this to
love. Emmett desired a speedy marriage, but his
poverty seemed an obstacle not easily overcome.
At last he said to her: " I am miserable away from
you. In four days from now will you become my
wife 1 True, . I have no money, no work; but
you shall never want .?" With a woman's love and
faith she consented. Emmett was overjoyed, and
at once went to a friend, told him of his joy and
asked him to serve as ' ' best man, " and, equally
as important, to loan him a suit of clothes in which
to be married. The friend gave him well-meant
advice of worldly prudence — that it was folly for
him to even dream of such a union in his impov-
erished condition; but with no avail. He then
yielded to his requests and promised to attend the
wedding, adding: "Joe, I'll bet you a hat that
you laugh during the ceremony." This wager was
at once taken. In July, 1864, the marriage cere-
mony was performed by the minister who had
officiated at the funeral of Emmett's mother. To
this event he alluded so touchingly that smiles were
lost in tears. The hat was worn by Joe. Married
life, with its joys and responsibilities, was now
upon them; but the j'oung couple, cheered on by
a mutual love, increasing with the growing years,
never feared. Mrs. Webber had prepared a room
THE ALBANY STAGE.
707
for her new son, but, with his usual independence,
he declined any aid, saying that he had " married
his wife to support her." After a short experience
at a boarding-house, which they were compelled
to leave, they removed to that part of St. Louis
known as "Dutch Town," where, in a small tene-
ment house, they hired one room. Their entire
household goods consisted of a grate, a dry-goods
box and a frying-pan, with nothing but the bare
floor for a bed — no mattress, no covering. The
simplest necessities of life were denied them. A
knife, fork or spoon, even, were unknown in their
domestic outfit.
One afternoon, while Joe was preparing dinner,
a rap was heard at the door. He called "Come
in," and turning around, frying-pan in hand, met
the astonished gaze of the minister who had mar-
ried them. Without embarrassment, Emmett with
cordial cheer said: "Come, Doctor, pitch in;
fingers were made before forks," and proffered the
contents of the dish. The good old Doctor an-
swered: " Hold on, my boy, we must ask God's
blessing first." They all knelt around the dry-
goods box, and a prayer was offered up which,
Emmett says, has followed him through life. After
this the Doctor joined in the simple meal.
For about two years they struggled on, Emmett
striving to subsist by any decent means. He had
gained considerable note as a "drummer boy,"
but, from a natural desire to follow some higher
social occupation, had given it up.
In 1866, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he
had secured an engagement in the Varieties Thea-
tre. There he originated the " Dutch Song and
Dance " business, which has had so many admirers
and unsuccessful imitators. His success suc-
ceeded his expectations. Two years later he
went to New York, had "Fritz" written, and
November 22, 1869, it was first given to the pub-
lic at Bufl'alo, N. Y., in the Academy of Music.
His success was instantaneous and phenomenal,
opening with a $500 house. The next night the
receipts were three times as much. Albany was
the second place in which "Fritz" was played,
the engagement opening in December, and contin-
uing two weeks to crowded houses. Since then
"Fritz" has had uninterrupted success. "Fritz"
Emmett is known in all countries. Since
1871 he has filled yearly engagements in London.
His " Lullaby " is one of the sweetest songs of the
world. Its pathos affects the listener when ren-
dered by Emmett as words cannot describe. He
has listened to its melody as produced upon the
church organ, and his songs are heard in the "par-
lors of the rich and the garrets of the poor." He
composes all songs given by him, and is the father
of the " Dialect German Comedy."
As an actor it is easy to rightly place " Fritz."
He simply acts in a perfectly natural manner. He
has no " method," no " theory " of acting, except
absolute naturalness, and it is this natural manner,
added to the inherent qualities of the man, that
has given him his unparalleled success. "Noth-
ing succeeds like success," and success defies
criticism or rigid analysis. Were we to compare
him to any living actor it would be to Joseph Jef-
ferson. There is much of similarity.
Since 1880 Mr. Emmett and family have made
Albany their home. The house is located on the
boulevard named Rensselaer avenue, and com-
mands a magnificent view of the Hudson, the Cats-
kills, the City of Albany and surrounding towns.
The grounds and interior of the house — "Fritz's
Villa" — beggar description. From every clime have
been brought articles of interest, rare and costly.
To simply catalogue them would require pages of
this work. Occupying places of honor are the old
musical instruments which gave "Fritz" his start.
Every musical contrivance, from a hand-organ to
the grand pipe-organ, has a place.
One room, richly hung in silk, contains only an
easel concealed by heavy drapery, upon which, in
letters of gold, is the word " Mother." It holds a
portrait of his mother. The tender and loving
words with which he mentions her, shows better
than aught else the sweet side of this man.
As a man, Joseph K. Emmett is whole-souled,
generous, a kind father and a true husband. Fond
of the animal creation, his kennel of St. Bernard
dogs attracts world-wide interest. His love of art
and all kindred refining things is a part of himself
Still a young man, rich in fortune, fame and
friends, with a loving, devoted wife and son, Joseph
K. Emmett, Jr., his life contains all the elements of
present joy, with no cloud to dim the horizon of
the future.
DENTISTRY.
IT is within a period less than a century that den-
tistry began to take the rank of a distinct pro-
fession, although centuries ago the art of preserving
and improving the beauty of the teeth had been
much studied. In the time of Herodotus dentistry
was practiced in Egypt with considerable skill.
Some of the work of these early dental practitioners
his been discovered, which shows a surprising
knowledge of dental surgery — knowledge which
seems to have been completely lost at a later pe-
riod of history.
During the latter part of the eighteenth century
the attention of the medical men of France and Eng-
land appears to have been seriously directed to this
branch of surgery. Numerous works on this sub-
ject appeared at this time. Conspicuous among
them were those of Bichat, Blake and Hunter,
and about 1803 the treatises of Fox appeared,
708
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
which laid the foundation of the EngUsh school of
dentistry.
Dentistry was first introduced in the United
States during the Revolution by Le Mair, a French-
man. About 1788, John Greenwood estaJDlished
himself in New York as the first American of his
profession. The next American dentist of prom-
inence was Leonard Koecher, author of the ' ' Prin-
ciples of Dental Surgery, " which appeared in 1826,
and fully established the claims of the art to take
rank as a distinct branch of science.
Preceding the advent of the regular dental sur-
geons in this country, even as late as 1803 the
making of teeth, and cleaning them, appeared to
have been in the hands of the silversmith and jew-
eler. Extracting and other necessary dental op-
erations were performed by regular physicians.
In 1820 there were but one hundred dentists in
the United States. Whether at this precise date
there were any regular practitioners in Albany, we
have not been able to learn. But as early as 1824
there were two dentists in Albany, Beriah Douglas
and Richard C. Skinner, the former of whom
remained in practice for many years, and was
the father of George Douglas, a dental surgeon
of this city of long practice and much prominence
in his day, who died in i860. The elder Douglas
and Richard C. Skinner were reinforced about
1832 by Ira W. Rutherford, probably the third reg-
ular dental surgeon who settled in Albany. In
1835 we find the names of Henry Viller, Louis
Burdell and Verner Cuyler added to the list of
practitioners. The former was in practice here for
many years. Dr. Cuyler died a few years ago at
the Home for Aged Men.
From 1835 to 1840, the names of Josephus
Brockway, Alexander and Robert Nelson, W. A.
Hamilton, J. S. Wood, James S. McAllister, and
David Newcomb, appear among the dentists of
Albany. Of this list David Newcomb is the only
survivor. For many years he was a prominent
member of his profession. A few years ago he
retired from active practice, and at present resides
in Lansingburgh. Josephus Brockway will be re-
membered by many of our citizens. He opened
an ofiice on the corner of Maiden lane and
North Pearl street as early as 1835, and continued
in practice for many years. He died in 1879. He
had four sons, Josephus, William, Charles and
George, all of whom became dentists and followed
their profession in Albany. Of his sons, George is
the only survivor. Under the elder IBrockway's
instruction, many of the earlier Albany dentists
studied the art of dentistry. Among his students
were Andrew Hoffman and the Nelson brothers,
three well-known members of the dental fraternity
in this city.
A few years after the advent of the elder Brock-
way, John C. Austin, C. Copeland, Josephus
Brockway, Jr., J. Monroe, U. H. Wheeler, and
Simon Van Naum, were added to the list of Al-
bany's dental surgeons.
John C. Austin was prominent in the dental pro-
fession here for many years. He was born in
England in 1817, came to America in 1826, and
settled in Albany in 1843, where he continued in
the practice of his art until his death in 1881.
From 1850 to i860, George Douglas, Barney
Wolfe, D. F. Beune, Thomas Elkins, E. Griffin,
Edward Owens, Horace Hogel, M. L. Rhein, and
W. F. Winne commenced the practice of dentistry
at various dates in Albany, Drs. Elkins, Rhein and
Winne being still in practice. D. F. Beune and
Robert Nelson both died in 1867, after many years
of successful practice.
In the period from i860 to 1870 we find the
names of A. Bauer, J. A. Perkins, A. Carter, Bar-
nabus Wood, William Brockway, Caleb J. Wood,
C. F. Wheeler, F. Le Grand Ames, Alexander
McRoberts, and E. C. Edmonds included among
the Albany dentists, of whom Ames, Wheeler and
Edmonds only are now in practice.
Since 1870 up to the present time, the following
have been engaged in the practice of dental surgery
at different periods in this city, but are no longer
included among the Albany dentists: E. F. Skin-
ner, M. Borst, Charles Morrison, R. D. Monroe,
H. J. Traver, Henry T. Flagg, J. P. Niles, and
B. L. Rhein.
The Third District Dental Society was formed
in 1868 by the dentists of the Third Judicial Dis-
trict, as a division of the State Dental Society. At
the time of organization most of the members of
the profession in this district joined the Society;
but from internal discord, comparatively few of the
Albany County dentists now belong to the Society.
F. Le Grand Ames, E. C. Baxter, D.D.S., FranTc
Schermerhorn, C. F. Wheeler, H. L. Whitbeck,
D. D. S., F. Ouimet, and A. I. Verplank, embrace
the limited number now belonging to this organ-
ization.
The dentists at present practicing in Albany are
F. Le Grand Ames, Joseph L. Appleton, C. F.
Wheeler, William F. Winne, Thomas Elkins, An-
drew Hoffman, J. Bogardus, J. F. Brown, J. W.
Canaday, P. C. Carmichael, E. C. Edmonds, J.
Hine, E. C. Baxter, Frank Schermerhorn, H. L.
Whitbeck, F. Ouimet, A. I. Verplank, M. L.
Rhein, C. W. McConnell, John Roberts, M. L.
Rowe, D. E. Rugg, S. Tibbetts, T. R. Whitney,
S. W. Whitney, and E. M. WiUett.
Following are short sketches of a few of Albany's
prominent members of the profession.
C. F. Wheeler was born in Albany in 1838,
He attended the Albany Public Schools and the
Albany Medical College, and studied dentistry with
David Newcomb; commencing the practice of his
profession in Amsterdam in 1862, where he re-
mained four years and then removed to Albany,
where he has been located continuously ever since.
He is a member of the Third District Dental Soci-
ety, and justly considered one of the leading den-
tists of Albany.
William F. Winne was born in Albany in 1839.
Attended the public schools of the city until his
fifteenth year, when he commenced the study of
dentistry under George Douglass, and began prac-
tice here in i860, where he has continued ever
since. For three years he was President of the
Third District Dental Society, and is a member of
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION— MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
709
the New York State Dental Society. In the latter
organization he has been Chairman of the Com-
mittee of Arrangements for the last five years.
Andrew Hoffman was born in Albany in 1824.
He removed from the city when quite a young man
to Waterford, and established the Waierford Senti-
nel, a journal which is still published. Later he
started the Vermont Christian Messenger, and the
Northfield Herald, at Northfield, Vt. In 1857 he
returned to Albany, studied dentistry, and began
practice in 1863.
H. L. Whitbeck was born in Coeymans, Albany
County, in 1854. He practiced dental surgery for
a number of years at Greenville, Green County.
In 1880, he graduated from the Pennsylvania Col-
lege of Dental Surgery, and began the practice of
his profession at Albany in 1882. He is a mem-
ber of the Third District Dental Society, and author
of a treatise on "Caries: Cause, Treatment, and
Preservation of Natural Teeth."
B. F. Rhein was born in Albany in 1853; grad-
uated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Sur-
gery in 1870. He has practiced his profession
successfully in the cities of San Francisco, Albany,
and Chicago, to which last place he removed in
1884.
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
1786.
JULY 22, 1786, was the centenary of the existence
of the corporation of Albany as a city. At a
meeting of the Common Council held in the
City Hall, July 15, 1786, it was resolved to cele-
brate this anniversary in an appropriate manner.
A committee, consisting of Aldermen Rensselaer,
Yates, Wendell, Lush, and Winne, was appointed
to make the necessary arrangements.
At a subsequent meeting, held July i8th, the
Committee made a report as follows: "The Com-
mittee to whom was referred the mode of celebrat-
ing the 2 2d of July instant, being the century
anniversary of this city, do report that, in their
opinion, the Common Council do convene in fore-
noon of that day, at ten o'clock, at the City Hall,
and from thence proceed in procession to the hill
westward of the city, attended by such citizens as
shall choose; that, during the procession, all the
bells of the several churches in this city shall ring;
and at the arrival at the place assigned for the
purpose, on the hill, thirteen toasts, and one for
the charter, under the discharge of fourteen can-
non; and that a barrel of good spirits be purchased
for the occasion." The report was accepted.
A Committee was appointed to conduct the whole
business of the celebration, who made it one of the
most magnificent displays ever known in the city
down to that time. The procession was an impos-
ing pageant, and as it moved up State street pre-
sented a splendid appearance. The ceremonies of
the celebration took place on the ground subse-
quently occupied by the Old Capitol. The expenses
of this celebration were directed, by a vote of the
Common Council, to be paid by the Chamberlain,
or by the Mayor, including the supper, of which
the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the city
partook at Lewis's Tavern on the evening of the
day of celebration.
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
FOR many years in its early history, Albany was
a military post of no mean importance. Dur-
ing the Revolution and the War of 18 12, it was the
key to all the strategic movements of the North.
As a consequence of the importance of its position,
there has always been a militia of some numbers
and importance here. In the early part of this
century the uniformed corps were mostly inde-
pendent bodies, designated by a special title and
wearing uniforms of various patterns. Conspicu-
ous among these early companies, besides those
which will be more especially mentioned hereafter,
were the Albany Republican Artillery, Albany In-
dependent Volunteers, Ninth Rifle Regiment, and
Governor's Guards. At a later period were the
Emmet Guards, City Cavalry, Worth Guards, City
Volunteers, and Albany Scotch Light Artillery —
nearly, if not all of which companies were en-
rolled at diflferent times in the State Militia. The
earlier attempts at enrolling and instructing the
Militia is now chiefly remembered as "general
training day," when all able-bodied men of the
ages required for military service were assembled,
often without uniforms or arms, and a day spent
in instructing them. The Washington Parade
Ground, now a part of the Washington Park, was
frequently used for a day's encampment. The Old
Bull's Head on the Troy road was also used for
that purpose. In 1827 the 27th Regiment of New
York City (now the 7 th), encamped there for a
week. But these yearly exhibitions became more
and more a farce until 1846, when an Act of the
Legislature was passed providing for a new enroll-
ment and organization of the State Militia.
Albany has been the Headquarters of the State
Militia since the adoption of the State Constitu-
tion, and it is but natural that some of the fore-
most men in the organization in the past and
present, have been residents of this city. To give
anything like a complete history of the term ol
service of these representatives of Albany, would in-
clude a longer and more extended account of the
Militia of the State than we are at liberty to give.
Major-General John G. Farnsworth, recently
Adjutant-General, who, prior to the Civil War,
was a private in Company B, 76th Regiment N. G.,
710
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
S. N. Y., April 14, 1862, became Captain and
Assistant Quartermaster U. S. V. In the following
July he was made Chief Quartermaster, 4th Army
Corps. August, 1863, he was made Inspector in
Quartermaster's Department, West Virginia, with
local rank of Colonel, and was honorably dis-
charged October 23, 1865, with the honorary title
of Brevet-Colonel tj. S. V. In 1868, he was made
Colonel loth Regiment N. G., S. N. Y., and re-
tained this position until 1 87 1, when he resigned.
He became Adjutant-General January i, 1883.
General Farnsworth was ably assisted in the man-
agement of his department by Assistant Adjutant-
Generals Colonel John S. McEwan, Colonel J. B.
Stonehouse and Colonel Frederick Phisterer.
Third Division N. G., S. N. Y.— The State Mi-
litia is divided into divisions, these subdivided into
brigades, regiments, battalions aud companies.
The Albany portion of the National Guard since
1846 has been enrolled in the Third Division,
which from 1846 to 1881 comprised the Ninth,
Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Brigades. The
Ninth Brigade included the military forces of Al-
bany, which from;i86i to 1875, beside infantry
companies, comprised two cavalry companies and
one battery of artillery. The Ninth Brigade for
many years was under the command of Brigadier-
General John F. Rathbone, of this city. He was
succeeded in 1867 by David M. Woodhall, who
remained in command until 1877. J. S. Dicke-
man, Frederick Townsend, and T. EUery Lord
were, in the order named, in command of the Ninth
Brigade until 1881, when the Ninth became the
Fifth Brigade.
The yhird Division, under the reorganization of
the Militia in 1881, was made to include the Fifth
and Sixth Brigades and Fourth Battery of Artillery.
This Division is now under the command of Major-
General Joseph B. Carr, with headquarters at Troy.
The Fifth Brigade, as at present organized, was
created in 1881, and now includes the Tenth Bat-
talion and thirteen separate companies. It is under
command of Brigadier-General Robert Shaw Oliver,
who in 1864 was Second Lieutenant 5 th Mass. Vol-
unteer Cavalry; in 1866, Lieutenant tj. S. Infantry;
and in 1869, Captain 8th U. S. Cavalry. In the Na-
tional Guards of this State he has been Colonel loth
Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel and Assistant Ad-
jutant-General of Brigade, and Inspector-General.
The staff of the Ninth Brigade is composed of
Colonel Frederick Phisterer, Assistant Adjutant-
General; Major Richard T. Lockley, Brigade In-
spector; Major Jacob H. Tremper, Jr. , Engineer;
Major Albert Hoysradt, Judge-Advocate; Major
Samuel B. Ward, Brigade Surgeon; William Omar
V. Sage. Ordnance Office; Major Le Grand C.
Tibbetts, Quartermaster; and Major Henry F.
Allen, Commissary of Subsistence.
The Twenty-Fifth Regiment was organized in
1847. The first Colonel was Edward Frisby. In
1857 he was succeeded by J. W. Harcourt From
1858 to i860, E. J. Lansing was Colonel of this
regiment. The first call for troops for the Civil
War, 1 86 1, was responded to by the 25th Regi-
ment, then under command of Colonel Michael K.
Bryan, James Swift, Lieutenant-Colonel, and
David Friedlander, Major. In 1861, with 575
men, it proceeded to Washington, and for three
months served in the defence of that city, and dur-
ing its term of service built Fort Albany. The
companies which accompanied the regiment were :
Albany Republican Artillery, Company A, Captain
J. Fredendall; Montgomery Guards, Company B,
Captain T. McDermott; Worth Guards, Company
C, Captain John Gray; City Volunteers, Company
D, Captain F. Marshall; Albany Washington
Light Infantry, Company E, Captain J. J. Huber;
McGraw Guards, Company F, Captain M. Mc-
Graw; Albany Emmet Guards, Company G, Cap-
tain Henry Mulholland; Garde Lafayette, Company
H, Captain Godfrey; Albany Washington Rifles,
Company L, Captain F. Niewdorf; Albany. Bur-
gess Corps, Company R, Captain Hale Kingsley.
After its term of service was completed, it re-
turned to Albany, but was again mustered in the
United States' service for three months. May, 3 1,
1862, and ordered to Suffolk, Virginia, where it
remained during its period of enlistment, and
there completed its active service during the Re-
beUion.
Colonel Michael K. Bryan, after the return of
his regiment, was instrumental in raising the 175th
Regiment, N. Y. V., and in 1862 accompanied it
to the field as its first commanding officer. He
was a courageous and intrepid leader, and while
gallantly leading his command at the battle of
Port Hudson, was mortally wounded, and died on
the field at the head of his command. For nearly
a quarter of a century Colonel Bryan had taken
an active interest in the military organizations of
this city, and was held in high esteem as a gentle-
man and a brave and worthy soldier.
Colonel Bryan was succeeded as Colonel of the
25th by James Swift, who was followed, in 1864,
by Walter S. Church, who remained in command
four years. D. Friedlander, F. Andes, M. J. Sev-
erance, in the order named, were the commanders
of this regiment, until it was mustered out in
1881.
The Seventv-Sixth Regiment was formed in 1 856.
Its first Colonel was Frederick Townsend, who was
succeeded in command, in 1857, by R. C. Bentley,
who remained its Colonel until it was mustered
out of the service in i860, at which time it was
composed of seven companies: Washington Con-
tinentals, Carroll Corps, Jackson Guards, Marion
Rifles, Union Artillery, Albany Washington Rifles,
and Lafayette Guards. Of the above companies,
two are still in existence, the Washington Conti-
nentals and the Albany Washington Rifles.
The companies of both the 25th and 76th Regi-
ments were known by independent names and
continued to wear distinctive uniforms. The dress
of the rifleman, with its green trimmings, was to
be seen side by side with the red of the artillery,
yellow of the cavalry', red coats of the British, white
of the Austrian, and Scotchmen in kilts and bare
legs, were parts of the same regiment.
The Tenth Regiment was formed in i860. Col.
Ira W. Ainsworth, who was instrumental in organ-
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
711
izing it, was its first commander. Three times did
it volunteer its service to the general Government,
but it was not accepted till September 2, 1862.
At this time it contained ten companies: Company
A, commanded by L. U. Lennox; Company B,
under Captain Charles E. Davis; Company C,
under Captain Stephen Bronk; Company D, under
Captain James Dodds; Company E, under Captain
James McFarlane; Company F, under Captain R.
Harris; Company G, under Captain Morgan L.
Filkins; Company H, under Captain Harmon N.
Merriman; Company I, under Captain Edward
H. Tomlinson, and Company K, under William
H. Brandenburgh.
It entered the United States service for nine
months, and was assigned to General Banks' divi-
sion as the 177th Regiment of N. Y. V. Sailing
from New York City in 1862, to New Orleans, to
take part in the campaign of the Gulf, on its ar-
rival there it was assigned as one of the out-
posts of the defenses to that city, serving in that
position until March, when the campaign in Lou-
isiana was commenced. It served with the 3d
Brigade, 2d Division 19th Corps, on the Amite
River, and participated in the campaigns from New
Orleans to Port Hudson; at the latter place it was
actively engaged during the entire siege, taking
part in the battles of May 27th and 29th, which
resulted in the surrender of the fort and the open-
ing of the Mississippi River. The loth Regiment
returned to Albany in September, 1863. During its
term of service it lost nearly 200 men.
The different Colonels of the loth Regiment, in
the order of their service, are as follows: Ira W.
Ainsworth, Frank Chamberlin, D. M. Woodhall,
L. U. Lennox, John G. Farnsworth, Daniel S. Ben-
ton, John Burns, Robert Shaw Oliver, Amasa J.
Parker, Jr., and John D. Brooks.
In 1864, considerable interest was taken in per-
fecting and strengthening the loth and 25th Regi-
ments, which resulted in making them military
organizations which, for drill, discipline and ap-
pearance, continued the pride of the city as long as
they remained in the National Guard.
A general reduction of the military forces of the
State, in 1881, resulted in the disbandment of the
loth and 25 th Regiments, and the loth Battalion
of four companies was organized out of the dis-
banded forces.
The Tenth Battalion since its organization has
been commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William
E. Fitch. Mr. Fitch was a member of Company
E, loth Regiment, when it enlisted in the United
States service as the 177th N. Y.V. He remained
with this regiment during its entire period of ser-
vice, and was honorably discharged with the State
brevet of Second Lieutenant, N. Y. V. Mr. Fitch
has for many years taken warm and active interest
in military matters, and held many positions in the
National Guard. The Staff Officers of the loth
Battalion are: First Lieutenant Norton Chase, Ad-
jutant; First Lieutenant Howard Batchelder, Quar-
termaster; Major Lewis Balch, Surgeon; Captain
Charles H. Gaus, Inspector of Rifle Practice.
The Tenth Battalion is composed of Companies
A, B, C and D, which were formerly connected
with the loth Regiment. Company A is com-
manded by Captain John H. Reynolds; armory, 80
State street Company B is commanded bj Cap-
tain Horatio P. Stacpole; armory, no State street.
Company C is commanded by Captain James L.
Hyatt; armory. State Arsenal. Company D is com-
manded by Captain Edgar V. Denison; armory,
State Arsenal.
Company A was organized as an independent
company about June 7, 1 860, and is known as the
Albany Zouave Cadets. It was joined to the Na-
tional Guard December 29, i860, as a part of the
loth Regiment. It accompanied that regiment
during its period of enlistment during the Civil War,
a description of which service is elsewhere given.
It was in the service of the State in 1865 in the
Anti-rent War, and in July, 1877, during the rail-
road strikes at West Alban}'. During the Civil
War this company furnished nearly seventy-five
commissioned officers. An Old Guard, composed
of honorably retired members, was organized in
1883, and now numbers many members.
Company B, known as the Washington Conti-
nentals, was organized as an independent company
July 4, 1854. August 28, 1856, it joined the State
Militia, a company of light artillery, and was at-
tached to the 76th Regiment. December 26, i860,
it was assigned to the 29th Regiment, and a few
days after became the nucleus and Company B of
the loth Regiment, and remained with the latter
until it was mustered out of service. Company
B furnished the United States during the rebellion
with sixty commissioned officers.
Third Division Rifle Association. — In 1873, the
loth Regiment, National Guard, organized a Rifle
Association for the purpose of maintaining a rifle
range for the benefit of the members of the National
Guard. Subsequently, in 1875, it gave up its or-
ganization and was succeeded by the Third Division
Rifle Association. This association, composed of
amateur and military riflemen, secured a plot of
ground at the Center, about eight miles from Al-
bany on the line of the New York Central Railroad,
and spent several hundred dollars in clearing the
place and putting it in shape for the erection of the
butts for the accommodation of targets. Its dis-
tance from the city and the time required to reach
the ground.s, led to its abandonment before an}'
targets had been put up.
In 1877, ground was leased in the town of
Greenbush, Rensselaer County, on the Genet Farm,
and the range known as Grand View was laid out
and completed. It was opened in the spring of
1878. This range was used until June, 1880, when
the lease of the ground having expired, and the de-
mand for a range more accessible required its re-
moval, the targets and other appurtenances were
removed to a place about a mile above Bath on the
Hudson, and the new range, known as Rensselaer-
wyck, was formally opened. This being on the line
of the railroad, easily reached at any hour of the
day, has become quite popular. At present there
are four targets used up to three hundred yards,
and three targets from four hundred to six hundred
712
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
yards. The National Guard in this vicinity use it
for their class practice during the summer, while
the amateur riflemen use it the year round.
Th^ practice at the Rensselaerwyck range has
developed many first-class marksmen, some of
whom have achieved a national reputation, and
from the excellence of the scores made there, are
known to the shooting fi-aternity of the United
States.
The principal event of the year is the fall meet-
ing, which usually takes place in October of each
year. At that time, representatives from all the
military organizations assemble and compete for a
prize offered by the State of New York. The or-
ganizations from this city have uniformly been suc-
cessful in these contests, probably on account of
their being able to practice more frequently and
their better knowledge of the peculiarities of the
range.
The Third Division Rifle Association numbers
about 175 members. The ofiicers are Colonel
Amasa J.Parker, Jr., President; Lieutenant Charles
H. Gaus, Vice-President: Lieutenant-Colonel Wm.
E. Fitch, Secretar)'; and Joseph N. McDonald,
Treasurer.
Albany Rifle Association was organized in
1885 and contains about 38 members. J. W.
Freshknecht is President Its range is situated at
the Abbey, about three miles from the city. Rooms,
No. 69 South Pearl street
GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC.
The idea of forming a society of the surviving
soldiers and sailors of the Union Army which
served in the late Civil War, originated with Dr. B.
F. Stephenson of Springfield, Illinois. The first
post was organized April 6, 1866, at Decatur, Illi-
nois. The first attempt at organization in New
York State was made in December, 1867, Post No.
I being started in Rochester. Among those chief-
ly instrumental in introducing the order in this
State were General Barnum, Geo. F. Hooper, John
Palmer, and Edward Cole. The first Commander
of the New York State Department was General Mc-
Kean. The Department Commanders since have
been General Sickles, Colonel Lansing, Generals J.
C. Robinson, Barnum, Stephen P. Corliss, Jardine,
John Palmer, Rogers, Tanner, McQuade, L. Coe,
Young, Merritt, J. S. Eraser, Reynold Hedges,
and H. Clay Hall. Of the above list the name of
Corliss, Palmer and Young, represent Albanians
who have been especially prominent in G. A. R.
circles. Both Palmer and Young are charter mem-
bers of Post 5 of this city, the former of whom
was at one time Past Senior Vice-Commander-in-
Chief, and is regarded as one of the most zealous
workers in the organization.
Lew Benedict Post, No. 5. The surviving
veterans of the war in this city were among the
first in the State to take an interest in advanc-
ing the order, forming Lew Benedict Post, No. 5,
the fifth established in this State, which was organ-
ized Januarj- 30, 1867. The first department con-
ventions were held in the rooms of this post, corner
Green and State streets in December, 1867, when
General Daniel E. Sickles was elected Commander
and James L. Fanly, Assistant Adjutant-General of
the State.
It was named in honor of Brevet Brigadier-
General Lewis Benedict Mr. Benedict was born
in Albany, September 2, 18 17. He was a lawyer
by profession, and stood deservedly high among the
legal fraternity of Albany. In early life he took
much interest in military matters, and in 1847 ^^
made Judge Advocate-General, on the Staff of
Governor Young, and held the same position in
1849, under Governor Fish. In 1861, he was
made Lieutenant-Colonel Second Fire Zouaves
and accompanied his regiment in several engage-
ments. He was taken prisoner at the battle of
Williamsburgh, but was shortly after released. Sep-
tember 30, 1862, he was made Colonel of the
i62d Regiment, N. Y. V., and served gallantly
with his regiment in numerous engagements, till he
was killed at the battle of Pleasant Hill, April 9,
1864, where his bravery and soldierly qualities
received the highest encomiums from his superiors.
His title of Brevet Brigadier-General was gained by
gallant conduct at the battle of Port Hudson. The
Grand Army Post named in his honor was among
the first organized in this State, and has always
taken a high rank among the Posts of the G. A. R-
The first Commander was Morgan L. Filkins. The
following have been at different periods Command-
ers of Post 5: John Palmer, E. A. Ludwig, C. H,
Zeilman, William Blassie, C. C. Shaw, R. H. Mc-
Cormick, T. C. Rowe, Jacob R. Terwilliger, Moses
Stern and N. S. McOmber, the latter of whom is
the present commander. One of the most com-
mendable features of this Post is the efforts
that have been put forward toward aiding sick
and disabled comrades, and in assisting widows
and orphans of deceased soldiers. IMore than
$3,300,000 have been expended by Post 5 in
charities, and it is the only post in the city that
pays weekly benefits to its sick members. From
Post 5, Posts Nos. 1 2 1 and 63 of this City, and one
in New Baltimore, have been organized. On the
roll of membership there are at present over 400
members, while over 1,400 members have joined
it since its organization. It has been represented
in the State Department of the G. A. R., besides
those ahead}- mentioned, by \\'illiam Blasie and
William H. Terrell, both of whom at different
periods have been Assistant Adjutant-General.
Connected with Post 5 is the Lew Benedict Re-
lief Corps No. 44, organized in 1885, and at pres-
ent composed of 60 ladies, the object of which
association is to assist the Post in works of
charity.
For many years it has been noted for the ex-
cellence of its social entertainments, and espe-
cially for its Field Days, from which large sums of
money have been realized. Headquarters of the
Post are situated at Grand Army Hall, comer
Green and Beaver streets.
Lewis O. Morris Post, No. 121, was organized
August 21, 1870, and was the second post formed
in this city. It was named after Lewis Owen
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
713
Morris, who was born at Albany, August 14, 1824.
In 1847 he received the commission of Second
Lieutenant in the First Artillery of the regular
army, in which he remained until 1854, serving in
the Mexican War, at the close of which he was
offered a brevet by the Secretary of War, which he
declined. In 1861 he was stationed in command
of Fort Brown, Texas. At this time the Federal
officers and soldiers in this State were joining the
Southern Confederacy, and his company was the
only one which refused to turn over the property
of the Government to the rebels. In 1862 he be-
came Colonel 113th N. Y. S. v., an Albany County
regiment, which subsequently was changed to
7th Regiment N. Y. S. V. Artillery. In every
position where duty called, Colonel Morris showed
himself to be a brave and courageous officer.
He was killed at the Battle of Cold Harbor,
June 3, 1864. Colonel Morris was a worthy son
of a sturdy line of patriots, his father being killed
in the Mexican War, while his grandfather was
one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence.
Post 121 is a strong and efficient organization,
numbering June 30, 1885, 319 members. It has
an auxiliary order, called the Women's Relief
Corps No. 45, numbering 50 lady workers, who
assist the Post in all charitable enterprises. The
first Commander of the Post was George H. Tread-
well. At different periods the following gentle-
men have held this position : S. P. Corliss, Martin
Harens, S. F. Busham, C. R. Becker, G. McFar-
land and E. A. Coon. The present Commander is
George H. TreadweIl,who has held this office con-
tinuously since 1878.
In 1876 and 1877, Post 121 was greatly reduced
financially, and in numbers, owing to the large sums
of money it had expended in assisting sick and
disabled members. During this period, and subse-
quently, the Post was much indebted to the per-
sonal effisrts of Commander Treadwell, who so
successfully managed its affairs, that to-day the
Post is out of debt, owns much valuable personal,
property, and stands very high in the estimation of
the State Department. About 125 of its members
are uniformed. Post headquarters are located at
480 Broadway.
George S. Dawson Post, No. 63. — This Post
was organized November 25, 1875, with about 40
members, and was named after Major George S.
Dawson, who was born in Rochester, November 7,
1838. For a few months preceding the fall of Fort
Sumter he was a member of Company B of the
loth Battalion. November 6, 1861, he became
First Lieutenant of Company F, 2d Regiment
N. Y. S. Volunteer Artillery. February, 1862, he
was promoted to captain. He died in Albany
December 6, 1865, from the effects of a wound re-
ceived before Petersburg June 16, 1865. During
his term of service he distinguished himself as a
brave and efficient soldier.
The first Commander of Post 63 was Charles D.
Rathbone, since whom E. D. Ronan, Clarence
Corning, Edward McCammon, Angus McD. Shoe-
maker, and R. C. Folger have held the position
90
of Post Commander. The present Commander
is Frederick McCammon. The Post numbers 82
members, with headquarters at the Armory, No.
480 Broadway.
Other Associations of the Grand Army of the
Republic. — Besides the three G. A. R. Posts in
this city, there are two other military associations
in Albany composed of soldiers and sailors who
served in the late Civil War. One is called the
Ex- Prisoners of War Association, and the other
the Seventh Regiment Heavy Artillery Associa-
tion.
The Ex-Prisoners of War Association was or-
ganized in this city in December, 1879, ^-^d is
composed of the soldiers and sailors of Albany
County who were confined as prisoners of war dur-
ing the Rebellion, and at present has a member-
ship of 200, representing ex-prisoners from the rebel
prisons of Andersonville, Bellisle, Libby, Millers,
Florence, Salisbury and Camp Ford. The objects
of the association are to assist indigent ex-prisoners
of war and to secure the passage of a law granting
an additional pension to all who in the service of
their country were forced to endure the hardships
of the rebel prisons.
There are a State and National Order of this
Association, the State Association numbering 3,000
members, and the National 7,000. C. C. Shanklin
is President of the National Association.
Meetings of the Albany Association are held
quarterly, at 480 Broadway. The present officers
are Angus McD. Shoemaker, President; Lewis H.
Stremple, Secretary; and C. Schurr, Treasurer.
The 7TH Regiment Heavy Artillery Associa-
tion was organized in 1881, and is composed of
the surviving members of the 7th Regiment,
N.Y.S. v., which participated in most of the great
battles of the Rebellion, and was largely composed
of Albany County soldiers. It numbers about 200
members. Meetings are held annually, the main
object being social intercourse. The present offi-
cers are George H. Treadwell, President; David
Caswell, Secretary; and Angus McD. Shoemaker,
Treasurer.
Sons of Veterans. — The Order of the Sons of
Veterans is composed of the sons of the soldiers,
sailors and marines who aided in suppressing the
RebeUion. The object is to keep alive and per-
petuate the memory of the defenders of the Union,
and to preserve a spirit of loyalty and allegiance to
the United States.
There are 39 Posts in different parts of this State,
and of these, Frederick Townsend Post No. i, of this
city, is the largest in membership, and takes high
rank for efficiency of organization. It has 140
members, fully uniformed, a drum and fife corps of
20, and a glee club of 10 members.
The present officers are James F. McCabe,
Commander; Joseph C. McClellan, Adjutant; and
Edward Fay, Quartermaster.
Besides Frederick Townsend Post, there are two
others, James M. Warner Post No. 30, and Wm.
H. Russell, Jr., Post No. 25, the former being
commanded by D. S. Harrigan, and the latter by
R, S. Cunningham,
714
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
INDEPENDENT COMPANIES.
From the very earliest period of the settlement of
Beverwyck to the present time, the citizens of
Albany have had many causes to kindle their mili-
tary spirit, and to keep alive an excusable pride in
their military organizations. In the history of the
early wars this has been shown.
From the untrained, uncouth and burlesque
soldiers who maneuvered on the old Washington
Parade Ground, in a later period came many a
patriot who subsequently served his country with
fidelity and distinction, during the War with Mexico,
under Worth, Scott and Taylor, and later still, on
the stubbornly fought fields of the Civil War. The
un-uniformed militia of half a century ago did much
to encourage the organization of regularly enlisted
bodies of citizen soldiery.
Independent companies offered a field wherein
martial ambition could be gratified. To this state
of feeling the Burgesses Corps, Washington Conti-
nentals, and a few other military companies maybe
said to owe their origin. Into such, young men
have flocked to learn the arts of war.
But the present excellent condition of the inde-
pendent companies which now exist, in this city
more especially, can be attributed to the state of
feeling which existed at the close of the Civil War.
Then an immense army of trained soldiers, who,
on their discharge, returned to their homes to re-
sume their peaceful occupations, still kept the fire
of patriotism burning in their breasts. They had
become educated in the life of a soldier on the
tented field, and almost irresistibly their thoughts
reverted to scenes of camp life, its trials and
its pleasures, whenever they saw a parade or
heard the strains of martial music. They natur-
ally drifted in the military organizations which then
existed or have since been organized. It was chiefly
the infusion of this new influence which has raised
to such a high standard of excellence the present
military organizations of Albany.
Albany Burgesses Corps. — The Albany Bur-
gesses Corps was organized on October 8, 1833, at
No. 28 Maiden lane, and derives its name Bur-
gesses— i.e.. Citizens — in honor of the original gov-
ernors of Albany.
The first military officers were: Captain, John
O. Cole; First Lieutenant, Thomas Bayeux; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, John Shorts; Third Lieutenant,
George Vance, Jr.; Ensign, Henry C. Southwick;
Orderly, John Osborne. The first civic officers
were: President, Parker Sargent; Vice-President,
Wynant Crannell; Secretary, George Trumbull;
Treasurer, Joseph Chatterson.
The first parade was made July 4, 1834, with 45
muskets and 5 officers. On July 25, 1834, the
Corps assisted in the torchlight obsequies of Gen-
eral Lafayette. The pall-bearers were the revolu-
tionary companions of General Lafayette, being
Gregory, Van Rensselaer, Van Alstyne, Hilton
Winne, Rockman, Russell and Slichl. The
Yorktown ordnance, 12 pounders, captured by
Lafayette, was in the procession. The first anni-
versary of the corps was celebrated by an excur-
sion to the United States Arsenal at Watervliet and
Troy. Subsequently, on the spur of the moment,
the Lafayette Guards of New York were received
and escorted to Cook's Garden, on State street,
where they encamped and were entertained, leav-
ing the next day for Saratoga, this interchange of
military courtesy being the first time in which the
Corps had an opportunity to show its hospitality.
It was chartered by the Legislature of the State
of New York, Chapter 304, Laws of 1 834.
On the 2 2d of July, 1835, the Philadelphia Na-
tional Grays and Tompkins' Blues, of New York,
were received, and, with the Corps, were reviewed
by Vice-President Martin Van Buren. On the
14th of September the Monroe Blues, of New York,
visited Albany, and were received and entertained
by the Corps.
On the 22d of February, 1836, the Corps gave
its first ball in Stanwix Hall, which had just been
erected, and continued at the same place on each
recurring anniversary of the birth of Washington
until 1848; afterwards at Knickerbocker, Van
Vechten and Bleecker Halls, the Delavan House
and Tweddle and Martin Halls.
In the latter part of 1836 the Corps made its first
extended trip, consuming ten days of time, and
visited New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, and
were all along the line received with free-hearted
and bountiful hospitalities. In 1837, the Corps
escorted Governor Marcy to Schodack Centre, on
the occasion of the presentation of a flag; and the
same year, in conjunction with the Troy Citizens'
Corps, visited Catskill on an excursion.
On July 4, 1838, the First Company of Phila-
delphia State Fencibles were the guests of the
Corps. A grand public dinner was tendered them,
of which 500 partook. A reception to the Utica
Citizens' Corps was another event during the same
year.
In 1839, the Troy Citizens' Corps were enter-
tained and a target excursion to Bethlehem took
place; and later, the Corps, with five other com-
panies from Albany and three from Troy marched
to the Helderberg mountains, under command of
Major Bloodgood, to quell the anti-rent riots,
which was quickly done, without bloodshed, the
formidable appearance of the troops intimidating
the rioters.
In 1840, a target excursion was made to Sara-
toga Springs, and later the Corps camped at Cox-
sackie. Governor William H. Seward and staff be-
ing the guests of the company on this occasion.
In 1 84 1 the uniform was changed from blue to
scarlet after a long and lively debate. The New
York Light Guard were received and entertained.
The same year the Corps visited New York as the
guests of the Tompkins' Blues; also participated in
the second Helderberg War, and were received
upon their return by Governor Seward.
In 1842 the Poughkeepsie Guards were received;
also escorted and banqueted Eagle Engine Com-
pany No. 7.
In 1843, 'he Corps visited Boston, and took part
in the celebration; attended the exercises upon the
completion of the Bunker Hill Monument, and
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
715
were highly spoken of by the Boston papers; also
made an excursion to Schenectady. During 1 844
the Washington Phalanx, of Boston, and the New-
ark City Guards were received ; a target excursion
was made to Pittsfield, Mass. ; acted as escort at
dedication of Albany Rural Cemetery; participated
in the Columbia Anti-rent War; and buried Captain
Thomas Bayeux, and afterwards erected a hand-
some monument to his memory. In 1845, 'he
Seventh Regiment of New York was escorted to
Camp Schuyler on the Troy road. Encamped at
the Catskill Mountain House in 1846. During
1847 escorted the remains of the Mexican War
veterans — Fields and Williams — to Buffalo. In
1848 the Corps' armory was burned; received and
entertained Company H First New York Volun-
teers and the Boston City Guards. Saratoga was
visited in 1849; In 1850, New York, Boston,
Providence, Fall River, Lowell and Springfield,
consuming ten days. Guests of Boston City Guard
and Providence Light Infantry. In 1851, recep-
tion of President Millard Fillmore; and visited
Springfield and met Boston City Guards. In 1852,
attended funeral of General Solomon Van Rensse-
laer; also accompanied remains of Henry Clay to
Syracuse ; escorted Kossuth; also Major-General
Winfield Scott; received the Paterson (N. J.)
Blues. In 1853, received the Providence Artillery.
In 1854, grand banquet at Capitol — twenty-first
anniversary; at funeral of Adjutant-General Tem-
ple: also on guard under Sheriff. In 1855, first
meeting in Museum Building Armory; received
Company D, of Buffalo; on guard under Sheriff;
also visited Lansingburgh. In 1856, paraded as
escort at dedication of Dudley Observatory. In
1857, escort at Inaugural of Governor King; at-
tended inauguration of President Buchanan at
Washington; also Guard of Honor and escort at
funeral obsequies of Governor William L. Marcy;
also visited Waterford. In 1858, visited Sara-
toga; by invitation of Corps, a joint parade was
made in Albany of Utica Citizens Corps, Troy
Citizens Corps and A B C's, in honor of defeat of
attempt to disband independent organizations; re-
viewed by Governor King and staff; also visited
Hudson; also, paraded at night on completion of
laying the Adantic Cable. In 1859 the monu-
ment to Captain Thomas Bayeux was dedicated;
also guests of Governor Morgan on July 4th; also
received Fifth Company Seventh Regiment, N. Y.
S. M. ; also, target excursion to Saratoga Springs;
also escorted Perseverance Hose Company of Phil-
adelphia ; paraded at Troy at funeral of Captain
Edward D. Blanchard, of Troy Citizens Corps.
In i860, escort to the Prince of Wales; also
received Ellsworth Zouaves, of Chicago, and Provi-
dence Light Infantry; also encamped with Troy
Citizens Corps at Camp Morgan, Saratoga Springs,
and reviewed by Governor Morgan; also on guard
under Sheriff. In 1861, escort to President Abra-
ham Lincoln; also escort to Governor Morgan at in-
auguration. The Company, 84 rank and file, under
Captain Hale Kingsley, fully equipped, at its own
expense, left for the seat of war, April 30th, in res-
ponse to first call for troops; dedication of Fort
Albany on Arlington Heights, Va. ; also paraded
at funeral of W. A. Jackson, of A B C's, i8th N.
Y. V. In 1862 paraded at funeral of Colonel
Edward Frisby and Harman Visscher, of the A B
C's, and Colonel Pratt. Armory removed to
Bleecker Hall; also escort to Fire Department.
In 1863 paraded at funerals of Colonel M. K.
Bryan and Captain Douglas Lodge. In 1864, pa-
raded at funerals of Colonels John Wilson and
James D. Visscher, and Captain Robert Bell, all of
A B C's; also presented a battle flag to Colonel
Wilson's 43d N. Y. V. In 1865, escort to re-
mains of President Abraham Lincoln; also received
and entertained at armory the 43 d Regiment, N.
Y. v., on its return from the war. In 1866,
reception and Guard of Honor to President John-
son; also grand banquet at Congress Hall. In
1867, grand charity ball, gross receipts $2,740;
also excursion to Newburgh. In 1868, Utica
Citizens' Corps, our guests; received Company B.
on its return from New Haven; also ball and con-
cert at Tweddle Hall. In 1869, at Washington,
at inauguration of President U. S. Grant; also an
excursion to Binghamton, presenting Fire De-
partment with silver trumpet; also funeral of Ma-
jor-General John E. Wool; also reception of 7th
N. Y. Regiment. Old Guard of A B C was or-
ganized September 20th. In 1870, excursion to
Elmira; grand ball at opening of Martin Hall;
also paraded at funeral of General George H.
Thomas, U. S. A., at Troy. In 1871, at laying
of corner-stone of New Capitol ; also received
Fountain Hose Company No. 4, of Binghamton;
also subscribed $1,000 and sent 300 blankets to
the relief of the Chicago sufferers. In 1872, ex-
cursion to Poughkeepsie; also presented with a
silk flag by the Binghamton Fire Department. In
1873, escort at inauguration of Governor John A.
Dix; also at Washington at second inauguration
of President U. S. Grant; also funeral escort of
Captain William H. Taylor. In 1874, excursion
to Syracuse; also grand charity ball at Martin Hall;
net proceeds $2,683. I'l i875) excursion to
Hudson; also, a parade at Schenectady. In 1876,
the Nation's Centennial; made a midnight parade.
In 1877, excursion to Rochester, Buffalo and Ni-
agara Falls; guests of Buffalo City Guard ; also
served six days in July railroad riots; also escorted
Worcester Continentals. In 1878, excursion to
Utica; guests of Utica Citizens' Corps; also at
Saratoga with Old Guard of A B C; also at fu-
neral of John O. Cole, the first Captain of Corps;
also the Charter of Corps confirmed by the New
York Legislature. In 1879, escort at National
G. A. R. and Army of the Potomac celebrations
at Albany, during which time the Old Guard of
New York and the Utica Citizens' Corps were our
guests; also escorted Post 2, G. A. R., of Phila-
delphia, and Post i, G. A. R., of Baltimore; also
went on an excursion to Pittsfield; also on guard
under Sheriff; also a grand ball in Martin Hall, in
adjunct to the opening of the New Capitol. In
1880, gave a reception to its own Old Guard;
also escorted the Albany Fire Department; also at
funeral of S. S. H. Parsons, for twenty-five years
716
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
President of Corps. In 1881, grand ten- day ex-
cursion to Binghamton, Chicago, St. Louis, Cin-
cinnati and Cleveland, in a great special train of
Pullman cars; also funeral escort of Hale Kingsley,
ex-Captain of Corps; also a midnight reception to
Utica Citizens' Corps while on its way to Wash-
ington.
In 1882 it made an excursion to North Adams,
through Hoosac Tunnel and to Williamstown. In
1883, funeral escort to ex-Captain William J.
Thomas; also celebrated its "Semi-Centennial,"
October 8th and 9th, by parades, banquets, ball,
etc., with Governor Grover Cleveland and Staff as
guests; also at celebration of Centennial of Evac-
uation of New York, in New York City. In 18 84
visited Slingerlands on target excursion; also escort
at laying of comer-stone of All Saints Cathedral. In
1885, participated in funeral ceremonies and as
Guard of Honor to General U. S. Grant, at Al-
bany, August 4th and 5th; also excursion to Bos-
ton, Providence and Worcester.
For twenty-five years the Corps commemorated
Washington's Birthday by a ball; and has not failed,
in fifty-two years, pursuant to the requirements of
its constitution, to parade upon the day of the
Celebration of the Anniversary of the Declaration
of Independence of the United States; and since
1 84 1 it has acted as escort to the Mayor, Alder-
men and Commonalty of the City of Albany on
that day.
The Commandants of the Corps since October 8,
1833, have been John O. Cole, Thomas Bayeux,
John Osborn, B. R. Spelman, Rufus King, Franklin
Townsend, James W. Blanchard, George Hum-
phrey, William J. Thomas, Hale Kingsley, James
C. Cook, Michael H. Donovan, William H. Tay-
lor, Walter Dickson, Henry B. Beecher, Frank W.
Vosburgh, and Oscar Smith.
The following are the present officers of the Corps
1884-85. Military: Oscar Smith, Commandant;
Wm. M. Hussey, First Lieutenant; James Mc-
Int)re, Second Lieutenant, James A. Shattuck,
Third Lieutenant, Charles E. Wolf, First Sergeant.
Staff: Graham Martin, Adjutant; Frank J. Childs,
Inspector; Henry C. Haskell, Engineer; Jacob C.
Cuyler, Judge Advocate; H. E. Mereness, M.D.
Surgeon; Chas. E. Jenkins, Sr., Ordnance Officer;
William J. Sherman, Quartermaster; Morton Ha-
vens, Assistant Quartermaster; A. H. Ackerman,
Paymaster; Charles E. Leland, Commissar}';
George L. Thomas, Inspector Rifle Practice; Galen
R. Hitt, Signal OiBcer; A, F. Brown, Aide-de-
Camp; Civic: Galen R. Hitt, President; Henry
C. Haskell, Vice-President; Charles E. Wolf, Re-
cording Secretary; J. J. Van Schoonhoven, Finan-
cial Secretary; H. E. Mereness, M.D. , Treasurer.
Washington Rifle Company. — This military or-
ganization was formed February 22, 1844, with
only 26 members. Formerly it was composed
entirely of Germans, and now is composed largely
of that element. Its first captain was Henry Fakle.
During its first year it was presented by ladies of
Albany with a beautiful flag, costing $600, upon
which was a portrait of General Washington. This
the company still retains. In 1845 it went to
Hudson with 40 men, against the anti-renters. In
1 86 1, with about 40 men, it joined the State Militia
as a part of the 25th Regiment, and went with it to
Washington. After it returned to Albany, it assisted
in guarding the Albany barracks. In 1866 it joined
the 25th Regiment as Company K, remaining as
the State Militia until the disbandment of the regi-
ment in 1 88 1.
In 1 88 1 it was reincorporated as an independent
military association, with the right of wearing and
bearing arms, holding property and paying benefits.
At present it is a military organization, finely drilled
and handsomely uniformed, containing 46 regular
members, 3 line and 10 staff officers, 2 color bear-
ers, and a company of 25 members, constituting
the Old Guard. This company has always taken
much pride in its uniforms. In 1866 it spent over
$4,000 for that purpose, and while in the Slate
Militia it retained its own uniform.
George Krank, now Captain of the Washington
Rifle Company, has always taken much interest in
this organization from its start He served with it
in the Rebel War, and after its return from service,
entered the 44th Ellsworth Zouaves. Afterward he
was made Brevet-Captain in the 7th Heavy Artillery.
In the National Guards he was made Major of the
25th Regiment, afterward Lieutenant- Colon el, hav-
ing command of the regiment when it was mustered
out in 1881.
Since the organization of the Washington Rifle
Company, besides those already mentioned, the fol-
lowing have been Captains in the order named :
Christopher Triger, J. J. Huber, W. P. PaflF, John
Zimmerman, Frederick Wenderfer, Frederick Kreen-
dler, August Widdman, and Mathias Keiser.
Albany Jackson Corps. — For many years previous
to the year 1868, there existed in this city a Young
Men's Democratic Association, which was large in
numbers and wielded no little influence as a polit-
ical body. It was in its zenith of vigor when Franklin
Pierce was elected President in 1853; but after the
election of Buchanan, in 1857, began to wane. It
gradually grew weaker until 1866 or 1867, when the
Jackson Association was formed upon the ruins of
the once powerful Young Men's Democratic Asso-
ciation. The new association, as well as the old,
had quarters in the old Exchange Building; but in
1867 the Jackson Association changed its quarters
to the iron building on Broadway. In the ranks
of the latter association were several of the leading
local politicians of the day; but they, like their
predecessors, gradually became less interested in
the welfare of the association, until the early days
of 1868, when they resolved to disband. At this
time there were several active men in the organiza-
tion, among whom may be mentioned the following:
Andrew M. Combs, Samuel K. Brate, Adam
Cook, Wm. J. Cook, John C. Nott, George W.
Harcourt, Michael L. Mead, William Hodgsett,
Peter Hogan, John M. Carroll, George H. Graves,
Denis A. Rowan, James A. Browne, Thomas H.
Dwyer, Jerome Smith, Edward Bostock, Andrew
Vosburgh, Harry Ball, John J. Mee, Henry C.
Haskell, Joseph B. Zeiser, William Le Galley,
James H. Mulligan, G. Dudley Burdick, Charles
MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.
717
H. Blake, Albert Albers, George B. .Conley, John
M. Rankin, Alexander Reed, John R. Bradstreet,
James AUanson, Edward J. Keating, James A.
Lynam, James Macfarlane, Conrad Reno, Robert A.
Scott, Oscar L. Hascy, Andrew Tennant, Robert H.
Moore, James Quinn, Terence J. Quinn, George W.
Hoxie, Henry R. Haskins, William J. McCann, and
other well-known citizens.
Captain James Macfarlane, a member of the
Association, who had served during the Rebellion,
in the 177th N. Y. V., and who was also
identified with the National Guard, conceived the
idea of organizing a military company from the
remnant of the old Jackson Association. In this
suggestion he was ablysupported by Jerome Smith,
Albert Albers, T. J. Quinn, Wm.J. Cook, Thos. H.
Dwyer, Peter Hogan, and Henry C. Haskell, who
had also served as soldiers during the war. The
idea was received with enthusiasm, and pushed
forward with vigor, resulting in the organization of
the Albany Jackson Guards, August 13, 1868, with
the following officers :
Captain, James Macfarlane; First Lieutenant,
William Le Gallez; Second Lieutenant, Jerome
Smith; First Sergeant, John R. Bradstreet. Staff"
Officers: Adam Cook, Henry C. Haskell, Peter
Hogan, John M. Rankin, Alexander Reed, George
H. Graves, Oscar L. Hascy, James H. Mulligan,
Henry R. Haskins, William D.Dickerman, Andrew
M. Combs, George W. Hoxie, John L. Staats,
Andrew Vosburgh, Edward Bostock.
For a year or two the organization was known
as the Jackson Guards, after which the name was
changed to the Albany Jackson Corps. In polit-
ical campaigns the organization formed the pop-
ular Jacksonians, and took part in all the great
political demonstrations occurring during the en-
suing ten years.
The Jackson Corps acted as escort to Hon.
John T. Hoffman on the occasion of his inaugu-
ration as Governor, January i, 1869. It was a
memorable day, a blinding snow-storm prevailing,
the members of the Corps being literally covered
with snow as they marched along the streets.
The Jackson Corps also acted as the immediate
escort to Hon. Samuel J. Tilden on the occasion
of his inauguration as Governor on January i,
1875. This was an honor which the members ap-
preciated so greatly that they engaged the famous
Gilmore's Band, of New York, at a great ex-
pense, to furnish the music for the parade.
The Jackson Corps participated in the cere-
monies attending the laying of the corner-stone
of the New Capitol, June 24, 1870. On this oc-
casion they marched though a drenching rain-
storm, each man getting saturated.
The Jackson Corps also took a prominent part in
the Centennial displays which took place on New
Year's Eve, 1 876, and on July 4th of the same year.
During the riots of 1877, the Jackson Corps was
assigned the important position of guarding the up-
per railroad bridge, and so satisfactorily did they
perform their duty, that the Commanding Officer,
Major-General Joseph B. Carr, took occasion to
compliment them in general orders.
Two of the grandest public balls ever given in
Albany were under the auspices of the Jackson
Corps. One was at Tweddle Hall in 1872, and
the other in 1874, when Music Hall and the City
Building were joined by a bridge, and both build-
ings devoted to the pleasure of the immense
throng in attendance. The decorations of the
above halls on these respective occasions were
never excelled. On the latter occasion a real
stream of water flowed down among the rocky for-
mations on the stage, while canaries, Cologne
fountains and an elaborate floral display, converted
the hall into a bower of enchanting beauty.
About the year 1878, the Jackson Corps, which
had hitherto been looked upon as a political body,
became in every sense an independent military or-
ganization, its doors being thrown open to all re-
spectable young men, no matter what their politics,
and the company is to-day one of the strongest
and best disciplined bodies of citizen soldiery in
the Slate.
Since organization it has visited Hudson (twice),
Kingston (twice), Saratoga, Utica, Troy (three
times), Schenectady, Springfield, Mass., Elizabeth,
N. J. (twice), Boston, Mass., Washington, D. C,
Baltimore, Md., and Philadelphia, Pa., in each of
which the company was hospitably received and
royally entertained by citizens and soldiers.
In 1879, the Corps received and entertained the
veteran Zouaves, of Elizabeth, N. J., General J.
Madison Drake commanding, and acted as escort
to the above organization in the grand parade
which took place on the occasion of the reunion
of the Grand Army of the Republic in this city in
1879.
One of the memorable events in which this or-
ganization participated, was the inauguration of
Governor Cleveland as President of the United
States, at Washington, D. C, March 4, 1885, on
which occasion the Company was a marked feature
in the military parade, winning applause all
along the line for its magnificent appearance,
splendid marching and thorough discipline. An-
other event of note in which the Jackson Corps
added to its proud record and reputation, was the
funeral procession in Albany over the remains of
General Ulysses S. Grant, August 4 and 5, 1885.
In the procession on the 4th of August, the Jack-
son Corps acted as escort to the Grant Club, when
the brilliant uniform of the Corps shone resplen-
dent amid its somber surroundings, and the steady,
soldierly marching of the men won general admi-
ration from the assembled spectators. On the
morning of August 5th, the Jackson Corps acted
as a Guard of Honor over the remains of General
Grant, while they lay in State in the New Capitol,
from 7 A.M. until 9.45 a.m., the casket being re-
moved from the Capitol at 10.20 a.m.
The Jackson Corps owns property valued at
|io,ooo, embracing uniforms, equipments, arms,
furniture, pictures, etc.
The company was organized August 13, 1868.
It is named after General Andrew Jackson, the hero
of New Orleans, and President of the United States
from 1829 to 1837, whose birthday, March 15th,
718
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
the Corps annually honors by a parade and banquet,
the latter being always attended by many leading
citizens as guests.
James Macfarlane was the first Commandant of
the Albany Jackson Corps, and has been unani-
mously re-elected to the same position each year
since. He is still at the head of this organiza-
tion, with a record of over thirty-five years of
consecutive military service. He commenced his
military career in 1850, being one of the organi-
zers of the old Worth Guards on May 27th of
that year. He also served as Captain of Com-
pany E, 177th N. Y. v., during the campaign of
that regiment in Louisiania, under General Banks,
in 1862-63.
The Jackson Corps Association is incorporated
under the laws of the State, and is composed of
members of the Corps. This association owns the
building No. 38 Beaver street, occupied by the
Jackson Corps as an armory.
Corning Corps. — This company, composed of
thirty-three young men in the lower part of the city,
has been but recently organized. It is named in
honor of Erastus Coming.
SECRET ORDERS.
FREEMASONS.
THE first organization of Freemasons existing
in Albany after its settlement, was Lodge No.
74 (Registry of Ireland), composed of officers in
the Second Battalion Royal, holding a warrant
from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, dated October
16, 1737. There is every evidence that they were
scholars and gentlemen, as they brought with them
and kept up a large and valuable library of rare
books, which they left here when the battalion was
ordered away. Many, if not all the volumes are
now in the library of the Albany Female Academy.
In April, 1759, the battalion having been ordered
to some other post, left the city. Several citizens
had been admitted to the lodge during the stay of
the battalion, and the officers left authority for the
resident members to continue their meetings.
Masters' Lodge purchased from the city a plot of
ground on the northwest corner of Lodge street
and Maiden lane, and the city having donated an
adjoining piece of ground, a lodge-house was
erected by Masters' Lodge and the Ineffable, the
comer-stone of which was laid with ceremony,
May 12, 1768. This was the first lodge-house in
America. The building after completion was occu-
pied by the two bodies for some years, but the
records fail to show at what time it was vacated.
The ground is still the property of Masters Lodge,
and has been leased to Sl Peter's Church for a
term of years. The rectory of the church stands
upon the ground.
Henry Andrew Francken came from Jamaica, and
on the 20th of December, 1767, instituted the
Ineffable and Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection.
The original charter of the body is still in its pos-
session, and has been its authority from that time
to this. The Grand Council of Princes of Jera-
salem was organized at the same time.
Meetings of all Masonic bodies are now held in
the Albany Savings Bank Building, where are two
lodge rooms, a library, an armory, waiting and
reception rooms, all handsomely furnished and
nicely adapted to their use.
The Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of
the State have met annually since 1 798, on the first
Tuesday in February, in Albany. All meetings,
from an uncertain date, were held in the building
southwest corner Broadway and Steuben, until
1 86 1, when they were removed to a hall in the
building occupied by W. M. Whitney & Co. , until
1875, when the present hall was formally dedicated
and occupied. The Order has had public parades,
and laid the comer-stones of the Old and New City
Halls, the New Capitol, the U. S. Government
Building, and many other public buildings.
Before the American Revolution most of the
Grand Lodges of the United States were held under
the authority of the Grand Lodge of Ancient York
Masons in England, and were denominated Pro-
vincial Grand Lodges, and subject to the super-
vision of the Grand Lodge of England.
The first Masonic Lodge constituted in Albany
was called the Union Lodge. It was organized
February 21, 1765, under the authority of George
Harrison, Provincial Grand Master, who installed
Peter W. Yates as Worshipful Master. The fol-
lowing year the city gave a plot of ground on the
hill near the fort adjoining the English butying-
ground, on which to erect a lodge building. The
name of this lodge was afterward changed to its
present title, Mount Vernon Lodge.
Masters' Lodge, No. 5, was organized March 5,
1768. Its first Master was William Gamble, and
its first Wardens Samuel Stringer and Jeremiah
Van Rensselaer.
After the Revolution, and about the year 1785,
the Provincial Grand Lodge of the State of New
York was closed, and an Independent Grand Lodge
opened in its stead. Yet the Masons of the State
of New York looked to the Grand Lodge of Eng-
land for instmction in the operations of the craft.
About the year 1793, John Hanmer came from
England to the City of Albany, and remained here
until 1800. He was well skilled in the ancient
lectures and mode of work as practiced in Eng-
land. T. S. Webb, Ezra Ames, Gideon Fairman,
Philip S. Van Rensselaer, and many others residing
SECRET ORDERS.
719
in Albany, put themselves under his instruction
Avho conformed his practice to the lodges then ex-
isting. He awakened much interest in masonry,
and during his stay, on November 14, 1796, Tem-
ple Lodge, No. 14, was established, of which he
was first Master; Temple Chapter, of which he was
the first High Priest; and the Grand Chapter, of
which he was Secretary. The early Masonic insti-
tutions in and around Albany were reorganized
under his supervision, and owe much to his thor-
ough knowledge and instruction.
Below will be found a table giving the most im-
portant facts relating to the several lodges in this
city.
Lodges.
Mount Vernon Lodge, No. 3 . . . .
Masters' Lodge, No. 5
Temple Lodge, No. 14
Washington Lodge, No. 85
Ancient City Lodge, No. 452. . .
Wadsworth Lodge, No. 417
Gutteuberg Lodge, No. 737
Chapters.
Temple Chapter, No. 5
Capital City Chaptei-, No. 42. . .
De Witt Clinton Council, No. 22
COMMANDERY.
Temple Commandery,_No. 2.. . .
Instituted.
Feb. 21, 1765
Mar. 5, 1768
Nov. II, 1796
1841
July 21, 1852
Jan. 23, 1856
June 20, 1873
1797
Feb., 1870
June 4, 1861
1797
Incorporated.
Membership.
1882-83.
Mar. 17, 1874
May 26,' 1881
June 15, 1868
June 12, 1857
March, 1870
1877
198
357
130
224
185
80
I.3S9
Monthly Meetings.
1st and 3d Mondays.
2d and 4th Mondays.
1st and 3d Tuesdays.
2d and 4th Thursdays.
1st and 3d Wednesdays.
2d and 4th Wednesdays.
1st and 3d Thursdays.
2d and 4th Tuesdays.
2d and 4th Fridays.
3d Thursday.
1st and 3d Fridays.
The returns made in 1849 showed a total mem-
bership of 117 in the lodges then existing. There
have been many additions made to all the organ-
izations since 1882-83.
Other Masonic bodies in Albany are: Temple
Tabernacle, No. 5, U. S. A. ; Albany Conclave,
No. 8; Red Cross of Constantine; Ineffable and
Sublime Grand Lodge of Perfection; Grand Coun-
cil of Princes of Jerusalem; Albany Sovereign
Chapter of Rose Croix, Albany Sovereign Consis-
tory; Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret; Cypress
Temple, N. M. S.
ODD FELLOWSHIR
Odd Fellowship makes no claims to antiquity,
but history gives no record of the date of its origin.
The first public notices, at the beginning of the
eighteenth century, show it to have at the time
been an Order of considerable membership, with a
sufficient number of subordinate organizations to
be worthy of notice by poet and historian. Its
existence was mainly confined to Great Britain,
where there now exists twenty-seven branches of Odd
Fellows, and the entire membership of the world is
estimated to number nearly two millions. The es-
tablishment of the Order in America was a trans-
planting from England. The first lodge in this
country is supposed to have been organized at
Baltimore in 1802, and one is known to have
sprung up in New York in 1806, but the first suc-
cessful planting of the Order on this continent was
by Thomas Wildey, an Englishman, and four asso-
ciates, members of the Order in the mother country,
at Baltimore, April 26, 1819. From that founda-
tion has been built up the great Independent Order
of Odd Fellows of America, which has admitted
1,365,000 members, given relief in i, 152,000 cases
of sickness and distress, aided 152,000 widowed
families, buried nearly 113,000 members, and ex-
pended for the same the sum of $39,000,000, out
of an income of 1 104, 000, 000. On January i,
1885, the Order contained 8,057 lodges, with an
active membership of 532,467. The sum of $2,-
111,927 was expended in relief during 1884, or
$5,800 each day; while the income from dues and
fees amounted to $5,275,000, or $14,450 each
day.
The Order's first principle. Fraternity, is founded
on the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of
Man, requiring the practice of true friendship and
brotherly love. To visit the sick, relieve the dis-
tressed, bury the dead, protect and aid the widow,
and educate the orphan, is the obligated duty of
the membership. Its teachings lead to the im-
provement and elevation of character and enlight-
enment of the mind.
The history of the Order in Albany County has
never been written, and the limited time at our
command does not permit of searching the records
of the numerous subordinates to obtain a continu-
ity of facts and figures. The first lodge to be in-
stituted was Hope Lodge, No. 3, now existing as
No. 2, which was granted a dispensation April 24,
1826.
The second lodge was Philanthropic Lodge, No.
5, for which a charter was granted in September,
1827, to Russell Watts, John Snyder, John Osborn,
Isaac L. Welsh and Peter H. Snyder.
In August, 1828, Russell Watts, of Albany, was
elected Grand Master, and shortly afterward Clinton
Lodge was organized by John 0. Cole, Daniel P.
720
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Marshal, Martin Gaylord, John F. Porter, and Eli
Periy.
The Grand Lodge of the State was then moved
to Albany and held its sessions in the city till 1836,
all the grand officers being from the local lodges.
The Order experienced years of great prosperity
as well as years of adversity, but from decade to
decade has shown a steady growth, and contains in
this county to-day 19 lodges with a membership of
1,600. The receipts of the past year amounted to
$12,455.52, and expenses 15,839.36. There was
paid for relief during the past year $5,213.30, and
it is estimated that during its existence it has paid
$150,000 in relief in this county alone.
There are three encampments of the patriarchal
branch of the Order in the county. New York,
No I, was one of the first few encampments insti-
tuted, its charter dating back to 1829. It, for
eleven years, held grand encampment powers in
the State of New York. Albany encampment. No.
58, and Cohoes encampment, No. 71, are births
of the last decade. The encampment member-
ship numbers 450 in this county.
The military branch of the Order is represented
by Canton Nemo, No. i. Patriarchs Militant, con-
taining 75 members and fully equipped with the
beautiful uniform of the Order. Its reputation
as an organization is widespread.
The Ladies' Branch of the Order, the Daughters
of Rebekah, composed of the wives, sisters and
daughters of members, is represented by Albany
Lodge, No. 9, of Albany, German Oak Lodge, No.
31, of Albany (working in the German language),
and Prospect Lodge, No. 57, of Cohoes. They
are each prosperous and doing a great benevolent
work. The first named has a world-wide reputa-
tion for its proficiency in the ritualistic work, and
for its enterprise and prosperity.
Auxilliary to the Order is the Odd Fellows,
Relief Association, on the assessment plan of co-
operative insurance, containing about 500 mem-
bers.
The Order owns no hall, but has leased for a term
of years the upper part of the building No. 20
North Pearl street, and fitted up the same in a
splendid manner. There are three lodge meet-
iiig rooms, beside the usual auxiliary rooms, and
every organization of the Order in this city holds
meetings there, except two subordinate and one
Rebekah degree lodges.
The Order in the county must be considered
prosperous, strong and influential; doing a good
work in relieving distress and ameliorating the con-
dition of the unfortunate.
The leading organ of the Order in the Eastern
States, The Guide, was established in this city in
July, 1 88 1, and is still published, having a wide
circulation and making the city renowned in the
Order as its place of publication.
KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.
The Order of Knights of Pythias was founded in
the City of Washington, D. C., on the 19th day of
February, 1864, by Justus Henry Rathbone, a na-
tive of Utica, in the State of New York, assisted by
several gentlemen, all of whom were members of a
club of musicians. Its growth was rapid, and it
soon extended over the States adjacent to the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and was introduced in New York
early in the year 1 868. On the 20th day of Sep-
tember, 1869, some forty citizens of the village of
West Troy joined in an application for a dispensa-
tion to form Watervliet Lodge, No. 23, which was
instituted on the 24th day of that month. Soon
after, several citizens of the City of Albany, desirous
of organizing a lodge, became members of Water-
vliet Lodge, afterward withdrawing, therefrom and
starting Peabody Lodge, No. 3 2, in their own city.
The application was made January 3, 1870, and
its initiation followed on the 20th of the same
month. Both of these lodges had representatives
present at the second annual session of the Grand
Lodge, which convened in Masonic Hall, in the
City of New York, on the 27th of January, 1870.
On May 21st of the same year, dispensation was
granted to organize Mount Gilboa Lodge, No. 42,
to be located in the City of Albany, and its organi-
zation followed soon after.
Previous to August i, 1870, several members of
Peabody Lodge withdrew, and organized Riverside
Lodge, No. 4 7, at Bath on the Hudson, which Lodge
has been one of the most flourishing in the State
ever since that time, and at the present writing is
one of the institutions of that suburb of the City of
Albany, there being no other lodge of any kind in
the place.
On the 20th day of May, 1871, Egbert Lodge,
No. 56, was organized at Cohoes, followed by the
organization of Chancellor's Lodge, No. 58, at Al-
bany, on July 25th, and on the nth of September
by Steuben Lodge, No. 62, at Albany. This last
Lodge was and still is composed of Germans,
many of whom were among the leading citizens of
the city.
On the 8th of January, 1872, Grove Lodge, No.
71, was organized, and on March 13th, Columbia;
No. 77; followed by Fort Orange, No. 79, on March
20th; Barbarossa, No. 84, a German lodge, on May
2ist; and Carnaut, No. 88, in October of the same
year, all in the City of Albany. Since that date no
new lodges were organized in Albany County until
March 17, 1882, when Washington Lodge, No. 181,
was instituted at Knowersville.
Of the twelve lodges organized in this county,
ten of them are still in existence and in a flourish-
ing condition. Of the two others. Mount Gilboa,
No. 42, surrendered its charter in 1879, owing to
internal dissensions among its members; and Cov-
enant, No. 88, consolidated in 1878 with Columbia,
No. 77. Grove Lodge, No. 71, surrendered its
charter in 1880, but reclaimed it, and was reorgan-
ized December 8, 1881. Watervliet, No. 23, re-
moved from West Troy to Green Island some time
previous to 1873, and has ever since that tinie been
located at the latter place. Of these lodges, Steu-
ben, No. 62, and Barbarossa, No. 84, work in the
German language.
In January, Sections No. 56 and No. 76 of the
Endowment Rank of the Order were instituted at
MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES.— POLITICAL CLUBS.
721
Albany, the latter of which is composed almost
wholly of members of Chancellor's Lodge. The
object of this rank is the insurance of its members
upon the co-operative or assessment plan of insur-
ance, and this branch of the Order is entirely under
the control of the Supreme Lodge. At the incep-
tion of the Order of Knights of Pythias, its purpose
was that all its members should procure uniforms,
■ the style of which was in some respects similar to
that of ancient chivalry; but the rapid increase in
membership soon outgrew that idea, or, at best,
made it difficult to enforce, and at a later period in
the history of the Order, gave rise to a separate
rank, called the Uniform Rank, the members of
which were compelled to procure the required out-
fit. Some time in 1875 an association was formed
composed of members of the different lodges, and
called the Uniformed Knighls Association of the
City of Albany, all of whom procured the required
uniform and perfected themselves in the drill and
discipline of the Order. In 1878, when the Su-
preme Lodge created the Uniform Rank, this as-
sociation reorganized under the name of Albany
Division No. 2, U. R., subject to the laws govern-
ing the same, and has ever since formed a part of
that Rank.
In July, 1876, the Grand Lodge held its eighth
annual session in the City of Albany. Through the
courtesy of Governor Tilden, the Assembly Cham-
ber of the then Old Capitol was occupied by it,
and owing to the excellent light and ventilation,
ample committee-rooms, comfortable chairs, and
freedom from noise, that session has become mem-
orable as one of the most pleasant held by the
Grand Lodge. Among those who have become
prominently and permanently connected with the
Order in this State, who are members of ledges in
this city, are Henry C. A. Sauer, who acted as
D. D. G. C. from 1870 to 1872; was elected Grand
Vice-Chancellor in 1872, Grand Chancellor in 1873,
and Supreme Representative in 1877. Hon. John
C. Nott, Albany County Judge, acted as D. D.G.C.
in 1 877;was elected Grand Vice-Chancellor in 1878,
Grand Chancellor in 1879, '^'^^ Supreme Repre-
sentative in 1 88 1, to which position he was re-
elected in 1885. John J. Acker became D. D.G.C.
in 1874, and served as such until 1876, when he
was elected Grand Vice-Chancellor, becoming
Grand Chancellor in 1877. Upon the death of
Grand Keeper of Records and Seal, Frank W.
George, of Poughkeepsie, in 1878, he was ap-
pointed to fill the vacancy, and in July of that year
was elected to that office, and has been re-elected
each year since that time, and is so serving at the
present. The office of the Grand Lodge is now
located at No. 496 Broadway, in the City of Al-
bany, where it has been ever since the selection of
P. C. Acker as G. K. of R. S.
The returns of these lodges show a total mem-
bership in good standing, January 1,1885, of 749;
cash balance on hand of $8,354.05; total assets of
115,204.98; and amount expended for relief of
members during the year, 11,213.17. Peabody,
Fort Orange, and Columbia Lodges own the fur-
91
niture, etc., occupy and sublet Pythian Hall, in
Cooper Building, at the corner of State and Green
streets; and Chancellor's have fitted up and occupy
a very handsome hall at No. 50 Swan street. Eg-
bert's Lodge, of Cohoes, have fitted up a beautiful
hall in Silliman's Block in that city; and Water-
vliet Lodge occupy the new Odd Fellows' Hall on
Green Island. Steuben Lodge, Section No. 56,
and Albany Division, No. 2, U. R., rent Pythian
Hall, in Albany.
MUTUAL AID SOCIETIES.
IN Albany there are a number of local, or branch,
societies for the object of assisting sick and dis-
abled members, and to render pecuniary aid to
their heirs after death. They are managed simi-
larly to mutual insurance companies, on the assess-
ment plan. They embrace the following associations:
Ancient Order of Hibernians, organized in 1858;
Ancient Order of United Workmen, organized in
Albany, 1878; Albany Mutual Benefit Association,
organized 1873, incorporated 1874; United Irish-
men of America, organized 1873, incorporated
1874; New York State Relief Association, incor-
porated 1880; Albany Boatman's Relief Asso-
ciation, organized 1874; Capital City Benefit As-
sociation, incorporated 1882; Mercantile Mutual
Accident Society of Albany, organized and incor-
porated 1881; Empire Order of Mutual Aid,' or-
ganized 1878; Order of United Friends, organized
1 881; and the Equal Rights Benefit Association,
organized in 1883. At one time there were three
Courts of the United Order of Foresters in Albany,
but their charters have been surrendered.
POLITICAL CLUBS.
IT has been said ' ' there are more politics to the
acre in the City of Albany than almost any other
locality than can be named." The famous re-
gency which, from 1824 to 1837, controlled the
politics of the nation, made Albany a political
center. Since its potent sway in State and national
politics, Albany has continued to be an important
field of political strife. It is the State Capital.
Political clubs of both parties maintain permanent
organizations. The representatives of the Repub-
lican party are the Unconditionals and Grant
Club. The former was organized in 1872, and has
participated in every presidential campaign since.
The Grant Club was organized in 1879, named in
honor of General U. S. Grant, and has upon its
roll no less than 3,000 members.
The permanent Democratic organizations are
the Jacksonians, organized in 1868; the Albany
Phalanx, organized in 1880; the German Young
Men's Democratic Club, organized in 1882; and
the Young Men's Club, organized in 1883.
During the presidential campaigns, these clubs
do active work, keeping the streets attractive and
lively with music, splendid uniforms, banners,
torchlights and fine marching.
723
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
LABOR AND LABORERS.
IN no country in the world have the rights of free
labor been more fully recognized than in the
United States. But even here the liberty of labor
has not always been so firmly established. In
1680, the first court of assistants, held at Charles-
town, Massachusetts, settled the price of mechan-
ics' wages, and passed a law ordaining that car-
penters, joiners, bricklayers and thatchers should
take no more than 2S. per day under a penalty of
IDS. to give and take. This arbitrary and unjust
law reads like the middle ages, when we con-
sider the untrameled condition of the toiling
masses at the present day in this country. The
rights of free labor in America have secured just
recognition from a power which far transcends that
of legislation or rulers, the power of public opinion.
John Bright, the great English orator, and one of
the best friends of America in the mother country,
speaking of the condition of labor in this country
in 1861, said: "Among all the great nations of
the globe is that one where labor has met with the
highest honor, and where it has reaped its greatest
reward. "
Since the settlement of America there has been
a steady and substantial progress in society at
large, but the laboring people have had the more
especial benefit of that progress. The workingman
of to-day is far better clothed, fed and housed than
were men of his station one hundred years ago;
while in respect to means of education, improve-
ment and enjoyment, he is in advance of the
wealthy of former generations. Every reader of
history is familiar with Macaulay's description of
England two hundred years ago : " Times when
noblemen were destitute of comforts, the want of
which would be intolerable to a modern footman;
when farmers and shopkeepers breakfasted on
loaves, the very sight of which would raise a riot in
a modern workhouse; when men died faster in the
purest country air than they now die in the most
pestilential lanes of our towns; and when men died
faster in the lanes of our towns than they now die
on the coast of Guinea." Such details as Macaulay
gives us, show how much better is the condition of
the laboring class to-day than in any other age of
the world, and that society exists no longer for the
few, but the many. ^
In the City of Albany, as truly as can be said
of any city in the United States, the best interests
of the industrial classes have been defended and
guarded with zealous care; while the exertions of
the laboring element in behalf of educational pro-
jects, and whatever has tended to benefit and ad-
vance the city, have been repeatedly demonstrated
in its histor}'. No one factor was more prominent
in promoting the early educational interests of this
city than the Mechanics' Society. The work ac-
complished in this direction is more especially
mentioned in the article on Schools in another
part of this work. This society was formed in
1793. January loth of that year, about one
hundred and fifty mechanics met for the pur-
pose of forming a society. A committee of one
from each trade was appointed to prepare a
constitution, which was adopted on the nth of
February following, under the title of the Albany
Mechanics' Society. It was composed of the prin-
cipal mechanics of Albany and its vicinity, for the
laudable purpose of "protecting and supporting
such of their brethren as, by sickness or accident,
may stand in need of assistance, and of relieving
the widows and orphans of those who may die in
indigent circumstances, and also of providing the
means of instruction for their children." The first
officers elected were John W. Wendell, Presi-
dent; Charles R. Webster, First Vice-President;
Bernardus Evertsen, Second Vice-President ; Isaac
Hutton, Treasurer; John Barber, Secretary.
The society was incorporated by the Legislature,
March 6, 1801, and was dissolved by like act,
November 25, 1824. John W. Wendell was suc-
ceeded as President by Charles R. Webster, in
1796. In 1797, Jacob Wright was elected Presi-
dent, and remained as such until 1799, when
Charles R. Webster was again elected, and was
annually re-elected to that office until the final dis-
solution of the society. Mr. Hutton continued as
Treasurer until 1808, when William McHarg was
chosen, and remained as such officer during the ex-
istence of the society. John Barber was succeeded
as Secretary by John W. Fryer, who was suc-
ceeded by Elisha W. Skinner.
The society as incorporated consisted of sixty-
four members, comprising at the time the promi-
nent and leading mechanics and tradesmen of the
city. The number of members was subsequently
swelled to one hundred and fifty.
The work accomplished by this society was most
beneficent. The untiring efforts of its members
in the cause of education and good morals, in the
establishment of schools and the erection of school-
houses, and in elevating the grade of education in
this city, has left for it a cherished recollection
of being among the pioneers and promoters of
sound learning and good morals in the early his-
tory of Albany in this century.
Trade Unions, which have grown to be such
powerful organizations in the interest of labor,
have been but the natural outgrowth of civ-
ilization; and the tendency to combinations for
the purpose of promoting the mutual interest
of labor is no new thing among the industrial
classes. The guilds of the middle ages were but
the forerunners of the trade unions of to-day; and
the strikes of modern times have had their proto-
type in the Jacquerie riots of the fourteenth cen-
LABOR AND LABORERS.
723
tury. The objects of these organizations are so
generally understood, .that it is unnecessary to state
them here.
Probably the oldest trade organization in Albany
is the Typographical Society which existed here as
early as 1813. Following this, in 1835 there ex-
isted several societies of saddlers, tailors, painters,
house-carpenters, silver-platers, cordwainers, found-
ers, machinists and millwrights. All of the fore-
going orders, in 1835, formed a general society
made up of representatives from the different
societies, and which corresponded in its character
to the present Workingmen's Assembly. Andrew
Dietz was President of this central organization,
and William Baldwin, Secretary. At this date
these labor organizations were confined more espe-
cially to improving the mechanical abilities of the
members than in making them an effective force
in demanding from employers any set scale of
wages. At this time the present powerful local or-
ganizations, representing almost every trade and
branch of State and national orders, with clear,
well-defined principles and policies, were not
thought of.
About the middle of the present century almost
every branch of trade in Albany was represented
by a union or society. The principal ones, with
the exception of those already mentioned, were
the molders, cigar-makers, bricklayers, masons,
hatters and cartmen. In i860 the stone-cutters,
tin, copper, and steel workers were represented by
separate unions.
After the close of the late Civil War, the various
trades unions of the State united in an effort to form
a central State organization for the purpose of se-
curing from the Legislature the enactment of laws
for their common protection. A State organiza-
tion, by their efforts, was started by the State in
1867, and known as the "Workingmen's Assembly
of the State of New York. ' This recognition of the
right of organization, sanctioned by law, produced
much discussion among propounders of the law.
Chief-Justice Savage decided it to be an indictable
offense for mechanics to enter into an association
which undertook by the imposition of fines to pre-
vent a member from working below certain fixed
wages. But in 1870, the members of this State or-
ganization were successful in securing the enact-
ment of a law, which provided that the laws pro-
hibiting conspiracies to injure trade and commerce
shall not be construed in any Court of this State to
restrict or prohibit the orderly or peaceable assem-
blage or co-operation of persons employed in any
profession, trade or handicraft, for the purpose
of securing an advance in the rates of wages or
compensation, or for the maintenance of such
rate.
The workingmen's organizations developed rap-
idly in numbers and influence after this victory. In
this same year they secured the enactment of the
law making eight hours a legal day's work for all
laborers and mechanics employed by the State or
any municipal corporation; and since then have
exerted not a little influence in every Legislature.
Albany Workingmen's Assembly, a branch of the
State organization, was organized in 1882, for the
purpose of assisting in the promotion of trades-
unionism, and whatever in its opinion might be
beneficial to the working class. It is composed of
delegates from any regularly constituted trades
union or labor organization in Albany or vicinity;
the basis of membership being three delegates from
every union numbering less than one hundred
members, five for every one hundred, and one del-
egate for every additional one hundred or fraction-
al part of one hundred over fifty. At present there
are thirteen trades unions represented in this as-
sembly, being the molders, cigar-makers, brick-
layers, masons and plasterers, carpenters, shoe-
makers, lasters, tailors, coopers, polishers and
nickel-platers, typographers, painters, plumbers,
and stone-cutters.
Albany has long been noted as a stove manu-
facturing city, and in this branch of trade excels
any other in the United States. This extensive
business necessitates the employment of a large
number of molders, who for many years have
had a powerful labor organization in Albany. It
was formed in 1859 with 675 members, being the
eighth Holders' Union. It is now a branch of the
international union organized in this country.
Cooperage was formerly a very important in-
dustry in Albany, nearly all the ale barrels used in
this county being manufactured here. A Coopers'
Union was formed at Albany in 1863, and has ex-
isted here ever since. It is a branch of the inter-
national order, which is ably represented by a
monthly periodical called the Cooper's Journal. The
Albany Union has a membership of 100.
The Cigar Makers' Union was organized in Al-
bany in 1879, and now includes between three and
four hundred members. No serious difficulty has
ever existed between the members of this union and
employers in regard to wages, with the exception
of a strike in 1883, lasting four weeks, which was
finally settled by compromise.
Since the building of the New Capitol, the num-
ber of stone-cutters has been greatly reinforced,
and in 1878 the Albany Granite Cutters' Union was
formed, largely made up of the stone-cutters em-
ployed on that work. Mainly through the efforts
of the members of this order, the Albany Working-
men's Assembly was organized.
The Typographical Union, the oldest, and, in
many respects, the most powerful labor order in
Albany, has had an almost continuous organiza-
tion from 1813 to the present. It is now active,
full and resolute.
The remaining trade's unions are all of compara-
tive recent growth; but all have organizations vary-
ing in membership according to the number of
men employed in the various trades. It is claimed
that there are at least 7,000 members belonging to
trades unions in this city. There are six local as-
semblies and one district assembly of the Knights
of Labor.
Prison Labor. — No one subject connected with
labor has been more generally discussed than that
of the present prison contract system, by which
the State leases to contractors the labor of prisoners
^24
ttlSTOkY OF THE COVNTY OF ALBANY.
confined in the State prisons. Since 1878 there
have been, on an average, about 6, 000 prisoners at
work on contracts in this State. It is claimed by
opponents of the contract system that the work of
these prisoners at the low price it can be obtained,
works immense damage to honest labor. Es-
pecially prominent in opposition to contract system
has been the attitude of the present trades unions
of Albany, where this competition is most severely
felt, not only because of the location of the Albany
Penitentiary, but it affects the two leading trades
of the city, that of the iron-molders and the boot
and shoemakers.
Nearly a fourth of all the prisoners confined in
our State prisons are employed in the iron mold-
ing industry, while about 2,000 are employed in
making boots and shoes. These two trades are
the greatest suiferers, as more than one-half of all
the prisoners in this State are employed in them.
The great problem is, how the State prisons can
be made self-supporting or nearly so, without in-
juring honest labor. Many plans have been pro-
posed and the subject has been ably discussed,
but as yet no plans have been advanced which
serve to meet the approval of a majority of our law-
makers. But it is certain that a solution of the
question by which the present injurious bearing
on any two or three trades could be avoided,
would be hailed with delight by the industrious,
law-abiding mechanics; and in no city would this
happy result be more gladly welcomed than in the
City of Albany.
Strikes. — Albany has been remarkably free from
the disastrous and foolish outbreaks which have
marked the conduct of many unfortunate laborers
in other cities, and which have worked such incal-
culable harm to the best interests of labor and
capital. This has been due to the wisdom and
good sense displayed by both employers and em-
ployees. Strikes are too often the result of ignor-
ance on the part of the members of trades unions
of the condition of their particular trade. The
propriety of asking for an advance in wages, and
of striking if it is refused, depends entirely upon
the condition of trade, the amount of business in
prospect, and the profits the employers are liable
to realize, circumstances of which the trades unions
are too often entirely ignorant, and which fre-
quently proves fatal to the interests of the toilers.
The most important strikes have occurred with
the molders. They have several times resorted
to this manner of benefiting their condition, with
varying degrees of success. In 1859, 4°° of them
resolved to do away with what is known as the
Berkshire system; that is, every certain number of
skilled mechanics are obliged to take an apprentice
and assist him in learning the trade. As most of
the molders work by the piece, the time spent
in teaching the apprentice is just so much time
lost, so much really taken from their salary. In
the strike referred to, the molders, after remaining
out of employ for some time, were obliged to
resume work without gaining their object During
the present year, the molders made a similar re-
sult against this system, and remained on a "strike "
for several months, but a short time ago (October,
1885) submitted without accomplishing anything
of substantial benefit.
The most formidable strike which ever occurred
in this city, happened in 1863. At this time the
dock laborers were joined by the Central Railroad
laborers for an advance of 37^ cents per day. In
pursuance of a published call, there was a large
gathering of laborers held at the corner of Quacken-
bush and Water streets, June 15, 1863. The refusal
of the Railroad Company to accede to their de-
mands infuriated them to an intense degree. In a
body they walked to West Albany, and there forced
the men at work in the Central shops to leave their
work. They then returned to this city and pro-
ceeded down State street in a body, some of them
armed with clubs. They compelled the employees
at Davidson's Safe Works to leave their positions,
and in a few moments all work was stopped. They
visited Taylor's Brewery, where they burst open the
doors, ransacked the brewing and malt-houses, and
drove the men from their work. They did con-
siderable damage by stopping the men while pour-
ing off the castings at Ransom's Foundry. The
police were apparently powerless, and the city was
virtually in the hands of the mob for two days.
June 1 7th, the violent demonstration of the strikers
caused the arrest of one of their number, which so
enraged them that a general fight took place, in
which one of the rioters was shot. After this
occurrence, the citizens of Albany induced the
Governor to call upon the National Guard to
restore order. This was done, and the 25th Regi-
ment was called out by the Sheriff. But there was
no necessity for their services, as the Central Rail-
road officials soon after informed the laborers that
they acceded to their demands.
With the exception of the foregoing, the relations
between the employers and employees in Albany
have been marked by moderation and good sense.
Fair wages have been the rule, and in no city has
the honest, industrious laborer been more prosper-
ous, contented and happy.
COLORED PEOPLE OF ALBANY.
725
COLORED PEOPLE OF ALBANY.
I^HE County of Albany has a colored popula-
tion of about 1,300. They engage in all the
ordinary pursuits, and are creditably represented in
the professions. They often achieve comfortable
positions in life, and are, as a class, honest, industrious
and law-abiding. They have not to contend against
the race prejudice that exists in some cities. Coming
here originally as slaves, they have passed through
the successive stages of emancipation and elevation
to citizenship. One of the oldest and best pre-
served in body and mind of their numbers is John
J. Williams, of 1 69 Second street. ' ' Uncle John, "
as he is familiarly called, has a clear, retentive
memory and an active, well-balanced mind. He
was born in 1809, and belonged to Colonel Philip
P. Satats, father of Barent and Peter Staats, both
physicians of Albany. Mr. Williams thinks the
first colored church in this city stood opposite
where the two-steepled church now stands, about
1 81 5. The next church was built in Hamilton
street, and the minister's name was Nathaniel Paul.
The colored folks had a Wilberforce school under
this church. The first teacher was an Irishman, by
the name of McCabe; then Mr. Bassett was the
teacher; and then Thomas Paul, nephew of the
pastor, and graduate of Dartmouth College. John
Q. Allen was the last teacher of that proscribed
school. The admission of colored children to
equal privileges with the whites in the common
schools of this State, under the operation of the
"Civil Rights Law of 1873," brought the Wilber-
force to a close.
Mr. Williams says, "Pinkster Day''was in Africa
a religious day, partly pagan and partly Christian,
like our Christmas day. Many of the old colored
people, then in Albany, were born in Africa, and
would dance their wild dances and sing in their
native language.
" Pinkster "festivities took place usually in May,
and lasted an entire week. It began the Monday
followingWhit-Sunday of the Catholic and Episco-
pal Churches, and was the Carnival of the African
race, in which they indulged in unrestrained merri-
ment and revelry. The main and leading spirit
was "Charley of the Pinkster Hill," who was
brought from Angola, in the Guinea Gulf, in his
infant days, and purchased by a rich merchant
living on the eastern bank of the Hudson. "King
Charles " was said to have royal blood in his veins.
The Beau Brummel of the day was Adam Blake,
then body servant to the Old Patroon, and a grand
master of ceremonies he was.
The dancing music was peculiar. The main in-
strument was a sort of "ketde-drum," a wooden
article called an eel-pot, with a sheep-skin drawn
tightly over one end. Astride this sat Jackey
Quackenboss, beating lustily with his hands and
repeating the ever wild, though euphonic cry of
" Hi-a-bomba, bomba, bomba," in full harmony
with the trumming sounds of his eel-pot.
Mr. Jackson, a colored man, was at one time the
principal baker in Albany; and a teamster, by the
name of Lattimore, got to be a man of property.
Still there were but few colored voters in this
county under the old law, requiring a $250 prop-
erty qualification. One of the great institutions of
the Northern States in slavery times was the great
"Underground Railway." No modern railway
ever had so many lines, so many trains, so many
stations, or so many agents or conductors. It was
very exclusive, for its passengers were all colored
people. It started anywhere and everywhere in the
Slave States and always ended in Canada. No
through route ever had such a signal light, for it
ran its trains by the north star. Every genuine
lover of liberty was a stockholder, and every stock-
holder was a minute-man. Of course every true
black man was a charter member. One of the
most noted agents at the Albany station was Stephen
Meyers. He was born a slave in Rensselaer County
in 1800, in the family of Dr. Eights, but was soon
liberated by the abolition of slavery in this State.
Thousands of slaves reached Canada through his
aid. He enlisted the first company of colored
men from Albany, upwards of forty, but Governor
Morgan would not accept them, and they went to
the front as a part of the 54th Massachusetts
Regiment. Some of his principal assistants were
John G. Steward, Charles B. Morton, William H,
Topp, William P. Mclntyre, William H. Matthews,
Primus Robinson, Benjamin Cutler, George Mor-
gan, and Dr. Elkins, most of whom have passed
awa}'. The latter was appointed by Governor An-
drews, of Massachusetts, as a Medical Examiner in
the 54th and 55th Regiments. Dr. Elkins went to
Liberia, and brought home valuable collections of
minerals, shells, and curiosities. Joseph A. Smith,
born in South Carolina, has spent much of his life
in this section, trusted and respected by the best
citizens. James Matthews, the colored lawyer, has
a professional standing and record that are an honor
to any man that achieves them.
Adam Blake, late proprietor of the Kenmore
Hotel, was born in the City of Albany April 6,
1830. He died September 7, 1881. He was the
richest and best-known business man of his race in
this county. Mr. Blake received a Grammar School
education. He was a born hotel-keeper. He took
to it as a fish takes to water. Every venture was a
success. Commencing as the keeper of a restaurant
in Beaver street in 1851, from there he went to
James street, and thence to State and Pearl. From
State he went to the Congress Hall, on Capitol
Hill. He left an estate valued at |ioo,ooo. His
726
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
wife, Catherine, and four children survive him.
The hotel is now successfully managed by his
widow.
William H. Johnson, the well-known orator and
writer, was born in Alexandria, Va., of free parents,
March 4, 1883. His early education was confined
to what he received as a pupil in Christ Church
(Episcopalian) Sabbath-school, in his native city.
He came to Albany in 1851. He was the author
of the Civil Rights Bill of this State. He has al-
ways been a firm Republican in politics. His ora-
torical talent is widely known, often appearing on
the rostrum with the ablest speakers of the country.
He is one of the four survivors of that noble band
of original Abolition speakers, whose thunderbolts
of truth started a moral and political earthquake
that culminated in the slave-holders' suicidal re-
bellion and ended in the extinction of American
slavery.
The Albany Female Lundy Society was organ-
ized in the City of Albany June 19, 1833, by a few
earnest and benevolent colored ladies for mutual
benefit and the development of social, intellectual
and religious principles. It has had an unbroken
existence for fifty-two years, continually growing in
strength and usefulness. While officers are elected
annually, only three persons have been elected
Presidents of the Association in these fifty-two years :
Mrs. Catherine March, Mrs. Levi Johnson and
Mrs. Michael Donge.
The Lovejoy Society of Albany is also com-
posed of colored ladies, and while not so numer-
ous nor as old as the " Lundy's," has a kindred
purpose and deserves commendation. Mrs. John
G. Stewart is the President.
Jephthah Lodge, No. 13, F. &E. ]\L, was consti-
tuted in the City of Albany on the 26th of Decem-
ber, i860, under a warrant from the M. W. Grand
Lodge (colored) of the State of New York. The
Grand Lodge of the State of New York derived its
jurisdiction from a charter or warrant granted to
the Prince Hall Lodge, of Boston, Mass., composed
of colored men, by Lord Howard, acting Grand
Master, under the authority of his Royal Highness
Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, Grand
Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable So-
ciety of Free and Accepted Masons of the M. W.
Grand Lodge of Great Britain, on the 29th day of
September, a. d. 5784, a. d. 1784. The war-
rant bears the great seal of the Grand Lodge of
Great Britain. The record of this Lodge is good.
Three of her members have been elected Grand
Masters of the Grand Lodge of this State, namely,
Samuel J. Scottson, William H. Johnson, 33°, and
John Deyo.
Philomathean Lodge, 711, G. U. O. of O. F.
Dispensation granted July, 1844.
Foremost among the organizations of colored
men in Albany is the Charles Sumner Benevo-
lent Association. This Society takes the name of
that illustrious statesman and emancipator who is
revered by the oppressed of all nations and of all
climes, the late Hon. Charles Sumner, United
States Senator from Massachusetts, was organized
in 1875. Is incorporated under the general laws of
this State. Their motto is: " We care for our sick
and bury our dead." The President is John T.
Chapman.
THE ST. ANDREW'S SOCIETY
IS the oldest benevolent organization in Albany
County. It grew out of the United Irish and
Scotch Benevolent Society, which was formed at a
meeting held February 8, 1802. Under a resolu-
tion that the first President should be a Scotch-
man, Andrew Brown, merchant, was chosen. At
a meeting held October 7, 1803, the society was
dissolved. On the 12th day of the same month, a
meeting of Scotchmen was held at the Tontine Cof-
fee House to consider the question of instituting a
society to be composed entirely of Scotchmen.
After a favorable report, the meeting adjourned to
October 1 9th, when it met and organized the St.
Andrew's Society of the City of Albany, for social
and benevolent purposes. John Stephenson was
elected President; William Milroy, Treasurer; and
Archibald Mclntyre, Secretary.
From that day to the present time, this organi-
zation has been kept up with unflagging interest.
July 26, 1804, resolutions expressing grief " for
the premature and untimely death of Alexander
Hamilton," who was one of the first members of a
kindred society in New York City, were passed.
October 12, 1871, the Albany society sent $600
to St. Andrew's Society in Chicago for the relief of
the sufferers by the great fire. Space will not ad-
mit a record of the many contributions to benevo-
lent objects made by this worthy organization. Its
maxim is "help one another." No needy, honest,
Scot, man or woman, appeals to it in vain.
In 1805. its surplus funds were $221.15. I^^
first act of incorporation limited its annual income
to $250. In 1857, the Legislature amended its
charter, permitting an income of $2,500. It has
now a fund of $15,000, the income of which is a
source of relief to many unfortunate members.
The officers for 1885 were Peter Kinnear, Presi-
dent; Andrew McMurray, First Vice-President;
George Hendrick, Second Vice-President; William
S. Smart, Chaplain; H. G. McNaughten, Physician;
Walter McEwan, Treasurer; H. C. Kinnear, Sec-
retary; John F. Montignani, Assistant Secretary;
Robert D. James, Corresponding Secretar)'; Thomas
McCredie,-Donald McDonald, Allan Gilmour, Rob-
ert Macfarlane, James Lawrence, Managers.
THE ST. GEORGE'S BENEVO-
LENT SOCIETY
OF the City of Albany, was organized January
27, i860, with the following officers, viz.:
John Taylor, President; William Lacy, First Vice-
President; Thomas Rowland, Second Vice-Presi-
dent; Thomas Smith, Physician; John K. Wylie,
Treasurer; W. J. Dickson, Secretary; Rev. Wm.
Rudder, Chaplain.
Its object is to afford relief and advice to indigent
natives of England, or to their wives, widows or
children, and to promote social intercourse among
CHRISTIAN WORK.
Tin
its members; and form a permanent fund to carry
out this charitable purpose. It still continues in
existence, doing considerable good. Its member-
ship is eighty-five. It meets in Room No. i6,
Tweddle Building, on the second Wednesday of
each month.
Its present officers are William Lacy, President;
Edward Ogden, First Vice-President; John Cook,
Second Vice-President; W. W. Grey, Secretaiy; R.
N. Newton, Treasurer; R. J. Greenwood, Corre-
sponding Secretary; W. Hailes, Jr., Physician; Rev.
A. W. Stockwin, Chaplain; William Lacy, W. ^^^
Grey, R. N. Newton, John N. Parker, D. F. Skin-
ner, George H. Stevens, Edward Ogden, Trustees.
PUBLIC BATH.
FOR many years the philanthropic and public-
spirited men of Albany agitated the importance
of a public bath for the city. Several meetings were
held and many plans laid for the carrying out of
some project: The difficulty of raising the neces-
sary funds with which to construct the bath always
presented itself On one or two occasions, public
Isenefits were given to raise money for this purpose.
The press of the city gave the project their hearty
support.
One of the foremost men in these movements
was Henry L. Gladding, who deserves great credit
for the untiring zeal with which he advocated the
measure.
The project was revived in 1879, when Garry J.
Benson started a swimming school on the east side
of the river, which was carried on with great suc-
cess until 1 88 1.
About this time, a number of citizens formed an
organization known as the Bath-House Com-
mittee, the purpose of which was to collect funds
by voluntary subscriptions for the construction of a
public bath. Mr. Benson and others served as a
committee to furnish a suitable building. They
bought of the Round Lake Camp Company, for
$100, a structure which was removed to Albany.
This was reconstructed and greatly enlarged. The
citizens generously contributed |2, 700 for this pur-
pose, which has made a structure of beautiful and
ample proportions. Annual contributions have
been made ever since. With these, new improve-
ments have constantly been added.
During the four years since it was opened to the
public, 180,880 persons have availed themselves of
its privileges. Mr. Benson has always been its
Superintendent, and during all this time not a
single accident has occurred. Garry Benson's
public bath has become one of the institutions of
Albany.
CHRISTIAN WORK.
ALBANY CITY TRACT AND MISSIONARY
SOCIETY was organized in 1835, and in-
corporated in 1856.
The New Mission Building, corner Franklin and
Rensselaer street, was dedlicated in 1878. The
Ladies' Auxiliary Board was organized in 1879.
The branches of the work given below were
placed in 1874.
It employs as many mission workers as can be
paid to do the work of the society, in visiting the
needy, distributing gospel literature among them,
and ministering to them in many others ways.
It conducts gospel, temperance, social and liter-
ary evening meetings in the Mission Building, for
the benefit of all who will attend them.
It keeps open one of the most inviting Coffee
Rooms in the city, having an extensive bill of fare,
where food is sold at low rates.
It has a Cooking School for women and girls,
where they may receive instruction in the arts of
household life.
It sustains a neat Boj's' Lodging House, where
the homeless boys of Albany can have the use of
books, games, papers, a well- warmed and well-
lighted room, and furnished with a good bed, all
for the sum of five cents a night.
It has a Fruit and Flower Mission, having special
reference to the sick poor in homes and hospitals.
Through this branch of work is yearly distributed
thousands of articles essential to the comfort of the
sick, which they cannot afford to purchase.
It publishes The Work at Home every month, to
keep before the public the Christian work in the
City of Albany.
The entire work is kept free from debt, has nei-
ther mortgage nor interest to pay, and every dollar
given to it is directly used for one of the objects
above named.
This society is undenominational; it is supported
by the gifts of the charitable,in and out of churches;
makes no distinction in its benevolent work on
account of race or creed; and invites the contribu-
tions of all to sustain it.
YOUNG MENS CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
The objects sought to be attained and the influ-
ence for good exerted by the Young Men's Christian
Associations all over the country, meet the approval
of a majority of the people acquainted with the
principles and aims of these organizations. That
there is mighty power in every such association,
and that the principle of united actions is most
important, both in the Church and in the world,
will not be denied. The great principles and aims
of all Christian organizations are so well under-
stood, and their importance so universally acknowl-
edged, that they need not be urged.
728
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
That the Young Men's Christian Association of
Albany has not attained the strength and efficiency
of similar associations in other cities, and seeming-
ly out of proportion to the population of the city,
can be accounted for partially from the fact that as-
sociations of young men exist here which are thought
to accomplish a part at least of what is sought to be
done by the Young Men's Christian Association.
This division of what may be termed the legitimate
work of a Young Men's Christian Association, has
prevented the present organization from becoming
what it otherwise might have become. But perhaps
the same, and may be greater, results for good have
been accomplished by the diversity of organizations,
all striving for either the moral, intellectual or phys-
ical welfare of young men.
The present Young Men's Christian Association
was organized March 23, 1857, with a member-
ship of 206. A preliminary meeting was held in the
old Pearl Street Baptist Church a short time pre-
vious, called together at the request of 147 young
men of this city, who were desirous of forming
such an association. Suitable rooms were secured
at 1 24 State street soon after organization, where
a library of 588 volumes and a free reading-room,
containing newspapers and other periodicals, were
opened, religious services were regularly held,
and the Association grew in usefulness and num-
bers. Five years later, rooms were obtained in
the Tweddle Building, where the Association
remained until May, 1868, when a location on
the southeast corner of North Pearl and Steu-
ben streets was secured. Here the society re-
mained one or two years, when it removed to the
Commercial Bank Building on State Street. While
occupying this place the association became par-
ticularly strong and active, numbering at one time
about 1,200 members, nearly one-third of whom
were ladies.
During the period of financial depression in 1872
the association disbanded, vacated its rooms, and
suspended active work, although a nominal ex-
istence was maintained by the election of officers
by the Board of Directors until the reorganization
in June, 1881, when the work was resumed at the
present quarters, 20 North Pearl street. From the
time of tire organization of the association in 1857 to
1872, ladies were admitted as members the same as
men. With the reorganized association this state
of affairs was changed, and none but men were ad-
mitted. To assist in the work of the association,
a ladies' auxiliary was organized in 1883, which at
present consists of over 100 members.
The association has not had the good fortune
to be the recipient of any large sum of money at
any one time, but has been supplied mainly by
small contributions. * The only legacy ever received
came from F. E. Andrews, who bequeathed the
house and lot. No. 96 Madison avenue, valued
at $3,000, to the Association, the proceeds of
* Since the above was written, Mr. James B. Jermain has donated
^50,000 to this association for the erection and completion of a suitable
building for its use, and nearly an equal smount has been subscribed
by citizens of Albany for the purchase of a lot for the structure and
furnishing the same when completed. It will probably be located on
the northwest comer of North Pearl and Steuben streets, adjoining
Kenmore Hotel.
which are to be applied to furnishing bread to the
deserving poor.
The annual expenses of the association are about
$3,000; membership, 600. The library contains
1,006 volumes. A small gymnasium is attached to
the rooms, where instruction in physical culture is
given. The present work consists mainly of lec-
tures and educational exercises in the winter; re-
ligious services; a free employment bureau; and a
boarding-house directory.
Presidents of the association since its organiza-
tion, 1857, and time of service: 1857-58, Justus
F. Taylor; 1858-59, John G. Treadweli; 1859-
60, William M. Woollett; 1860-61, Rufus K.
Viele; 1861-62, John Templeton; 1862-63, Le'vi
Dederick; 1863-64, Francis W. Holbrook; 1864-
65, George B. Byron; 1865-66, John E. Page;
1866-67, Stephen R. Gray; 1867, Alexander L.
Van Buren; 1867-68, A. A. Wemple; 1868-70,
JohnH. Osborne; 1870-72, Edward Savage; 1872-
82, John Templeton; 1884, Charles H. Mills.
The present officers of the association are
Charles H. Mills, President; Samuel S. Hatt, First
Vice-President; Robert McRoberts, Second Vice-
President; Walter J. Eaton, Recording Secretary;
Frank W. Ober, General Secretary; I. D. F. Lan-
sing, Treasurer; V. H.Youngman, John A. Howe,
D. R. Niver, Ezra H. Stevens, Oscar D. Robinson,
George Bouton, Dr. Henry March, John Templeton
and A. H. Holmes, Board of Managers.
The Railroad Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion was organized in 1880, having for its mission
the moral improvement of railroad employees. At
the time of organization, a building in the yard of
the Union Depot, between Columbia and Orange
streets, was secured and has been used for this pur-
pose ever since.
This association, as well as similar ones in
other cities, is very favorably considered by the vari-
ous railroad companies, and receives substantial
support from them. The current expenses amount
to about $1,600. It is in a good financial condition.
It has a library of 600 volumes, with a reading-room
supplied with the leading newspapers and period-
icals of the day; 200 members belong to the asso-
ciation. The present officers are: George S. Weaver,
President; J. H. Hunter, Treasurer; Lemuel S.
Fish, Secretary.
THE SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
had its origin about the end of the year 1833, with
only eight members, of whom the venerable Fred-
erick Osnam was the ruling spirit. It is now estab-
lished throughout Europe, America and Africa. In
India the late Viceroy, Earl of Ripon, deemed it
an honor to be president of a simple conference.
The main object and aim of the society is to
encourage its members by example and counsel in
the practice of a Christian life and in deeds of
charity.
In the winter of 1847-48 the society was first
introduced into this city, in the parish of St.
Mary, through the instrumentality of the young
priest, Rev. C. Putnam, and Rev. E, P. Wadhams,
CHRISTIAN WORK.
729
now Bishop of Ogdensburg, and was soon extended,
by the efforts of the late Cardinal Bishop Mc-
Closkey, to St. John's parish and the cathedral. In
1858 it was deemed advisable to institute what is
called a particular council — that is, a council, ac-
cording to the rules of the society, composed of
the spiritual directors, presidents and vice-presi-
dents of the various conferences. This was soon
accomplished, with the conferences of Troy, West
Troy, Cohoes, Waterford, Lansingburgh and Green-
bush added; but soon those out-of-town confer-
ences became so numerous, it was deemed well
that their connection with the Albany council
should be severed and other councils formed— one
at Troy and another at Cohoes, all, however, con-
nected with the supreme council of New York.
Some time afterwards a conference was estab-
lished in St Joseph's parish, then at St. Ann's, St.
Patrick's, and later at the Assumption. The prin-
cipal work of the society consists in assisting poor
families at their homes, every family on the relief
roll being visited weekly by a committee of the so-
ciety.
The City Almshouse, as well as the Charity Hos-
pital, is visited weekly by one or more members of
the society, and religious instruction imparted to
the inmates. The City Penitentiary and Jail are
also visited weekly, prayers maintained, and read-
ing matter supplied to the Catholic inmates.
The work of organizing Sunday schools (in
places remote from the churches) is made a special
feature of the society, and much good work has
been done in that way.
By a recent general report, it was seen that the so-
ciety had expended in cash in this city, since its com-
mencement, $100,000 for relief in kind, besides
vast quantities of provisions and clothing donated
by charitable persons, during the winter seasons.
The number of visits made to families was shown
to be 12,500, and the number of persons constitut-
ing those families amounted to about 40,000.
ALBANY ORPHAN ASYLUM.
The Albany Orphan Asylum was the outgrowth
of the philanthropic efforts of Mr. and Mrs. James
D. Wasson, assisted by a number of the charitable
citizens of Albany. It is the oldest and one of the
best managed of the Albany charitable institutions.
A frame building was hired at the upper end of
Washington street, and the institution was opened
December i, 1829, with eight children, which at
the end of the month had increased to twent)'. A
permanent organization was effected May 19, 1830,
and the first ofiScers, elected June loth, were Ed-
ward C. Delavan, President; Dyer Lathrop, Treas-
urer; John G. Wasson, Secretary; and Erastus
Coming, Jabez D. Hammond, Samuel M. Hop-
kins, James Gourlay, Joshua A. Burke, John Will-
ard, George Young, James D. Wasson, Dyer
Lathrop, and Oliver Steele, Managers.
In 183 1, an act was passed to incorporate the
society. During the following year, the erection
of a building on Robin street, between Western
and Washington avenues, was commenced, and fin-
ished in 1833. The asylum, during the first eight-
een years of its existence, provided a home for
seven hundred and thirty children. In 1851 the
work of the society had so increased that an en-
largement of the building was commenced, which
cost over $7,000. The asylum was under the ma-
tronship of Mrs. Heeley, a warm-hearted and de-
voted friend of the poor, for over twenty years,
ending in 1852.
Albert D. Fuller is the present Superintendent;
Mrs. Albert D. Fuller, Matron. Mr. Fuller suc-
ceeds to the long and useful administration of his
father.
ST. VINCENT'S FEMALE ORPHAN ASYLUM.
For several years the Catholics of Albany felt the
great need of providing a suitable home for Cath-
olic female orphan children.
Up to the year 1829 no special institution had
been provided in which little girls, deprived by
death, or other causes, of the care of their parents,
could receive parental care and a Christian educa-
tion.
To meet this urgent want, the Sisters of Charity
of St. Joseph's Mother House, Emmettsburgh, Md.,
were invited to Albany by Rev. Father Schneller,
Pastor of St. Mary's Church.
The urgent request of the Rev. Father was
granted, and Sister Mary DeSalle and three other
Sisters were sent to Albany, and there opened a
day school for the education of Catholic children
in a house near St. Mary's Church.
In connection with this school the Sisters also
opened an asylum, in which they provided for the
temporal and spiritual needs of destitute Catholic
orphan girls. A short time afterward a separate
building was rented for these orphans.
After many and serious vicissitudes, the asylum,
which was supported solely by voluntary contribu-
tions of the Catholics of Albany, began to decline
for want of necessary funds. In 1848 it was feared
the asylum must be closed.
At this critical juncture, the Very Rev. J. J. Con-
roy. Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, came to the
rescue of this noble charity, and purchased lots
adjoining the church, on North Pearl street, upon
which he erected a large and commodious build-
ing, to which the Sisters and orphans were forth-
with removed.
This building served both as a day school for
girls and asylum for orphans. In a short time an
addition was made to this building.
An incorporation by the name of St. Vincent's
Orphan Asylum was formed in 1849. The incor-
porators were Rt. Rev. J. McCloskey, Very Rev.
J. J. Conroy, V. G., Rev. Tiiomas Doran, Rev. E.
P. Wadhams, Rev. P. McCloskey, Thomas Matti-
more, Peter Cagger, Peter Morange, John Raleigh,
John Tracey, Richard Carmody, and others. To
this corporation the asylum building and grounds
were deeded by Very Rev. J. J. Conroy.
In 1865, Rt. Rev. J. J. Conroy, desiring to pro-
vide more ample accommodations for the girls'
day school in St Joseph's parish, purchased the
730
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY,
building formerly owned and occupied by the
Young Patroon, situated on the southeast cor-
ner of Broadway and North Ferry street. To this
building he removed the orphans, and they occu-
pied it four years. The number of applicants
constantly increased, and it soon became manifest
that larger accommodations must be provided for
them.
In 1868, Bishop Conroy purchased, for $30, 000,
the mansion and grounds situated directly west of
the Executive Mansion. As these grounds were
too small, an additional lot was purchased of Mrs.
Charles Austin, on Elm street, and a wing was
erected, at a cost of $25,000.
The late John McArdle, who had always been a
great benefactor of the orphans, left, by his will, a
large sum of money to the asylum. With this
money another wing was erected. This building
is of tasteful architecture and very attractive in its
appearance. It affords abundant room for two
hundred and fifty children.
The orphans are most tenderly cared for by the
Sisters, and daily receive instructions in all the
branches of a good English education. The in-
stitution is supported by an annual appropriation
from the county, which allows $1.50 per week for
each child, and from voluntary contributions of the
Catholics of the various parishes of the city.
Besides those provided for by the county, there
are many children who, having exceeded the legal
age, are maintained at the expense of the institu-
tion until suitable homes are provided for them.
There are at present in the institution two hun-
dred and sixty children and ten Sisters, under the
direction of Sister Anacaria.
The institution is yearly visited by the Board of
County Supervisors, who have always been profuse
in their praises for the efficient manner in which it
is conducted, and the great care bestowed in pro-
moting the happiness and welfare of the children.
THE ORPHANS' HOME OF ST. PETER'S
CHURCH.
This institution was organized in 1864. It grew
out of a nucleus of a few little homeless children
who had been gathered from the streets of the city
and kindly cared for by that devoted Christian
woman, Miss Elizabeth Knapp. The charity was
familiarly known as The Ragged School. Both
boys and girls were received, and very young chil-
dren admitted. The house in which these little
ones were sheltered was known as the Salem
Butcher House, on South Pearl street. In time
the institution became incorporated, under the
name of the Albany Juvenile Retreat; but, notwith-
standing the best efforts of Miss Knapp and of
Mrs. Margaret Gourlay, who was her zealous co-
adjutor in the work, it received but desultory sup-
port. In 1864, the Clergy of St. Peter's Church,
the Rev. Wm. T. Wilson and the Rev. Wm. Tat-
lock, having obtained assurances of support from
the members of the parish, resolved to undertake
the maintenance of the children, then about fifteen
in nupiber, in the Refreat,
In October, 1864, the charity was formally
adopted and reorganized under the name of The
Orphans' Home of St. Peter's Church, It was
not, however, until 1876 that the name was, by an
act of the Supreme Court, legally changed.
Under the new regime, the Rector of St. Peter's
Church was, ex officio, President, and a Board of
Managers was formed from the ladies of the con-
gregation. A matron was appointed who should
have the immediate care of the children. The
managers held monthly meetings, made weekly
visits, provided the necessary supplies for the
household, and exercised a general supervision of
the work. This -plan has been faithfully adhered
to, and the interests of the wards of the institution
carefully studied and provided for to the present
time.
In 1865 a commodious building was secured at
No. 59 Chapel street, and from twenty to twenty-
five children accommodated. In 1873, this prop-
erty was needed for the erection of the Albany
Savings Bank, and the children were temporarily lo-
cated at No. 50 North Pearl street until, in 1874, the
trustees purchased the house No. i Pine street,
which for nine years was known as The Orphanage.
In 1883 this property was rendered unsuitable for
occupancy by the erection of the City Hall build-
ing, and the household was transferred to No. 2
Madison place. During the present year, 1885,
the trustees purchased the house at No. 9 High
street. It has been thoroughly renovated and re-
modeled. The appointments here are complete
and carefully adapted to the requirements of chil-
dren who should be conscientiously trained to be-
come self-sustaining.
At least twenty-five children can be cared for in
the new house. On the 6th of October this build-
ing was dedicated, with appropriate services, by the
Bishop of the diocese, and the Rector of St. Peter's
Church.
The scope of the charity is limited to the care of
orphan and destitute girls, who, when possible,
are indentured to the Home until sixteen years of
age, the managers reserving the right to place
them at service in suitable homes at a proper age.
The religious training of the children is in accord-
ance with the usages of the Episcopal Church.
They are instructed in the ordinary English studies
and in all branches of household labor, and so
fitted to become self-supporting when called upon
to leave the shelter of the orphanage.
In the course of the twenty-five years that have
elapsed since Miss Knapp's venturesome planting
of the germ of this institution, a large number of
children have been its beneficiaries. The girls
who have grown up in the home and gone out
from it, bear it in grateful remembrance, and from
the shelter of their own happy homes, or from the
positions of trust and responsibility to which they
have attained, come most satisfactory evidence of
the value to the community of an institution of
this kind.
Some valuable gifts and legacies have been made
to the institution. The average cost of mainte-
nance is about $r,2oo per annum.
CHRlSTlAiSf WORK.
731
THE ALBARY HOUSE OF SHELTER.
On the 24th of February, 1868, by invitation of
Mrs. Samuel Pruyn, a number of ladies and gentle-
men met in Mrs. Pruyn's parlor, to discuss the
subject of establishing a home for the purpose of
reclaiming and reforming women who had strayed
from the path of virtue and were living in vice. A
committee to propose some plan of organization
was composed of Rev. Dr. Elmendorf, Rev. Dr.
Douw, Rev. Dr. Bridgeman, Dr. Alexander, and
Captain George Hagadorn. On the 9th of March,
the committee made the following report: "That
they recommend the establishment of an institution
to be known as the Albany Home. The establish-
ing and management of the home to be placed in
charge of a board of managers, consisting of thir-
teen gentlemen, and a board of supervision, consist-
ing of nine ladies."
No. 49 Hudson avenue was the first house oc-
cupied. At a meeting held February 8, 1869, the
name of the institution was changed to the Albany
House of Shelter, and it was incorporated the same
year.
During the year, the house No. 56 Howard street
was purchased for the home. In November, 1871,
Mr. R. H. Pruyn resigned the presidency, and
Austin Kibbee was elected, and has since held
the office. In February, 1872, the lot corner of
Howard and Wendell streets was purchased, for
the purpose of building a house suitable for the
wants of the institution. The following year the
present building was erected, and has since been
occupied.
The wisdom of the founders of this institution
has been fully proved in the success that has uni-
formly attended its work for the homeless and the
erring. Hundreds of these most unfortunate wo-
men have found shelter, a Christian home and
kind friends, who have, by their untiring kindness,
won them back to womanhood and society. Very
many mothers have brought their wayward daugh-
ters here, that the kind and helpful restraints of the
home might be the means of winning them from
dangerous paths and associations.
The uniform success of the institution during
all these years in its humane work has gained for it
many friends by whom it has been generously sus-
tained, and it may be said with a good degree of
assurance, that there is no institution in our city of
a charitable character that stands higher in the
public estimation than the House of Shelter.
ALBANY GUARDIAN SOCIETY AND HOME
FOR THE FRIENDLESS.
The beautiful three-story brick building on the
north side of Clinton avenue, facing Perry street,
is the Home for the Friendless.
With ample space for a large garden back of it,
and a well-kept lawn upon the front and either
side, it looks inviting to the passer by. The lot
was a gift from the late James Kidd.
The building itself is 56 feet front by 75 feet in
depth, and is finished off by a Mansard roof, from
the windows of which a beautiful view of the sur-
rounding country can be had.
There are accommodations here and all the
comforts of home life, for about fifty women.
No age is specified in the rules of the managers,
but as of late years those who have seemed most
deserving, with strongest claims upon Christian
sympathy, have been those advanced in years,
the home has become a refuge for these, and by
many has been called "The Old Ladies' Home."
No admission fee is necessary. The first ques-
tion concerning an applicant is. Is she worthy ? and
following that, Has she no relatives who should
provide for her ?
If, after careful. investigation, she is thought to
be such a one as this home is provided for, one
who will appreciate the privileges of this charity,
she is admitted.
Need we say this building is always full ? It has
a long history — this Home, and in the days gone
by has sheltered many from hunger and cold.
On the walls of the chapel, which is the first
room at the right upon entering the corridor of the
first floor, there is a marble tablet bearing this in-
scription ; "In memoiy of Christina P. Lee, who
having obtained help of God, in faith and by prayer
and effort, laid the foundation of the Home.
Opened January 27, 1852."
Above this tablet hangs Mrs. Lee's picture, the
face of a beautiful woman whose heart felt for all
the poor around her, and whose faith and prayers
reached out towards the friendless of Albany in all
coming years.
Nor was Mrs. Lee alone in these strong desires
for the good of mankind. Other women joined
her in her prayers, and on November 18, 1851,
they met, formed plans for the adoption of a con-
stitution, elected their officers, and named their
society The Albany Guardian Society. January
27, 1852, they opened No. 23 Montgomery street
for their work. Two years later, these rooms
being too small, they moved to the corner of Dove
street and Lydius street (now Madison avenue);
and in a year or two subsequently, and for the
same reason, they again moved to Nos. 1 5 and 1 7
Park street Then they built this home on Chnton
avenue, which was dedicated, free from debt. May
5, 1870.
This is a charity of which the citizens of Albany
may well feel proud, one which has been well fos-
tered by them, and abundantly blessed by heaven.
The work of the Albany Guardian Society is
controlled by a board of managers, consisting of
ladies selected from the different churches of the
city. They have also an advisory board of gentle-
men.
This board of ladies elect their own officers an-
nually.
The present officers are Mrs. J. B. Sanders, First
Directress; Mrs. James McNaughton, Second Di-
rectress; Mrs. Samuel Patten, Third Directress;
Mrs. George B. Steele, Treasurer; Mrs. George
Doelker, Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. Stephen R.
Gray, Receiving Secretary; Mr. Archibald Mc-
Clure, Treasurer of the Investment Fund.
"isz
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
HOME FOR AGED MEN.
The Home for Aged Men is located on the
Albany and Watervliet Turnpike, near Menand's
road. Incorporated October 5, 1876. "It is to
provide for respectable men, who, at an advanced
age, are left helpless and alone ,in the world, and
whose poverty is due to misfortune rather than to
idleness or vice." The corporators named were
John Taylor Cooper, Maurice E. Viele, William
Sawyer, Visscher Talcott, Dudley Piatt, Ebenezer
Halley, W. M. Van Antwerp, B. W. Arnold, J. H.
HOME FOR AGED MEN.
McClure, J. B. Jermain, J. Waterman, and D. A.
Thompson. The home was dedicated March 28,
1878^. It is pleasantly situated; has accommodations
for 30 persons; and has at present 24 inmates. The
institution is free from debt, and has an invested
fund of $ 1 2, 64 1. Inmates are, some of them, sup-
ported in whole or part by friends; others are sup-
ported at the expense of the society. Beneficiaries
are to be natives of the United States, 60 years old
or more, Protestant, and residentsof Albany County
10 years next preceding application for relief.
Exceptions to these restrictions may be made by a
three-fourths vote of all the trustees. As a general
rule, beneficiaries pay I125 entrance money and
furnish their own room. Annual cost of support-
ing each inmate about $170.
CHILDREN'S FRIEND SOCIETY.
In November, 1856, a meeting of philanthropic
men and women interested in elevating the con-
dition of the poor, was held in the middle Dutch
Church of Albany, and there formed the associa-
tion known as the Children's Friend Society. The
initial movement was made by Mrs. Mary Pruyn
and a few kindred spirits, whose faith and enthusi-
asm carried them through many discouragements,
and resulted in the good work which has extended
its benefits to hundreds of destitute children, and
placed them in the way of a good moral and in-
dustrial training through the schools established by
this society. The earliest statement of its work
says that "the school opened in the Rensselaer
Street Mission House, with two hundred scholars,
rude, dirty, noisy — in every respect neglected chil-
dren." Subsequently, after a few years of struggle,
the school was transferred to a building purchased
for its use at 81 Hamilton street, and as the needs
of the work increased, a second school was opened
in Canal street, in a building whose rental was
donated by Mr. William White for several years.
Another change became necessary at his death,
when the idea of the consolidation of the two
schools gained favor, and through the earnest
effort of a few of the managers, the necessary funds
were contributed for the erection of the fine build-
ing on Beaver street, known as the Industrial
School. The aim and object of the society is em-
phasized in its name, and its claim to be the chil-
dren's friend is daily wrought out in the work of
the school, and in the benefits offered to poor
children struggling against the mighty trio of vice,
ignorance and poverty. It provides a day home
for them, where, in addition to the ordinary branch-
es of study and moral teaching, an industrial train-
ing is offered, which fits them for service. They
are taught housework and sewing, and the kitchen
training system lately introduced, is fitting the girls
to take positions as waitresses and chambermaids.
At 1 2 o'clock each day they are marshaled from
their school-room to a comfortable dining hall,
where a substantial meal awaits them. Clothing
is also furnished in a system of rewards. Boys are
also received, and the society looks forward to the
time when a system of trades for their instruction
can be introduced. .
The society was incorporated in April, 1863, and
a remarkable fact is, that in about thirty years of
existence, the position of President has been held
by only two ladies, Mrs. Mary Pruyn and Mrs.
Sophia Winne.
CHILD'S HOSPITAL.
The Child's Hospital, for children who are crip-
pled or ill with chronic disease, was begun March
21, 1875, in a small house in Lafayette street. It
numbered at first only two patients; but in the
early summer of the same year a house was opened
on Elk street, with beds for sixteen patients. The
rapidly increasing work soon showed the necessity
for a larger and more convenient building, and, in
CHRISTIAN WoRg.
m
1877, the present hospital on Hawk street was
opened, with fifty beds. In 1879 a gift of $2,500
from St John's parish, Troy, was used to erect a
quarantine house, called St. John's House; and
in 1882 the hospital building was enlarged by the
addition of two new wards. There are now accom-
modations for seventy-five children.
The work is duly incorporated on The Corning
Foundation of Christian Work in the Diocese of
Albany.
THE WOMEN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE
UNION
is the largest temperance society in America, and
the largest on record as having been organized,
officered, and exclusively controlled by women.
It has more than 150,000 members, in more than
ten thousand local auxiliaries, and has organiza-
tions in forty-eight of the States and Territories.
This society is the lineal descendant of the great
temperance crusade of 1873-74, and is a union of
Christian women of all Christian churches for the
purpose of educating the young; reforming the
drinking classes; transforming, by the power of
Divine grace, those who are enslaved by the im-
moderate use of intoxicants; and removing the
dram-shop, which is the gilded temptation. The
society from its commencement has had three dis-
tinct aims set before it — whatever line of work has
been taken up, or new departure made, these
ends have ever been in view — i. The reformation
of the drinker; 2. The salvation of the children
and youth from the degradation of drunkenness;
3. The final banishment of dram-shops by wise
and salutary laws, and the dissemination of scien-
tific and Christian knowledge.
The first years of this society were given to the
work of pledges, prayers, songs, appeals and gospel
meetings. The relation of this organization to the
home, the church, and social life is well assured.
No society has been more earnest in advancing the
truth.
The auxiliary branch of the Women's Christian
Temperance Union in Albany, was organized in
1873. The members of this society give time and
personal effort to temperance and mission work, in
this wide field of reform and Christian charity.
The needs and sufferings of the intemperate class
call for careful investigation, and the mission of
these kind hearted-ladies demands many sacrifices
to meet the pleadings and wants of those who are
made to drink the bitter cup of sorrow, poverty
and shame caused by intemperance, while the per-
petrator of this source of crime and misery is pro-
tected and shielded under a license sanctioned
by law, and permitted by the sufferance of the
people.
The motto of this Women's Organization is
"For God, and Home, and Native Land." The
Albany society now has rooms at 69 South Pearl
street, where stated meetings are held and calls an-
swered. A lady missionary is employed.
The present officers are Mrs. J. H. Ecob, Presi-
dent; Mrs. M. A. Wyatt, Mrs. J. B. Jump, Mrs.
S. R. Gray, Vice-Presidents; Mrs. David N. Kirk,
Secretary; Mrs. Jonathan Tenney, Treasurer.
Previous to its present home, it had rooms with
the Young Men's Christian Association, and at 26
William street, and elsewhere. While the Union
could well expend more money in its good work,
it has never stopped for the want of funds.
It visits the families of the drunkard, and gives
them sympathy and help; it keeps open pleasant
rooms for reading and instruction; it circulates
useful literature; it furnishes wholesome food and
drink to the needy; and uses special efforts to keep
the young from the dangers of evil appetites and
temptations. The great doctrine of the union is
that prevention is better than cure. The statute
law of 1884, providing for the instruction of chil-
dren and youth in schools upon the influence of
stimulants and narcotics, was passed especially
through the active agency of the officers of the
Albany branch of the Women's Christian Tem-
perance Union.
THE OPEN DOOR MISSION
is the outgrowth and development of missionary
efforts put forth by Mrs. Eleanor Spensley, who has
consecrated her life and means to the noble work of
alleviating the pain and ameliorating the condition
of mankind. Coming to Albany in 1879, for a year
she went about among the poor, the sick, and the
dying doing good; and then, more effectually and
systematically to carry on her work, she rented
quarters. No. 75 North Pearl street, on her own
personal responsibility; but when the nature, ne-
cessity and purpose of the work became known, a
large number of Albany's representative citizens
became deeply interested in the benevolent enter-
prise and gave it most hearty support. This
mission field of usefulness has been continually
broadening, until to-day it is the peer, though not
the rival, of any charitable institution in the City
of Albany.
On the 14th day of April, 1882, it became in-
corporated, under the title of The Open Door
Mission, with Mrs. Frederick Townsend, Pres-
ident, and Mrs. Lyman Tremain, Vice-President.
Soon the necessity of more commodious and per-
manent quarters was realized, and so generously
were the appeals made in behalf of the Mission
responded to, that it was enabled to purchase the
house and lot No. 3 Columbia place. The prem-
ises are to be used wholly, only, and constantly for
the purposes above set forth. The Mission is
governed and controlled by Trustees and Man-
agers. No pecuniary or other remuneration is
paid to the Superintendent or any one con-
nected with the institution, except the cook and
laundress. The Mission is non-sectarian in char-
acter, and its charities are extended to respectable
women and little children, without regard to re-
ligion, race, color, or condition.
The city grants two thousand dollars per year
on the same conditions as other hospitals. Mrs.
Spensley resigned her position as Superintendent
in the spring of 1884.
134:
HISTORY OF THE COVNTT OF ALBANY.
ALBANY HOSPITAL FOR INCURABLES,
No. 2 Madison Place, is one of the youngest
benevolent institutions in the city. It was con-
ceived in the heart and brain of Mrs. Eleanor
Spensley. She had graduated from Oberlin Col-
lege in 1878, with a settled purpose to devote the
remainder of her life to destitute and helpless suf-
ferers. As a preparation for this, she had spent a
year in the prisons and hospitals of New York, City
and vicinity in special training. After leaving
The Open Door Mission, she at once received the
assistance and co-operation of kind and able
friends, and about the middle of November, 1884,
again had a family of unfortunates. On the ist
of May following, the number had outgrown all
available room on the corner North Pearl and
Columbia streets, when rooms were secured and
occupied at No. 2 Madison place. While her
main object is to furnish a permanent home for
hopeless disability, still there has been no time
when one or more persons in temporary distress
have not found the institution over which she
presides the protecting, helpful avenue through
which they passed from a state of dependence to
self-help; and in some instances from conditions
of despair to positions of high respectability and
usefulness.
These cases have not been sought for, but have
seemed to be brought to her door by the waves of
misfortune from the sea of human misery by a
directing providence, so that she could not refuse
or resist their claim. Already every available room
at No. 2 Madison place is occupied by a family of
over thirty unfortunates, so that more roomy quar-
ters must soon be obtained.
WOMAN'S UNION MISSIONARY
SOCIETY.
In 1 86 1, the Woman's Union Missionary Society
of America for Heathen Lands was organized, in
New York City. Mrs.T. C. Doremus its President.
This society has between forty and fifty Missionaries
(ladies) of every evangelical denomination, at this
time working for women in foreign lands. It has
mission stations in India, China, Japan, and the
Island of Cyprus. The society is managed entirely
by women, has no salaried officers, and has never
been in debt. Expends about $50,000 annually.
There is in this city an auxiliary called the Albany
Branch of the Woman's Union Missionary Society.
Officers as follows:
Mrs. Robert Starin, President; Mrs. D. K. Bartlett,
Mrs. J. W. McNamara, Mrs. George R. Meneely, Vice-
Presidents; Mrs. Frederick Townsend, Treasurer;
Mrs.J.Townsend Lansing, Secretary; with a Board
of twenty-six Managers, representing every Christian
denomination.
The yearly contribution to the general fund of
the society from this branch averages $800. This
amount is collected by the individual effort of the
friends of the society. There is one meeting held
each year. No public appeal is ever made in its
behalf
THE ALBANY WOMAN'S EXCHANGE
is the outcome of a meeting held November 3, 1881,
" to provide additional facilities to worthy women in
obtaining work. " Mrs. C. P. Williams was appointed
chairman. In less than a month after this meeting,
the Woman's Exchange was opened at No. 25 Steu-
ben street, its object being to "aff'ord impoverished
gentlewomen an opportunity of quietly and unob-
trusively earning money to supplement narrow in-
comes. " During the first four weeks the sales reached
nearly $500. In less than six months the managers
secured larger quarters. In February, a lunch room
was opened in connection with the sales-rooms.
The premises No. 14 North Pearl street were rented
and occupied April 20, 1882. During the first year
nearly two thousand articles were sold. Any person
paying $5 becomes a member, and is entitled to enter
the work of three persons for one year. All work is
entered through numbers instead of names. Tick-
ets are issued for $2 each, admitting the work of one
person for one year. Prices on all articles are fixed
by the persons entering the work. The society
receives 10 per cent, commission on all sales. Last
year 318 persons were paid sums ranging fi-om 27
cents to $230.
WOMEN'S ALBANY INDIAN ASSOCIATION.
In 1879 Miss Mary L. Bonney, President of the
Philadelphia Women's Home Mission Society, be-
came greatly interested in the subject of our national
wrongs to Indians, and bringing facts concerning
these wrongs to her society, she awakened a sen-
timent which resulted in presenting to President
Hayes, February 14, 1880, a petition on behalf of
justice to Indians, signed by 13,000 influential men,
representing fifteen States.
In May, 1880, a committee was appointed for the
purpose of publishing and circulating petitions,
pamphlets, leaflets and circulars,and in June, 1881,
the society was organized under the name of the
Indian Treaty-keeping and Protective Association,
with Miss Bonney as President. In 1882, with aux-
iliaries in twenty States, it assumed the name of the
Women's National Indian Association, and adopted
a revised constitution with the objects:
First. — To strengthen public sentiment on
behalf of justice to Indians, and to help secure their
civilization and education and the payment of
debts to them under existing governmental com-
pacts.
Second. — To aid in securing needed new legis-
lation, giving to Indians protection of law, lands
and citizenship.
Third. — To labor for the elevation of Indian
women and homes, and the Christianization of
tribes now destitute of Christian instruction.
On the morning of March 22, 1883, about fifty
women assembled in Geological Hall, in Albany, to
listen to an address by Mrs. A. S. Quinton, General
Secretary of the Women's National Indian Asso-
ciation. Rev. Charles Wood, Pastor of the Fourth
Presbyterian Church, presided. After the address, it
was decided to organize an auxiliary to the National
CHRISTIAN WORK.
735
Association, to be known as the Albany Indian
Association, whose boundaries should be New York
City and Rochester. Mrs. W. W. Crannell was ap-
pointed Secretary /ro lem. At a subsequent meet-
ing the following officers were elected:
President, Mrs. Howard Townsend; Treasurer,
Mrs. William Barnes; Secretary, Mrs.W. W. Cran-
nell. During the winter of 1884, the society framed
the following memorial, which passed both Houses
of the New York State Legislature, and was sent to
the representatives in Congress by Governor Cleve-
land:
Whereas, Believing that the education of Indians
and their voluntary citizenship in the United States
will most justly, quickly, and economically solve the
Indian problem;
Resolved, That our Senators and Representatives
in Congress be and they are hereby requested to aid
in the passage of resolutions solemnly pledging the
faith of the nation to the Indian policy embodied
in the following principles:
First, That the unpaid sum pledged for educa-
tional purposes by the Government as part payment
for the cession of lands by Indians, be appropriated
for the purchase of stock, farming implements, tools,
etc. , for Indian manual-labor schools.
Second, That so much of the net proceeds of the
sale of Indian lands as may be necessary, shall be
set apart for the purpose of creating a permanent
fund for the education of Indians.
Third, That lands in severalty, making their titles
inalienable for twenty-five years, and United States
citizenship, may be granted at once to all Indians
who so desire.
Fourth, That the legal personality of all Indians
mzy be granted, and that protection of law may be
given them, as it is to all other races within these
United States.
Fifth, That the civilization of Indians may be
hastened by providing for and rewarding their civ-
ilized industries.
Sixth, That the salaries of Indian Agents be in-
creased sufficiently to secure good men of large
capacity and business experience, and to retain
them in service.
Resolved, That the Governor be requested to
transmit a copy of the foregoing resolutions to each
of the Senators and Representatives in Congress
from this State.
In June, 1874, Mrs. Maurice E.Viele was elected
President. In the spring of 1885, auxiliaries to the
Albany Association were established in Troy and
Poughkeepsie. There is at present about two hun-
dred ladies, with the following officers elected No-
vember II, 1885:
President, Mrs. Maurice E.Viele; Corresponding
Secretary, Mrs. W. W. Crannell: Recording Sec-
retary, Mrs. Charles B.Nichols; Treasurer, Mrs. Wm.
Barnes; Assistant Treasurer, Mrs. Benjamin W. Ar-
nold; Vice-Presidents, Mis. Howard Townsend,
Mrs.J.DeWitt Peltz, Mrs. Theodore D.Van Heusen,
Mrs. James H. McClure, Mrs. J. D. Countermine,
Mrs. Leonard Kip, M rs. George A. Wool verton, Mrs.
William L. Learned, Mrs. Jeremiah Waterman, Mrs.
J. Townsend Lansing, Mrs. Montgomery Throop,
Mrs.J.A.Lintner, Mrs. Samuel Patten, Mrs. John O.
Cole, Mrs. John Taylor Cooper, Mrs. Leander Stick-
ney, Mrs. Lemon Thomson, Mrs. David Murray, Mrs.
Charles Wood, Miss C. W. DeWitt, Miss Anna
McNaughton, Miss Harriet Monteath,Miss J.Anna
Lansing, Miss C.J. Van Rensselaer.
THE ALBANY WOMAN'S SUF-
FRAGE SOCIETY.
IN 1852, Miss Susan B. Anthony, as delegate to
a temperance convention held in Albany, at-
tempted to speak during the first session. Although
she had been received as a member of the conven-
tion, she was informed that she was "invited to
listen, and not to take part in the proceedings."
The men and women present who considered her
wronged withdrew from the convention, and held a
separate meeting in the vestry-room of the First
Presbyterian Church. This was the beginning of
active work in Albany for the rights of women.
Mrs. Thompson, Lydia Mott, and Phebe Jones, of
Albany, were pronounced in this- revolt.
A convention was held in Association Hall, Feb-
ruary 14 and 15, 1854, by the advocates of equal
rights. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stan-
ton, Antoinette L. Browne and Ernestine L. Rose
were among the notable women present. A hear-
ing was given them by both Senate and Assembly
Committees, and 6,000 names of petitioners for the
right to vote were presented to both branches of
the Legislature. The editorials of the Albany news-
papers were, in nearly every instance, furious in
their attacks upon the woman suffragists. The
Knickerbocker, then as now, demanded ' ' fair play
and truthful criticism."
Another convention was held in the Green Street
Universalist Church, February 13 and 14, 1855,
and again petitions were presented, and hearings
in Senate and Assembly were accorded.
A convention was held in Association Hall, Feb-
ruary 3 and 4, i860. Miss Anthony was the ruling
spirit. On the i8th of this February, Mrs. Stanton
addressed the Legislature on woman's right of suf-
frage.
February 7 and 8, 1861, just before the War of
the Rebellion, a woman's suffrage convention was
held in Albany. It is proper to note that all the
eloquent addresses of these eminent women never
aroused even a quartet of women in Albany to or-
ganize for woman's suffrage work. Lydia Mott's
parlors in Columbia street furnished the center for
the workers who came from other cities.
After the war, the Constitutional Convention of
the State of New York was held in the Old Assem-
bly Chamber. Mrs. Stanton addressed the Judiciary
Committee, asking that the word "male" be
stricken from Sec. i. Art. 2, of the Constitution
of New York. The women of Albany again had
the opportunity of listening to Mrs. Stanton plead-
ing for justice to her sex. From that year to the
present, Mrs. Lillie Devereux Blake has each year
made effort in the New York Legislature to bring
about woman suffrage. Early in the year 1880, her
efforts, and those of the earnest women who pre-
736
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
ceded her, were crowned with partial success by the
passage of the school suffrage law. Soon after the
right to vote at school elections was gained, Mrs.
Blake came to Albany for the express purpose of
holding a meeting whereby she might confer with
the women of Albany, and lead them to take part
in the charter election about to be held. The
meeting was held in the Geological Hall, March
19, 1880. Mrs. Blake and Mrs. Slocum, of New
York City, and Mrs. Saxon, of New Orleans, spoke
with great earnestness, and urged the women to
form themselves into an active local working society
for future help. Mrs. William Barnes and Mrs.
Mary Pruyn were nominated for members of the
school board, who afterwards refused to accept the
nomination. At the close of the meeting, Mrs.
Mary S. Howell called an extra session, and a
local society was then and there organized. Mrs.
Howell was chosen President, and Miss Kate Stone-
man, Secretary. Another meeting was held Mon-
day, March 22, 1880.
From that time to the present, meetings have been
held each week, with scarcely an exception, except
during the summer vacation. During the exciting
presidential campaign of 1884, meetings were held
by the Society every week through the year, the
members taking a deep interest in every move and
counter-move of the parties in the contest.
The first meetings of the Suffrage Society were
held in Geological Hall, afterwards the old Twed-
dle Hall. After a few weeks in Mr. Hill's rooms
on State street, the school-room and parlors of
Miss Cooley, 23 Dove street, were opened to the
society, where it had a home for three years with-
out charge. Next the society for one year used
the Old Assembly Chamber. After this its meet-
ings were held from house to house for the purpose
of reaching more people in different parts of the
city, and the parlors of Mrs. H. V. Chapin, Mrs.
J. M. Watkins, Mrs. W. H. Williams, Mrs. M. E.
Mull, Mrs. Henrica Iliohan, and Miss Kate Stone-
man were, in turn, the scene of interesting meet-
ings. The society now holds its meetings in room
No. 16 of the New Tweddle Building.
The President of the Albany Woman's Suffrage So-
ciety for the first three years was Mrs. Mary Sey-
mour Howell. Mrs. Howell was succeeded by Miss
Martha Winne. The society never had a more
earnest worker in the cause of woman suffrage than
Miss Winne. Her earnestness cost her dear, how-
ever, as her position of Principal of School No. 17
was lost to her by votes of anti-suffragists in the
Albany School Board. She now holds a far superior
position in the Nebraska State Normal School.
She was the first martyr to the cause of woman suf-
frage in Albany. Mrs. Joan W. Cole succeeded
Miss Winne.
Miss Kate Stoneman has been Secretary of the
society from the first. Miss Stoneman is a sister of
General Stoneman, now Governor of California,
and also of Judge J. T. Stoneman, of the Superior
Court of Iowa, and a teacher in the State Normal
School in Albany.
Mrs. Dr. Brown, former Treasurer of the society,
and her mother, Mrs. Melius, wife of Wheeler B.
Melius, of the Albany County Clerk's Office, have
given most important aid in the management of
the society. Mrs. Charles Werner, the first Treas-
urer, will long be remembered for her engaging
manners. Miss Adeline E. Coley, present Treas-
urer, more than any other member, has helped
the society to keep its standing in Albany.
Mrs. E. S. Miller has given the society a work
of love which must never be forgotten.
Mrs. Henrica Iliohan, the young Hollander, has
always been a prominent member of the society.
With her keen wit and her ready repartee, she has
always defended the society in many an extempore
speech.
Miss Mary A. McClelland, of the State Normal
School, has brought to the society the finished
style of her letters, addresses, and press articles.
Mrs. M. L. Smith gave to the society the benefit
of her experience in the anti-slavery struggle.
Mrs. Dr. Cook, on rare occasions, narrated her
experience as hospital nurse on the bloody battle-
fields of the War of the Rebellion. Mrs. J. M.
Watkins, the present Vice-President, a sister of the
artist, George W. Boughton, brought her acquaint-
ance with deliberative bodies, and her experience
as president of temperance societies, and of the
Woman's Relief Corps connected with the G. A. R.
The limitation of space in this history, alone
prevents the mention of many more active workers
in the Albany Woman's Suffrage Society. They
form a company of women remarkable for strength
of character, and devotion to religious and chari-
table works. Their work has advanced the woman
suffrage cause in the entire Republic. It has made
itself felt in the most marked and beneficent man-
ner in the Legislature in Albany. The members
of this society have been granted hearings by com-
mittees in both houses of the Legislature, and wo-
man suffragists now receive respectful attention
from members of Assembly in place of the sneers,
contempt and ridicule which were thrown at the
women who presented petitions the year when the
society was first formed.
The society has had occasion to call upon the
Mayor, Common Council, Chief of Police, and
other officers of the city, in connection with efforts
to secure women matrons for police stations, and
though the bill to secure this desirable purpose has
not yet become a law, the society has full faith
that the unfortunate women in station-houses may
yet bless the day when the Albany Suffrage So-
ciety began its existence.
Mrs. S. Le Boeuf is the most prominent worker
for this aim of the society.
A notable event in the history of woman suffrage
in Albany was the memorial service for the women
of the War of the Rebellion, held in the Old As-
sembly Chamber — the last public meeting held in
the Old Capitol before its walls disappeared from
the earth. It was a fitting service for the last use
of the room where the gallant Ellsworth and the
martyr Lincoln had rested. At that memorial, held
on the eve of Decoration Day, the old Assembly
desk was covered with beautiful spring flowers that
found their way the next morning to soldiers' graves
ART AND ARTISTS.
737
in the Rural Cemetery. Anna Ella Carroll, who
planned the campaign of Tennessee, was not for-
gotten. Harriet Beecher Stow's immortal work
was called the force that led to the emancipation of
the negro. Recognition of women living is the
pledge which the Albany Suffrage Society gives
with its tears to the memory of the noble dead of
all ages who have offered up life for liberty.
ART AND ARTISTS.
AT one time Albany had a Gallery of Fine
Arts, where were collected quite a display of
good pictures by such artists as Durand, Sully,
Peale, Chapman, Carleton, Weir, the Harts, Ames
and others. Several creditable public exhibitions of
pictures were opened at sundry times. But most
of the artists sought more favored homes, and the
treasures of the gallery were scattered. Some of
their pictures are now in trust with the Young Men's
Association and may be seen in its rooms. Ames,
who was the founder and leading spirit had died.
There are good pictures in Albany now in private
homes,and some considerable art appreciation, but
no organized exhibition or encouragement. Page,
the younger Ames, the younger Palmer and Low,
were bom here. Boughton once resided and no w has
family friends here. Launt Thompson was brought
out here by Dr.J.H.Armsby, and the elder Palmer,
and is now one of the most eminent living sculptors.
Wm. M.Hunt, born in Vermont, has left one of his
masterpieces in our New Capitol. Palmer has done
some of the best work in American sculpture;
while Elliott was a master in portrait painting; and
Twitchell,many think, quite equals,if he doesn't ex-
cel him in some requisites of true portraiture. His
studio is here. The Hart Brothers and McDougall
were once Albany boys. The colored female sculp-
tor, Edmonia Lewis, was bom in Greenbush.
Art owes something to Albany. But it has now
no art gallery. Some nice pictures may often be
seen in the art store of Richard Annesley, who suc-
ceeds his father, Lawton Annesley, who started the
business in 1802. Mr. Vint, late partner of Annesley,
has an art store, and so has John Pladwell.
We give below sketchy notes of most painters
and sculptors who have had Albany as their place
of birth or their home.
Ames, Ezra, born in Worcester Co. , Mass. , about
i768,wasinAlbany in 1793; died February 23, 1836.
He was a painter, and acquired distinction as a
student of art; executed with great fidelity a large
number of original portraits, and made copies of
many paintings of merit. His wife was Zipporah
Wood, of Uxbridge, Mass. He was a Director in
the Mechanics and Farmers' Bank, and left a good
estate. He was one of the first, brightest, and
most prominent Masons in Albany; once Master
of the Grand Lodge of the State. He left several
children, among whom were Julius Rubens, an artist
of merit; Angelo, a well-known citizen; and Mrs.
Rev. William James.
Benjamik, Samuel Green Wheeler, was born in
Argos, Greece, in 1837, son of an American mis-
93
sionary. He began his art education with Brindesi,
of the Spanish and Italian school. He furnished cuts
for Illustrated London News. Was elected a member
of the Boston Art Club in 1873. M''- Benjamin is an
author as well as an artist; has contributed essays
and poems to the North American Review, Atlantic,
Harper s, and other periodicals, and prepared many
interesting volumes illustrated by his own pencil.
Boughton, George H., bom in England, 1834.
Taken to Albany in 1837, where, without masters,
he began the study of his art, opening his first studio
in 1850. He sold one of his earliest works to the
American Art Union in 1853, and on the proceeds
went to London for study. Returned to Albany in
a few months. In 1861, removed to London, where
he has since resided. All his pictures command
high prices, and many are to be found in the finest
private galleries in England and America. His
brother, Daniel, is a well-known hat and fur dealer
in this city.
Brown, Henry Kirke, born in Massachusetts,
1814, but in 1840 settled in Albany. In 1846 he
cast, in bronze, the statue of Washington, in Union
Square, New York City — the first bronze statue
executed in this country; unveiled July 4, 1856.
His late works are a statue of General Nathaniel
Greene, in the Capitol at Washington; one of De
Witt Clinton, in Greenwood Cemetery, and one of
General Winfield Scott, in Washington, D.C.
Carpenter, Francis Bicknell, born in Homer,
N.Y.,1830. Settled in New York City, 1 85 1. In
1852, elected Associate of the National Academy,
and was at the time its youngest member. Among
his full-length portraits are Abraham Lincoln, in
the Capitol at Albany, painted in 1874. His most
important was " The Emancipation Proclamation,"
which was exhibited in 1864-65, through the
Northern States. It was purchased for $25,000 by
Elizabeth Thompson, and presented to Congress in
1877. It now hangs in the House of Represent-
atives.
Dix, Charles Temple, born in Albany, 1840,
graduated at Union College in 1858, and turned his
attention to art at an early age. Entered the army
at the outbreak of the Civil War, serving on the
staff of his father, General John A. Dix. On the
return of peace he adopted art as a profession, and
settled in Rome. "Sunset at Capri" is one of his
best known works. He died in Rome in 1873.
DooLiTTLE, Edwin Stafford, born at Albany,
1843. He studied painting with Hows and Hart.
In 1869, he painted his "Shadow of a Great Rock
in a Weary Land." His subjects are chiefly land-
738
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
scapes and marine. He has also executed illus-
trations, designed book-covers, and written occa-
sional poems.
DuRAND, AsHER B., bom in New Jersey, 1796.
He was one of the original members of the Acad-
emy of Design, organized in 1826. Was its Presi-
dent for sixteen years. About 1835 he decided to
become a painter. Mr. Durand maybe termed the
father of American landscape, which he treats as a
poet would treat it. He uses mountains, lakes and
trees to express the emotion they have awakened in
him. His "Old Man's Reminiscences," may be
seen in the Young Men's Association. His " Lake
George" (1875) is the production of an octoge-
narian whom Americaij art and American artists
honor.
Elliott, Charles Loring, born in Scipio, N.
Y., December, 1812; died in Albany, August 25,
1868. He is said to have painted more than seven
hundred portraits of eminent people, among them
Erastus Corning, in the State Library at Albany.
" The Head of Skaneateles Lake " is the only land-
scape he ever painted. He was once a pupil of
Trumbull. He was not a genius, but gained his
eminent rank by hard work.
Freeman, James E., a native of Nova Scotia,
came when young to Albany. He has resided
for many years at Rome. His wife has devoted
herself to sculpture, one of her best known works
being "Culprit Fay."
Gay, Edward, born in Ireland in 1837. He
commenced the study of art in the studio of James
Hart, in Albany. In 1867, he opened a studio in
New York, where his professional life has since
been spent. " Late Afternoon near Albany " was
exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876.
Hart, James M., born in Scotland, 1828.
Brought when young by his parents to Albany.
His landscapes exhibit a thorough knowledge of
light and shade of atmosphere, and of perspective.
He is also remarkable for his representations of
cattle.
Hart, William, born in Scotland, 1822. Came
to America in 1831, and lived for some time in
Albany, where he worked in the establishment of
a coachmaker, painting panels, etc. In 1848, he
opened a studio in Albany. He was first President
of the Brooklyn Academy of Design, and Presi-
dent of the American Society of Painters in Water
Colors, from 1870 to 1873. His style is rich and
glowing, and he seems to prefer Nature in her
brightest rather than in her dark and gloomy
phases.
Hartley, J. S., born in Albany, 1845. He
began his professional life in sculpture under E.
D. Palmer. Going abroad to study, he spent
three years in England, entering the Royal Acad-
emy, and gaining a silver medal in 1869. He
has been for some time a resident of New York.
Hunt, William Morris, born in Brattleboro,
Vt, 1824. It was his original intention to become
a sculptor, but he soon abandoned this design
and turned his attention to painting. He has
painted portraits of many noted people. He ex-
celled also in landspape studies. His pictures in
the Assembly Chamber at Albany have attracted
much attention. They are intended to represent
Morning and Night, and were painted by artificial
light. Hunt was drowned at Portsmouth, N. H.
Huntington, Daniel, born in New York, 18 16.
Studied under Professor Morse in 1835. Went to
Florence in 1839; was President of the National
Academy from 1862-69; again elected in 1877.
Excelled in portraits and in landscapes. Among
his portraits is that of President Van Buren, in the
State Library, Albany.
Inman, Henry, borne in Utica in 1802; died in
1846; portrait, genre, and landscape painter. He
numbered among his sitters in America many dis-
tinguished men, and while in England painted
Wordsworth, Macaulay, and others.
Low, Will H., born in Albany, 1853, a pro-
tege of E. D. Palmer; studied, also with Gerome
and Duran. Among his important works are " Rev-
erie— ^Time of the First Empire," belonging to J.
B. Thatcher, of Albany, and a portrait of Albani,
the property of Robert Higgins, of Albany. He is
a son of the late Addison Low, and brother of Mrs.
Judge Danaher. He is a popular and growing
artist.
Martin, Homer D. , a native of Albany, a self-
taught artist, with the exception of a few days' study
under William Hart. Very successful as a land-
scape painter. His " Adirondacks," belonging to
the Century Club, was at the Philadelphia Exposi-
tion of 1876. In 1878, he made, for Scribner's
Monthly, a series of sketches of the homes of Ameri-
can poets.
Page, William, bom in Albany, 181 1. His
talent was early developed, as at the age of eleven
he received a premium from the American Insti-
tute for Indian ink drawing. In 1828-29, we find
him engaged as a portrait painter in Albany; but
later he opened studios in New York and Boston.
He was considered the leading American portrait
painter in Rome. A head of Christ, exhibited at
the National Academy and elsewhere, attracted
much attention. He died recently at an advanced
age.
Palmer, Erastus D., born in Pompey, N.
Y., April 2, 18 1 7. For many years he resided
in Utica, following his trade of a carpenter. In 1 846,
settled in Albany, and began his professional career
as a cameo-cutter. In 1852, he executed his first
important piece of sculpture, "The Infant Ceres,"
which attracted much attention. "The Angel at
the Sepulchre," in Albany Rural Cemetery, is well
known. He has done much in marble. He has
executed portrait busts of Erastus Corning, Gover-
nor Morgan, and other prominent men. His
bronze statue of Chancellor Livingston was com-
mended for artistic excellence at the Centennial
Exhibition in 1876.
Palmer, Walter S. , native of Albany, and son
of the sculptor, Erastus D. Palmer. He- studied
in Paris, and on his return, in 1877, opened a
studio in New York, devoting himself to landscape
painting. He has also been very successful with
interiors. He has a studio in Albany, and is re-
garded here with much pride as an artist.
»^
:■ V
:~'/-vi.<.
ART AND ARTTSTS.
1U
Smith, S. L., born in Glasgow, 1825. Coming
to America when quite young, he studied for a
short time under George H. Boughton, in Albany.
In 1859 opened a studio in Albany, and remained
three years. In 1862 he removed to New York,
where the rest of his professional life has been
spent. He has devoted himself almost exclusively
to the painting of winter scenes with marked suc-
cess.
TwiTCHELL, Asa W., was born in Swanzey,
N. H., January i, 1820. His ancestry goes back
to the Puritan emigrant from England in 1634.
After spending his boyhood in Vermont, Keese-
ville and Lansingburgh, N. Y., he came to Albany
in 1843. He had an early passion for making
sketches of the human face. His first portrait was
painted in 1839. He has been a master to him-
self He aims to delineate character, and endea-
vors to present his subject at its best in active life.
Hence his portraits are life-like in expression. A
few years ago he visited the galleries of the old
world, and brought back with him a new enthu-
siam in his favorite art. He is still closely at work
in his studio, and producing some of the best por-
traits in Albany.
Wiles, Lemuel M., bom in Wyoming County,
N. Y., 1826. Studied under William Hart, in the
Albany Academy, between 1848 and 1851, and
under Cropsey in New York. In 1864, he settled
in the metropolis. His specialty is landscape and
figure painting. In 1873-74, he went to Panama,
California and Colorado, where he executed a large
number of views, which are valuable as being the
only studies in color of the old mission churches
and cathedrals of those regions.
EZRA AMES
was born in Worcester County, Mass., about 1768,
and was a resident of Albany as early as the year
1793. A painter by profession, he acquired dis-
tinction as a student of art. He executed with
great fidelity a large number of original portraits,
and made copies of many paintings of merit. He
was a Director in the Mechanics and Farmers'
Bank and left a good estate. He married and had
children. One of his sons, Julius Rubens Ames,
was an artist of much promise, but his course was
cut short by an untimely death. Another son,
Angelo Ames, is a well-known resident of Albany.
ENGRAVING.
Probably the first engraver who settled in Albany
was G. Lansing, who, in 1806, advertised that he
intended to practice his business of wood engrav-
ing on Court street. He studied with the cele-
brated Anderson, of New York. Simultaneously
with his advertisement appears some cheap wood-
cuts in the Gazelle.
In 181 8, Rawdon & Balch advertised a partner-
ship as engravers, at the old stand of Mr. Rawdon.
Joseph E Gavit settled in Albany in 1838, and
was engaged as a bank note engraver from 1841-
59, and carried on an extensive business. He
removed to New York City in i859,and was instru-
mental in forming the American Bank Note Com-
pany. His son, Joseph Gavit, is still carrying on
the work of steel engraving and printing in Albany,
at 52 North Pearl street.
The other steel engravers are R. K. Quayle, 54
North Pearl street, and George W. Lewis, 452
Broadway, who also produce wood and copper-
plates. The wood engravers are Hiram Ferguson,
448 Broadway, and R. Z. Sheridan, 26 Douw's
Building.
ARCHITECTURE.
The following account of the architectural fea-
tures of Albany, with a few changes in the text, is
taken from Phelps' Hand-book of Albany:
But few examples of the primitive Dutch struc-
tures of about two hundred years ago exist in
this city. The buildings on the southeast corner
of State and Pearl streets, and northeast comer of
Pearl and Columbia and Chapel and Steuben streets
are the best examples of these early buildings, one
of them bearing the date of 17 10. Modern build-
ings in Albany are erected with brick of local
manufacture; also Philadelphia, Croton, and other
pressed brick; sandstone from Nova Scotia, New
Jersey, Connecticut, and Ohio; Schenectady blue-
stone; granite; and cast-iron for fronts, and for
trimmings to doors and windows. In Albany, as in
all old cities, three periods in architectural designs
are distinctly noticeable, viz., the "Carpenters," as
are a majority of the domestic houses in the oldest
portions of the city, together with public buildings,
such as Geological Hall, Globe Hotel, and old
Normal School. Secondly, the "Transition" from
the first named to architects' handiwork, included
in which are the numerous buildings remodeled for
stores, offices, etc. Lastly, "Art Culture, " in which
may be cited numerous private residences upon Elk
and State streets, and on Washington and Madison
avenues, and near the Park; the Kenmore Hotel,
Mechanics and Farmers' Bank, and many modern
suburban residences.
In ecclesiastical architecture, prominent as ex-
amples of decorated Gothic are St. Peter's and Sl
Joseph's; the Cathedral furnishes a good example
of the Perpendicular. The carved work in the
tower of St. Peter's Church is probably unsurpassed
in design and faithfulness of the workman by any
work in America or Europe. The Lutheran
Church on Pine street is a creditable specimen of
early English, wrought out of brick. The Meth-
odist Church and Baptist Church on Hudson ave-
nue are interesting studies in Gothic and Greek
characters. In Romanesque we might mention
the Reformed Church, on Pearl street; St. Mary's,
on Lodge street; and Our Lady of Angels, on Cen-
tral avenue; while the new City Hall is one of the
finest examples of the style in America, with a
square Norman tower for the fire alarm. The new
Post Office and the Presbyterian Church near the
Park, are also examples of the Romanesque. The
New Capitol may be generally described as belong-
ing to the French Renaissance style, distinguished
740
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
from the Italian by the introduction of Gothic
features. The Presbyterian Church upon Chapel
street approaches Sir Christopher Wren's style in
many of its prominent features, although its spire
finish, the pumpkin and codfish, are wide depart-
ures therefrom. The interior design and arrange-
ments of All Saints Cathedral Chapel furnish proof
of success of culture in the architect.
This building promises to be one of the finest
church edifices in America. The Holy Innocents
Church on Pearl street, a gem, pure in conception,
should be seen by tourists and lovers of art.
The public schools of the city are genuine,
practical, sensible designs, embodying interiors
and floor plans in keeping with intended purposes,
affording comfort to teachers and pupils, while
familiarizing the eyes of youth with taste, cleanli-
ness, and sanitary demand. The St. Agnes' School
is a model of its kind, and although simple, al-
most severe,in style, yet its numerous architectural
surprises tend to leave an agreeable impression on
the memory. The Grecian pretensions of the Fe-
male Academy are in rather unpleasing contrast
with their modern surroundings, and calculated to
suggest unfavorable criticisms. The Sacred Heart
Convent, at Kenwood, deserves particular mention
for its charming location, and as an illustration of
Gothic character adapted to an institution of edu-
cation. Another illustration of simple good taste
in architecture, striking the eye favorably and leav-
ing pleasing impressions, is the Child's Hospital,
modern, yet antique, in its conception. In the
State Armory, corner of Eagle street and Hudson
avenue, is a fine type of military architecture,
resembling the baronial style introduced into
England by King Edward I upon his return from
the crusades. Among many other edifices worthy
of note are the Boys' Academy, the Madison Ave-
nue Reformed Church and the State Hall.
The most noted architects in the early part of
this century were Christopher Batterman, of Boston,
Philip Hooker and Elias Putnam, of Connecticut,
and Jonathan Lyman, of Massachusetts. They
came here to reside, and designed and erected
most of the larger and better public and private
buildings of their time, which have been admired
for the common sense of their proportions and the
good taste and finish of their work. They have
stood well the test of time.
Walter Dickson, J. B. Halcott, Charies C.
Nichols, Fuller & Wheeler, Ernst Hoffman, Gil-
bert Prettyman,- Robert W. Gibson, Charies S.
Edgerton, Adolph Fleischman, F. H. Janes, Ogden
& Wright, are the architects of to-day.
WILLIAM L. WOOLLETT.
William L. Woollett, whose name is so insep-
arably connected with the architecture and build-
ings of Albany, was born June 24, 181 5, in Water-
bury, near Maidstone, Kent, England, and came to
America in 1834. From that time his life was
passed almost continuously in this city, where he
advanced by sure and rapid steps to a foremost
place in his chosen profession, and achieved honor
and distinction in both public and private life.
Mr. Woollett was a man of strong individuality,
distinguished for intolerance of everything false or
equivocal, and of the most inflexible honesty in all
his dealings. These characteristics are well re-
membered by our builders and contractors, who re-
call many instructive incidents connected with his
professional career.
The principal features of his work were thorough
and scientific construction, a uniform avoidance of
all shams and doubtful expedients, and general
excellence and utility both of design and execution.
Among the important buildings erected under his
supervision may be mentioned the Delavan House,
the Albany Savings Bank, the First Congregational
Church, etc., in this city; the Jermain Memorial
Church at West Troy; a large number of private
residences, and a great variety of high-class work
throughout the State. Mr. Edward Ogden, of this
city, was for some years connected with him as
junior partner.
Mr. Woollett was a Fellow of the American In-
stitute of Architects, and member of the Royal So-
ciety of Architects of London, and he constantly
advanced the standing and dignity of the profession
by every means in his power.
Of his private life and virtues, no adequate ac-
count can be given in the few lives at our disposal,
but it hardly needs the saying that his memory and
influence will ever remain powerful factors in the
lives of those who were near and dear to him. Mr.
WooUett's home was at Loudonville, where for
nearly eighteen years he was Superintendent of the
Watervliet Union Sabbath School. He was also
President of the Young Men's Christian Association
in 1859 3-"d i860, and a Trustee of the College of
Missionaries, Syracuse University. In religious life
he was always earnest and active, both as ofBcer
and member, in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
On May 2, 1874, this steadfast disciple of the
Divine Architect passed suddenly away. He left
a wife, Mrs. Mary (Mills) Woollett, to whom he
was married May 24, 1848, and one son, William
M. Woollett, who became his successor in business.
A brief notice of the latter is given below.
William M. Woollett was born in Albany, July
6, 1850. In addition to first-rate ability, and an
ardent love for the profession, he united the many
advantagesof thorough education. Graduating from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1870,
with highest honors, he speedily became associated
with his father in practice, and at the latter's death
in 1874, he assumed full control and carried on the
business with energy and success. His work from
the first exhibited a remarkable growth in skill and
power, and his early death was a severe blow to
the art interests of the city. We need only cite a
few examples of his style at this time, and among
them the three elegant residences on Englewood
place, designed for Messrs. B. W. Wooster, Oscar
L. Hascy and Henry Russell, are of the best His
last work was the Calvary Baptist Church, on State
street. It was completed after his death, and is
often mentioned as a fitting monument to his skill.
He also designed the Fort Building; the fine tower
ART AND ARTISTS.
741
**t.
/yk^^^^^^^y^^"^^^^-
of the Jermain Memorial Church at West Troy,
cotnpleting his father's work there; and a host of
other edifices in this city and vicinity.
Mr. Woollett published two books, "Villas and
Cottages," a collection of designs made from time
to time in the ordinary routine of business, and
" Old Homes Made New," a series of plates
showing how old and unattractive structures might
be remodeled and beautified at comparatively small
expense — a line in which he was particularly suc-
cessful. Both of these books had a wide circula-
tion and procured him commissions in all parts of
the country.
At an early period of his professional life,unusual
exposure brought on a heavy cold and this was fol-
lowed by consumption. Though constantly ham-
pered and restricted in his eflForts by the progress of
the disease, his wonderful courage and perseverance
remained unimpaired to the end, and it was only
on the day that his pencil was laid aside forever
that his business was neglected.
His career though so brief was an exceedingly
progressive one, full of richest promise. Like his
father, he ever maintained the highest standard of
truth and courtesy in all his affairs, and enjoyed
universal confidence and esteem. He died on the
17th of October, 1880, at his home in Loudonville,
working hopefuU}', cheerfull}', to the very last.
He was only 34 years of age. His wife was Miss
Fannie Nellegar, daughter of Joseph Nellegar, the
well known druggist, of Albany, to whom he was
united in marriage, November 6, 1872, who, with
four children, survives him.
SURVEYORS AND ENGINEERS.
Simeon DeWitt was born in Ulster County in
1756, and died in Ithaca in 1834. He graduated
from Rutgers in 1776. He was chief of the topo-
graphical staff under Washington. For fifty years,
from the year 1784, he was Survej'or-General of the
State, and did distinguished service in that capacity
in locating lands, public roads, and especially in
promoting the Erie Canal project. He was long
time a resident of Albany, and active in promoting
its literary, religious and material welfare. His
name should be perpetuated in honor.
Evert Van Allen, now deceased, was the surveyor
who laid out the most part of the City of Albany.
He was employed by the Mayor and Common
Council to lay out streets and city lots, and his
map is considered good authority, and is still re-
ferred to in titles to lots, etc. He was also sur-
veyor for the Patroon for many years, locating and
surveying lots in the Manor of ReDsselaerwyck.
Among the surveyors of olden times we find
John R. Bleecker prominent. In more recent
times, George W. Carpenter, now Superintendent
of City Water-works, was City Surveyor, an office
which has been now held for a long time with great
742
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
acceptance by Reuben H. Bingham, as noticed in
another part of this work. Peter Hogan is a well-
known engineer and surveyor of much practice;
and Verplanck Colvin has gained an enviable fame
as Superintendent of the Adirondack Survey, as has
also James T. Gardineer, Superintendent of the
much-needed State Survey.
Honorable W. H. Slingerland, of Slingerlands,
member of the Assembly of 1880 from the first
district of Albany County, was born in New Scot-
land November 13, 1820. He is of Holland and
English descent.
He was educated in the public and select schools
of Albany, and is a civil engineer and surveyor.
He located the line of the railroad adopted by the
Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Company over
the Helderberg Mountains; was engineer on the
New Government Building at Albany; and was ap-
pointed by the New Capitol Commissioners and.
State authorities to measure, examine and report
any defects in the New Capitol Building. He is a
noted breeder of shorthorn (cream pot) stock. At
the age of eighteen he was elected a Colonel in the
State Militia; afterwards held the position of Division
Judge-Advocate. He was enrollment officer during
the late war. He has also held the office of United
States Loan Commissioner; was a delegate to the
convention at which the Republican party was
organized in this State; and has several times since
been delegate to State conventions. As member
of Assembly, he served on the Committees on Cities
and Villages and on Public Printing.
He was nominated by the Republicans and elect-
ed, overcoming a majority of 2,400 against his
party. In his town he received the largest majority
of any man who ever run for State or County office
since the organization of the Republican party.
He had charge of many important bills affiscting
both State and County, notably the amended elec-
tion law of 1880, and the bill for rebuilding the
new City Hall of Albany, and many other bills,
all of which were enacted into laws weeks pre-
vious to the adjournment that year. He prefers
his profession of civil engineer and surveyor, in
which he is considered an expert, to any political
office.
MUSIC IN ALBANY.
IN gathering material for the History of Albany
County, the author has collected much valuable
musical information. The following was written by
a gentleman to whom the generation of to-day are
deeply indebted for musical tendencies which were
fostered and cultivated nearly half a century ago in
this city :
Newark, N. J., September 8, 1885.
Dear Sir : I wish it was in my power to
reply to you with more extended information.
I have most cheerfully written such events and
data as I could recollect, but they are rather
meager, and will serve more as hints for in-
vestigation relative to the facts. Leaving Albany
in 1854, I have known almost nothing of musical
matters in that city since. My residence in Albany
dates from September, 1839. At that time the Rev.
Dr. J. N. Campbell was Pastor of the First Presby-
terian Church, then located on the corner of Pearl
and Beaver streets. I took the leadership of the
choir almost immediately, and it numbered about
fifty ladies and gentlemen. Messrs. Ashley, Nelson
and Charles Scovel, with their wives, were among
the number; also Anthony M. Strong and sister;
the Messrs. Russell, Philips, Whitney and Hall;
Mrs. Henry, Miss Olmstead, the Misses Waite and
Miss Robinson, afterward Mrs. Gavit, and others
whom I do not now recall. At the Second Presby-
terian Church, the Rev. Dr. Sprague, Pastor, Mr.
George Warren, father of George W.Warren, now
organist of St. Thomas' Church, New York, was
chorister; and Dr. Flagler held the same position
in the Middle Dutch Church. Mr. George Walker
was at the North. Dutch Church and Mr. Solomon
Cone was at the Third Presbyterian Church. Mr.
Russel Packard was at the Baptist Church, on North
Pearl street; Colonel Levi S. Littlejohn was at the
Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Mr. P. A. Mayer
was organist and leader of the First Lutheran
Church, corner of Pine and Lodge streets. Only a
few of the churches at that time had organs, the
Second Presbyterian, the Episcopal, on State street,
St. Mar/s Catholic, on Lodge street, and the Lu-
theran. The city rejoiced in three music stores:
Mr. Meacham, on State street, Boardman & Gray,
comer North Pearl and State, and Mr. P. A. Mayer,
on North Market street, now Broadway. Early in
December, 1839, a large number of the musical
people of Albany held a meeting in the First Pres-
byterian Church to consider the feasibility of giving
an oratorio entire. Among those present were
Messrs. E. and H. Russell, A. M. Strong, L. Phillips,
A. Scovel, J. G. Whitney, James Whitney, L. Steele,
George Warren, George C. Tread well, S. Pruyn, Dr.
Flagler, Dr. Hinckley, Dr. Wheeler, Mr. George
Walker, Mr. Packard, Colonel Littlejohn, Mr. Piatt,
and Philip A. Mayer. The meeting was very har-
monious and enthusiastic, Dr. E. Russell acting as
chairman, and resulted in the decision to give the
oratorio of " The Creation " during the winter. The
sum of $150 was subscribed, and a committee ap-
pointed to make preliminary arrangements and
assume the responsibility of all expenses in giving
the performance. The oratorio was given three
times with fine success, winning the marked ap-
proval of the good people of Albany. It also
proved a financial success, realizing $1,300. The
expenses were 1 1,000. It was given in the Second
MUSIC IN ALBANY.
743
Presbyterian Church, April 9, 1 840. After the suc-
cess attending " The Creation," it was thought ad-
visable to continue the meetings for practice, which
were held during the summer, although no society
was organized. Early in the autumn it was re-
solved to give another oratorio the following winter,
and that of "David," by Nieuwkomm, was re-
hearsed and given in April, 1841, with about the
same success as the one the year previous. Nothing
more was attempted in oratorio music until 1850,
when "The Seasons," by Haydn, was given by the
Harmonia Society, an organization formed in
December, 1849, for ^^ purpose of culture in
classical compositions, and not to seek applause
by public entertainments. The " Seasons " called
the Harmonia Society into public notice. The
first president of the society was Mr. Marcus Col-
bum, a very fine tenor, and Mr. Russell Packard
•was the second. Soon after I was established in
Albany, I was engaged by Mr. Samuel Steele, princi-
pal of one of the public schools, to make the experi-
ment of teaching music in his building in Union
street. At that time music was not taught in any
of the schools. I arranged to give two lessons a
week for a specified time — six months, I think. The
new branch proved so popular, there were more ap-
plications for pupils than could be accommodated.
Shortly after this first venture, I was engaged in
teaching music in all the public schools, and this
result was brought about through the influence of
such men as the Hon. Thurlow Weed, Governor
W.H.Seward, Senator Samuel Young, and Francis
M. Dwight. All of these gentlemen, now deceased,
were deeply interested in this branch of instruction
in the schools of Albany. In 1844, there were sev-
eral gentlemen engaged in the manufacture of
pianos, namely: Meacham & Co., State street;
Boardman & Gray, North Pearl street; F. P. Burns,
State street, and James H. Grovesteen, comer Lodge
and Columbia streets. About the same date I en-
tered into partnership with the latter gentleman, and
we opened a store in Stanwix Hall for the sale of
pianos and a general music business. Later we
removed to Bleecker Hall, and afterwards to' the
building occupied by the late J. H. Hidle}', to whom
I sold out in 1855. Luke F.Newland had a music
store, in 1841, at 81 State street. If there are further
inquiries suggested by what I have written, I shall
be glad to reply to them.
Very truly yours,
Ferdinand I. Ilsley.
The oratorio of "The Creation," to which allu-
sion is made above, was, as stated in the libretto,
performed by the professors and amateurs of Al-
bany. The writer of the above letter, Mr. Fer-
dinand I. Ilsley, was Conductor. Mr. Burke was
Leader of the Orchestra, and P. A. Mayer was Or-
ganist. Dr. J. A. Flagler was President of the
Committee of Management, and L. S. Littlejohn,
Secretary. The vocal choir showed: sopranos, 40;
altos, 20; tenors, 20; bassos, 15; orchestra, 24; and
organist, i, making the whole number of partici-
pants 150. The oratorio of "The Seasons,'' which
was performed, at the solicitation of the New York
State Agricultural Society, by the Albany Har-
monia Society, September 3, 4, 5, and 6, 1850,
had for its Conductor, F. I. Ilsley; Leader of Or-
chestra, G. F. Bristow, of New York City; and so-
loists, Mrs. C. L. Merrick, nee Ilsley, Francis L.
Ilsley, and Marcus Colburn. The oratorio was re-
peated October 21st and 2 2d.
The Executive Committee of the Harmonia So-
ciety comprised the names of John G. Treadwell,
Chairman; Jason Collier, LeviS. Littlejohn, Thomas
Treadwell, Henry Russell, J. Augustus Reed, Eras-
tus E. Piatt, Darwin G. Eaton, George Warren,
Sumner C. Webb, Philip A. Mayer, Russell Pack-
ard, Horace H. Babcock, Ferdinand I. Ilsley.
A most interesting musical event took place in
Albany, July 9, 1851, when Mile. Jenny Lind's
concert of sacred and miscellaneous pieces was
given in the Third Presbyterian Church. She sang
the air, " I Know that My Redeemer Liveth," from
Handel's Messiah; " On, Mighty Pens," from Hay-
dn's Creation; the prayer, "Und ob die Wolke"
(Der Freyschutz), Weber; scena and aria, "Casta
Diva" (Norma), Bellini; Taubert's "Bird Song;"
and Bishop's arrangement of "Home, Sweet
Home." Mr. Otto Goldschmidt appeared twice
in the evening, with Mendelssohn's "Lied Ohne
Worte," prelude from E minor, and Liszt's "Ta-
rantella" of Rossini. Signori Salvi and Belletti
and Mr. Joseph Burke also took part in the con-
cert, and Mr. Julius Benedict was conductor.
We regret that our information is so fragmentary,
and that we are not able, for want of knowledge,
time and space, to treat this theme so completely
as its importance would seem to demand.
THE SINGING SOCIETY CECILIA
was organized February 3, 1866. A few of the first
members were John Waas, Frank Rietz, Louis
Wink, Anton Schneider, John Lindon, Christian
Dalchen, Frank Engel, N. Wink.
First President, John Waas; First Director, Prof
William Boehm.
Present number of members, 149,
Caecilia took part in the following prize sing-
ing festivals; Prize singing at Utica, 1874; grand
picnic and prize singing at Albany, 1882; grand
picnic and prize singing at Albany, 1884; grand
picnic and concert at Troy, 1884; concerts and
balls at Albany, Troy, Amsterdam, Schenectady,
etc. Caecilia took part in the great saengerfest at
Brooklyn, July, 1885.
THE UNION MUSICAL ASSOCIATION
was organized in October, 1858. Officers: R. L.
Johnson, President; Henry Russell, Vice-President;
J. C. Austin, Second Vice-President; W. F. Sherwin,
Secretary; A. P. Stevens, Treasurer; Thomas Spen-
cer Lloyd, Conductor; J. Augustus Reed, Organist;
Charles M. Traver, Librarian.
On March i, 1859, they gave their first concert,
consisting of Mozart's Twelfth Mass, in the Meth-
odist Church, Hudson avenue, with a chorus of
1 50 voices and an orchestra of Albany and New
York musicians.
744
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
The soloists were Miss Lilly Brown, afterwards
Mrs. Thomas Wiles, Mrs. Serviss and Miss Jennie
Ferry, afterwards Mrs. E. P. Durant, soprani;
Miss Sarah E. Bentley, alto; Messrs. Cutter
and Cook, tenori; and Stonehouse and Whitney,
bassi.
On the following 4th of July, the Young Men's
Association held their public exercises in the Acad-
emy Park, the musical part of which was fur-
nished by this association.
They subsequently gave an entertainment in the
large drill room in the Arsenal Building, corner of
Eagle street and Hudson avenue.
The chorus numbered 150, and the orchestra
was brought from New York, made up of the best
of Dodworth's musicians.
The music rendered was Spohr's cantata of
God Thou Art Great, Mendelssohn's Ninety-fifth
Psalm, and Reis' cantata of Morning.
The association flourished for several years, and
other equally creditable entertainments were given.
ALBANY MUSICAL ASSOCIATION.
At a meeting held at the Lecture-room of the
Congregational Church, September 30, 1867, the
Albany Musical Association was organized, the fol-
lowing thirty gentlemen aflSxing their names to the
articles of association as members:
J. Collier, J. H. Hickox, C. M. Traver, T. S.
Lloyd, S. W. Whitney, J. S. Dickerman, John B.
Marsh, Arthur Bott, Frederick S. Lawrence, B.
Lodge, Rodney G. Kimball, J. B. Stonehouse, E.
D. Worcester, Samuel Moffatt, Austin M. Halley,
John E. Sherwood, D. F. Craw, William Davis,
Jesse B. Wooley, P. S. Gates, Thomas H. Mit-
chell, R. Mernhew, D. Russel Niver, E. P. Tread-
well, J. L. Mitchell, James P. St. John, Eugene
Burlingame, Walter McEwan, Eugene McGarrah,
Robert F. Todd, F. W. Brown,
Its first Conductor was T. Spencer Lloyd, its
first Organist was R. J. Sarndley.
John B. Marsh was appointed first President;
John B. Stonehouse, the first Vice-President; John
S. Dickerman, Secretary; E. D. Worcester, Treas-
urer; and Frederick S. Lawrence, Librarian.
The whole number of members registered was
251, though the average number attending regu-
larly was about 130.
The first public rehearsal was given at Tweddle
Hall, January 28,1868, at which time the Oratorio
of "Judas Maccabeus" was rendered by a chorus
of 145, the solo parts being sustained by Misses
La Jeunesse, now Albani, Werles, Hoag, Cuyler,
Williams and Murray; Messrs. Lawrence, Whitney,
Stonehouse and McLean.
This rendition was followed by " The Seasons,"
April 30,1868, "The Messiah," February 3,1869,
and "The Creation."
The Albany Musical Association was incorpo-
rated February 19, 1870.
In 1878, Mr. John G. Parkhurst started a class
for instruction in music. In the fall of the same
year he gave "The Creation," with his pupils, at
Tweddle Hall.
In 1879, the Albany Musical Association was
again incorporated, with a Board of Directors,
with Mr. John G. Parkhurst as Conductor. On
December 9, 1879, "St. Paul" was rendered by
the association at Tweddle Hall, assisted by Miss
Kellogg, Mrs. Belle Palmer Fassett, W. H. Fessen-
den, M.W.Whitney, and the Germania Orchestra,
of Boston.
On January 20, 1881, the association rendered
"The Messiah" in the Congregational Church, as-
sisted by the following artists: Mrs. Bentley, Miss
Gomph, Mrs. Gavit, Mr. W. C. Torren, of Boston,
Mr. Remmert, of New York, and a local orchestra.
On December 12, 1881, "Elijah" was per-
formed at Music Hall by the association, with Miss
Kellogg, soprano, Boston; Miss Winant, alto. New
York; Mr. Courtney, tenor. New York; Mr.
Mario Bartlett, basso; and the Germania Orchestra
of Boston.
On December 12, 1882, a second rendition of
" St. Paul " took place at Tweddle Hall.
A concert was given at the Leland Opera House,
January 29, 1883, by the association, assisted by
Theodore Toedt, tenor. Another in the same place
on April 13, 1883, with Mr. Monroe, violin; Mr.
Adolph Hartdegen, violoncello; Mr. A. J. Jeffrey,
piano.
The association gave another concert December
II, 1883, at the Old Hudson Avenue M. E.
Church, of a miscellaneous character, with entirely
local talent.
Owing to the burning of Tweddle Hall there is
no place in Albany suitable for the rendition of or-
atorio. This has compelled the association to cease
their work — at least for a time.
On December 18 and 19, 1884, however, Mr.
J. G. Parkhurst gathered around him some 700
in the new Skating Rink, and gave " The Messiah,"
with his own pupils as soloists. The undertaking
was conducted entirely by himself on his own re-
sponsibility, and reflected great credit on him as a
conductor, teacher and manager.
GESANG-VEREIN EINTRACHT.
The Eintracht Singing Society was organized
November 22, 1868. The purpose was, like all
similar organizations, the cultivation of German
song and music, both vocal and instrumental. The
first musical director-was Mr. Theodore Suppes, fol-
lowed by Mr. Aug. Schoenewolf, leader for nearly
twelve years. The society participated in several
musical festivals, and competed with others for
prizes at the foU&wing: Utica Maenner Chor,
1874; Schenectady Inartet Club, 1879, 011 which
occasion they were awarded the first prize; Troy
Maenner Club, 1880, receiving the first prize, also
Rondout Social Maenner Chor, where they gained
the third prize, and at the thirteenth Musical Festi-
val of Philadelphia, 1883. Aug. Schoenwolf resigned
as Director, and was followed by Professor William
Boehm, leader at the present time. The society is
composed of 38 active, 175 passive, and 4 honor-
ary members. It may be mentioned that the Ein-
tracht arranged a grand prize sangerfest in 1878,
SOCIAL CLUBS AND SPORTING ASSOCIATIONS.
745
which proved a success. The officers of the organ-
ization are elected annually.
THE MOZART,
organized September 20, 1875, Professor William
Boehm, Director. It has held successful excur-
sions, picnics and concerts. Professional improve-
ment is its great object.
Rehearsals are held once a week, and meetings
on the first Thursday of each month. The annual
meeting and election of officers on the first Thurs-
day in September, the officers then elected taking
office on the anniversary, September 20th.
The society to-day numbers 53 members dis-
tributed in three classes: active, 15; passive, 35;
honorary, 2.
APOLLO SINGING SOCIETY
was organized February 18, 1884, by sixteen mem-
bers of the Eintracht Society, who withdrew from
that one, and four others. The membership roll
now numbers 375.
On February 21, 1884, Mr. Ja. Grundhoeffer
was elected Musical Director. Society first re-
hearsed at his Conservatory, 74 South Pearl street.
Rooms are now secured and fitted properly at
Ames Building, 69 South Pearl street, which were
formally opened July 31, 1884. The growth of
the society has been unprecedented. A. Schreiber
is now Director.
Next public appearance was in the exercises of
the G. A. R. on Decoration Day, at the Rural
Cemetery, in 1885. Met at Assembly Chamber,
New Capitol, in the evening, and German selec-
tions were rendered.
The society also took part in the fourteenth Na-
tional Sangerfest, at Brooklyn, July 4-9, 1885,
and was one of the largest societies that attended.
August 10, 1880, held picnic, and a silk flag
was dedicated, which was presented by the ladies
of the society.
THE NEW HARMONIA SINGING SOCIETY
was organized in March, 1884, with a membership
of twelve active and two passive members. Professor
Charles Koch, Director.
The society now counts thirty active singers, with
about fifty passive members. It has taken part in
all festivities given by sister societies, and also gave
a picnic and concert last July, which proved to be
a grand success. It bids fair to become the rival
of the best organizations of its kind.
ALBANY PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
During the fall of 1884, about half a dozen young
people, musically inclined, were accustomed to
meet weekly for the practice of not very difficult
orchestral compositions, simply to gratify their mu-
sical tastes. These meetings were largely of asocial
nature. Gradually, during the succeeding spring,
the number of instruments was increased to ten.
This was the nucleus which, under the skillful
management and untiring exertions of Mr. George
H. Thacher, Jr., at whose house most of the meet-
ings had been held, has developed into the present
orchestra of twenty-nine pieces.
During the summer of 1885, Mr. Thacher, as-
sisted chiefly by Mrs. Hamilton Harris and the
present Secretary, and encouraged by many others
of Albany's cultivated and public-spirited citizens,
organized the orchestra; rented the two upper
stories of No. 69 North Pearl street; adapted them
to the needs of the society; furnished them with
appropriate equipments, including a Steinway grand
piano; and secured the active co-operation of the
present Board of Management.
To give instruction in orchestral and concerted
practice; to afford opportunity for the proper dis-
play of the abilities of the advanced amateur; to
present facilities for the practice of both instru-
mental and vocal music; and to encourage musical
taste generally, are some of the aims and purposes
of the society. Rehearsals of the orchestra are reg-
ularly held every Wednesday evening. Short pro-
gramme rehearsals of chamber music, comprising
duets, trios and quartettes, chiefly instrumental, are
given Tuesday and Saturday evenings; and a sub-
sidiary orchestra is organized and practicing.
In the pursuit of its aims, the society gives great
promise of success. Mr. George H. Thacher, Jr.,
President; Mr. B. I. Stanton, Secretary; Mrs. Ham-
ilton Harris, Mrs. James P. Boyd, Miss Sarah J.
Monteath, Miss Lillie B. Stanton, Mr. James H.
Leake, Gen. Robert Shaw Oliver, Managers.
SOCIAL CLUBS AND SPORTING ASSOCIATIONS.
ISLAND PARK RACING ASSOCIATION.
THE Island Park Association is a stock company
with a capital of $10,000, divided into 100
shares. It was organized and incorporated in the
spring of 1884, when Hon. Erastus Corning, of Al-
bany, was elected President, and George P. Ide, of
Troy, Vice-President. The aim of the association is
to provide a gentlemen's driving park for the two
cities between which it lies and where its stock is
owned; also to improve the breed and speed of trot-
ting horses. The track is situated on the east side of
the Troy road, about two miles from Albany. It is
one mile in circuit, and is one of the finest and
fastest tracks in the United States. It is the prop-
erty of Hon. Erastus Corning, from whom the asso-
ciation leases it. The original track on this prop-
erty was built over twenty years ago, but was used
746
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
almost solely as a private track until a few years
ago, when some of the best horses of the country
appeared there. In the year 1879, through the
efforts of Captain R.W.Hunt, the track was placed
in first-class condition, and at once took a place
among the leading race-courses of the country.
The "Clay Stakes " — a stake of $3,000 guaranteed
by the association, being for horses without record
previous to April ist of each year, when nomina-
tions to the stakes close — were established in 1884,
and have become the leading event for ' ' green "
horses in the United States. In 1884 the asso-
ciation took a place in the grand circuit, which it
at present retains. From $3,000 to $4,000 per
year are offered by the association as purses for
speed. This year (1885) a new track has been built
and a new club house erected, to take the place of
the one destroyed by fire in November, 1884. The
business of the association is conducted by a Board
of fifteen Directors, chosen from among the stock-
holders, and from this Board the officers of the asso-
ciation are elected. An executive committee of
three has charge of the affairs of the association.
The officers of 1884, to whom much of the success
of the association is due, were unanimously re-elected
for 1885.
FORT ORANGE CLUB.
The Beaverwyck and Albany Clubs existed in
Albany in 1864. Both were popular, and numbered
as members many of the first citizens. The latter
club disbanded in 1878, and for two years the city
was without a creditable association of this kind.
The needs of it were soon felt, and resulted in the
formation, mainly through the efl!"orts of Grange
Sard, of the Fort Orange Club, in 1880. The de-
sign of this club is to establish and maintain a
library, reading and assembly rooms, and to pro-
mote social intercourse among the members. The
number of regular members is limited to 200. Ad-
mission fee, $50; annual dues, $25.
The club house is at no Washington avenue.
It is one of the historic buildings of the city, and
was built by Samuel Hill as a residence in i8ro,
and subsequently occupied by John T. Norton.
For many years it was one of the only three houses
on the hill, the others being occupied by the Gov-
ernor and the Mayor respectively. Here Aaron
Burr resided, while engaged in legal business in the
city. The club bought the house for $30,000, and
has spent $15,000 to $20,000 in repairs and fur-
nishing.
Entertainments which are largely attended, are
frequently given by the club to State officers' and
distinguished visitors. Its officers, including five
of its nineteen Trustees are annually elected by the
members at large. The Trustees are elected for
three years, and its other officers for one year.
ADELPHI CLUB.
This club was organized as the Adelphi Literary
Association, January 26, 1873. At that time it oc-
cupied rooms on South Pearl street, between Di-
vision. and Hudson avenue. In 1876 it moved
to Adelphi Hall, formerly Turn Halle, on Green
street While located there, dramatic, literary and
musical entertainments were given by the mem-
bers with success. In 1884 and 1885, a lecture
course was given at Beverwyck Hall. A series of
balls has been given each year. In 1880, the
house loi Hudson avenue was leased and con-
verted into a club house. The membership rapidly
increased, and in order to obtain larger quarters, in
1881 the present beautiful club house, corner
South Pearl and Division, streets was built by Mr.
Joseph Sporborg, one of its prominent members,
the club taking a ten years' lease of the building.
February 1 1, 1881, the association was incorporated
as the Adelphi Club. The present quarters are
next door to where it was first organized. Ex-
cepting the Fort Orange, its quarters are the hand-
somest of the kind in the city. Among the mem-
bers are prominent and influential Jewish residents.
The club house is a three-story building, conven-
ient and commodious.
The balls given here form prominent social events
in the city. The musical entertainments are of a
high order, the club containing some prominent
musicians. The membership is limited to 125,
and at present numbers 118.
THE ALBANY CITY CURLING CLUB
was founded in 1861. Curling is a manly, health-
ful Scotch game, played with smooth stones on a
field of ice, and is governed by rules laid down by
the Royal Caledonian Club of Scotland.
ALBANY TENNIS CLUB.
The Albany Tennis Club was established in
1878. Subsequently grounds on the southwest
corner of Swan and Jay streets were secured,
and a suitable building erected. It contains two
courts and considerable gymnastic apparatus. In
the spring- of 1 883 an outdoor court was added,
which is situated approximate to the club house.
The club is managed by a Board of Governors,
which is elected annually by the members. The
Board elects the officers and appoints committees.
It meets on the second Tuesday of each month.
THE WALNUT CLUB.
The Walnut Club of Albany was organized De-
cember 15, 1880, by Charles E. Wolf and N. P.
Rugg. Its membership now numbers about eighty
in the difl!erent cities where branches are estab-
lished. The object is sociality among its mem-
bers; and a member visiting any city where he can
find a Walnut is usually royally entertained. Each
member carries a silver walnut, which he is ex-
pected to be able to produce at any time.
ROLLER SKATING RINKS.
The popular amusement of roller skating secured
a foothold in Albany soon after Boston had adopted
SOCIAL CLUBS AND SPORTING ASSOCIATIONS.
747
and indorsed it Like all other modes of amuse-
ment in their nature harmless, it has its excesses
and its abuses.
The first place opened in Albany for this diver-
sion was at No. 69 North Pearl street, in the Old
Post Office Building. The hall, ready for the
public just before Christmas, 1880, was well patron-
ized during the winter. It was closed the ist of
May following. In the fall of 1881, the Old Taber-
nacle Baptist Church, on North Pearl street, was
converted into a skating rink by a stock company
of young men of Albany. It was fairly patronized,
but from some cause it did not realize the expecta-
tions of its proprietors, and the enterprise was aban-
doned the next spring.
During the winter of 1883 and 1884, Albany
seems to have had two roller-skating rinks, one in
the Public Market Building, Hudson avenue, and
one in the old Tenth Regiment Armory, Van
Vechten Hall.
The fifth enterprise of the kind was undertaken
in 1884, by Hickey, Downing & Curie}', and re-
sulted in the spacious and very creditable rink
running on Lark street, Captain Young, Superin-
tendent. The building is 85 by 185 feet on the
ground, with a floor 65 by 165 feet, and is provided
with 700 pairs of skates, and lighted by electricity.
It is the largest audience room in the city, and has
been used for concerts and large public gatherings.
The sixth and last roller skating rink was opened
in the old Methodist Church in the fall of 1884, by
Mr. Munson. Mr. Rice, Manager. It had a suc-
cessful winter, but the building was enlarged and
fitted for laundry purposes in 1885.
THE JOHN C. NOTT ASSOCIATION.
This association was organized September 8,
1882.
The object of the association is social intercourse
among the members. A river excursion is given
every year, and this feature has become very popu-
lar, not only among the members, but with many
who are not connected with them. Another very
pleasant feature is the dancing parties, of which
several are given every winter, and well attended.
The association has increased largely since its
organization, and now has upon its roll of mem-
bers nearly 100 young men.
BICYCLE CLUB.
The Albany Bicycle Club was organized August
24, 1880, with thirteen members, and was soon
added to the League of American Wheelmen. May
I, 1884, it was incorporated under the laws of
1875, with a membership of 113. There are at
present about 200 members. The elegant mansion
owned by E. D. Brainard, situated corner Lark
and Lancaster streets, has been leased by the club
for a term of years. The club has in its possession
about sixty bicycles. The privileges of the park
are open to the club till 9 a. m. , but efforts are mak-
ing to have the same privileges accorded to the
bicycle as are granted to any other wheeled vehicle.
THE RIDGEFIELD ATHLETIC CLUB.
The Ridgefield Athletic Club of the City of Al-
bany, incorporated in 1884 for purposes of general
outdoor sports, may justly be considered as the
offspring of the Albany Cricket Club, organized in
1838. A number of years elapsed before a reor-
ganization of the club took place, and the name or
the Albany Cricket Club was again numbered
among the best organizations in the State. The
greatest interest in cricket of later years occurred
during the seasons of 1881 and 1882, when the
club was strengthened by the services of a first-class
"professional." During the latter year, the Al-
bany club secured a notable victory on their own
grounds, in a match with a selected eleven from
the Western States.
Desirous of securing more convenient and per-
manent grounds in the city, the members of the
club conceived the idea of forming an association
which should embrace other sports, and to that
end a fund was started in September, 1883, for the
purchase of the grounds now occupied by the
Ridgefield Athletic Club. The first meeting of the
subscribers was held October ist, at which Mr.
William Lacy was chosen chairman, and Mr.
John B. Marsh, Secretary. It was decided to call
the organization the Albany Cricket Club, and to
procure its incorporation. At a subsequent meet-
ing. Trustees were selected, and a committee ap-
pointed to contract for the purchase of the grounds.
At a meeting of the Shareholders on the 28th of
April, 1884, the name of "the Ridgefield Athletic
Club of the City of Albany " was agreed upon. The
grounds were first opened for the use of the mem-
bers on the i6th of June, 1885.
The capital stock of the club is $7, 500, in shares
of $25 each, and is owned by 248 shareholders.
The number of yearly members thus far elected is
233. The grounds and improvements have al-
ready cost about $10,000. Included in that
amount is |5,ooo for purchase money, and |i,500
for bicycle track. When all intended improvements
are completed, Ridgefield will rank among the
finest of athletic grounds in this country.
THE MUTUAL BOAT CLUB.
The Mutual Boat Club was organized on the
15th of August, 1865, and had at that time 600
members. Rowing in Albany was then at a low
ebb, and the Victoria, Knickerbocker, Hiawatha,
Excelsior and Mystic Clubs had one after the other
quietly disbanded, leaving as the sole surviving
organization the veteran Pioneer Club, which soon
after ceased. In the formation of all those clubs,
the governing motive had been social intercourse
and the rowing was incidental, but the founders of
the Mutual Club determined to have a rowing club,
and such it has been ever since.
The Mutuals have rowed 135 races with other
clubs, winning 68 and losing 67. They have
championships in the National Association, the
Northwestern, the Harlem, the Hudson, the Upper
Hudson, the Passaic River and the Inter-State As-
748
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
sociations. They have held the championship of
Albany in singles for fourteen, and in fours for six-
teen years of the twenty that have passed since they
were organized. They have entered twenty-two
times, and in eleven different years, in regattas of
the National Association of Amateur Oarsmen;
have there competed in every style of race, except
in eights; have won twice in junior singles, twice
in six-oared shells, four times in pair- oared shells,
and once in four-oared shells, and have thus held
nine national championships, while but one other
club in the country has secured as many as four.
They now stand the foremost rowing organization
in the United States, with a record and reputation
which is unapproached, and of which they are just-
ly proud.
ALBANY YACHT CLUB
was organized April i6, 1873, with S. G. Payn, Jr.,
as President. It was reorganized in 1876, with M.
F. Cogswell as Commodore (or chief officer), fol-
lowed by E. F. Hackett, W. W. Grey, F. E. Coo-
ley, and C. S. Babcock. The club house, built
in the spring of 1880, is a well-fitted structure for
the accommodation of yachtsmen, designed by F.
Wright, the architect, situated on the east bank of
the Hudson, directly opposite the steamboat land-
ing. The meetings are held monthly — first Mon-
day in each month. The funds for building their
present house were raised by the members of the
club. Its present membership numbers 60.
MOHICAN CANOE CLUB OF ALBANY.
The American Canoe Association is a large or-
ganization, numbering some forty clubs in the
leading cities from Montreal to New Orleans, and
from New York to San Francisco, whose object is
the comparatively new sport of cruising and racing
in canoes. Prominent among the clubs is the
Mohican of Albany. In 1881, when the associa-
tion was formed at Lake George there were but
two canoeists here — General R. S. Oliver and W.
D. Frothingham. The following year it was well rep-
resented by some eight or more members. In 1883
the Mohicans prospered so well that they secured
the foremost position in all sailing races as well as
in equipment for cruising and exploring. Their
fleet, including the Snake, Thetis, and Marion,
has a reputation for speed and perfection. In 1 884
the American Canoe Association elected as Com-
modore for the ensuing year, a prominent member
of this Club, General R. S. Oliver, and with an-
other member upon their Executive Committee,
and yet another as Chairman of the Regatta Com-
mittee, the National Meeting of 1885 was mainly
arranged by the Mohicans. Albany was for two
years selected as the place for the executive meet-
ings, and has, undoubtedly, contributed a very
large share toward the pleasant mission of popu-
larizing a healthful and exciting amusement.
Besides the innumerable cruises upon the Hud-
son, from the rapids down to salt water, the Mohican
flag has been carried down the Susquehanna and
Delaware Rivers, down the falls and swamps of the
Walkill, and on the waters of Lake Ontario and
Saint Lawrence, and into the backwoods, lakes,
and rivers of the Province of Ontario.
The Mohicans now number about thirty mem-
bers, chiefly Albanians, but including a few in dis-
tant cities. The name of the club was appropri-
ately borrowed from the tribe of Indians who
formerly lived in the territory east of Albany, and
their "totem " is the device of the club flag, which
is blue and white, with a golden turtle and eight
gold stars. The motto is "In via nulla via" —
"No way impassable."
MILITARY BANDS AND ORCHESTRA.
Probably the first Albany band was organized by
John Hughes about 1832. John Cook organized
a band in 1844, which for many years was very
popular, not only in Albany, but throughout the
State. "Captain Johnny," as the leader was called,
was a veteran of the Mexican War, and is said
to have been the first man to introduce the cornet as
a leading instrument, the key bugle being formerly
used by leaders. Cook continued to conduct his
band successfully for many years. Abut i860 a
new organization, made up in part from Cook's
Band, was formed under the leadership of Stephen
Schreiber, known as Schreiber's Albany Cornet
Band. At this time another was formed, called
Krank's Band. During the late rebellion, Cook
raised a military company, and served with dis-
tinction in the army. He died a few years ago, and
was buried with military honors.
Krank's Band flourished for a while under differ-
ent leaders, and was succeeded by Klien's, which
is still in existence, known as Erdmann and Klein's
Band, and which furnishes both military and or-
chestra music.
Schreiber's Band for several years did a large
business. It disbanded in 1869.
The Tenth Regiment Band was known as the
Capitol City Band prior to 1875. At the latter
date it was mustered into the loth Regiment, N.
G., S. N. Y., under the leadership of Mr. Sulli-
van, by whose name it was more generally known.
For several years Frederick Austin was leader of
the band. Under both of these leaders it be-
came well known for the excellence of the music
furnished. Its reputation was maintained under
the leadership of L. Partali, a musician of acknowl-
edged ability. The present leader is John L.
Gartland. Several of the older members of this
band were formerly connected with Schreiber's
Band. Two were members of Cook's Band.
The Albany City Military Band and Orchestra is
of recent origin. Joseph Klein is Leader and
Charles Friednichte, Conductor of Orchestra. An-
other excellent leader of orchestral music, who has
recently come to notice in Alban}', is W. J. Holding.
It will be a long time before the eminent cornetist,
Austin, is forgotten.
REllQlOVS I^STltuTloNS.
tig
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
THE OLD DUTCH CHURCH.
Built of stone in 1715, over a smaller one built in 1656. It stood on
the present State street, on the west side of Broadway.
ADVENTISTS.
THE Society of the Seventh-day Adventists sent
missionary workers to Albany in the summer
of 1 884, who began the work of canvas.<!ing and dis-
tributing their pubhcations in the houses of the
people, in railroad stations, on steamers, canal-
boats, etc. A summary of work done to May i,
1885, is as follows: 4,239 missionary visits, 352
subscriptions to periodicals, 5,469 periodicals dis-
tributed, and 50,000 copies of tracts, pamphlets,
etc., sold.
In April, 1885, pleasant rooms were secured at
205 State street, which were fitted up for reading
and lecture-rooms, and opened May 18, 1885,
with Nathaniel S. Washbond as Resident Manager.
These rooms, where choice religious works in the
English and foreign languages, newspapers of the
day, etc., may be found, are open from 2 to 9 p.m.
The missionary operations of this society are
conducted under the International Tract and Mis-
sionary Society, of which there are branch offices
in each State Conference.
BAPTISTS.
First Baptist Church. — The first meeting of
Baptists in the City of Albany was held January i,
1 8 ID, when the following men and women met
and formed themselves into a society, viz. : Joshua
A Burk, Salem Dutcher, John Gray, William Pen-
rey, Charles Boyington, Tamer Page, Betsey
Burke, Catharine Gordon, Margaret Jones,
Elenor Penrey.
This society voted, on the 23d day of
January, 181 1, to organize a church, which
they did, and started with twenty-one mem-
beis. The church thus formed met in va-
rious places until 18 18, when they pur-
chased and remodeled what was then known
as the Green Street Theatre. It was ded-
icated and occupied by them for the first
time January i, 1819. In the year 1852,
the lot corner of Hudson avenue and Philip
street was purchased, and the present edi-
fice was erected at a cost of about $26,000.
In 1865 it was greatly improved, and will
seat about 950. There is a Sunday-school
connected with it, and the Madison Avenue
Mission is under its care. Pastor, Rev.
Smith T. Ford. Membership, 487.
The Pastors who have served since its or-
ganization are Francis Wayland, 1811-12;
Isaac Webb, 1813-17; Joshua Bradley,
1817-19; John Finley, 1819-21; Lewis
Leonard, 1821-27; Bartholomew T.Welch,
1828-35; George B. Ide, 1835-36; Alanson
L. Covel, 1836-38; James L. Hodge, 1839-
42; James M. Coley, 1842-45; Asa Bron-
son, 1845-46; William C. Clapp, 1846-49;
Reuben Jeffrey, 1850-57; E. L. Magoon, D.D.,
1857-68; George C. Lorimer, _D.D., 1868-70;
James B. Hawthorn, 1870-72; ~
D.D., 1872-79; Melancthon C.
82; Thomas Rambaut, D. D.
Smith T. Ford, 1884.
Tabernacle Baptist Church. — This church is
the outgrowth of a mission held in a building
on North Pearl street, by a few of the members of
the North Pearl street Baptist Church, now known
as Emmanuel, in the year 1856. Its rapid growth
soon became apparent, and it was resolved to form
a church. A society was organized October, 1859,
and was incorporated under the name of the Tab-
ernacle Baptist Church, November 10, 1859. I"
1875 the society purchased the present site, and
erected thereon a handsome church, which was
dedicated February 14, 1877. The church has a
membership of 457, and supports a Sunday-school
of 375 scholars.
The following have served as Pastors: Revs. Jus-
tin D. Fulton, 1859-64; William A. Alden, 1865-67;
ThomasCull, 1868-70; Robert B. Kelsey, .1871-72;
Frank R. Morse, 1873-78; Albert Foster, 1879.
Emmanuel Baptist Church. — This church was
organized in 1834, and until 1871 was called the
Pearl street Baptist Church. Rev. Bartholomew
T. Welch, D. D. , was the first Pastor. For seven
years previous to 1834, Rev. Dr. Welch had been
Pastor of the First Baptist Church in this city. In
that year, one hundred and twenty members were
David M. Reeves,
Lockwood, 1880-
LL.D., 1882-84;
750
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
dismissed from the First Church to form a new
society, and the Pastor went with the new col-
ony. The first House of Worship, costing $46,000,
was built on North Pearl street, on the lots now oc-
cupied by the Perry Building, and was similar in
its architecture to the building occupied by the Al-
bany Female Academj'. The present house of wor-
ship, situated on the north side of State street,
between Swan and Dove streets, was erected in
1869-70. It was formally dedicated and occupied
by the church in February, 1871. The beautiful
tower on the southeast corner was erected in the
summer of 1883. It was the gift of Mrs. Eli Perry
in memory of her late husband, who for many years
was one of the Deacons of the Church and Chair-
man of its Board of Trustees. The church proper
is 1 10 feet deep and 8 \ feet wide, and will seat
1,400 persons. The church and chapel together
are 157 feet deep, the chapel being 47 feet by no
feet. The entire cost of the property has been
about $220,000. The church has been served by
the following Pastors: Revs. Bartholomew T.Welch,
D.D., 1834-48; Luther F. Beecher,D.D., 1849-53;
William Hague, D.D., 1853-58; Thomas R. Hew-
lett, 1859-61; C. D. W. Bridgman, D.D., 1862-78;
T. Harwood Pattison, D. D., 1879-81.
The present Pastor, Rev. Henry M. King, D.D.,
assumed the pastoral care of the church January
I, 1882.
Calvary Baptist Church. — This church was or-
ganized January 16, i860, under the name of the
Washington avenue Baptist Church of Albany, and
started under the pastoral care of Rev. William P.
Everett. His labors were attended with such suc-
cess that a more commodious house was necessary,
and they secured the church on Washington ave-
nue erected for the German Baptists. February 4,
1 865, they purchased the State street Baptist Church,
on the corner of State and High streets, and changed
their name to the present one. The society con-
tinued to worship in this edifice until the spring of
1880, when, under the successful work of Rev. John
Humpstone, the old building was torn down to
give place to the present one. This church has a
large and prosperous Sunday-school under its care.
Rev. James Wolfenden, Pastor, since June i, 1883.
jyiembership, 736.
The following Pastors have served since its or-
ganization: Revs. William P. Everett, 1863-65;
J. Spencer Kennard, 1865-66; S. W. Foljambe,
1867; John Peddie, 1868-71; John Love, Jr.,
1872-75; Joshua Day, 1876-77; John Humpstone,
1877-82; James Wolfenden, 1883-85.
State Street Baptist Church. — This church
was organized in 184 5, and a meeting-house erected
same year, corner State and High streets. Sold to
Calvary Baptist Church in 1865.
Pastors: Jacob Knapp, 1846-47; Edwin R.War-
ner, 1847-48; Jabez S. Swan, 1848-49; W.W.Moore
1849-51; Charles B.Post, 1852-54; William Arthur,
father of ex-President Chester A. Arthur, 1854-64;
T.W.Smith, 1864.
Washington Avenue Baptist Church. — Build-
ing, No. 252 Washington avenue, purchased in 1859.
Sold to Roman Catholics in 1866. Pastor: William
P. Everett, 1 860-64.
Washington Street German Baptist Church,
on Washington avenue, was dedicated in 1854.
Pastors: A. Von Pattkammer, 1857-61; H.Feltman,
1864-69; Wm. Argow, 1870-75; Henry Trumpp,
1877-80; John Jaeger, 1882 to present time.
First African Baptist Church. — This was the
first African Church formed in Albany, organized
in 1820 as the Albany African Church Association.
The church edifice was located north side Hamil-
ton street, between Grand and Fulton streets. The
name First African Baptist Society was taken in
1826. Property sold to Roman Catholics in 1869.
Pastors: Nathaniel Paul, 1822-30; Calvin C. Will-
iams, 1831; Samuel Treadwell, 1832-33; Thomas
Ritchie, 1834; Nathaniel Paul, 1838-39; Jonas H.
Townsend, 1843; John Kial, 1844; W. Surrington,
1846; William Garrett, 1849; J. Atkins, 1852;
Hansen, 1855; L.Black, 1859; T. Doughty Miller,
1860-64; John D. Bagwell, 1869. Discontinued.
Second African Baptist Church, organized 1870,
Chestnut, near Dove. Pastors: Theodore D.Miller,
1872; Charles Charles, 1873; Henry H. Mitchell,
1879. I' is '^o^ discontinued.
CATHOLIC.
St. Mary's Church. — In the seventeenth century,
Albany was the eastern gate to the Iroquois
country. Here Catholic missionaries sometimes
halted to take breath on their way to the Mohawk
villages. Father Isaac Jogues, the martyr of Caugh-
nawaga (now Fonda) was here more than once.
Here he became acquainted with the good old
Dutch minister. Dominie Megapolensis, and found
in him a true friend in time of need. No organized
body of Catholics is known to have existed here
prior to October 6, 1 796. On that day a meeting
was held at the house of James Robichaux, in con-
sequence of which they were formally incorporated.
The certificate in the County Clerk's office is signed
by Lewis Le Coulteaux and David McEvers, is wit-
nessed by Sebastian Visscher and Archibald Camp-
bell, and acknowledged before Robert Yates. The
first church was built on the same ground since
occupied by the second, and by the third or present
St. Mary's. A drawing of it from memory was made
by the late Peter M. Morange, Esq. , and engraved
for Munsell's Annals of Albany. The corner-stone
was laid in 1797 by Thomas Barry, a prominent
merchant of that day. Barry died in January, 1813,
and was buried in the old St. Mary's Cemetery on
State street, now covered by the Park. His re-
mains now rest in the new St. Agnes' on the Troy
road. Le Coulteaux was born in France of a noble
family. From here he moved to Buffalo, and his
name is well known there in connection with a
revolt which sprang up in the congregation of St.
Louis' Church in that city, suppressed with much
difficult}' by Archbishop Hughes. Prior to the
erection of the first St. Mary's, divine service was
occasionally celebrated at the old Cassidy home on
the comer of Maiden lane and Chapel street; and
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
751
also in the house of William Duffy in Court street,
now South Broadway.
St. Mary's is older than any other Catholic parish in
the State, with the single exception of St. Peter's, in
Barclay street, New York. For many long years it
was the only place this side of Detroit where an
emigrant pushing westward from the great city
could bend his head before the august sacrifice.
Tradition tells of many distinguished visitors to its
shrine, among them such men as Lafayette and
Talleyrand. The latter once had his lodgings
close by, on the west side of Chapel street and south
ST. MARY'S, THE FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ALBANY.
Erected by contributions of Catholics and Protestants in 1798, corner of Pine and Chapel Streets.
of Maiden Lane, in a small, quaint old building
recently standing. The tramp of Coming's horses
is now heard where the wily brain of the great
diplomatist brooded in silence over his fallen
fortunes.
The entrance to the primitive St. Mary's was on
Pine street. The interior was about fifty feet square.
The altar stood on the easterly side. The sanctu-
ary was about twelve feet square; the altar plat-
form three steps in highL The pulpit was fixed to
the wall at the northeast corner, about midway be-
tween floor and ceiling, and near the sanctuary,
from which it was reached by a long, narrow stair-
case, the lower steps of which came within the sanc-
tuary railing. The altar stood against the wall; was
of modest, but tasteful appearance; and was inclosed
by two wooden columns, surmounted by an oval.
About 1822, the same hand to which we are in-
debted for the exterior view of the church, graced
the space over the tabernacle, and within this oval,
by a representation of the three crosses on Calvary.
There was a space of about four feet in front of the
sanctuary; a range of pews, with an aisle of the same
width, on the westerly side, an aisle or passage-way
running north and south from the west aisle to the
space; and an aisle at the entrance which opened
on Pine street. A gallery was reached by a stairway
beginning a short distance west of the entrance, and
extended along the southern and western walls.
The choir with its little organ occupied this western
portion of the gallery. This organ, a gift from Mrs.
Margaret Cassidy, is believed to have been the first
instrument of the kind ever introduced into Albany.
A larger one was afterwards placed in the second
church, which still does duty in the third, but so en-
larged, remodeled and improved, that for sweetness
and effectiveness it ranks among the best in the city.
A piece of marble, discovered when excavating
for the present edifice, was undoubtedly the inscrip-
tion stone on the first. The following quaint legend
was engraved upon it:
[L H. S.]
(Cross-bones.]
Founders.
[Skull.]
Thomas Barry,
Louis Le Coulteaux,
E. C. Quinn, Master builder.
A. D. 1798.
Another stone found at the same time bore upon
its front the figures 1797. Both these stones have
been built into the walls of the present church,
and show their legends still.
Among the first clergy officiating in this primi-
tive little building were Rev. Messrs. Thayer,
Whelan, O'Brien and La Valenure. They seem
to have been only transient, and their dates cannot
be ascertained. It is known that Mr. O'Brien
went from here to Canada. Rev. D. Mahoney was
here from 1806 to 1807; Rev. James Buyshe in
1808. He died and was buried here. Rev. Mr.
Hurley from 1808-9; R^^- ^''- Weddin, i8io-ii;
Rev. Mr. O'Gorman, 1812-13. He died in New
752
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
York in 1824. Rev. Paul McQuade, 18 13-17;
Rev. Mr. Hogan, 18 19. He afterwards inaug-
urated the notable rebellion in St. Mary's, Phila-
delphia. Rev. Mr. Farnham attended from Utica
in 1820; Rev. Michael Carroll, 1821-22; Rev.
Mr. Bulger, 1823. Went from here to Utica, and
died in New York in 1824. Rev. Mr. Brennan,
1824; Rev. Dr. Savage, 1825-26, and returned
to Cork, Ireland. Rev. Charles Smith had pre-
viously been a Methodist Minister. He was Pastor
from 1826 to 1836, and had a stormy time of it.
The Tru.stees ruled the church, and Freemasonry
ruled in the Board of Trustees.
The first Catholic Sunday-school was initiated
in 1828, in the gallery of this first church, on the
Pine street side. Its first Superintendent was Mr.
Peter M. Morange. Soon after, a day school was
opened on the east side of Broadway, a little north
of Quackenbush street. The young ladies of the
Sunday-school conducted this also, teaching by
turns, each two days in the week, until relieved by
Mrs. James F. Meline, a singer in St. Mary's choir,
who took sole charge. Before long it was deemed
opportune to establish an orphan asylum. Sister
Mary de Sales (Miss Barber, of Boston, a convert)
and Sister Josephine were invited to conduct the
institution, and the day school passed into their
hands.
That this little church of 1798 must have be-
come well crowded at last, is evidenced by the fact
that the newspapers of the day refer to it as far
too small to contain the congregation. At a sale
January 7, 1829, forty-four pews brought $1,475.
The demolition of the old building began on
the 14th day of September, 1829. The corner-
stone of a second church was laid October 13 th,
and on the 29th of August, 1830, it was opened
for divine service. In the meanwhile the congre-
gation assembled for worship in the Lancaster
School-house (now Albany Medical College). It
is a singular fact, and one that indicates a very ab-
normal state of things, that the corner-stone of this
second St. Mary's was laid by Freemasons with
their peculiar rites. In consequence of this, the
Pastor, with a minority of the Trustees, refused to
be present at the ceremony.
In preparing the ground for the new structure, it
was necessary to dig away a great hill, and to open
Steuben street, above Chapel. To push forward
this work, members of the congregation contributed
teams and personal labor, day after day, under the
superintendence of "Yankee White," so called.
Many still remember this as a busy and joyous
time. One of the subscription lists, still preserved,
shows the names of the following distinguished
donors: Stephen Van Rensselaer, $100; Charles T.
Dudley, $25; Edward C. Delavan, $25; Robert
Dunlop, $25; Nathan Sanford, $50; Chancellor
Jones, IS50; Martin Van Buren, $50. William
Mascraft, William Lush, Samuel H. Drake, Jesse
Buel, A. Van Vechten, and others, contributed
smaller sums.
The corner-stone, besides various coins and
newspapers of the period, and some coins also
which were evidently memorials rescued from the
ruins of the earlier building, contained a copper-
plate with the following inscription:
ST. MARy's church, ALBANY.
This stone was laid on Monday, October 12,
1829, by the President of St. Mary's Church, in
the presence of the Trustees and a numerous con-
course of citizens.
John Cassidy, President: Thomas Geough, Vice-
President; John Duffan, Treasurer; James Maher,
Secretary; Peter Morange, John Reynolds, Will-
iam Hawes, Patrick McQuade, Timothy Hayes,
Trustees; Rev. Charles Smith, Pastor; Peers,
Master-builder, 1829.
The newspapers were not successful as memorials
of the period. No metallic box inclosed them.
They were simply deposited in the hollow stone,
and when this was broken open, thirty-eight years
later, their charred and mutilated remnants did not
afford a single entire paragraph which could be de-
ciphered.
This second building fronted on Chapel street.
It was entered by a high, ungainly flight of steps,
very inconvenient at all times, and in winter even
dangerous. A small door, also on Chapel street, at
the Pine street corner, gave admission to the base-
ment, which served as the school-room. A house
on Lodge street, adjoining the rear of the church,
first used as an orphan asylum, afterwards became
the rectory, or pastoral residence. In 1847, when
the Diocese of Albany was set off from that of New
York, and Bishop McCloskey assigned to its ad-
ministration, St Mary's became his cathedral, and
this dilapidated rectory had just respect enough for
the future Cardinal not to tumble down upon his
head. In truth the church itself was weakly built,
and lived out its short term of life very poorly. Its
walls had to be secured against falling out by iron
straps, and even this security was very unsatisfactory.
We cannot apply to the master-builder who put up
this second St. Mary's what Emerson says of "the
hand that rounded Peter's dome, and groined the
aisles of Christian Rome," that "he builded better
than he knew." This fellow must have known
better.
Its brief period of service, however, was a mem-
orable time to Catholics of this region. Its registers
record events of deep interest to many families in
Albany, and to many now scattered widely and far
away. Within its walls resounded many an elo-
quent and memorable voice. Many heaits brought
their fears, joys and tears to its altar and confes-
sionals. Many little feet, since grown weary with
more difficult travel, struggled up the steep hill-
sides to its schools, and gathered to its festivals,
confirmations, and first communions. Bishop
Loughlin grew up to manhood within sound of its
bell. At 83 Canal street, hard by. General Phil
Sheridan was born, and it lived to witness the tri-
umphal welcome which Albany gave him at the
close of our Civil War. Not a few memorials of the
old building still remain. Its altar, tabernacle,
sanctuary railing, and stations of the cross still do
duty in the basement chapel of the present church.
Its bell is in the tower. Its font is preserved in the
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
753
sacristy and still used, though not for baptizing.
A fine large painting of the "Descent from the
Cross," which served it for an altar-piece, still hangs
above the high altar. It was bought, in 1843, at a
sale of the collection of a Mr. Franquinet, of New
York.
The Rev. Charles Smith continued to serve St
Mary's (to govern it then was out of the question)
until 1836. After him succeeded several transient,
or temporary clergymen: the Revs. J. Kelly, G. Par-
doe, J. D. Urquhart, Joseph Stokes, and John J.
Curtin. Rev. J. A. Schneller, a very learned and
most excellent and active priest, was Pastor from
1837 to 1846. He had a stormy time of it. Near
the close of his term, and for a brief while after-
wards, the Rev. J. A. Kyle and the Rev. Edward
Putnam frequently did duty. The latter was a con-
vert In 1846, when the Diocese of Albany was
organized, Bishop McCloskey made St. Mary's his
cathedral, and governed the parish in person until
1853, assisted by the Rev. Edgar P. Wadhams, af-
terwards Bishop of Ogdensburg, and the Rev.
Thomas Doran.
In September, 1866, the present Pastor, Rev.
Clarence A. Walworth, was assigned to the charge
of St Mary's. The parish was heavil)' incum-
bered, and yet it was absolutely necessary to build
another church. The work was promptly begun.
A new incorporation was made, under Act of
March 25, 1863, changing its title to that of " St
Mary's Church of the City of Albany," and all the
church property passed over, by deed, to the new
trustees. The use of Association Hall, at the foot
of State street, was secured for Sunda3's. The organ
was taken to pieces, and stowed away in the loft of
Thomas Behan's store, on Hudson street, below
Broadway. By concession of the city, the church
lot was extended about twenty feet on the eastern
side to the ancient Chapel street line. A meeting
of the congregation was called, and a generous
subscription started, the names of Thomas Behan
and Thomas Noonan heading the list for $500
each. Bishop Conroy and John Tracey afterwards
gave $1,000 each. A poor blind man, depending
on his daily labor (that of flagging chairs) for the
support of a large family, subscribed $25, and was
one of the earliest to bring the money. The Hon.
George H. Thacher, then Mayor of the city, al-
though unsolicited, sent |ioo (under injunction of
secrecy, now violated) promising $100 per annum
until the new church should be completed. He
was never reminded of his promise, but the remit-
tances came for three successive years. After its
pews were taken out, the venerable building was
made to serve one more good purpose, that of a
fair, bequeathing thus to its successor, with a dying
blessing, the sum of $11,000 net profits.
The corner-stone of the present St. Mary's was
laid on Sunday afternoon, August 11, 1867, with
great ceremony, by the Vicar-General, Father Wad-
hams. The Rev. Ambrose O'Neill preached the
sermon. The contents of this stone are as follows:
the city newspapers of Saturday, August i oth ; speci-
mens of American coinage, obtained from the U. S.
Mint at Philadelphia, from a silver dollar to a three-
95
cent piece; a half-dime, previously deposited under
the second church by John McCardle, and a fifty-
cent piece of 1867, stamped with his name; a list
of all who at this ceremony contributed to the
amount of $1; a plan of the interior of the old
building; an original subscription book of 1829.
All these articles were put into a leaden box, seven
inches deep and one foot square, securely soldered,
and for further security, the more perishable articles
were wrapped in tin-foil. The box contained also
a copper-plate, bearing the following legend:
" Prima hie, eodemq. in situ, ecclesia fuit a. d.
1797; secunda vero (quae olim Aedes Cathedralis)
A. D. 1829. Hunc Tertiae, cura Rev. Clarencii Wal-
worth parochi constructae, lapidem primarium pos-
uit Adm. R. Edgar Wadhams, Vic. Gen. R. R.
Dno. Joanne Conroy, sedem tenente, Anno xxii.
Pii ix Summi Pont Nostri, Andrea Johnson Prae-
side, Reuben Fenton Gubernatore, et Georgio
Thacher urbis Praefecto.
" PraecipFau tores: RR. Joan. Jos. Conroy, Joan-
nes Tracey, sen., Thos. Behan, Thos. Noonan.
"Nichols & Brown, Arch.; Rob'tus Aspinall et
Soc. Fab. Mur; Joan. Parker, Fab. Lign."
At the top of the plate, and running partly around
it, are the words, "Ad honorem Dei Omnip. sub
Patrocinio B. Virginis Mariae," and at the bottom
of the plate, "Die xi Aug. a.d. mdccclxvii."
The edifice thus commenced was so far com-
pleted by February 16, 1868, that its basement
could be used for religious services. On Sunday,
March 14, 1869, it was solemnly dedicated at high
mass by Bishop Conroy, the Vicar-General, Father
Wadhams officiating as celebrant The large altar-
stone was consecrated in situ at that time, and car-
ries therefore the privileges of a fixed altar. The
new font was blessed in December that same year.
The solid marble altar in the Lady Chapel, a dona-
tion of Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, the historian, was
dedicated by Bishop Wadhams on Saturday, July 2,
1870, and is a privileged altar. In February, 1871,
the beautiful stations of the cross, from Munich,
were erected by the Bishop of Albany. The two
confessionals nearest the altar date from a later pe-
riod of the same year.
St. Mary's parish originally included all that part
of the Diocese of Albany which lies in the valleys
of the Hudson and the Mohawk. Schenectady,
Utica, and Athens were among its stations, and its
archives show residents of the first two elected into
its Board of Trustees. At present it is oiily one of
Albany's twelve parishes. St John's Church, on
South Ferry street, was purchased from the Episco-
palians in 1839, and all the southern part of Albany
was allotted to this new parish. In 1843, that sec-
tion of the city which lies north of the center of
Clinton avenue was formed into a third parish, that
of St Joseph, and a new church built on the north-
east corner of North Pearl and Lumber streets.
Next followed the formation of a parish for the new
cathedral, built, in 1852, on Eagle street, which left
the jurisdiction of St Mary's limited on the south
by Beaver and Lancaster streets; and finally, in
1858, by the birth of St Patrick's, on Central ave-
nue, the old mother-church was shorn of all her
754
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
territory west of Knox street Since then the bound-
aries of SL Mary's have remained unchanged.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. —
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,
Albany, is a superb structure, built of brown sand-
stone in that style of architecture known as the
Pointed or Gothic. Its form is that of a Roman
cross. The exterior , produces the impression of
great beauty and majesty, the interior that of deep
solemnity and devout reverence. Among cathe-
drals in the United States it takes high rank. All
its interior decorations are characterized by simplic-
ity, richness and sobriety, as befitting a cathedral.
The walls and ceiling are blocked and finished in
imitation of freestone. Pillars, capitals, ribs and
bosses represent the same material. The prevail-
ing sombemess of the interior is relieved by the
strong, rich tints of the stained glass windows,
especially those in the north and south transepts,
and over the high altar; by the burnished brass of
the high altar; the white and gold of the four side
altars; the polished brass gas standards and brilliant
tints of the sanctuary mural decorations. The
principal altar was made in Paris of burnished
bras, elaborately wrought, and the other altars of
Caen stone.
Since 1883, the church has been adorned with a
magnificent set of stations of the cross, painted by
that painstaking artist, A. Ertle, of New York City,
whose work is emphasized by much originality and
strength of treatment.
The comer-stone was laid July 2, 1848, by
Archbishop Hughes, of New York, assisted by
Bishop, now Cardinal, McCloskey, of New York,
the first Bishop of Albany, and other distinguished
prelates. Its construction occupied more than four
years. The dedication service was held Novem-
ber 21, 1852, by the same dignitaries who officiated
at the laying of the corner-stone. Its total cost was
about $150,000. The architect was Patrick C.
Keely, of Brooklyn. In 1882, the cathedral was
restored, at considerable cost, under the supervision
of A. Ertle, of New York, and a rededicatory ser-
vice solemnized by Right Rev. Francis McNeirny,
Bishop of Albany, on October 8th of the same
year. Right Rev. E. P. Wadhams, Bishop of Og-
densburg, the first rector, was the preacher on this
occasion.
Exterior dimensions. — The cathedral has a front-
age of 95 feet on Eagle street, and a depth of 195
feet on Madison avenue. From water-table to
apex of roof is 70 feet, and to top of finished stone
spire 210 feet The twin spire, when completed,
will be of same hight
Interior dimensions. — Nave, 125 feet; transept,
96 feet; sanctuary, 35 feet square; hight of nave
about 60 feet Seating capacity, 2, 500. Particular
attention was given to the acoustic facilities of the
edifice, and the result is very satisfactory for pulpit
utterances and choral effects.
First Bishop : His Eminence Cardinal John
McCloskey, U.D., consecrated March 10, 1844;
transferred to Albany May 21, 1847; promoted 'o
New York May 6, 1864 ; created Cardinal, March
15. 1875.
Second Bishop : Right Rev. John J. Conroy,
D.D., consecrated October 15, 1865; resigned Oc-
tober 16, 1877. Present Bishop: Right Rev. Francis
McNeirny, DD. ; consecrated April 21, 1872, and
appointed Bishop of Albany by right of succession,
October 16, 1877. First Rector: Right Rev. E. P.
Wadhams, D. D. ; appointed Rector, 1852; conse-
crated Bishop of Ogdensburg, May 5, 1872. Second
Rector: Very Rev. P. A. Ludden.V. G. ; appointed
1872, and transferred to St Peter's Church, Troy,
in 1880. Present Rector : Rev. John Walsh; trans-
ferred from St John's Church, Albany, February
25, 1882; installed rector of cathedral, February
27, 1882.
St. John's Church, Albany, was founded in the
year 1837. The first Pastor was Rev. J. Kelly,
and the first place of worship was at the comer of
Herkimer and Franklin streets. On July i, 1839,
the present edifice, corner of South Ferry and Dal-
lius, was purchased from the Rector, Wardens
and Vestrymen of St Paul's Church by the Trus-
tees of St. John's Church, and thenceforth used as
a temple of Roman Catholic worship. Rev. Father
Kelly was succeeded by Rev. J. McDonough, in
1 84 1, as Pastor. He was a man of resolute pur-
pose, and an indefatigable worker in the cause of
Christianity. Many of the oldest residents down
town distinctly remember him and bless his mem-
ory. In 1847, the Rev. Patrick McCloskey came
from Schenectady to Albany and assumed charge
of St John's, and remained fourteen years. His
mission in those early days embraced all the lower
portion of Albany, Greenbush, and far out into the
country on every side. He died in 1861, univer-
sally mourned. His successor was the Rev. Cor-
nelius Fitzpatrick, who for several years ministered
faithfully to his people. In 1867, Rev. E. Bayard
was transferred from St John's Church, in Green-
bush, to St John's Church in Albany, and Rev.
Cornelius Fitzpatrick replaced him in Greenbush.
Needing rest from the onerous duties of an exten-
sive mission, the Rt Rev. Bishop of Albany Diocese
located him in Fort Edward, where he is the present
Pastor. Rev. E. Bayard remained Pastor of St
John's for several years. He was a man well known
for his amiable piety and charitable disposition.
He died a few years since while Pastor of Bald-
winsville, N. Y. In 1873 the Rev. John Walsh
became Pastor of St John's, which place he re-
tained until 1882, when he was made Rector of
the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Al-
bany. Father Walsh is remarkable as an orator of
splendid powers and a devoted priest In 1882
the Rev. James M. Ludden came from St John's
Church, Utica, where he was Pastor, and became
Pastor of St. John's, a position which he most hon-
orably and successfully fills to the entire satisfaction
of his large and influential congregation.
There have been many Assistant Priests in St
John's Church. Among others are recalled the
names of Rev. William F. Sheehan, now Pastor of
St Patrick's Church, West Troy; Rev. Father
Henderson, Rev. M. J. Griffith, ofValatie, N. Y. ;
Rev. William Nyhan, of Brazier Falls, N. Y. ; Rev.
Thomas Walsh, now of Plattsburg, N. Y., and
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
755
Vicar-General of the Diocese of Ogdensburg; Rev.
Thomas P. Walsh, of Coxsackie, N. Y. ; Rev.
William A. Ryan, of Camillus, N. Y. ; Rev. John
H. McGraw, of Schenectady, N. Y.; Rev. Father
Butler, of Fort Ticonderoga, N. Y. ; Rev. William
Finneran, of Catskill, N. Y.; Rev. James J. Ren-
ehan, of Marathon, N. Y. ; Rev. J. J. Kelly, of
Baltimore, Md. The Assistant Clergymen in 1885
are Rev. James H. Halpin and Rev. Matthew K.
Merns.
There is a peculiar charm about old St. John's
Church which highly endears it to even thousands of
Albany's Catholic families who are not of its present
parishioners. It has been the old landmark of
Catholicity in Southern Albany, and the ivy that
creeps over its old, but substantial, walls carries the
minds of all back half a century.
St. Joseph's Church. — In the year 1842 there
were but two Catholic churches in Albany, Sl
Mary's, on Lodge street, and St. John's, on Dallius
street
The Catholics in the northern part of the city
had already greatly increased in numbers, and it
was found necessary to provide more ample church
accommodation for them.
A meeting for the purpose of considering the
erection of a new church was called in the early
part of the summer of 1842.
Father Schneller, the Pastor of St. Mary's, pre-
sided. At this meeting it was resolved to purchase
a site for a new church, on the northeast corner of
North Pearl and Lumber streets.
The lot was accordingly secured, and the corner-
stone of the first St. Joseph's Church was laid on
the afternoon of July 25, 1842.
The work was pushed forward rapidly, and com-
pleted at a cost of $28,000, and dedicated May 7,
1843, by Right Rev. John Hughes.
Father Schneller retained the charge of the newly-
formed congregation, and Father Newell, Father
Havermans, of Troy, and Father Hogan, attended
to their spiritual wants for several months.
The Rev. John J. Conroy, then a young priest,
but very lately ordained, was appointed the first
regular Pastor, and was installed in the pastoral
charge by Bishop Hughes, March 25, 1844.
The parish made rapid progress under his zeal-
ous administration. He erected the building on
North Pearl street, known as the Girls' Orphan
Asylum, established schools for both boys and
girls, and erected a handsome parochial residence
on the northwest corner of North Pearl and Lum-
ber streets.
The congregation increased steadily during the
next ten years, and at the end of that period the
church edifice becoming inadequate for the Catholic
population of the parish, the Pastor resolved to
build a new church of more ample proportions,
and of more artistic and. elaborate design. With
this intention, the large plot of ground bounded
by Ten Broeck, Second, and First streets, was pur-
chased for the sum of $45,000.
The plans of the church were drawn by Patrick
Keeley, the celebrated architect, who had built the
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, of this
city, and many of the more elaborate churches
throughout the country.
Ground was broken for the new church in the
fall of 1855. The corner-stone was laid by Right
Rev. Bishop McCloskey, June i, 1856. Besides
the Pastor, sixteen other priests were present on
this occasion. The ceremony was witnessed by over
12,000 people.
The church was completed in i860.
This edifice, which has justly, been consid-
ered one of the most beautiful churches in the
country, is of mediaeval architecture.
It is 212 feet in length by 1 1 6 feet in width, and
is built of blue limestone, trimmed with French
Caen stone. There are fourteen marble columns, of
which ten are monoliths. The three altars are
likewise of marble, and are in themselves beautiful
works of art.
Its stained-glass windows illustrate nearly all the
principal events in the life of the Redeemer.
The stations of the cross, which attract univer-
sal attention, were imported from Munich. The
roof of the church is that style which is known as
the open roof, and is carved and adorned in the
most elaborate manner. The total cost of the
structure is estimated at $250,000.
The organ, which was built by Wilcox & Sim-
mons, of Boston, was, when placed in the church,
the second largest in the United States. It is an
instrument of rare power and sweetness of tone.
Mile. Emma La Jeunesse (now Mme. Albani) was
organist and head soprano in this church for several
years.
The church has three towers — one in front, not
yet fully completed, and two in the rear.
During the building of this church an accident
occurred, in which a carpenter named Murphy was
killed, and his brother and several others were
seriously injured.
Before the pews were placed in the edifice, a
great fair was held, in which the other churches of
the city took part, and at which a large amount
was realized.
The building was completed in the spring of
i860, and dedicated May 13, i860. The cere-
mony of blessing the new edifice was performed
by Bishop McCloskey. Bishop Fitzpatrick, of
Boston, celebrated the Pontifical High Mass, and
the sermon was delivered by Archbishop Hughes.
There were present at the ceremony all the Bishops
of the Province, and also Bishop Mullock, of New-
foundland. Pontifical Vespers were celebrated in
the evening, and a discourse was delivered by
Bishop Timon, of Buffalo.
The Caen stone used in the trimmings of the
church suffered greatly from the inclemency of the
weather, and in 1866 they had so crumbled that it
was necessary to remove a large portion of them,
and to substitute, in their place, at a great cost,
Ohio sandstone,
The church was also struck twice by lightning,
and the two rear towers and the organ were con-
siderably damaged.
In 1865, the Holy See appointed the V. R. J. J.
Conroy, successor, as Bishop of Albany, to Rt.
I'oe
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Rev. John McCloskey, who had been appointed to
the Archiepiscopal See of New York, made vacant
by the death of Archbishop Hughes.
Father Conroy was installed as the second Bishop
of Albany, October 15, 1865.
After his elevation to the Episcopacy, Bishop
Conroy retained the title of Pastor of St. Joseph's, and
held it until he resigned the administration of the
diocese in 1874.
About this time, St. Joseph's old church, which
had been, since the dedication of the new church,
used for a boys' school, was sold to the Albany
Sleam Bakery Company, and the proceeds paid off
the debt of the new edifice. The pastoral residence
had already been sold, and the proceeds used for
the same purpose.
In 1871, a large and commodious school-house
for boys, with all modern improvements, was erected
on the northwest corner of North Pearl and Colonie
streets, at a cost, including ground, building and
furniture, of $46,000.
The School is under the charge of the Christian
Brothers.
There are eight teachers and a daily attendance
of between five and six hundred boys. The tuition
is entirely gratuitous.
There is also a flourishing day school for girls
taught by the Sisters of Charity, with a daily attend-
ance of four hundred pupils.
There is likewise an Industrial School under
the care of the Sisters, in which girls are taught to
sew and dress-make. There are ten teachers in the
school.
The church was incorporated in 1878.
St. Joseph's Parish was twice divided, at the re-
quest of Father T. M. A. Burke, the present Pastor.
All that portion north of Pleasant street was
formed into the Parish of the Sacred Heart, North
Albany, and that portion west of Knox street was
ceded to St. Patriclt's Parish.
Many improvements have been made around the
church, the grounds have been beautified, and
$33,500 of the indebtedness has been paid.
The schools — both boys and girls — are in a
flourishing condition,and the congregation is wide-
ly known for its generosity, culture and piet}'.
Church of the Holy Cross (German), corner
of Hamilton and Philip streets. — The founda-
tions of this church were begun in 1849, and the
corner-stone was laid May 1 2, 1850. It was finished
and consecrated in 1852, Father Noethen, Pastor,
who remained till 1878, when he was succeeded by
the present Pastor, Father Ottenhaus. The present
congregation of this church is comparatively small,
but it has had the unusual honor and usefulness of
being the parent of three prosperous neighboring
churches, whose founders went out successively
from its midst, the mother-church often being so
full there was hardly standing room; viz.. Our
Lady of Angels, in 1868; Church of the Assumption,
in 1869; and Our Lady Help of Christians, in
1880.
St. Ann's Church, northeast corner Fourth ave-
nue and Franklin street, Rev. Edward A. Terry,
LL.D., Pastor.
The corner-stone of St Ann's Church bears the
date 1867.
It was laid in the summer of that year by Right
Rev. John J. Conroy, then Bishop of Albany. The
edifice was dedicated December 20, 1868. The
parish was formed in 1866, and comprised por-
tions to the south of the cathedral parish and that
of St John's. The first Pastor was Kev. Thos.
Doran, who had previously been in charge of St.
Mary's, Chapel street
The church and parsonage were built on prop-
erty donated to the congregation by John Tracey,
Esq., who became one of the first trustees. His
associates were Thomas Keaman, John Carmody
and James Coyle.
The present Pastor, Rev. Dr. Terry, assumed
charge 'Tuesday, September 22, 1880. His prede-
cessor died July 4th of the same year. Dr. Teriy
was transferred from the curacy of St. John's Church,
Utica, where he had officiated for five years. He
had formerly been Professor of Dogmatic Theology
and Scripture in Mount St. Mary's College, Em-
mettsburg, Md., and he was affiliated to the diocese
of Albany by Right Rev. Bishop McNeirny.
The present congregation of St Ann's numbers
about twenty-five hundred. It is in a most flour-
ishing condition, its funded debt having been re-
duced from $i8,oco to $11, coo.
The Pastor's work proper is very much aided by
the many societies into which he has formed the
members, old and young. There are no less than
ten of these associations, none of them numbering
less than one hundred members. Chief among these
societies are the Sunday-school Union, the St. Vin-
cent de Paul Society, and the Ladies' Aid Society.
The present roll of the Sunday-school shows a
maximum of 650 names, and an average attend-
ance of more than 600. The Pastor invariably pre-
sides during the hours of Sunday-school.
The choir of the church is one of its attractive
features. It comprises a double quartette and a
chorus of sixty-five voices. Mr. Charles Kresser is
Organist, and Mr. John Klein, Director.
St. Patrick's Church, Central avenue, comer
of Perry street, was consecrated August 30, 1868.
Priests: A. McGeough, 1859-64; Felix McGinn,
1865-71; P. J. Smith, 1874 to present time.
Our Lady of Angels Church (German), Central
avenue, comer of Robin street, was erected in 1868.
Priests: Francis Neubauer, 1869-77; Pius Kotterer,
1878-79; Maurice Bierl, 1 880-83; Caesar Cucchia-
rini, 1883 to present time.
Church of the Assumption was purchased by
the French Catholics from the First African Baptist
Society, and dedicated in 1869. Priests: M. La
Porte, 1870-72; M. Dugas, 1873; C. M. Lesage,
1874-76; P. O. Renaud, 1877; Joseph Brouillet,
1878-81; Clovis Therbault, 1882-83; G. Hulber-
daull, 1883 to present time.
Our Lady Help of Christians. — The congrega-
tion. Our Lady Help of Christians, is the out-
growth of Holy Cross Church. It was begun and
established in the year 1873 ^y the Rev. Theodore
Noethen, Vicar-General for the Germans in the
diocese of Albany.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
m
It was regarded as a matter of necessity, from
the fact that the church edifice of Holy Cross had
gradually become too small for rapidly increasing
congregation. One roof could no longer give
satisfactory shelter to all.
In April, 1873, purchase was made of the prop-
erty on Second avenue. A frame building found
standing upon the site was at once trans-
formed into a temporary chapel. In the fall of the
same year this chapel was dedicated by the Very
Rev. Theodore Noethen. Services were held every
Sunday at 8. 30 a. m. , Very Rev. Theodore Noethen
and his assistant, Rev.' Stephen A. Preisser, alter-
nating.
There was also a school connected with the
chapel, John Hess acting in the capacity of teacher.
In June, 1874, the chapel was separated from its
connection with Holy Cross Church, and Rev.
Stephen A. Preisser placed in charge of the newly-
created congregation as its first Pastor. The
old structure was at once enlarged by the addition
of an extension in the rear and to the side. In
August of the same year, other property was ac-
quired on Krank street, and a commodious school-
house erected on the grounds.
The corner-stone of the present church was laid
on the 28th of June, 1 880, by the Right Rev. Francis
McNeirny, Bishop of Albany, assisted by a number
of priests from the city and other parts of the diocese.
The church was completed, dedicated and opened
for service on the 28th of August, 188 r, Right
Rev. Francis McNeirny, Bishop of Albany, per-
forming the ceremonies, and Revs. M. J. Decker
of Erie, Pa., and John Walsh, of Albany, occupy-
ing the pulpit respectively, the first in the morning,
and the latter in the evening.
In 1882, the Sisters of St. Francis, from St. An-
thony's Convent, Syracuse, N. Y. , were invited by
the Rev. Stephen A. Preisser to take charge of the
school, and have since then labored laithfully,
worked earnestly, and accomplished much in the
furtherance and promotion of education and man-
ners, religion and learning, among the little ones
under their supervision. In March, 1883, Rev.
Stephen A. Preisser, after over nine years of labor,
was appointed to take charge of St. Peter's
Church, Oswego, N. Y., and Rev. Henry Cluver,
from St. Joseph's Church, Schenectady, N. Y., was
appointed to fill the vacancy at Our Lady Help of
Christians, at Albany.
The Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was
established on August 5, 1884, by the Right Rev. F.
McNeirny, Bishop of Albany.
The limits of the parish are Hart's Road on the
north. Pleasant street on the south. City Line on
the east, and Loudonville on the West. The Bish-
op appointed Rev. Francis J. Maguire to be first
Pastor of this parish. With a Catholic population
of nearly eighteen hundred souls, the Pastor began
his labors at once. A parcel of land situate on
North Pearl street, and comprising sixteen building
lots, had been secured at a cost of nearly seven
thousand dollars. The debt thus incurred was the
only financial possession of the new parish when
Father Maguire assumed the pastorate. Unlike
some large undertakings, the work of the Sacred
Heart Parish was from the beginning marked by a
cautiousness and prudence which have resulted in a
success which has surpassed expectation. Instead
of launching into a scheme entailing elaborate
buildings and a grand church debt, a temporary
chapel was at once erected on Erie street. Here, at a
cost of about sixteen hundred dollars, accommo-
dations for the congregation were secured.
So rapid was the growth of the parish, that the
securing of more church room soon became an
imperative necessity. It was then thought best to
proceed with the erection of the parish church.
There was no prospect of bringing a work of such
magnitude to completion in the near future, 'but it
was decided to make a beginning.
Ground was broken for the erection of the pres-
ent church July 31, 1876. The basement, which
afibrded ample room for all congregational pur-
poses, was occupied in February, 1877; and the
building was completed and dedicated May 2?
1880.
The church and adjoining rectory are of brick
with stone trimmings. The property is valued at
eighty-six thousand dollars, and there is but a
small debt upon it. Of this large sum of money
collected there was but one subscription of $200,
three of |roo, seven of $50, and all the remainder
was collected in small sums. The interior of the
church contains many beautiful gifts, chief among
which is a costly marble memorial altar, erected by
the family of the late William Cassidy, of the Argus.
The stained-glass windows, as well as the statuary
and stations of the cross, are from the art reposi-
tories of Munich, in Bavaria, and are donations of
members or friends of the congregation.
Rev. F. J. Maguire, Pastor of the Church, was
born in Albany, 1846, a graduate of Manhattan
College and of St. Joseph's Seminary. Ordained
priest May, 1872. First Pastor of Sacred Heart
Parish, Albany, which church and rectory have
been built at a cost of $77,000.
Church of the Assumption. — The French Ca-
nadians residing in Albany, January i, 1868,
founded the St. Jean Baptist Society, numbering
about 25 members. The objects of this organiza-
tion are to help the members when sick, and
give a certain amount at their death to pay for
funeral expenses. The weekly benefit of sick mem-
bers is $5. Within a short period the membership
reached 75, but, owing to some of the members re-
moving out of the city, the present membership is
only 56.
In 1869, there were 130 French Canadians in
Albany without church accommodation, and in
October 3d of that year, mass was first said in their
present church, corner Dallius street and Fourth
avenue.
The church was dedicated October 24, 1869, by
Very Rev. Father Edgar Wadhams. In the spring
of 1 8 7 1 , the residence next to the church was bought
for |4,ooo. The following have been Pastors : Rev.
Fathers Laporte, L. M. Dugas, C. M. Lesage, P.
Reneault, Joseph Brouillet, Clovis Thibeault. Rev.
Father Gideon Huberdeault is the present Pastor.
•im
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
In July, 1870, another French Canadian society
was established, by the name of Society de Secours
Mutual, for the object of insuring the lives of its
members. This society numbers 168 members.
In 1876 a French Canadian Democratic Club
was organized, with 175 members.
The 29th July, 1879, J. B. Seney, a popular
and public-spirited citizen, started a conference of
St. Vincent de Paul, to help poor French-Canadian
families. The society has done much good since
it was organized.
In January, 1882, the French Canadians of this
city united themselves as a body to send delegates
to the French Canadians' Convention held yearly
in this State.
October 22, 1884, a branch of the Catholic Be-
nevolent Legion was started by two or three
Frenchmen in this city, known as Jacques Cartier
Council, C. B. L., No. 86. The object of this society
is to insure members from $500 to $5,000, accord-
ing to the grade he joins. Membership numbers
forty. According to a census made by J. B. Seney,
in June, 1885, there are in the city 162 French-
Canadian families.
May 23, 1869, first meeting of the French Cana-
dians to establish a Catholic Church in Albany,
N. Y. Number of French families in this city
1869, 135.
September 17, 1869, Rev. Father Mascime La-
porte was named first Pastor of the Church of the
Assumption.
October, 1869, the church now occupied was
bought, at a cost of $7,000.
July, 1870, the house next to the church was
bought, at a cost of $4, 500.
November, 1872, Rev. Father C. M. Dugas was
named second Pastor.
November, 1874, Rev. Father M. Lesage was
named third Pastor.
In 1876, the present parsonage was built at a
cost of $8,000.
In spring, 1877, Rev. Father Reneault was
named fourth Pastor.
In November, 1879, Rev. Father Joseph Brouil-
let was named fifth Pastor.
June, 1882, Rev. Father C.Thibeault was named
sixth Pastor.
March 2, 1884, Rev. Father Gideon Hubert-
deault was named seventh Pastor.
In 1875, the school attached to the church was
established by Rev. Father Lesage.
But in 1879, Rev. Father Brouillet brought the
Rev. Sisters of Jesus and Mary to take charge of
the schools.
Since the establishment of this church, the
French people have paid over $75,000 in property,
repairs, ornaments, construction, salary and cur-
rent expenses.
CHRISTIAN.
The First Christian Church was organized in
1 88 1. Church located south side of Chestnut, be-
tween Lark and Dove streets. Pastors: E. C.
Abbott, 1881-84 ; Warren Hathaway, 1884 to
present time.
CONGREGATIONAL.
The corner-stone of the Congregational Church,
corner of Eagle and Beaver streets, was laid Septem-
ber 22, 1868; dedicated October 14, 1869. Cost,
including lot, $130,000. No debt. Will seat i, 125.
Thirteen associated gentlemen, consisting of An-
thony Gould, Bradford R. Wood, Rufus H. King,
James McNaughton, and others, bought the edifice
that had long been owned and occupied by the
First Presbyterian Church, corner South Pearl and
Beaver streets, now Beaver Block, December 15,
1849, fo"^ $20,000, for the purposes of a Congrega-
tional Church and society about to be formed. As
soon as suitably repaired, it was opened for Divine
Service, April 7,1850, Rev. Leonard Bacon, D.D.,
of New Haven, Ct., preaching. Other eminent
preachers of the denomination followed for a few
months. June 6 th, a religious society was organ-
ized. On the loth of July, a church of eighty-one
members was formed. Rev. Ray Palmer, D.D., of
Bath, Me., was installed Pastor, December 10, 1850,
and so remained until April 1 8, 1 866. Rev. Will-
iam S. Smart, D. D., of Benson, Vt., was installed
Pastor, May 30, 1867, and so remains. The last
sermon in the old church was preached February 8,
1868. After that date. Association Hall, now Board
of Trade rooms, was occupied for religious services
until the present edifice was completed. Sunday
services, 10^ a. m., i\ p.m. Sunday-school, 2 p. m.
It sustains the Bethany Mission-school, 67 South
Pearl street. Whole number of church members
enrolled since organization, 804; present number,
396. It is free from debt, owning its church build-
ing; has an intelligent congregation, and is gener-
ally prosperous.
Second Congregational Church Society was
organized in 1862. Meetings were held in Gibson's
Hall, Clinton avenue. It was discontinued in 1863.
R. B. Stratton was Pastor.
EPISCOPAL.
St. Peter's Church. — In 1675 the Rev. Nico-
laus Van Rensselaer, a son of the first Patroon,
Kilian Van Rensselaer, was colleague to the Rev.
Gideon Schaets in the Reformed Protestant Dutch
Church in Albany. He had received Holy Orders
in the Church of England, which was the cause of
many diff'erences between him and the Rev. Wil-
helmus Nieuenhuysen, the other colleague, and the
Pastor, which the Governor's Council determined
in Mr. Van Rensselaer's favor. He remained in
Albany until his death in 1678. The English gar-
rison at Fort Frederick and the few English fam-
ilies in Albany were occasionally visited by the
chaplains of the Fort in New York until 1704,
when the Rev. Thoroughgood Moore was sent by
the English Society for the Propagation of the Gos-
pel in Foreign Parts as Missionary to the Mohawk
Indians, and he remained in Albany a year, vainly
trying to penetrate to and locate in the Indian
country. He officiated regularly in Fort Fred-
erick.* The Rev. John Talbot, in 1702, had spent a
* Occupying the site of the present St. Peter's Church, corner of
State and Lodge streets.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
759
few weeks and performed divine service. In 1 708
the Rev. Thomas Barclay was Chaplain at Fort
Frederick. He organized a parish and held divine
service for six years in the Lutheran Chapel, whose
site, the corner of Beaver and South Pearl streets,
is now occupied by the City Building. October
21, 1 7 14, a plot of ground in the center of Yonker
(now State) street opposite Barrack, immediately
below Fort Frederick, was granted by patent from
the Crown for an English Church and cemetery.
In spite of the remonstrance of the City Common
Council, who claimed the ground, an edifice of
bluestone, 58 feet by 42 feet, was opened in No-
vember, 1 716. Mr. Barclay continued his faithful
fruitful labors at Albany, Schenectady, and among
the Mohawks until 1721, when the stipend of ;^50
from the Propagation Society was withdrawn. The
Mohawk Mission, for which a chapel was built at
Fort Hunter,near the lower Mohawk Castle, thirty-
five miles from Albany, was under the charge of
the Rectors of St. Peter's until 1 770, with the ex-
ception of the years 171 2 to 171 9, when there was
a resident missionary. In 1727 the Rev. John
Miln became Rector of Saint Peter's, as the church
then began to be called. A parish school, under
the instruction of Mr. John Beasley, was founded
at this period, and continued for many years. In
1738 the Rev. Henry Barclay, a son of the first
Rector, born in Albany, who had been catechist to
the Mohawks, succeeded him. He was zealous and
successful until the ravages of King George's War
compelled him to leave Albany; and in the au-
tumn of 1746 he accepted the Rectorship of Trinity
Church, New York City. He died there in 1 764.
In 1750 the Rev. John Ogilvie, born in New York
City, was called to the rectorship. He continued the
good work of his predecessors. His thorough
knowledge of the Mohawk dialect enabled him,
after Dr. Barclaj-'s death, to whom the revision of
the Mohawk Prayer-book had been committed by
Sir William Johnson, to superintend its publication
and correct the proof It appeared in 1 769, Irom
the press of Hugh Gaines. The French and Indian
War scattering his Albany and Mohawk congrega-
tions, he became Chaplain to General Amherst's
expedition in 1758, and to that of Sir William
Johnson against Niagara in 1759. He resigned in
December, 1 760, and remained with the army in
Canada until 1764. He died in New York, where
he was an assistant in Trinity Church, in 1774. In
1 75 1 the tower of St Peter's was built, and a bell,
still occasionally used, and a clock were procured
from England. The Rev. Thomas Brown, Deputy
Chaplain of the 60th Regiment, succeeded Mr.
Ogilvie, and was the faithful Rector until March,
1768, when he removed to Dorchester, Md. , where he
died in 1 784. The Rev. Harry Munro, missionary at
Philipsburgh (now Yonkers) was appointed to the
vacancy. Under his charge the congregations were
greatly increased, the church repaired, and the
present charter of incorporation granted by Gov-
ernor Sir Henry Moore, April 25, 1769. Being a
Loyalist, Mr. Munro was imprisoned in 1777, and
escaped to a British post on Lake George. He
died in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1801. St. Peter's
Church was closed, excepting for occasional ser-
vices, during the Revolutionary War. May I, 1787,
the Vestry elected the Rev. Thomas Ellison, born
in Newcastle, England, Rector. He had the ability
to lay the foundation for the future prosperity of
the parish, after the devastation of the Revolution.
He died, in 1802, in the midst of his usefulness,
shortly after a contract had been made with Hooker
& Putnam for a new church on the corner of State
and Lodge streets. The plans were drawn by Philip
Hooker, the well-known architect, of Albany. The
building was finished in the summer of 1803, and
the Rev. Frederic Beasley, of Elizabethtown, N. J.,
assumed the rectorship, to which he had been
elected in 1802. The consecration of the church
took place on Thursday, October 4, 1803. Mr.
Beasley resigned in 1809, to the great regret of the
congregation and the community, to accept the
Associate Rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Balti-
more. He died in Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1845.
The Rev. Timothy Clowes, of Jamaica, L. I. , be-
came officiating minister in 1810, and, in 1841,
Rector. A controversy upon the proper disposi-
tion of the income of the church lands, with Lieu-
tenant-Governor Tayler and others of the Vestry,
led to a war of pamphlets, and finally to his tem-
porary suspension from the ministry in 1817. He
died at Hempstead, L. I., in 1847. In 18 18, the
Rev. William B. Lacey, of Oxford, Chenango
County, officiated, and in 1819 became Rector.
In 1821 the spire, so familiar to old Albanians, was
erected. In 1832, Dr. Lacey resigned, to devote
his time to the higher education of women. He
died at Okalona, Miss., in 1866. In January,
1833, the Rev. Horatio Potter, Professor in Wash-
ington College, Hartford, Conn. , accepted the rec-
torship. A new rectory was built in 1831, and in
1847 the present rectory, on the corner of Lodge
street and Maiden lane, was finished and occupied.
During the twenty-one years of Dr. Potter's incum-
bency, the parishes of Trinity, Grace, and Holy In-
nocents, rendered necessary by the growth of the
Episcopal Church in the city, were organized. St/
Paul's had been organized in 1826. In 1854, the
Rector of St. Peter's was elected Provisional Bishop
of New York, and was consecrated in Trinity
Church, New York City, November 22, 1854. In
December, 1855, the Rev. Thomas C. Pitkin, of
New Haven, Conn., became Rector. In 1858 the
foundations of the church had settled so much that
great cracks were made in the side-walls and ceiling.
A new building, to be in the early French Gothic
style, after the plans of Upjohn & Co., was con-
tracted for early in 1858, and the church conse-
crated October 4, i860. It is a spacious edifice,
of massive construction, and is among Upjohn's
most successful churches. In 1862, the Rev. Dr.
Pitkin resigned on account of failing health, and
the Rev. William T. Wilson, of New York City,
was called to the parish. The Rev. William Tat-
lock, of North Adams, became Associate Rector.
In 1866 both the Rector and his associate resigned.
In 1867, the Rev. William Croswell Doane, B.D.,
of Hartford, Conn., accepted the rectorship. In
December, 1868, at the Primary- Convention of the
760
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Diocese of Albany, Dr. Doane was elected its first
Bishop. On February 2, 1869, he was conse-
crated Bishop in the Church of God in St Peter's
Church. In addition to the new burden which he
had assumed, he remained in charge of St. Peter's
until Easter, 1870, although he resigned the rector-
ship in 1869. The Rev. William A. Snively, of
Cincinnati, O. , was his successor. He resigned to
accept a call to Grace Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. , in
May, 1874. The Rev. Walton W. Battershall, of
Christ Church, Rochester, N. Y., was immediately
elected, and was instituted as Rector, September
29, 1874. Under him the parish has put forth all
its energies, and has shown great zeal and resource
in the organization of Christian work and the im-
provement of the church edifice.
In 1876 the Parish House was built on Lodge
street, opposite the church. It is a fine structure
of stone, designed for the use of the Sunday-school
and the charitable and social enterprises of the
parish. In the same )'ear the tower of the church
was built, as a memorial to the late Senior Warden,
John Tweddle, and furnished with a fine chime of
bells. The tower was designed by R. M. Upjohn,
and is one of the richest and most exquisite exam-
ples of decorated Gothic in the country. From
time to time during the last fifteen years, the church
has been adorned with memorial windows, which
have been designed by the best English artists, and
are of peculiar excellence both in drawing and
color. The whole series, which includes all the
large aisle windows and the three middle windows
of the chancel apse, while showing a variety in the
method of treatment, are splendid examples of re-
ligious art, and give great beauty to the interior.
During the last year the chancel has been re-
modeled and paved in mosaic, with the addition of
a beautiful altar and reredos of Caen stone and
other articles of furniture. A chancel organ cham-
ber and choir building have also been added to
the structure, and the church has been decorated.
The cost of these improvements with the tower and
the windows has considerably more than equaled
the original cost of the church.
Among the older memorials and interesting pos-
sessions of the church, is the mural tablet in the
tower room, one of the earlier works of the sculp-
tor Palmer, and representing Faith gazing at the
Cross. On account of its deep religious feeling, it
has probably been reproduced in photography
more than any other piece of American sculpture.
The communion plate, which has been used at the
altar of St Peter's for a hundred and seventy years,
was presented by Queen Anne. It consists of six
pieces of massive silver, marked with the arms of
Great Britain, and bearing the following legend:
''The Gift of her Majesty, Ann, by the Grace of
God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and
of her plantations in North America, Queen, to her
Indian Chapp)el of the Onondawgus. "
In connection with, and supported by, the parish
is St Peter's Orphans' Home, a sketch of which is
to be found elsewhere.
Among those who in its long history have been
worshipers in this church, and been well known
in State, city, or country, we may mention the
names of Colonel Peter Matthews, the first Warden;
Edward Holland; James Stevenson; John Dun-
bar; Samuel Stringer; Colonel Jeremiah Van Rens-
selaer; Philip Cuyler; John Barclay; Goldsbrow
Banyar; Lieut -Governor John Tayler; Elkanah
Watson; Philip S. Van Rensselaer; William A.
Duer; John C Spencer; John A. Dix; Lyman
Tremain; John T. Hoffinan; John Taylor Cooper;
John V. L. Pruyn; Orlando Meads; Harman
Pumpelly.
The property of the corporation is the church
and lot, parish-house and rectory, whose estimated
value is $250,000. The successive ministers of
the church have been Thoroughgood Moore, Mis-
sionary, 1704; Thomas Barclay, Chaplain and
Rector, 1708-21; John Miln, Rector, 1727-38;
Henry Barclay, Rector, 1738-46; John Ogilvie,
Rector, 1750-58; Thomas Brown, Rector, 1759-
68; Harvey Munro. Rector, 1769-77; "Thomas
Ellison, Rector, 1787-1802; Frederic Beasley,
Rector, 1802-9; Timothy Clowes, Rector, 1810-
17; William B. Lacey, Rector, 1818-32; Horatio
Potter, Rector, 1833-54; Thomas C. Pitkin, Rec-
tor, 1855-62; William T. Wilson, Rector, 1862-
66; William Tatlock, Associate, 1862-66; William
Croswell Doane, Rector, 1867-69; William A.
Snivel)', Rector, 1869-74; Walton W. Battershall,
1874.
St. Paul's. — The Parish of St Paul's was organ-
ized November 12, 1827. Services had been held
for some time previous in a school-room on South
Pearl street The Rev. Richard Bury was the first
Rector. By the efforts of the vestry, aided by the
earnest labors of Mr. Bury, a lot was purchased on
South Ferry street, and the first building owned by
the society erected. This building still stands, and
is known as St John's Church. This church was
consecrated August 24, i829,by the Right Rev. John
H. Hobart, D. D. Mr. Bury resigned in 1830.
He died, after filling positions of honor in the
church, in Cleveland, in 1872.
The Rev. William Linn Keese succeeded the
Rev. Mr. Bury in the rectorship of the parish.
During the three years of his rectorship, the work
of the parish was gready exended and all debt re-
moved. Mr. Keese on account of ill-health was
compelled to give up the charge of the parish in
1834. He died in 1837 in Havana, Cuba.
The Rev. Joseph H. Price, D.D., succeeded
Mr. Keese. He resigned in 1837. For a long
period he was Rector of St Stephen's, New York.
The Rev. William Ingraham Kip, D. D., became
Rector in 1837. His ministry was a long and suc-
cessful one. In 1839 the church on South Ferry
street was sold and the theatre on South Pearl street
was purchased.
This church was consecrated by the Right Rev.
B. T. Onderdonk, in 1840. The church then num-
bered 107 communicants. In 1853, Dr. Kip was
elected Bishop of California, which position he
still ably occupies.
Dr. Kip was succeeded by the Rev.T. A. Starkey,
D. D. Before coming to St Paul's, he was Rector
of Christ Church, Troy. Dr. Starkey was Rector
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
761
of the parish for five years, resigning in 1858, since
which time he has been Rector of Trinity Church,
Qeveland; the Epiphany, Washington; and St.
Paul's, Paterson. From the last position he was
elected Bishop of Northern New Jersey.
In April, 1859, the Rev. WilHam Rudder, D.D.,
became Rector of the Parish. During his rector-
ship the church in South Pearl street was sold and
the present building in Lancaster street purchased.
The purchase was made in 1862, and the building
used by the congregation in September of that
year for the first time. In 1863, Dr. Rudder re-
signed, and accepted a call to St. Stephen's Church,
Philadelphia, which position he filled until his death
in 1880.
The Rev. J. Livingston Reese, D.D., accepted
the rectorship in June, 1864. In December of the
same year the church was consecrated by Right
Rev. Horatio Potter, D.D. The rectory was added
in 1867. The Free Chapel on Madison avenue was
opened in 1868. In 1880 the church was beauti-
fully decorated. The Parish House was built in
1883. The church now numbers 670 communi-
cants and has 750 children in its Sunday-schools.
Holy Innocents' Church. — This church is on
the corner of North Pearl and Colonie streets. It
is built in the early English style, and is deemed
a fine example of architecture. The society was
organized February 15, 1850, and the present
building was consecrated in September of the same
year. The late Wm. H. DeWitt erected the build-
ing, and gave it and the ground on which it
stands to this parish. The church has over 250
communicants, and supports numerous societies
besides.
The following list contains the names of the
various Rectors of the church :
Sylvan us Reed, 1850-61; William R. Johnson,
1862-63; William S. Boardman, 1865-68; Royal
Marshall, 1869-74; Samuel E. Smith, 1875-82;
Ralph W. Kenyon, 1883.
Trinity Church (Episcopal). — ^This congrega-
tion was organized in 1839. Leased the Presby-
terian (Cameronian) church, Westerlo street, until
1 84 1, when services were held in the school-house,
corner of Dallius and Ferry streets. In 1842
erected a frame building on the southwest corner
of Herkimer and Franklin streets. Present church
on Broad street erected in 1849. Rectors: Isaac
Swart, 1839-40; William Dowdney, 1840-41;
Edward Embury, 1842-43; Edward Selkirk, 1844-
84; Charles H. W. Stocking, 1884.
The Cathedral of All Saints. — The Legisla-
ture of the State of New York incorporated the
cathedral by an Act passed 27th of March, 1873
(Chap. 149), in the first section of which the fol-
lowing members were created a body politic and
corporate : (The Bishop) William Croswell Doane,
John Ireland Tucker, John H. Hobart Brown,
Hiram W. Beers, Theodore Babcock, John Towns-
end, Orlando Meads, Erastus Corning, Amos P.
Palmer, Walter A. Wood, and James Forsyth.
These corporators are empowered by the 3d sec-
tion " to fill vacancies in their own number," and
by section 4, to adopt a constitution for the election
of new trustees. The object and purposes of the
corporation are, by section 2, declared to be "the
establishment, erection, maintenance and man-
agement of a cathedral church, and its appurte-
nances, in the City of Albany;" and section 5 de-
clares that "the seats for the worshipers in the
said cathedral church shall always be free."
On All Saints Day, 1872, the building at pres-
ent occupied, formerly an iron foundry, was first
used for Divine Service. It has been enlarged once
since.
On the festival of All Saints, a.d. 1881, the
Bishop announced to the congregation his purpose
to begin forthwith the execution of this, one of the
great purposes for which the corporation was cre-
ated, namely, the erection of a cathedral buildirig,
and laid before them his plans. At a meeting of
the Chapter, held 23d November, 1881, the follow-
ing Committee was appointed to select a site:
The Bishop, Hon. Erastus Corning, Mr. Orlando
Meads. It was resolved to endeavor to raise im-
mediately If 1 50,000 to meet the cost of the build-
ing, exclusive of the site. Mr. James Moir was
appointed to act, under General S. E. Marvin,
Treasurer of the Chapter, as Treasurer of the funds
collected for the cathedral, and Mr. Meads pre-
pared a form to be copied into the subscription
books. The Committee on the site were then
instructed to obtain plans for the cathedral.
On the 30th of April, 1883, the plans of R. W.
Gibson, architect, were adopted, with a modifi-
cation submitted to the Chapter on the 6th of
June.
On the 28th of November, 1883, the grounds
given by the Hon. Erastus Corning, valued at $80,-
000, were accepted as the site, and on motion of
the same generous giver it was resolved "that, in
the judgment of the Chapter, it is expedient that
measures be taken without delay to begin the work
of building the cathedral, and that to that end prep-
arations be made to remove the buildings now on
the ground, and to procure the working plans and
estimates for the excavation and laying of the foun-
dations; and the work be proceeded with as fast and
as far as the means in the hands of the Chapter will
permit."
At a meeting, held 22d March, 1884, it was
resolved that the corner-stone be laid on Whitsun-
Tuesday, 3d June, 1884. This stone, with ap-
propriate inscriptions, is the gift of Margaret
Doane Gardiner, the Bishop's grand-daughter. At
the same meeting a special subscription was au-
thorized for the columns of the new cathedral, to be
memorials of churchmen eminent in Church and
State. They are to be twenty-four in number, and
to cost over $1,000 each. Twenty-one have already
been appropriated.
As the day for laying the corner-stone approached,
the contributions in money (as distinguished from
the gift of land) were found to be nearly $100,000
(no one gift exceeding $7, 500, that of the Hon.
Walter A. Wood).
According to the modified plans presented by
the architect, the building to be erected for imme-
diate use is in every part, save its roof, a portion
762.
BJSTORy OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
of the completed structure, and will be built up to
a hight sufficient for a good appearance, and with
accommodation for seating practically the same.
The style is Gothic, or pointed architecture of the
first period; the plan, a Latin cross formed by the
choir and nave to the east and west, respectively,
of a central crossing with transepts to the north and
south. The choir is 91 feet long and 35 wide,
and is planned in five bays or divisions, the two
eastern forming the sanctuary. The nave is 99
feet long and 40 feet wide, and has narrow side
aisles its entire length. The transepts are no feet
in breadth from north to south (including cross-
ing), and 40 feet wide, forming a square cross-
ing with the nave. The crossing has four great
arches, corresponding with those of the nave and
transepts; and above them breaks by pendants into
an octagon, in the manner frequent in the early
Gothic cathedrals.
The main features of the interior are the great pil-
lars made up of grouped shafts and pieces in pure
constructional style; they are of unusual size, and
will give exceptional majesty to the perspective of
nave and choir. The main arcade upon them is
simple, but can be at a future time enriched with
carving. A triforium of coupled arches is carried
all along the nave and choir. Over this comes the
clerestory, with large coupled lancet windows in
the nave and tracing in the choir — generally the
choir has been given richer character than the
nave — leading up to the traceried window in the
square east end of the sanctuar)-. The western
end of the nave has a rich circular window of radi-
ating tracery. The side aisles are to be used as
passages only; the nave is widened to the maxi-
mum; and the pillars are so arranged that none of
the congregation are seated behind them.
The hights of the interior are: From floor of
nave to springing of arches of nave and transept
vaults, 48 feet; to top of vaults, 70 feet; to top of
ceiling of lantern, over crossing, 1 13 feet; to spring-
ing of arches of choir vaults, 45 feet; to top, 66
feet. The proportions and methods of the octagon
lantern are designed to avoid acoustic difficulties.
The exterior walling is to be of Potsdam stone.
The west front is flanked by towers, with belfries
and spires. The hight to top of belfry is 156 feet,
and to top of finial, 202 feet The central tower,
or lantern over crossing, is 144 feet high at top of
masonry, and 180 feet to top of finial cross.
The seating capacity is for 1,500 person; there
are 153 stalls for the clergy, and 54 choir seats,
making a total for 1,757 persons. If crowded the
edifice would contain 2,000. When completed, it
is believed that the cathedral will prove to be no
unworthy instance of that architecture which is
peculiarly the creation of the Catholic Church, and
may be taken as a type of the elevation, subordina-
tion, and discipline, and a:t the same time the
unity of the spouse of Christ. Rt. Rev. Wm.
Crosswell Doane, Bishop ; Rev. F. L. Norton,
Dean; Rev. G. W. Dean, Chancellor.
Grace Church.— The first service held with ref-
erence to the establishment of the parish of Grace
Phurch, Albany, was held by the Rev. Maunsell
Van Rensselaer, who for some time previous had
been in charge of St Peter's parish, during the ab-
sence of its Rector. This service was held on Sexa-
gesima Sunday, 1846, in a room over the store on
the southeast corner of State and Lark street, at-
tended by about thirty persons. The services were
continued every Sunday by the Rev. Mr. Van
Rensselaer, at the same place, until the Sunday
after Ascension Day, May 24th of the same year,
when a meeting was called for the purpose of
effecting a parish organization.
The Rev. Mr. Van Rensselaer presided, and Dr.
H. D. Payne acted as Secretary. A resolution was
adopted, favoring the establishment of a church.
The Rev. Mr. Van Rensselaer was elected Rector.
It was decided to designate the parish by the style
and title of Grace Church. The parish continued
to occupy the same rooms until the end of the
year, when the trustees of the Spring Street Mission
having kindly offered the use of their building, it
was accepted.
February 11, 1847, '^6 'ot on the corner of
Lark and Washington avenue, running through to
Spring street, was purchased for the purpose of
erecting a church.
June 30, 1847, the Rector resigned, and was
succeeded by the Rev. John Alden Spooner about
the 1st of the following October, who remained
only till the 15th of August, when he resigned.
From that time until May, 1849, '^^ parish was
without a clergymen — without a church — depend-
ent for the room they occupied on the courtesy of
those interested.
May 13, 1849, Rs'^- James R. Davenport began
his labors as Rector of the parish. One year from
that date the Building Committee entered into a
contract for the erection of a church building, soon
after commenced.
At the evening service on Sunday, September 9,
1850, the first confirmation service was held by
Right Rev. W. R. Whittingham, Bishop of Mary-
land, twelve persons being confirmed. On the
next day the corner-stone of the new church was
laid by the same Bishop. Christmas Day the first
service was held in the church, although the build-
ing was not quite completed. Its consecration
was delayed till December 15, 1852.
September 24, 1857, the Rev. Mr. Davenport
resigned, when Rev. Theodore M. Bishop, of the
Diocese of Western New York, took charge of the
parish in the following November.
After the resignation of Mr. Bishop, in July,
1 86 1, the Vestry made arrangements with the Rev.
Philander K. Cady to take temporary charge of the
parish, which he did until November 26, 1862,
when he was elected Rector of the parish.
April 30, 1865, the Rector severed his connec-
tion with the parish, and was succeeded in the
following June by the Rev. Edwin B. Russell, of
New York. Mr. Russell continued in charge of
the parish until October 16, 1871, when he re-
signed, having accepted a call to Grace Church,
Delhi, where he is still stationed.
He was succeeded by the Rev. J. Hutchings
Brown, who became Rector of the parish Deceni-
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
763
ber lo, 1871, and remained seventeen months, re-
signing May 10, 1873.
In June, 1873, the church edifice was removed
from the corner of Lark and Washington avenue
to the comer of Clinton avenue and Robin street.
Rev. William A. Snively was elected Rector. The
last service at the corner of Lark street and Wash-
ington avenue was held Sunday, June 15, 1873, by
Rev. Mr. Snively. Advent Sunday the church was
again opened for services.
The parish was now put in charge of Rev. T. A.
Snively, Assistant Minister at St. Peter's, and at the
same time the congregation of St. Peter's Mission
were transferred to and identified with it.
Mr. Snively continued to conduct the services of
the church whenever he could be spared from St.
Peter's, until the resignation of his brother in April,
1874, when the whole care of St. Peter's parish
was left to him, and Grace Church was again with-
out a Rector until September i, 1874, when the
present Rector, Rev. David L. Schwartz, began his
labors.
During the rectorship of the Rev. D. L. Schwartz,
a rectory has been built, at a cost of more than
$9,000. A large church debt has also been paid
off.
EVANGELICAL.
First German Evangelical Lutheran Church.
— This church, on Fourth avenue, corner Frank-
lin street, was organized in 1854. William A.
Frey, Pastor.
St. Paul's Evangelical Church, Western ave-
nue, near Lexington. Rev. G. Fr. Stutz, Pastor.
The congregation separated from the First Lu-
theran when services there were held in English.
The former place of worship was on State street,
now the Law School. Moved into the present
church in 1872. Number of families, 158.
St. John's Evangelical Church is located on
Central avenue. Rev. Ernest Hoffman is Pastor.
It was organized in 1857; building erected in 1859,
when the present Pastor was installed. Families,
130.
Trinity German Evangelical Lutheran Church
is located at 58 Alexander street. Rev. Conrad
Kuehn is Pastor.
Church of the Evangelical (German) Associa-
tion was incorporated in 1847. First meeting-
house on Grand street; afterwards Corner Clinton
and Nucella streets; present church erected in
1869, on the south side of Elm street, between
Grand and Philip streets. Pastors: John Wagner,
1851; Levi Jacobi, 1852-59; Augustus Spies, 1862;
William Mintz, 1863-64; Henry Fisher, 1866-68;
Charles Schoepfle, 1870-71; Albert Unholtz, 1872-
74; J. Siegrist, 1875-77; M. Yauch, 1878-80; A.
Schlenk, 1881-83; Jacob Eberling, 1883 to present
time.
HEBREWS.
There are about 3,000 Hebrews in this city,
most of them Germans, although a few of them are
Bohemians, a few Poles, and a few French. With
the exception of the limited number who worship
at Beth El Jacob in Fulton street, they are mostly
the Reformed Jews, that is, they conform in most
things to the ideas of the present age, observing,
however, the rite of circumcision, the day of atone-
ment, and most of them are careful to eat no pork,
nor any meat not killed in the Jewish method. As
citizens they are very orderly, the appearance of
one in the Police Court being an unusual sight.
They care for their own poor, and among them-
selves are very sociable and domestic in their
habits.
Anshe Emeth, South Pearl street, opposite
Herkimer. Rev. Max Schlesinger, Pastor, who
came to this country in 1864. This is the largest
and handsomest Hebrew place of worship in the
city. The society was organized in 1850, with Dr.
Isaac M. Wise as Rabbi, and now embraces about
150 families. Services held here consist of prayers,
reading of the law, music and sermon, the latter in
English or German, the prayers and readings in
Hebrew. A Sunday-school is held on Sunday.
Beth El, South Ferry street, corner of Frank-
lin. Rev. Adolph Friedmann, Pastor. Partially
organized in 1832, but did not take the name till
1838, when a building was procurred on Herkimer
street. The society is, therefore, the oldest of the
sect in this city. It was without a rabbi till 1854,
when Sampson Falk officiated as such. In 1864
the South Ferry street Methodist Church was
bought, dedicated January 20, 1865, and has since
served them as a synagogue. They were consider-
ed as orthodox, till, under the ministration of Rev.
Louis A. Son, they adopted the Minhag ritual of
Rev. Dr. Wise.
Beth El Jacob. — The sjnagogue of the ortho-
dox Jews, in Fulton street, above Madison avenue,
Kev. Destillator, Pastor. This society is very
small, but the traditions of the race are observed
here more carefully than elsewhere. The women
sit apart from the men, and each member, during
the service, wears around his neck a woollen scarf
called the Talitth.
LIBERAL.
The Albany Liberal Association was organized
August 5, 1877. It now occupies the Hall, No. 69
North Pearl street. Sunday-school, under the di-
rection of Mrs. Iliohan, at two o'clock, followed by
any business matters relating to the association,
and also the discussion of any appropriate subject
that may be offered. The regular lectures and
their criticism, if any,are held at half-past 7 o'clock,
every Sunday evening, under the direction of the
President.
The first meeting was held at the house of
Thomas Dugan, attended by ten other men of lib-
eral views. Shortly after a public meeting was
held at Laventall Hall, and a Freethought Liberal
Association organized with 1 1 members. John
Lomax was elected President.
In the year 18 29, a paper called the Free Enquirer
was published by Miss Fanny Wright and Robert
Dale Owen in New York City.
764
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
About this time it is understood that Abner
Kneeland, of Boston, and Miss Fanny Wright gave
lectures in Albany, and that their publications were
read here. Among the leaders in the liberal move-
ment at that time was Julius Rubens Ames, the
painter. But little success followed the effort, as
Mr. Owen went to the Western States and Miss
Wright to Europe.
In 1840, Judge Thomas Hertill,of New York, an
avowed Liberal, while here as a member of the
Legislature, with Mr. John Prest, Mr. J. Austin,
Mr. M. Brown, and several others, attempted an
organization which failed to meet their expectations.
Since this, no successful attempt at organization of
an association was made before the one now exist-
ing. Among the prominent Liberals are many in-
telligent, well-known citizens. They hold stated
meetings for discussion and for instruction on Sun-
days in some rented hall. Most of them belong
to the class of Freethinkers called Agnostics
Its presidents, since Mr. Lomax, have been
Judge E. P. Hulbert, Mr. Hennessy, Jcseph Mc-
Donough, Adam Strever, William H. WiUiams,
John McCabe.
LUTHERAN.
First Lutheran Church. — Lutherans are spoken
of in Albany in 1644, although the precise date of
their establishment is unknown. They received
much opposition from the early Reformed Church.
They were the second church organization in point
of time in the city, and the oldest Lutheran con-
gregation in America. With the exception of the
First Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Churches in
this city are German. The first edifice was built
in 1668 or 1670, on the site of the present City
Building, South Pearl street, and was paid for, the
old record says, the first penny and the last. The
first minister was Rev. Johannes Fabritius. The
Episcopalians worshiped in this church part of the
day in 17 14, and in 1784-86 the two congregations
had a minister in common. The society was incor-
porated in 1784, and in 1787, another church was
built on the Pearl street lot in the center of the pres-
ent street. In 181 6, a third church, 40 x 60, was
erected on the site of the present edifice, and cost
$25,000; Philip Hooker, architect. The church
owned real estate, bounded by Eagle, Lancaster,
Hawk and State streets, upon which they erected
houses. In 1843, Rev. Henry N. Pohlman, D.D.,
became Pastor, and in 1868 was followed by Rev.
Samuel Sprecher. During his pastorate, in 1871,
thepresent church edifice was erected. It is 69 x 126
feet, and cost {{85,0:0, exclusive of the ground.
In 1872 the Rev. Irving Mdgee, D.D., took charge
and remained with success until September, 1882.
The church was then without a Pastor until Febru-
ary 17, 1884, when the Rev. George W. Miller,
from Plymouth, Ohio, took charge. In 1873 the
parsonage was built, at a cost of about $10,000.
During the earlier years no recoid of the members
was kept. There have been, however, enrolled up
to the present time 1,224 members; present num-
ber entitled to communion, 338.
METHODIST.
Sometime in the years 1765-66, Captain Thomas
Webb, of the British Arm}', was stationed in Al-
bany in charge of the military post as Barrack-
master. He had been converted in Bath, in Eng-
land, joined the Methodists and labored as a lay
preacher. He- is said to have maintained family
prayer, at which his neighbors were sometimes
present, and also preached in the public street*.
In Februar)', 1767, he was in New York, and im-
mediately entered upon evangelistic labors there
and on Long Island and in New Jeisey. That he
never returned to Albany, we infer he felt the time
was not yet favorable for Methodism here. Late
in the autumn of 1788, Methodism came to Al-
bany to stay; but for years was a very feeble plant.
The pioneer preacher in this work was Rev.
Freeborn Garretson, a native of Maryland, a man
of gentle birth, of some financial means, and until
he emancipated them, a holder of slaves. He was
one of the earliest Methodist preachers of Amer-
ican birth. It was now twenty-two years since the
first Methodist sermon had been preached in Amer-
ica. This was in New York, and for reasons that
we do not now consider, the work had spread
mostly to the south from that city. Francis As-
bury had joined those who were laboring in this
work in 1771; and when the scattered societies of
Methodists were organized into a church, in De-
cember 1784, he was elected Bishop. In the
spring of 1788, Mr. Garretson came to New York,
and with the other preachers entered into a work
of revival that was spreading north through West-
chester County.
Mr. Garretson was assigned to this district with
a band of young men, whom he sent out to
find fields of labor, himself passing over the whole
territory once in every three months, and putting
in his own labor where it seemed most needed.
To both the Bishop and Mr. Garretson, to make
Albany a strong point, seemed eminently desirable
He readily obtained the privilege of preaching in
the City Hall. It is not strange that the resident
clergy should look with disfavor upon this effort to
introduce what they accounted another gospel, nor
that the people generally sympathized with them.
The dogmas of Calvinism had come with the first
settlers from their Holland home, and the current
theological literature and conversation were all cast
in that mold. It was not until July of the next year
(1789), that he succeeded in gathering any con-
verts. On the ist of July he writes: "Albany still
appears to be a poor place for Methodism." He
had preached in the City Hall. The next day, at
an hour by sun, he met a few friends in a private
house and joined them into a society under the
Methodist discipline. In the evening he preached
again in the City Hall.
The building of a House of Worship was ac-
complished in the next two years. It was built
and is still standing on the southeast corner
of North Pearl and Orange streets. As late as
1870 there was an old man in the city whose pa-
rents were interested in building the house, and
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
?65
remembered the people cutting and hewing the
timbers for the frame.
By a record in the office of the County Clerk, we
learn the church was incorporated under a general
Act of the Legislature in 1 784, as the Method st
Episcopal Church of the City of Albany. The
following names appear as the first Board of
Trustees, elected in June, 1792:
John Bloodgood, Abraham Ellison, Isaac Law-
son, Elisha Johnson, William Fradenburgh, Na-
thaniel Ames, Calvin Chessman.
Still another record is worth preserving. After
a new house was built on Division street, in 181 2,
the old house wjs for a time occupied by the
Baptists, and finally, in 1822, sold to the Scotch
Presbyterians.
The first preacher stationed in Albany, when it
was taken from the circuit, was Joel Ketcham, a
man of more than ordinary popular address. David
Buck followed for one year. Then Cyrus Stebbins
four years successively; William Phoebus, a man
of culture, 1806-7; Truman Bishop, 1808; Daniel
Notrander, 1809-10; Lewis Pease, i8ri; Samuel
Merwin 1812-13.
In 18 1 3 a portion of the members wished to es-
tablish a Sabbath-school. But the older members
thought it would be breaking the Sabbath. They
compromised by getting tracts printed and circu-
lating then among the people. A leading spirit in
this was a Scotchman of the name of Balan-
tine, a school teacher. E. & E. Hosford, a leading
printing-house in the city, printed tracts for these
zealous Methodists before the American Tract So-
ciety had an existence. They were mostly Wesley's
Tracts.
But what these men failed to do, a woman ac-
complished. In 1 8 16 a Methodist lady had a
select school in the city for young misses, and
added to her labors by establishing a Sabbath-
school, the first in the city.
The following table shows the growth of the
membership from 1797, when first reported separ-
arately from the circuits:
White. Black. White. Black.
1799 •■
1800 . .
1801..,
1802 , . ,
1803 . . ,
1804-5
.40
40
.46
■57
.66
1806.
1807.
1808.
l8og .
1810.
1811 .
• »S
■ 91
.108
. lOI
.116
4
16
17
IS
13
13
It was matter of great encouragement, after this
long period of weakness, that in 181 1 they ap-
pear to have turned the corner of one hundred,
never again to fall below that number. This led to
a new enterprise — seeking a more eligible situation
for their house of worship. In February, 181 2,
they purchased two lots upon the south side of
Division street, a few doors below South Pearl.
When they built upon North Pearl street, one lot,
with a front of a few inches over thirty feet, an-
swered their purpose; now they buy two lots.
Mr. Upfold, who was not a Methodist — prob-
ably an Episcopalian — opened his house as the
headquarters of their evangelistic labors. It was
in his house — a school-room in which he and his
wife taught school — that Mrs. Booking, with their
aid, instituted the first Sabbath-school in Albany.
Here too, and by Mrs. Booking, was inaugurated
the first effort for the moral and intellectual eleva-
tion of the children and youth of African descent.
These left Albany in the course of ten or fifteen
years.
'I'he church on Division street was opened for
public worship in 18 13.
Bishop'Asbury held a session of the New York
Conference in June, 18 12. He preached, as re-
corded in his journal, in the old church, and made
an address on the spot designated for the new
church. In 18 15 he held another conference here,
and at the request of the Conference, he preached
a funeral sermon on the death of Dr. Coke, who,
on his way to establish a mission on the Island of
Ceylon, died, and was buried in the Indian Ocean.
An aged lady in this city, born in 1801, remembers
this sermon, and adds that the church was appro-
priately draped for the occasion.
The membership in 1813 numbered 153 whites
and 16 blacks. For the next twelve years it fluc-
tuated between this and 215 whites, 25 blacks;
but fell off" over 50 the next) ear. It should be
observed that in those years, and until 1847, proba-
tioners were numbered with those in full member-
ship. Consequently, under the labors of an inju-
dicious and sensational Pastor, the numbers were
swelled, only to be reduced again when the excite-
ment passed. After 1823 it never fell below 200.
The prejudice continued, Methodist preachers be-
ing regarded as intruders. Aside from viewing their
doctrines as erroneous, they were mostly unedu-
cated in the classics and what pertained to a liberal
education. But there were those among them,
men without a college training, whose solid ac-
quirements made them the peers of any in the
ministry of other churches. Dr. William Phoebus,
Daniel Ostrander, and Samuel Merwin were men
who would command the respect of any who formed
their acquaintance. In 1822-25, Phineas Rice, a
man of marked ability, and withal eccentric, was
the Pastor.
An occurrence in 182 1 is remembered with in-
terest. The gifted Summierfield, of overwhelming
popularity, came to the aid of the church in their
financial troubles. He preached in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and raised a collection of $95. 12;
in the evening in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and
raised $88.
For the next twenty-five years, the country at
large and the churches generally were passing
through commotions, arising from various sources;
and staid as has been the type of Albany Meth-
odism, it could not escape partaking of the com-
mon excitement.
In 1828 the membership had reached the num-
ber of 372 whites and 25 blacks. Hitherto, as in
almost all other churches, they had free sittings.
In July, 1829, a notice appeared in the public pa-
pers that the Trustees of the Methodist Church
would at such a time rent the seats in their House
of Worship. This gave great dissatisfaction, and a
very considerable minority at once withdrew, and
rented a public hall on the corner of Pearl and
%fi
HISTORY Of THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
Columbia streets. They invited preaching from
the adjacent Watervliet Circuit, and took their
membership there for the time being. The col-
ored members appear mostly to have gone to the
African Methodists. The new congregation took
about 150 whites.
In February they purchased a large building on
the east side of Pearl street, not far from the place
they were occupying. It had been used" for a cir-
cus, and was readily fitted for its new use. At the
ensuing session of the New York Conference, two
churches in Albany — the First, and Garretson Sta-
tion— were supplied with able Pastors.
In the month of August, in the ordinary morn-
ing service in the new church, a powerful work of
revival began. It spread, not only to the other
Methodist Church, but throughout the city, especi-
ally in the northern part. At the end of two years,
the numbers were: for the First Church, 434 mem-
bers; for the second, 445.
The absence of colored members is accounted
for by this — that a few years previous, in 1822, a
church for this class, the African M. E. Church,
had been organized.
At the session of the conference in 1 834 a third
church was recognized — the We.sleyan Chapel.
This, in its leading membership, was mainly a col-
ony from Garretson Station. But it was located in
the south part of the city, and would naturally
draw from the First Church also. It embraced
mostly the anti-slavery element in the churches.
In 1835, the members numbered respectively,
for the First Church, 440; Garretson Station, 435;
Wesleyan Church, 214. Another church enter-
prise now received the sanction of the conference
as the West Station. This gave four churches, well
arranged, to supply the city with this form of
Christianity.
The Primitive Methodists had a small House of
Worship on State street, above the Capitol. Get-
ting into difficulty among themselves, they became
demoralized and offered their house for sale. Some
members of the Division street and Garretson Sta-
tion Churches, believing a congregation could be
sustained there with profit, secured the property.
Rev. Lewis Pease was employed as a temporary
supply. At the conference a Pastor was appointed
who organized the church.
Among those who moved in this matter, named
with special interest by survivors, are Thomas Coul-
son and wife, a lady of remarkable piety; Dr. L.
B. Gregory; Edmund Lord ; John Sager.
For a time the growth of this was gradual, but
healthy. Under a Pastor of remarkable pulpit
ability, in 1841 they found themselves straitened for
room. It was now proposed to seek a more eli-
gible site and build anew. They selected a corner
of Washington and Swan streets, and proceeded at
once to purchase and plan for building. With
some parade the comer-stone was laid by Dr.
Sprague, the leading Presbyterian Pastor of the
city. But the Pastor was more efficient as a
preacher, than wise in planning and executing as a
financier. The consequence was they found them-
selves with a House of Worship incumbered with
a debt for which there was absolutely no available
provision. The upshot of this was that while the
city was growing around them, an inviting field of
labor, their embarrassments rendered them spiritu-
ally weak, and at the same time tended to deter
others from joining them.
In 1839, just before the session of the conference,
the Wesleyan Chapel was burned. The opposition
to the anti-slavery element in that church, and the
burden of a heavy debt, operated against their
rebuilding, and the property was sold for the debt.
But a preacher was appointed and they obtained
the use of a house that had been used by the Uni-
versalists. This was sold in May, 1842, and the
society disbanded on Sabbath, May 2 2d. But the
very next Sabbath, May 27th, the Sabbath-school
teachers gathered their school in a little room on
John street, determined to hold the ground. Con-
ference met June ist, but no preacher was ap-
pointed. At that conference one of the ministers,
Charles Devoe, a physician as well, retired from
the ministry and removed to Albany and became
their Pastor. They were incorporated as the Ferry
Street M. E. Church, and proceeded at once to
erect a church, which was dedicated in December
following.
In the midst of the difficulties Thomas Schuyler
connected himself with the church, and relieved it
of financial embarrassments.
In 1843, the Division street Church found their
House of Worship insufficient, and sought a more
eligible situation upon Hudson street, between
Philip and Grand. In 1843 'hey removed to this
new edifice. It had an entrance from Plain street
as well as from Hudson, and a commodious par-
sonage was erected by the side facing on that street.
In the winter of 1865 extensive improvements were
made, rearranging both the basement and the audi-
torium.
Financial embarrassments grew out of building
and repairing that oppressed them for several years.
At the conference of 1846 it was provided to
supply a second preacher for Garretson Station.
The object was to make a considerable class on
Arbor Hill the nucleus of another congregation.
The next year it was connected with the West Sta-
tion, and in 1848 it was made a separate charge.
This gave five Methodist churches, very well dis-
tributed, to supply the city.
The fluctuations of the numbers of the members
from year to year serve to some extent to indicate
the spiritual condition of the church. The follow-
ing table gives the numbers from 1829 to 1848.
1829 612 1839 928
1830 685 1840 1,069
1831 879 1841 1,074
1832 682 1842 1,072
1833 653 1843 2,136
1834 748 1844 1,632
1835 1,049 1845 1.482
1836 1,015 '846 1,274
1837 i,on 1847 1,261
1838 970 1848 1,141
The table begins with the two churches. The
first Pastors left in 1831. The falling off of 200 in
1832 was mostly in the First Church.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
767
In 1834-35 we see the effect of a stimulus given
to the work by the two new churches. The deca-
dence of numbers in 1839 may have been due to the
efforts to drive out the Abolitionists. The increase that
follows was due to the Millerite excitement, reach-
ing its hight in 1843. The falling off of five hun-
dred in the next year shows how utterly wanting in
life was that work. This was mostly in the Garret-
son Station Church, and it is possible had much
to do in shaping the subsequent history of that
church.
Aiiother period of twenty-five years brings us to
1873. Until 1849, in reporting the numbers of
the membership, we made no distinction between
the probationers and the members in full. From
that date we report them separately, but for con-
venience they are added together in this paper. It
is noteworthy that for twenty-five years, from 1823
to 1848, the increase was 926; for the like period
from 1849 to 1873, only 810.
Perhaps the most notable movement of general
interest in this period is this: The Garretson Station,
which originated in a protest against renting seats,
rebuilt their church edifice in a more fashionable
style and adopted that mode of sittings.
Another event of general interest occurred in
1854; this was the organization of the Albany
Methodist Sunday-school Union. The object was
to secure more efficient work in this- department of
labor, and also to sustain Mission Sunday-schools
in destitute portions of the city and vicinity.
In the course of a few years, mission schools
were planted and worked with a good deal of suc-
cess at these points: i, The Bowery, on Central
avenue; 2, West Albany, since school-house, near
the railroad shops; 3, South Mission, Groesbeck-
ville, on Benjamin street; 4, Bath; and 5, East Al-
bany, both over the river. Beside these, another
at the corner of Madison avenue and Lark street
was merged into the Sunday-school of Trinity
Church when that was established in 1867.
No. I was for years worked largely by members
of the West Station, or Washington street Church,
and was a feeder to that church. No. 2 became a
Union School, and then passed into the hands of
the Presbyterians, and finally developed a Presby-
terian Church; No. 3 has continued to the present
a Methodist Mission School; No. 4 gave rise to
the Bath Methodist Episcopal Church; and No. 5
to a Congregational Church.
The Union, in building and keeping insured
chapels for their work, and in repairs, became em-
barrassed with debts. Added to this, in 1868 it
was deemed wise to employ a missionary.
In the winter of 1870, under the labors of a band
of zealous laymen, a remarkable work of revival
was carried on at the Central avenue Chapel. The
missionary, under direction of the presiding Elder,
proceeded to receive them on probation. With a
number of members of the different churches who
had become interested in the work, he formed them
into classes. In this state of things, at the ensuing
conference another missionary was appointed with
a special charge over this congregation. Of some
123 of these converts, about forty graduated into
full membership in the church. At the close of the
first pastorate in 1873, there were ninety members
with five probationers, and a showing of financial
contributions that compares favorably with any
church in the city. But before speaking further of
this, we must bring up the history of the West Sta-
tion, or Washington street Church.
We find this church in 1853 amission. The debt
growing out of the manner of their building was
resting on them. The next year the Pastor raised
for missions over thirty dollars, and still more the en-
suing year. The next Pastor doubled the collection
for missions his first year. The second, the church
was self-supporting and the missionary collection
$123; the church was lifted out of financial diffi-
culty, and it has since continued to prosper. In
1866 they secured a property upon the corner of
Lark and Lancaster streets, and in 1867 had
erected the transept of a large and commodious
church facing Lark street. The transept faces Lan-
caster street. This they occupied until able to
erect the main building. That was dedicated in
December, 1875. The transept furnishes a large
room for prayer meetings and Sabbath-school, and
smaller rooms for various purposes. A fine parson-
age adjoins the transept.
In 1881, a union was effected between the two
churches, Garretson street and Central avenue; their
property placed under one Board of Trustees; and
while worshiping for a time separately, arrange-
ments were being made for erecting an edifice to
bear the name of St. Luke's. The Sabbath-school
rooms were occupied in 1883.
For ten years from 1855 a kind of epidemic pre-
vailed— a sickly fancy for forming small and weak
churches. Abortive efforts had a temporary exist-
ence which need no particular notice. At one con-
ference eight pastors, to the care of as many nomi-
nally independent churches, were appointed; several
times, six or seven. In 1858, the Broadway Mis-
sion appears in the annual minutes of the Confer-
ence appointments. A property was purchased
upon the corner of Broadway and Lawrence street.
The plan was to build facing Broadway with a
transept facing Lawrence street. This part of the
plan was carried out — the erection of the main
building failed. The Arbor Hill Church had ele-
ments that did not adapt themselves to the work
needed, and did not prosper. The city did not
grow to the north, and in 1869 the Broadway Mis-
sion and the Arbor Hill Church were united under
the name of Grace Church. A lot was obtained
upon Ten Broeck street, between Lumber and
Colonie streets, and a temporary structure of wood
was erected. Here good work was done in the pul-
pit, in social meetings, and in the Sabbath-school
for ten years. They had not intended to occupy it
so long, but a debt was upon the property which
prevented their carrying out their plans. Instead
of a house in the center of a spacious plot, they
found themselves obliged to be thankful for a house
less showy upon the west corner of the plot, while
most of the land was sold in lots for residences to
meet their indebtedness. They have a fine parson-
age next the church edifice.
768
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.
After the erection of the Hudson street Church,
two others by the Presbyterians and the Baptists
were erected in the immediate vicinity. As time
rolled on and business establishments crowded
them, both the Methodists and Presbyterians began
to think of a change of location. At length the
latter decided to remove, and began the erection of
a house at the northeast corner of the Park. To
outsiders it was obvious now that the Methodists
ought to continue in that vicinity. Their own
building was seriously defective; at the same time
the location was far better for business. Wisely the
Methodists accepted the offer to purchase the Pres-
byterian's house, and offered their own for sale.
The edifice is uncommonly well built; the auditor-
ium large and commodious. A parsonage is erected
beside the church.
The Ferry street Church relieved from its embar-
rassments, enjoyed a steady, healthy growth. In
1863 it was thought a change of location and a
better House of Worship would conduce to greater
usefulness. Accordingly, the present Ash Grove
Church was erected upon the corner of Westerlo and
Grand streets. It is beautifully situated, with a
commodious parsonage beside it. The open space
between the edifice and the corner of the streets
has a very pleasant effect, adding to the beauty of
the situation.
Table showing the numbers of members and pro-
bationers for thirty-seven years, from 1849 to 1885:
1849 1,055 '868 1,923
1850 8g6 1869 1,843
1851 915 1870 2,085
1852 1,171 1871 1,834
1853 1,095 1S72 1,986
1854 ',112 1873 1.9S'
'855 1,513 1874 1,7.15
1856 1,408 187s 1,885
1857 1,464 1876 1,855
....1,456 1877 1,998
1,574 1878 2,058
1,692 1879 1,891
1,857 1880 1,932
1.702 1881 1,771
i«
1859.,
i860.,
1861..
1862.,
1863.
1864.
1865.
1866.
1867. .
•■,538
.1,605
•1.530
.1,708
.1,708
1883.
.1,796
.1,691
.1,710
While the membership has not increased in the
last twelve years, but really decreased, it will be
very safe to say they have not depreciated in quality.
The Methodists have five churches, well distrib-
uted over the city. They have many debts that tax
their financial ability and skill. But this may be a
valuable discipline. They are liberal in the sup-
port of their Pastors, and are not unmindful of the
calls of benevolence for the support of missions for
the foreign field, and for the destitute in our own
land.
PRESBYTERIAN.
The First Presbyterian Church. — The first ec-
clesiastical organization in Albany was the First
Reformed (Dutch) Church. This church was
largely maintained from the public revenues until
the British occupation in 1664, and was slow to
recognize the rights of other Christian denomi-
nations. The second church organization in the
city was the Lutheran. The people of this belief at
first were barely tolerated here. They were com-
pelled to have their children baptized in the Dutch
Church, and declare their belief in the doctrines of
the Synod of Dort, contrary to their convictions.
They were permitted to worship in their own
houses, although denied the privilege of assembhng
in a public way. Some time within the period
1664-69, a church was erected. The third church
society was that of St. Peter's Episcopal Church,
founded, after several years of missionary work, in
1727. The fourth was Presbyterian, and was
organized in 1762, although from June, 1760, there
was preaching by supplies which had been sent by
the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, to minister
to the people of this faith, who from' time to time
had come in and taken up their residence here.
The names of the supplies were the Revs. Hector
Alison, Andrew Bay, William Tennant, Abraham
Kettletas, Woodruff, John Smith, and Aaron
Richards. A lot for a church edifice was purchased
in 1762 or 1763, and the society was incorporated
in 1763 by a deed from the city to the Trustees,
being virtually an official incorporation by the city.
It was first connected with the Dutchess County
Presbytery, organized in October, 1762. In 1775,
the church relation was transferred to the Pres-
bytery of New York.
In 1793, the relative strength of all the churches
in Albany was : Dutch, ^ ; Presbyterian, •^;
Episcopalians, -j^; I>utherans, German Calvinists
and Methodists combined, ■^.
Ministers : William Hanna, two years; Andrew
Bay, 5 years, 1768-73; John McDonald, 10 years
Pastor, November, 1785, to September, 1795; David
S. Bogart, Pastor, January to August, 1797;
Eliphalet Nott, 6 years Pastor, October, 1798-93;
John B. Romeyn, D. D., 4 years Pastor, Decem-
ber 5, 1804-8; William Neill, D.D., 7 years Pastor,
September, 1809-16; Arthur J. Stansbury, \\ years
Pastor, September, 181 7, to February, 182 1;
Henry R. Weed, D.D., 7I years Pastor, May,
1822, to November, 1829 ; John N. Campbell,
D.D., 34 years Pastor, June, 1830, to March, 1864;
James M. Ludlow, D.D., 3 years Pastor, January,
1865, to November, 1868; J. McClusky Blayney,
D.D., loj years Pastor, May, 1869, to Febru-
ary, 1880; Walter D. Nicholas, Pastor, September
5, 1880.
Church Edifices. — The first church edifice was
erected in 1764, on a lot bounded on the north by
Beaver street, on the south by Hudson street, on
the east by William street, and on the west by
Grand street. It was on a locality know as Gallows
hill, reached by a stairway winding around the hill,
and was a wooden structure with a tower and spire,
the tower containing a bell. It was painted red,
fronted the east, and cost somewhat over $7,000.
The second edifice was erected in 1795-96, and
cost about $13,000. It was on South Peari street;
the site is now known as Beaver Block. It was
sold to the Congregationalists in 1850, when the
congregation removed to their third church edifice
on the corner of Hudson avenue and Philip street.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
769
This church was erected during the years 1849 and
1850, on a lot purchased in September, 1847. I*^
was first opened for service March 10, 1850, and
was a model church for the time of its erection,
costing about $1 15,000. In 1856, a lecture-room
was erected adjoining the church, which was also
used for Sunday-school purposes. In the year
1884, this church was sold to the First Methodist
Society for $25,000. The old bell and organs in
the church and session-house were reserved from
sale, and transferred to the new edifice.
The fourth church edifice was erected during the
years 1883 and 1884, on the corner of State street,
fronting Washington park. With a session-house
attached, it cost the society about $110,000, and is
a very fine specimen of architecture. The first ser-
vice in this church was held on May 17, 1884.
Second Presbyterian Church. — On the third
Monday in July, 18 13, the subscribers to a new
church edifice met and appointed Messrs. James
Kane, John L. Winne, Joseph Russell, Nathaniel
Davis and Roderick Sedgwick their Trustees, of
whom Mr. Kane was made President and Mr.
Russell, Treasurer. The work of building was
immediately commenced and the house was open-
ed for worship in September, 18 15, on which occa-
sion the Rev. Dr. William Neill (Pastor of the First
Church) preached. In the same month Rev. John
Chester was called to the pastoral office and in-
stalled on the following 8th of November, by the
Presbytery of Albany. On the 3d of December
the congregation elected Messrs. John L. Winne,
John Boardman, Chester Bulkley and Uriah Marvin,
their ruling elders. The first meeting of the session
was held at No. 8 Water street, December 11, 181 5,
at the lodgings of the Pastor. On the first Sunday
of February, 1816, the church was formally gath-
ered, and the first annual report in the same month
showed a membership of 45, of which 10 were ad-
mitted on examination and 35 on certificate from
other churches, mostly from the First Presbyterian.
The church rapidly increased, so that at the death
of Dr. Chester, January 12, 1829, the membership
was 365. A session-house of ample dimensions
for prayer meetings, lectures and Sunday-schools is
attached to the church.
Dr. John Chester was the eldest son of Colonel
John Chester, of Wethersfield, Conn. , and was born in
August, 1785. He was graduated at Yale College,
ordained at Cooperstown, N. Y., installed Pastor of
the Presbyterian Church in Hudson, N.Y., in 18 10,
and of the Second Presbyterian Church of Albany,
November 8, 181 5.
Rev. Edward N. Kirk, D. D., preached for a
short time as supply, but a radical sermon on tem-
perance having given offense to some members of
the church, he left and became Pastor of the Fourth
Presbyterian Church, which was greatly prospered
under his labors.
The second Pastor was the Rev. William Buell
Sprague, D.D., who was installed in 1829, resigned
in 1869, ^^^ ^^^^ '^'^ Long Island, May 7, 1876,
aged eighty years. He achieved a world-wide
fame by his able and long ministry, and his
great literary work, ' ' The Annals of the American
97
Pulpit," in nine large octavo volumes, and other
writings.
The third Pastor was Anson Judd Upson, D. D. ,
who was installed October 23, 1870, and resigned
May 26, 1880. Before coming to this charge he
had been Professor of Logic, Rhetoric and Elocu-
tion at Hamilton College. Upon his resignation he
accepted a call to a professorship in the Theolog-
ical Seminary in Auburn, N. Y.
The fourth and present Pastor is James H. Ecob,
D. D., called from the Congregational Church in
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